Isles' first tax bills issued after cyber attack

The first batch of 2024-25 council tax bills have been issued in the Western Isles following a delay caused by a cyber attack that happened in November.

Local authority Comhairle nan Eilean Siar should have issued the bills in the middle of March.

For council tax, payments are usually due over 10 months from April to January.

This has been changed to June to March, with no direct debits in April and May and payments taken instead next February and March.

The attack also prevented the comhairle from being able to process changes to individual accounts.

It said in some cases the bills received would not represent the up-to-date circumstances of households and would need need later adjustment.

The comhairle said it was now in a position to start implementing these changes and would work through the backlog in coming months.

A spokesperson said: "The comhairle would like to thank the public for their patience and understanding during this process."

Councillors froze council tax levels at a meeting in February.

November's attack caused widespread disruption to the comhairle's IT system and online services.