Rates revaluation of non-domestic properties in Scotland 2017

Summary analysis of changes in the rateable value of non-domestic properties in Scotland following the 2017 revaluation.


Revaluation 2017

8. Provisional revaluations were made available online at the Scottish Assessors Association website[2] from 15 December 2016. Final revaluation notices were generally issued by the Assessors around mid-March 2017, with revaluations able to be viewed online from 1 April 2017. Rates bills for 2017-18 issued separately from local authorities.

9. Total rateable value for all properties on the valuation roll at 1 April 2017 was £7,358 million, compared with rateable value at 31 March 2017 of £6,815 million.

10. Table 1 shows that the largest proportional increases in rateable value have generally occurred in properties with smaller rateable values, many of which qualify for relief via the Small Business Bonus Scheme. As such, these properties are not necessarily seeing increases in their bill as a result of revaluation. The rateable value of larger properties has, in total, remained broadly constant. The rateable values for 'designated utilities' (typically large utility companies whose property is valued on a nationwide basis)[3] have seen changes in rateable value that are not representative of the wider tax base, and have been set out separately throughout this document. The Annex discusses this and other data issues that affect this analysis of rateable values.

Table 1: Changes in rateable value at 2017 revaluation, by 'old'1 RV band

RV band (old1 RV) Old1 RV (£m) New RV (£m) RV change (£m) RV change (%)
Zero-rated / other2 - 178 178 N/A
£1 to £18,000 907 1,034 128 14%
£18,001 to £51,000 834 873 39 5%
Over £51,000 (exc utilities) 4,474 4,475 1 0%
SCOTLAND (exc utilities) 6,215 6,561 346 6%
Designated utilities 600 797 196 33%
SCOTLAND (inc utilities) 6,815 7,358 542 8%

1. 'Old' RV refers to RV at 31 March 2017. New RV refers to RV at 1 April 2017.
2. "Other" can refer to instances where a change in respect of an entry in the valuation roll means that a direct comparison cannot be made between 31 March 2017 and 1 April 2017. This could be due to a property split or merger, or an administrative change implemented at revaluation. The Annex describes the main factors affecting data analysis in more detail.

11. Aggregate-level data can obscure variations on a property-by-property level. Figure 1 shows the distribution of rateable value changes across the tax base.

Figure 1: Rateable value change distribution at 2017 revaluation
Figure 1: Rateable value change distribution at 2017 revaluation

12. As can be seen in Figure 1, the majority of properties saw relatively moderate rises or falls in RV at revaluation. However, some outliers saw larger increases. The majority of these properties have relatively low RV, with nearly three-quarters having a new RV of under £15,000 (i.e. potentially eligible for 100% relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme).

13. Table 2 shows total RV changes by sector[4]. Shops and offices both show overall decreases in RV, while industrial and health/medical properties show an overall increase in RV. The category "other" includes a wide variety of different property classes, and the larger increase is driven by sub-sectors such as hotels and public houses. However other sub-sectors in this category, such as petrochemicals and quarries, show more modest rises in rateable value.

Table 2: Changes in rateable value, at 2017 revaluation by sector

Sector At 31 March 2017 At 1 April 2017* Change in Total RV (£m) Change in Total RV (%)
Number of Properties Total RV (£m) Number of Properties Total RV (£m)
Shops 53,582 1,632 53,709 1,612 -20 -1%
Offices 1 41,416 1,144 44,061 1,083 -62 -5%
Industrial 48,676 1,151 49,050 1,256 105 9%
Health and Medical 6,881 730 6,938 788 57 8%
Other 77,184 1,557 79,597 1,823 266 17%
Total (excluding designated utilities) 227,739 6,215 233,355 6,561 346 6%
Designated utilities 31 600 31 797 196 33%
All Scotland 227,770 6,815 233,386 7,358 542 8%

1. Due to valuation roll entries for certain properties being split at revaluation, the reduction in RV for offices appears larger than it would on a like for like basis (where it would be closer to -3%).

14. Table 3 shows RV changes by local authority. Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Argyll and Bute have seen the largest overall increases in RV, with Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian all seeing an overall decrease.

Table 3: Rateable value changes at 2017 revaluation, by local authority

Local authority At 31 March 2017 At 1 April 2017 Change in Total RV (£m) Change in Total RV (%)
Number of Properties Total RV (£m) Number of Properties Total RV (£m)
Aberdeen City 8,790 484 9,543 594 109 23%
Aberdeenshire 12,069 239 11,884 287 48 20%
Angus 4,878 78 4,884 80 2 2%
Argyll & Bute 8,502 90 8,516 110 19 22%
Clackmannanshire 1,548 38 1,553 42 4 11%
Dumfries & Galloway 9,403 118 9,396 123 5 4%
Dundee City 5,734 188 5,853 187 -1 0%
East Ayrshire 3,925 80 3,953 80 1 1%
East Dunbartonshire 2,362 68 2,388 69 1 2%
East Lothian 3,424 69 3,483 75 6 8%
East Renfrewshire 1,751 42 1,751 43 1 3%
Edinburgh, City of 20,520 908 22,855 946 38 4%
Eilean Siar 2,471 24 2,470 26 3 11%
Falkirk 4,904 170 4,995 178 8 5%
Fife 13,530 336 13,643 335 -1 0%
Glasgow City 25,997 1,000 27,246 1,017 17 2%
Highland 17,864 286 17,860 313 27 9%
Inverclyde 2,344 61 2,345 57 -4 -6%
Midlothian 2,922 78 3,023 84 6 8%
Moray 4,662 93 4,609 108 15 16%
North Ayrshire 5,032 110 5,063 115 5 4%
North Lanarkshire 9,913 300 10,013 292 -8 -3%
Orkney Islands 2,133 26 2,175 29 3 10%
Perth & Kinross 8,594 150 8,621 160 10 7%
Renfrewshire 6,449 209 6,493 218 9 4%
Scottish Borders 7,324 92 7,191 107 15 16%
Shetland Islands 1,975 54 2,056 61 7 12%
South Ayrshire 4,804 109 4,841 115 6 5%
South Lanarkshire 9,893 303 9,948 302 -1 0%
Stirling 5,115 116 5,302 123 7 6%
West Dunbartonshire 2,891 78 2,923 76 -2 -2%
West Lothian 6,016 217 6,479 208 -9 -4%
Total (excluding designated utilities) 227,739 6,215 233,355 6,561 346 6%
Designated Utilities 31 600 31 797 196 33%
All Scotland 227,770 6,815 233,386 7,358 542 8%

15. Table 4 shows RV changes in more detail, in particular how many properties in each local authority have seen a rise, a fall or no change, together with average movements in RV.

Table 4: Proportion of properties with rateable value increase/decrease at 2017 revaluation, by local authority

Local Authority Properties with RV decrease / no change (%) Properties with RV increase (%) Average change in RV (£000s)
Aberdeen City 19% 81% 11.2
Aberdeenshire 26% 74% 3.8
Angus 50% 50% 0.4
Argyll & Bute 28% 72% 2.3
Clackmannanshire 28% 72% 2.7
Dumfries & Galloway 38% 62% 0.7
Dundee City 60% 40% -0.2
East Ayrshire 38% 62% 0.1
East Dunbartonshire 51% 49% 0.5
East Lothian 27% 73% 1.8
East Renfrewshire 54% 46% 0.6
Edinburgh, City of 35% 65% 2.9
Eilean Siar 31% 69% 1.1
Falkirk 37% 63% 1.9
Fife 52% 48% -0.2
Glasgow City 52% 48% 1.4
Highland 27% 73% 1.5
Inverclyde 57% 43% -1.5
Midlothian 30% 70% 2.3
Moray 20% 80% 2.6
North Ayrshire 38% 62% 0.9
North Lanarkshire 61% 39% -0.8
Orkney Islands 28% 72% 1.2
Perth & Kinross 37% 63% 1.1
Renfrewshire 54% 46% 1.2
Scottish Borders 22% 78% 2.1
Shetland Islands 37% 63% 3.2
South Ayrshire 36% 64% 0.8
South Lanarkshire 53% 47% -0.2
Stirling 37% 63% 1.5
West Dunbartonshire 47% 53% -0.6
West Lothian 43% 57% -1.0
Total (excluding designated utilities) 40% 60% 1.6
Designated Utilities 48% 52% 6,336.3
All Scotland 40% 60% 2.5

Note: This table includes only properties shown in comparable entries on the roll both at 31 March and at 1 April (222,480 properties of the total 227,770 properties on the roll at 1st April). It excludes those which, for various reasons (see paragraph 1 of the Annex), were not shown in comparable entries on both rolls.

Contact

Email: Business Rates General Enquiries, BusinessRatesGeneralEnquiries@gov.scot

Phone: 0300 244 4000 – Central Enquiry Unit

The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG

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