Your council
Dumfries and Galloway: what’s happening where you live
What the council itself has published on the five things it most shapes for a household: homes, getting about, the bill, the local environment and schools. Each line is quoted from the council’s own document, with the link. This page says what was decided or proposed; it never says whether it was right.
Dumfries and Galloway Council: Scottish unitary authority (unitary), Scotland. GOV.UK lists it as a unitary council.
Do it online
- Household waste collection: Providing information
- Household waste collection: Reporting
- Flytipping: Reporting
- Road maintenance: Reporting
- Noise pollution: Reporting
- Council tax annual notification: Providing information
- Council tax discount: Applications for service
- Council tax benefit new claim: Applications for service
- Housing benefit new claim: Providing information
- Electoral register: Providing information
- Primary school places: Applications for service
- Secondary school places: Applications for service
- Library facilities: Providing information
- Parking permits: Providing information
- Planning decision notices: Providing information
- Councillors directory: Providing information
- Complaints procedure: Providing information
Housing
We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website
Transport
We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website
Council tax
Band D council tax set by Dumfries and Galloway for 2026–27: £1,578.65 a year. Excludes water and sewerage charges.
Every band
| Band | A year |
|---|---|
| A | £1,052.43 |
| B | £1,227.84 |
| C | £1,403.24 |
| D | £1,578.65 |
| E | £2,074.17 |
| F | £2,565.31 |
| G | £3,091.52 |
| H | £3,867.69 |
We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website
Environment
We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website
Education
We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website
What the council plans to spend, 2026–27
| Service | Budget |
|---|---|
| Education | £224.3 million |
| Culture and related services | £17.5 million |
| Social work | £160.9 million |
| Roads and transport | £16.9 million |
| Road bridges | none budgeted |
| Environmental services | £21.2 million |
| Building, planning and development | £4.2 million |
| Central services | £25.8 million |
| Housing (outside the housing revenue account) | £13.2 million |
| Trading services | none budgeted |
| Total net revenue expenditure | £483.9 million |
Dumfries and Galloway in numbers
- Total population
- 145,860 people
- Median age
- 51 years
- Gross disposable household income per head
- £23,835
- Gross median weekly pay
- £576
- Children in relative poverty after housing costs
- 17.4%
- Claimant Count
- 2.7%
- Average house price
- £169,511
- Female healthy life expectancy
- 59.1 years
- Male healthy life expectancy
- 58.8 years
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- 15.6 tCO2e per capita
- Gigabit capable broadband
- 66.9%
- Public electric vehicle chargers
- 548.5 per 100,000 population
- Active businesses
- 4,650 number of enterprises
Who runs the council
43 seats in 2026. Run by: a coalition or arrangement of SNP, Labour, independents and Liberal Democrats.
Councillors by party: Independent / Other 13, Scottish National Party (SNP) 11, Conservative and Unionist 10, Labour Party 8, Liberal Democrats 1.
Next scheduled council election: 6 May 2027.
All 43 councillors, by ward
- Davie Stitt (Labour Party) — Abbey
- Ian Blake (Conservative and Unionist) — Abbey
- Kim Lowe (Scottish National Party (SNP)) — Abbey
- Archie Dryburgh (Labour Party) — Annandale East and Eskdale
- Denis Male (Independent / Other) — Annandale East and Eskdale
- Karen Carruthers (Independent / Other) — Annandale East and Eskdale
- Carolyne Wilson (Labour Party) — Annandale North
- Gail Macgregor (Conservative and Unionist) — Annandale North
- Lynne Davis (Conservative and Unionist) — Annandale North
- Stephen Thompson (Scottish National Party (SNP)) — Annandale North
- George Jamieson (Scottish National Party (SNP)) — Annandale South
- Ian Carruthers (Independent / Other) — Annandale South
- Richard Brodie (Liberal Democrats) — Annandale South
- Sean Marshall (Labour Party) — Annandale South
- Iain Howie (Independent / Other) — Castle Douglas and Crocketford
- John Young (Scottish National Party (SNP)) — Castle Douglas and Crocketford
- Pauline Drysdale (Conservative and Unionist) — Castle Douglas and Crocketford
- Andy McFarlane (Scottish National Party (SNP)) — Dee and Glenkens
- Dougie Campbell (Independent / Other) — Dee and Glenkens
- John Denerley (Independent / Other) — Dee and Glenkens
- Ivor Hyslop (Conservative and Unionist) — Lochar
- Linda Dorward (Labour Party) — Lochar
- Maureen Johnstone (Conservative and Unionist) — Lochar
- Tracey Little (Scottish National Party (SNP)) — Lochar
- Andrew Wood (Independent / Other) — Mid and Upper Nithsdale
- Jim Dempster (Independent / Other) — Mid and Upper Nithsdale
- Tony Berretti (Scottish National Party (SNP)) — Mid and Upper Nithsdale
- David Inglis (Independent / Other) — Mid Galloway and Wigtown West
- Jackie McCamon (Conservative and Unionist) — Mid Galloway and Wigtown West
- Katie Hagmann (Scottish National Party (SNP)) — Mid Galloway and Wigtown West
- Richard Marsh (Independent / Other) — Mid Galloway and Wigtown West
- David Slater (Independent / Other) — Nith
- John Campbell (Scottish National Party (SNP)) — Nith
- Keith Walters (Labour Party) — Nith
- Malcolm Johnstone (Conservative and Unionist) — Nith
- Andy Ferguson (Scottish National Party (SNP)) — North West Dumfries
- Emma Jordan (Labour Party) — North West Dumfries
- Graham Bell (Conservative and Unionist) — North West Dumfries
- Paula Stevenson (Labour Party) — North West Dumfries
- Andrew Giusti (Independent / Other) — Stranraer and the Rhins
- Ben Dashper (Scottish National Party (SNP)) — Stranraer and the Rhins
- Chrissie Hill (Independent / Other) — Stranraer and the Rhins
- Julie Currie (Conservative and Unionist) — Stranraer and the Rhins