Council Tax Reduction Caseload and Expenditure, July - September 2014

Council Tax Reduction: Caseload and Expenditure, Scotland, July - September 2014 9^th January 2015

Key points

• There were 533,980 Council Tax Reduction recipients in Scotland in September 2014.
• Total weekly expenditure on Council Tax Reduction in September 2014 was £6.8 million.
• The Council Tax Reduction caseload in Scotland gradually decreased by 3.3 per cent (18,400) between the beginning of Scotland's CTR scheme in April 2013, and September 2014.

Council Tax Reduction caseload in Scotland: April 2013 to September 2014

Local authority breakdowns for all months from April 2013 to Sept 2014 are available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Local-Government-Finance/CTR

Figure 1: Treemap of Council Tax Reduction caseload by Local Authority: September 2014

See Table 1 for figures used to produce this.

1 = Clackmannanshire
2 = East Dunbartonshire
3 = East Renfrewshire
4 = Eilean Siar
5 = Orkney Islands
6 = Shetland Islands

Figure 1 illustrates the number of Council Tax Reduction recipients for each local authority in Scotland in September 2014. The five local authorities with the highest CTR caseload accounted for almost half (46 per cent) of the total caseload for Scotland. Glasgow City accounted for the highest proportion of Scotland's CTR caseload, at 19 per cent (98,970). North Lanarkshire accounted for 8 per cent (40,910) of the total CTR caseload, Edinburgh City 7 per cent (39,070), and Fife and South Lanarkshire each accounted for 6 per cent of total CTR caseload (34,270 and 33,990 respectively).

Table 1: Council Tax Reduction recipients by Local Authority: July 2014 to September 2014 ^1,2,3

Notes:

1. Recipients are as at monthly count date. See Methodology notes section 2 for more details: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Local-Government-Finance/Methodology/Ctaxreductionmethod

2. CTR reduces the council tax liability on chargeable dwellings, where the inhabitants apply for CTR and meet the criteria. The CTR caseload statistics count a "recipient" as the number of dwellings that benefited from a Council Tax Reduction. This means that a recipient can be a single person or a couple, with or without children.

3. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Components may not sum to total due to rounding.

A Council Tax Reduction receipient can be a single person or a couple, with or without children.
They all count as one recipient. This is because Council Tax is charged to dwellings, not individuals.

Table 2: Council Tax Reduction weekly expenditure estimate (£000's) by Local Authority: July 2014 to September 2014 ^1,2,3

Notes:

1. Recipients are as at monthly count date. See Methodology notes section 2 for more details: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Local-Government-Finance/Methodology/Ctaxreductionmethod

2. Figures are rounded to the nearest £100. Components may not sum to total due to rounding.

3. Weekly expenditure estimate was based on 'caseload multiplied by average weekly award' for each local authority and benefit type for the given month.