The Funding of Local Government in Scotland, 2023-2024

So why will some councils get more Scottish Government Grant than others?

We have seen that the distribution of the £14.5 billion was based on an agreed funding formula, and then adjusted by the Floor.

The next step is to subtract the funding that we forecast they will receive from Council Tax and Non-domestic Rates. The amount each council can raise from these mainly depends on the size of their population and the number of businesses. So really it is only the Scottish Government grant that can be adjusted to ensure that each council receives its calculated fair share of the total funding.

The Scottish Government grant therefore works as a balancing item, providing the remainder of the needed funding. This may mean one council receives a lot more actual grant than another.

In the above example, Council A’s share of the available funding was less than Council B’s. It also received much more from Non-domestic Rates raised in its area. So Council A needs to receive a lot less Scottish Government grant.