Council tax relief funding information: FOI Review

Information requested

Original request 202500453366

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

You asked on 19 March for a review of a response dated 19 March to an FOI dated 19 February on the basis that the response (our reference: 202500453366) had erroneously reinterpreted your request for information on Council Tax Relief funding as relating to the Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme. While there is no policy specifically named ‘Council Tax Relief’, you further clarified on 27 March that the information you were looking for relating to funding to local authorities in respect of Council Tax freezes in 2024-25. In your original request, you asked for:

"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 to your request

Funding was provided to local government by the Scottish Government in relation to a Council Tax freeze in 2024-25. There is no such funding in 2025-26, however the funding provided to support the Council Tax Freeze in 2024-25 was baselined into the General Revenue Grant for all future years as part of the agreement reached with local government for 2024-25.

On your first question, a detailed breakdown of the exact amount allocated by the Scottish Government to each of Scotland's 32 local authorities for ‘Council Tax Freeze’ in 2024-25 can be found in Annex G of the Local government finance circular 10/2024 tables. These are part of Local government finance circular 10/2024: settlement for 2025 to 2026 - gov.scot. 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, please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

On your second and third questions, I enclose some of the information you requested.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under section 38(1)(b) (personal information) and section 30(b)(ii) (free and frank exchange of views) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why those exemptions apply are explained below.

The exemption under section 38(1)(b) (personal information) applies to a small amount of the information requested because it is the personal data of a third party, i.e. the names or contact details of individuals, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

Exemptions under section 30(b)(i) (the free and frank provision of advice) and (ii) (free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation) apply to some of the information requested. These exemptions applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank exchange of respectively advice, or views, for the purpose of deliberation. The exemption recognises the need for Ministers or officials to have a private space within which to discuss issues and options internally before the Scottish Government reaches a settled public view. Disclosing the content of free and frank views on this matter will substantially inhibit the provision of such advice or views in the future.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemptions. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in allowing officials a private space within which to communicate as part of the process of exploring and refining the Government’s policy position on non-domestic rates policy until the Government as a whole can adopt a decision that is sound and likely to be effective. This private space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, so that good policy decisions can be taken based on fully informed advice and evidence. Premature disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues within the Scottish Government, which in turn will undermine the quality of the policy-making process and which would not be in the public interest.

Further, some of the information in some of the documents is not considered to be within scope of your request, as it is about a different topic, and has been redacted.

I would add that variations of the scope of your FOI request have been made to the Scottish Government. For ease, I have provided those published responses below:

• FOI - Minutes, Time and Date of the Council Tax Freeze decision
• FOI - Minutes from meetings with COSLA on the Council Tax freeze
• FOI - WhatsApp messages relating to Council Tax freeze
• FOI - Correspondence relating to council tax freezes
• FOI - Council Tax Freeze for Inverclyde Council - financial year 2024/25
• FOI - Minutes, Analysis on Council Tax Freeze (2024)

On your fourth question (Funding Discretion), I can confirm that Council Tax freeze funding in 2024-25 was conditional on the local authority agreeing to freeze Council Tax for 2024-25. However, as explained above, this funding is now baselined into the General Revenue Grant, with no conditions attached for 2025-26. The funding is not ring fenced and local authorities have discretion to allocate it as they see fit.

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 202500458076 - Information released - Documents

File type

PDF

File size

2.5 MB