Council tax relief funding information: FOI release

Information requested

Information regarding council tax relief funding for the 2025 - 2026 financial year:

1. Allocation Breakdown:
A detailed breakdown of the exact amount allocated by the Scottish Government to each of Scotland's 32 local authorities for council tax relief.

2. Supporting Documentation:
Copies of any official documentation, spreadsheets, or correspondence outlining how this funding has been calculated and distributed.

3. Funding Conditions:
Details of any conditions, restrictions, or criteria attached to this funding, including any formal guidance issued to local authorities.

4. Funding Discretion:
Clarification on whether this funding is ring-fenced exclusively for council tax relief or whether local authorities have discretion to allocate it for other purposes.

Response

1. In the terms of your request, you have used the term Council Tax relief funding. I have interpreted this to mean, Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme funding. The Scottish Government's CTR scheme is the primary means by which household Council Tax liabilities are reduced. This is a means tested scheme, which is administered locally by each local authority in Scotland.

2. Household entitlements to CTR are calculated based on an assessment of household income, capital, and other circumstances. Currently over 460,000 households receive some level of CTR, and on average recipients save over £850 a year. This number does fluctuate over time, but you can find the most up to date reporting each month on the Scottish Government website at: Council Tax Reduction: local authority tables and charts - April 2013 to December 2024 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

3. The Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on CTR, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

4. The annual local government settlement is distributed in full using a needs based formula, which is discussed and agreed each year with Convention of Scotland’s Local Authorities (COSLA) on behalf of all their local authority members each year.

5. The formula uses the most up to date information for the full range of indicators, including CTR. The distributions for 2025-26 are published at https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-local-government-finance-green-book-2025-26/.

6. The process of distributing the overall funding based on need to all 32 local authorities includes recognition of the Council Tax Reduction scheme. The needs based distribution formula includes a total of £357.46 million to local authorities for this purpose. It is important to realise that reductions in Council Tax revenue resulting from non-means tested Council Tax discounts and exemptions are separate to those provided by the means tested Council Tax Reduction scheme.

1. Allocation Breakdown:

A detailed breakdown of the exact amount allocated by the Scottish Government to each of Scotland's 32 local authorities for council tax relief

1. I have sought to provide this information where possible, however some of the information is already available. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

2. The information you have requested is available online and can be found under the “Elections & Taxation” sector at: https://scotland.shinyapps.io/sg-scottish-local-government-finance-green-book-2025-26/

3. It is important to note that the individual service allocations are not budgets or spending targets. Rather they represent an allocation methodology designed to distribute the overall levels of resources in a way that takes into account all relevant indicators of need. They are not intended to be used by local authorities to allocate resources.

4. The Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, on the basis of local needs and priorities.

5. Ultimately, it is for locally elected representatives to make local decisions on the funding allocated to provide Council Tax relief in their local community through the Council Tax Reduction scheme.

2. Supporting Documentation:

Copies of any official documentation, spreadsheets, or correspondence outlining how this funding has been calculated and distributed.

1. I have sought to provide this information where possible, however some of the information is already available. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. However, if you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

2. The information you have requested is available on the Scottish Government website at:

3. Scottish Local government Finance Settlement 2025-26 Funding Allocation Formula - https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-local-government-finance-green-book-2025-26/

4. Overview of the calculation of funding for local government, 2025-26 - The Funding of Local Government in Scotland, 2025-2026 - gov.scot

3. Funding Conditions:

Details of any conditions, restrictions, or criteria attached to this funding, including any formal guidance issued to local authorities.

1. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, the Scottish Government does not have the details you have requested. This is formal confirmation under Section 17(1) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), which requires authorities to notify applicants when the requested information is not held.

2. Local authorities are independent corporate bodies with their own powers and responsibilities and are entirely separate from the Scottish Government. Each local authority has the autonomy to allocate the majority of the funding provided by the Scottish Government on the basis of local needs and priorities. Therefore, there are no conditions, restrictions, or criteria attached to the block grant provided no nor any formal guidance relating to it.

4. Funding Discretion:

Clarification on whether this funding is ring-fenced exclusively for council tax relief or whether local authorities have discretion to allocate it for other purposes.

1. Individual service allocations are not budgets or spending targets, rather they are designed to distribute the overall levels of resources available to each local authority. Individual local authorities have complete autonomy to allocate the block grant based on local needs and priorities.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.