Council tax data from each Local Authority: FOI release

Information requested

Can you list for each Council x 32 for each of the last five years:

- the amount of Council tax raised
- the premiums applied for second homes and amounts raised
- any discounts or exemptions applied (eg empty properties, listed buildings, charities).

Response

I enclose a copy of, or website links to, most of the information you requested.

In answer to:

“Can you list for each Council x 32 for each of the last five years:
- the amount of Council tax raised”

• I have enclosed a spreadsheet entitled FOI-202500455049_CT_raised_2019-2024.xlsx
• Data for the amount of Council Tax raised by Local Authorities is produced on a time-lagged basis. The most recently available data is for the tax year 2023-2024, so I have provided data for the last five years’ worth of available data, starting from the tax year 2019-2020 through to 2023-2024. Data on the amount of Council Tax raised during the 2024-2025 tax year will be published in June 2025.

Some of the information you have requested, specifically relating to the second and third parts of your query, is available from the following publicly available website addresses:

“- the premiums applied for second homes”:

• SECOND HOMES DISCOUNTS AND LONG-TERM EMPTY PROPERTY POLICY AND DISCOUNTS 2024-25

“- any discounts or exemptions applied (eg empty properties, listed buildings, charities)”:

• Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics 2023-24

1. See Table 2.12: Council Tax Discounts, Exemptions, Reductions and Increases, on pp35

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.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. The reasons why we do not have the information are explained in the Annex to this letter.

Annex - Reasons for not providing information

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested

The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because this information has not yet been collected and is therefore unavailable. This relates specifically to the underlined portion of the query:

“- the premiums applied for second homes and amounts raised”

We don’t know the amounts raised yet as the second home premium only came in to force on 01 April 2024. We should have this information for the 2024-25 tax year in June 2025.
As such, I hereby provide you with formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

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.

FOI 202500455049 - Information released - Spreadsheet

File type

Excel document

File size

14.7 kB