Council Tax reduction in Scotland: October to December 2017

Quarterly report giving the number of claimants and income foregone from Council Tax reduction data.

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Council Tax Reduction in Scotland, October to December 2017

This publication provides statistics on the Council Tax Reduction ( CTR) scheme, which reduces the Council Tax liability of low 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 October to December 2017.

Key Points

  • There were 483,980 Council Tax Reduction recipients in Scotland in December 2017.
  • The total weekly income foregone by local authorities on Council Tax Reduction in December 2017 was £6.4 million.
  • The total number of Council Tax Reduction recipients in Scotland was 12.4 per cent (68,400 recipients) lower in December 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. Between April and September 2017, increases and reforms to Council Tax and Council Tax Reduction exerted an upward pressure on recipient numbers, however the overall downward trend has resumed since September.

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

The number of recipients for each local authority in October to December 2017 is shown in Table 1. The total number in Scotland decreased from 491,760 in March 2017 to 483,980 in December 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 'proportions' of CTR payable in Bands E to H were increased, thereby increasing Council Tax bills for properties in these bands.
  • A new relief was introduced through the CTR scheme, protecting certain below-median income households from the increase. In December 2017, the number of recipients of this new relief was just under 1,000. This new data is classed as 'experimental – data under development' at the moment, to allow time for its quality to be evaluated. We also recognise that the number of recipients of the new relief is likely to take some time to stabilise, as citizens become aware of its availability.
  • The CTR child premium was increased by 25 per cent.

Table 1: CTR Recipients by Local Authority, October to December 2017 1, 2

Oct-17 Nov-17 Dec-17
Scotland 486,480 485,100 483,980
Aberdeen City 14,040 14,000 14,040
Aberdeenshire 11,840 11,790 11,750
Angus 8,730 8,740 8,750
Argyll and Bute 6,930 6,890 6,860
Clackmannanshire 5,250 5,220 5,190
Dumfries and Galloway 13,250 13,270 13,240
Dundee City 18,190 17,940 18,020
East Ayrshire 13,370 13,300 13,040
East Dunbartonshire 5,460 5,440 5,370
East Lothian 7,030 7,020 7,010
East Renfrewshire 4,580 4,610 4,590
Edinburgh, City of 34,810 34,600 34,420
Eilean Siar 2,290 2,300 2,300
Falkirk 13,560 13,460 13,380
Fife 31,260 31,140 31,160
Glasgow City 89,650 89,580 89,510
Highland 17,430 17,500 17,500
Inverclyde 9,830 9,820 9,790
Midlothian 6,540 6,540 6,530
Moray 5,780 5,780 5,780
North Ayrshire 17,330 17,320 17,230
North Lanarkshire 36,760 36,660 36,470
Orkney Islands 1,190 1,200 1,200
Perth and Kinross 8,890 8,870 8,850
Renfrewshire 17,950 18,120 18,210
Scottish Borders 8,520 8,450 8,450
Shetland Islands 1,020 1,020 1,030
South Ayrshire 11,330 11,240 11,230
South Lanarkshire 30,470 30,260 30,200
Stirling 5,660 5,610 5,600
West Dunbartonshire 12,570 12,520 12,440
West Lothian 14,990 14,920 14,860

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 December 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 December 2017. Glasgow City accounted for the highest proportion of Scotland's CTR recipients, with over 18 per cent (89,510) of the total. The other four council's with the highest proportion of CTR recipients were North Lanarkshire, accounting for almost 8 per cent (36,470 recipients); Edinburgh City, had 7 per cent (34,420 recipients); and Fife and South Lanarkshire, 6 per cent each (31,160 and 30,200 recipients respectively).

Figure 1: Treemap of CTR recipients by Local Authority, December 2017
Figure 1: Treemap of CTR recipients by Local Authority, December 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 October, November and December 2017 is shown in Table 2. The total for Scotland was £6.4 million in December 2017; an increase of almost £130,000 a week in income foregone since March 2017, reflecting both the reforms listed in the first paragraph on page 2 and a background of falling caseload and CTR amounts awarded since April 2013.

Table 2: CTR weekly estimate of income foregone (£000's) by Local Authority, October to December 2017 1, 2, 3

Oct-17 Nov-17 Dec-17
Scotland 6,420.0 6,398.5 6,379.9
Aberdeen City 188.3 187.4 187.7
Aberdeenshire 156.1 155.3 154.7
Angus 102.4 102.5 102.4
Argyll and Bute 102.1 101.2 100.8
Clackmannanshire 66.6 66.1 65.8
Dumfries and Galloway 164.2 163.9 163.4
Dundee City 233.7 230.9 231.4
East Ayrshire 172.2 171.2 168.0
East Dunbartonshire 85.6 85.1 84.0
East Lothian 95.3 95.2 94.9
East Renfrewshire 71.4 71.6 71.2
Edinburgh, City of 486.1 483.6 481.0
Eilean Siar 26.4 26.5 26.4
Falkirk 157.1 156.2 155.2
Fife 390.1 388.5 388.6
Glasgow City 1,294.5 1,291.8 1,290.1
Highland 234.9 235.6 235.8
Inverclyde 122.3 122.2 122.0
Midlothian 95.4 95.2 94.9
Moray 72.1 72.2 72.3
North Ayrshire 222.0 221.8 220.7
North Lanarkshire 436.6 435.6 432.5
Orkney Islands 14.2 14.2 14.3
Perth and Kinross 121.6 121.3 120.8
Renfrewshire 234.5 236.4 237.3
Scottish Borders 101.9 101.2 101.1
Shetland Islands 12.1 12.1 12.1
South Ayrshire 159.3 157.8 157.7
South Lanarkshire 372.5 369.7 368.5
Stirling 77.8 77.1 77.0
West Dunbartonshire 168.0 167.4 166.2
West Lothian 182.8 181.7 180.7

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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