The Scottish Government’s finance minister Derek Mackay has pledged to continue work to examine fairer funding solution for councils.
Moray is currently the lowest-funded rural council in Scotland per head of the population – behind only Aberdeen and Edinburgh in the national charts.
The situation has been blamed as one of the reasons for the local authority facing the prospect of bankruptcy before the end of 2020.
A cross-party delegation of councillors travelled to Edinburgh in March to raise the case with Mr Mackay personally.
Yesterday, the minister praised the new SNP administration that has taken office inside the council’s HQ while explaining there were avenues he could take to provide extra support.
He said: “The attitude of the new administration has been very welcome.
“The funding formula for councils is agreed by Cosla, which is the umbrella body for local councils, and any changes to that would have to be agreed by them too.
“What the delegation from Moray did raise with me though is that there are elements of the region, which means it isn’t particularly advantaged, in their opinion.
“The group did tell me some of the factors I should bear in mind when making finance decisions and I will certainly do that.”
The Scottish Government’s cap on council tax increases has previously been criticised by the authority’s previous Conservative and independent administration for having a minimal effect in Moray due to comparatively low number of high-value properties in the region.
