Council tax reduction in Scotland: July to September 2017

This report provides the number of recipients of Council Tax reduction between July and September 2017.

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Council Tax Reduction in Scotland, July to September 2017

This publication provides statistics on the Council Tax Reduction ( CTR) scheme, which reduces the Council Tax liability of lower income households in Scotland. A CTR ‘recipient’ can be a single person or a couple, with or without children, since Council Tax is charged on a per-dwelling basis, rather than to individuals.

The statistics are based on data extracts from local authorities, and cover the time period July to September 2017.

Key Points

  • There were 489,560 Council Tax Reduction recipients in Scotland in September 2017.
  • The total weekly income foregone by local authorities on Council Tax Reduction in September 2017 was £6.5 million.
  • The total number of Council Tax Reduction recipients in Scotland was 11.4 per cent (62,820 recipients) lower in September 2017 than it was at the beginning of the scheme in April 2013. In general, this fall has been gradual, punctuated by small rises each January to March. Since April 2017, increases to Council Tax and reforms to Council Tax Reduction have exerted an upward pressure on recipient numbers, although the longer-term downward trend continues.

Chart 1: CTR recipients in Scotland, April 2013 to September 2017

Chart 1: CTR recipients in Scotland, April 2013 to September 2017

The number of recipients for each local authority in July to September 2017 is shown in Table 1. The total number in Scotland decreased from 491,760 in March 2017 to 489,560 in September 2017. Several reforms to Council Tax and CTR took effect in 1 April 2017:

  • Local authorities were permitted to raise their level of Council Tax by up to 3 per cent, following 9 years of Council Tax ‘freeze’.
  • The multipliers used to calculate Council Tax for Bands E to H properties were changed, thereby increasing Council Tax bills for properties in these bands. A new relief was introduced through the CTR scheme, protecting certain below-median income, low capital households from the increase caused by these multiplier changes.
  • The CTR child premium was increased by 25 per cent.

Table 1: CTR Recipients by Local Authority, July to September 2017 1, 2

  Jul-17 Aug-17 Sep-17
Scotland 491,320 492,920 489,560
Aberdeen City 14,250 14,290 14,170
Aberdeenshire 11,890 11,960 11,900
Angus 8,850 8,910 8,800
Argyll and Bute 6,990 7,020 6,970
Clackmannanshire 5,210 5,290 5,270
Dumfries and Galloway 13,400 13,370 13,330
Dundee City 18,350 18,460 18,330
East Ayrshire 13,620 13,620 13,470
East Dunbartonshire 5,400 5,390 5,360
East Lothian 7,130 7,150 7,070
East Renfrewshire 4,610 4,610 4,580
Edinburgh, City of 35,490 35,370 34,880
Eilean Siar 2,330 2,330 2,300
Falkirk 13,570 13,620 13,590
Fife 31,680 31,740 31,480
Glasgow City 90,490 90,650 90,250
Highland 17,500 17,710 17,590
Inverclyde 9,770 9,820 9,810
Midlothian 6,610 6,610 6,550
Moray 5,860 5,860 5,820
North Ayrshire 17,410 17,490 17,410
North Lanarkshire 37,070 37,200 36,990
Orkney Islands 1,220 1,220 1,190
Perth and Kinross 8,980 9,040 8,940
Renfrewshire 18,490 18,570 18,440
Scottish Borders 8,520 8,600 8,570
Shetland Islands 1,050 1,050 1,050
South Ayrshire 11,370 11,430 11,370
South Lanarkshire 30,860 30,870 30,710
Stirling 5,740 5,750 5,700
West Dunbartonshire 12,490 12,640 12,580
West Lothian 15,150 15,310 15,120

Notes:
1 Recipients are as at monthly count date. See Methodology Notes, Section 2 for more details. Available at
http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Local-Government-Finance/Methodology/Ctaxreductionmethod
2 Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Components may not sum to total due to rounding.

Figure 1 shows CTR recipients by local authority for September 2017 in a treemap, using the data from Table 1. This allows a visual comparison of the number of recipients in each local authority. The five local authorities with the highest numbers of CTR recipients accounted for almost half (46 per cent) of the total for Scotland in September 2017. Glasgow City accounted for the highest proportion of Scotland’s CTR recipients, with 18 per cent (90,250) of the total. The other four authorities with the highest proportion of CTR recipients were North Lanarkshire, accounting for 8 per cent (36,990 recipients); Edinburgh City, had 7 per cent (34,880 recipients); and Fife and South Lanarkshire, 6 per cent each (31,480 and 30,710 recipients respectively).

Figure 1: Treemap of CTR recipients by Local Authority, September 2017.

Figure 1: Treemap of CTR recipients by Local Authority, September 2017.

Key:
1 = Eilean Siar
2 = Orkney Islands
3 = Shetland Islands
Clacks = Clackmannanshire
East Dunb. = East Dunbartonshire
East Renf. = East Renfrewshire
West Dunb. = West Dunbartonshire

The total weekly income foregone for each local authority in July, August and September 2017 is shown in Table 2. The total for Scotland was £6.5 million in September 2017; an increase of slightly over £200,000 a week in income foregone since March 2017, reflecting the reforms listed in the first paragraph on page 2.

Table 2: CTR weekly estimate of income foregone (£000’s) by Local Authority, July to September 2017 1, 2, 3

  Jul-17 Aug-17 Sep-17
Scotland 6,490.9 6,508.4 6,465.0
Aberdeen City 190.6 191.4 189.7
Aberdeenshire 157.1 157.6 157.3
Angus 104.2 104.7 103.4
Argyll and Bute 103.2 103.6 102.8
Clackmannanshire 66.2 67.1 66.9
Dumfries and Galloway 165.8 165.4 165.1
Dundee City 237.0 237.8 235.9
East Ayrshire 175.6 175.7 173.8
East Dunbartonshire 85.1 85.0 84.5
East Lothian 97.0 97.1 96.0
East Renfrewshire 72.2 72.2 71.7
Edinburgh, City of 491.8 493.7 487.6
Eilean Siar 26.8 26.8 26.6
Falkirk 157.3 157.9 157.6
Fife 396.6 396.9 393.1
Glasgow City 1,308.8 1,309.7 1,303.4
Highland 236.7 238.7 237.3
Inverclyde 122.0 122.0 122.1
Midlothian 96.6 96.5 95.4
Moray 73.4 73.2 72.7
North Ayrshire 223.8 224.6 223.4
North Lanarkshire 440.1 441.6 439.2
Orkney Islands 14.5 14.5 14.2
Perth and Kinross 123.3 124.1 122.7
Renfrewshire 241.6 242.3 240.7
Scottish Borders 102.4 103.1 102.7
Shetland Islands 12.4 12.4 12.4
South Ayrshire 160.3 160.8 160.2
South Lanarkshire 376.7 377.0 375.4
Stirling 79.3 79.3 78.6
West Dunbartonshire 167.0 168.6 168.3
West Lothian 185.3 186.9 184.6

Notes:
1 Recipients are as at monthly count date. See Methodology Notes, Section 2 for more details. Available at
http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Local-Government-Finance/Methodology/Ctaxreductionmethod
2 Weekly income foregone estimates are based on ‘number of recipients multiplied by average weekly reduction’ for each local authority and benefit type for the given month.
3 Figures are rounded to the nearest £100. Components may not sum to total due to rounding.

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