Ever wondered how much your child’s school meals cost compared to those living in a different council area?
Or how much you are being charged for garden waste collection compared to those living under a different local authority?
Charges are an important means for councils to sustain services and to help
meet their policy aims, but because they have discretion over their charging policy, variations can be expected.
How does the pricing of services compare throughout Tayside and Fife? We took a look at some of the main things local authorities charge for and how much local residents are expected to pay.
School meals
All children in primary one to five in Scotland are eligible for free school meals, with those in primary six onwards having to apply if they are eligible.
For those families who have to pay, the current cost of a primary school meal in Dundee is £2.15 per day and in Angus Council primary schools, the cost is £2.10.
Earlier this year councillors in Perth and Kinross approved a slight increase in the price of school dinners, meaning a primary pupil’s school meal now costs £2.30.
Fife Council charges £2.40 per day for a primary school meal.
Uplifts
Local authorities can collect bulky household waste items that are too big to fit into a wheeled bin.
Dundee City Council (DCC) provides a special collections service to uplift up to six bulky household items from outside your property.
It charges £27.50 for this service.
Angus Council offers to collect up to eight items at any one time. The minimum charge (one, two or three items) is £28.90. Each additional item thereafter £8.80.
Fife Council’s bulky uplift service cost is determined by how many units you use. Each item costs a certain amount of units and you can use up to 36 units per collection.
The local authority lists the following costs on their website:
- One to 18 units is £15
- 19 to 36 units is £30
Perth and Kinross Council charges £35.00 for the collection of up to five bulky items, in one uplift, from the kerbside.
Additional items or items not presented to the kerbside may incur an additional charge.
Garden waste
Dundee City Council introduced a charge for garden waste collection in March 2020.
Initially the service cost residents £35, however this rose to £40 in March after councillors voted to increase the price last year.
The same charge applies in Perth and Kinross.
Angus Council has an annual charge of £30 per bin for garden waste collection. There are no exemptions or concessions.
Fife Council currently does not charge for garden waste collection.
Street trader licence
A street trader’s licence is required for those who, whether on their own or as an employee, sell any article in a public place.
The price of obtaining a licence varies between local authority areas and often depends on how long the licence is for.
Fife Council charges £65 for a one year licence and £160 for three years.
In Perth and Kinross, a one year licence will cost you £168 and a three year licence is £240.
Angus Council offers licences for a period of one year and a new licence will cost you £176. To renew this, the council charges £146.
Swimming lessons
School swimming lesson provision, although free, does vary across Tayside and Fife.
Dundee City Council offers a six week swimming programme, consisting of three weeks of universal provision followed by three weeks of targeted provision.
This is usually delivered during the summer term at the P5 or 6 stage.
In Angus, all primary pupils get a 15-week block of swimming lessons, generally around the P6 stage.
Perth & Kinross Council offers swimming lessons to all primary school pupils as part of the curriculum.
Primary school pupils are provided with one block of 10 swimming lessons during their attendance at primary school.
Generally, most pupils attend swimming in P5 but pupils may receive their block of 10 swimming lessons at any time between P4 and P7 depending on the size and composition of the classes in their individual school.
Fife Council offers “targeted confidence swimming lessons” to young people who are non swimmers.
