Northern Ireland council rates: Councils race to meet 15 February deadline while trying to keep rates as low as possible

Some councils have already struck rates, but often at much higher levels than normal, with exceptionally high inflation of 9.2% impacting on operating costs.

Behind closed doors, councillors have been debating what services can reasonably be cut to keep the bills down for ratepayers, while anticipating voters’ reactions to their decisions in the forthcoming May poll.

Rates bills sent to households across Northern Ireland by local councils raise money which is then used to pay for public services.

Belfast City Council has already struck a rate of 7.99% whereas last year it managed an increase of only 2.99%.

Mid Ulster District Council has agreed to increase household rates by 7.3% while Newry, Mourne and Down District Council agreed a rise of 5.99%. Fermanagh and Omagh struck a rate of 5.59% and Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council announced a 7.49% increase. In statements, some of the councils emphasised how much lower their rises were than inflation.

It is understood that Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon and Ards and North Down intend to strike their rates on Tuesday 14 February while Antrim and Newtownabbey, Derry City and Strabane and Mid and East Antrim plan to set theirs on Monday 13 February.

At the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council both the DUP and Sinn Fein agreed that they had insufficient information to reach a consensus after a full council meeting on the matter on Thursday night.

The council has been plagued with financial problems, revealing a debt of £68.7m in 2020 and last year appointing an independent adviser following an extraordinary audit of controversial land deals.

Mayor Ivor Wallace of the DUP chaired the meeting on Thursday night to try and strike a rate.

"The proposal at the meeting was that officers would bring us back more detailed papers to our meeting on Monday night,” he said.

"There were no real decisions taken. The finance officers went through a paper but the members felt there wasn't enough detail in it."

Sinn Fein group leader Councillor Leanne Peacock agreed.

"There is a lack of information really coming from officers and a lot of frustration in terms of the availability of the information we need to make a decision," she said.

She said there was also frustration about the fact that the council meeting was adjourned for a substantial period of time to allow unionist parties to confer in person in the council building, whereas all other parties were taking part in the meeting virtually online.

However, Councillor Wallace responded that he believed all councillors should attend rates meetings in person so that they could likewise confer with party colleagues face-to-face.

A spokeswoman for Derry and Strabane council said councillors met behind closed doors to discuss rates on Friday afternoon and that a public meeting to strike the rates is scheduled to take place at 2pm on Monday at the Guildhall.

Members of the ‘Cost of Living Crisis Campaign’ protested against "unfair rates increase" and also to "stop council cuts" on Friday at 1:30pm outside the Guildhall.

Local People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin commended the protestors for voicing their concerns "over the proposed rates hike and cut to local services".