Council Tax Reduction in Scotland: 2023-2024

Key Points

• There were 461,550 CTR recipients in Scotland in March 2024, an increase of 1.6 per cent from 454,350 in March 2023. These recipients live in almost one-fifth of Scotland’s chargeable dwellings.
• The number of CTR recipients reported by councils each month remained relatively steady over the course of 2023-24. The number of CTR recipients in each month remained above the record low of 454,180 in December 2022.
• From the introduction of the CTR scheme in April 2013 to March 2020, the number of CTR recipients in Scotland gradually decreased. However, there were large rises in caseload in 2020 due to the initial economic impact of Covid-19 before continuing its gradual decrease and stabilising throughout 2023-24. The number of CTR recipients was 16 per cent (90,830 recipients) lower in March 2024 than when the scheme began. 
• The weekly income forgone by local authorities due to the CTR scheme was £7.543 million in March 2024, compared to £7.364 million in March 2023 (an increase of 2.4 per cent).
• Council Tax and Council Tax Reduction reforms, alongside increases in Council Tax since April 2017 (excluding 2021-22 where there was a Council Tax freeze), have contributed to increases in the total weekly CTR awarded. 
• The provisional income forgone on CTR in Scotland in 2023-24 was £387.6 million.
• On average, CTR recipients saved just under £850 a year on Council Tax as at March 2024.
• Of all CTR recipients in March 2024:
  • The majority (57 per cent or around 264,300 recipients) were in one of the 30 per cent most deprived areas in Scotland, a slight decrease from 58 per cent in March 2023;
  • A third (35 per cent or around 162,900 recipients) were aged 65 or over, a slight decrease from 36 per cent in March 2023; and
  • A sixth (17 per cent or around 78,400 recipients) were lone parents, the same as in March 2023.

Changes in Council Tax and CTR since 1 April 2017

• The end of the Council Tax “freeze” which can be seen with the increase in Council Tax income forgone due to CTR in April annually since 2017 (excluding 2021); 
• The Working Age CTR scheme was amended from April 2022 so that those recipients who were receiving Universal Credit (UC) were handled in the same way as all other recipients.

Cyber-attack

Due to a cyber-attack in late 2023, Na h-Eileanan Siar have been unable to provide CTR extracts from December 2023 onwards. Therefore, reported figures for this month and onwards are based on their latest available extract.

An Official Statistics Publication for Scotland

These statistics are official statistics. Official statistics are statistics that are produced by crown bodies, those acting on behalf of crown bodies, or those specified in statutory orders, as defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Scottish Government statistics are regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

More information about Scottish Government statistics is available on the Scottish Government website.