Council Tax Reduction: April to June 2020

Quarterly statistics on Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme, which reduces liability of lower income households in Scotland.


2. Weekly Income Forgone

The total weekly income forgone for Scotland was £7.334 million in June 2020, an increase of 1.6 per cent between April and June 2020 which is the highest ever recorded. Income forgone estimates follow the same general pattern as the number of recipients, with the exception of April each year when local authority CT increases the level of CT income foregone due to CTR.

In addition to CT increases by local authorities in 2020, the rise in total weekly income forgone in April 2020 is a result of the increased CTR recipients due to Covid-19 mentioned in section 1. During this month, there was a sharp rise of 10.6 per cent from the previously reported £6.525 million in March 2020 to £7.218 million in April 2020.

A breakdown of the total weekly income forgone by each local authority in April, May and June 2020 is shown in Table 3 below. It can be seen that Glasgow City accounted for one fifth (20 per cent) of the total weekly income forgone for Scotland followed by City of Edinburgh (8 per cent) and North Lanarkshire (7 per cent) in June 2020, consistent with the higher numbers of CTR recipients recorded for these local authorities.

Table 3: Weekly Income Forgone (£'000s) by Local Authority, April to June 2020 1,2,3
  Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 % Change (Apr-Jun 20)
Scotland 7,217.7 7,339.5 7,334.2 1.6%
Aberdeen City 206.5 212.4 214.3 3.8%
Aberdeenshire 191.6 195.8 192.5 0.4%
Angus 116.9 116.7 115.3 -1.4%
Argyll and Bute 117.0 118.5 117.4 0.3%
City of Edinburgh 527.0 552.5 564.0 7.0%
Clackmannanshire 75.0 76.3 76.0 1.4%
Dumfries and Galloway 202.5 199.2 197.7 -2.3%
Dundee City 257.7 257.9 260.1 0.9%
East Ayrshire 192.8 196.5 197.0 2.2%
East Dunbartonshire 103.7 102.7 101.7 -1.9%
East Lothian 107.4 109.8 109.8 2.2%
East Renfrewshire 78.0 79.5 79.7 2.2%
Falkirk 167.4 169.7 168.7 0.8%
Fife 423.5 426.0 425.0 0.4%
Glasgow City 1,444.6 1,491.3 1,492.2 3.3%
Highland 287.2 282.4 276.3 -3.8%
Inverclyde 138.7 140.1 138.1 -0.5%
Midlothian 100.6 102.9 102.6 2.0%
Moray 81.0 82.7 82.7 2.1%
Na h-Eileanan Siar 28.1 28.2 28.0 -0.5%
North Ayrshire 256.1 256.1 253.1 -1.2%
North Lanarkshire 485.8 494.1 496.4 2.2%
Orkney Islands 18.1 18.8 18.7 3.4%
Perth and Kinross 130.1 129.2 129.0 -0.9%
Renfrewshire 276.9 290.9 291.8 5.4%
Scottish Borders 120.4 123.1 123.5 2.6%
Shetland Islands 14.8 15.0 15.1 2.0%
South Ayrshire 167.3 168.2 167.4 0.1%
South Lanarkshire 420.5 423.6 423.0 0.6%
Stirling 87 88 89 2.4%
West Dunbartonshire 169 171 171 1.6%
West Lothian 225 220 217 -3.5%

1 Recipients are as at monthly count date. See Methodology Notes, Section 2 for more details. Available at www.gov.scot/publications/council-tax-reduction
2 Weekly income forgone estimates are based on 'number of recipients multiplied by average weekly reduction' for each local authority and benefit type for the given month.
3 Figures are rounded to the nearest £100. Components may not sum to total due to rounding. Percentage change are based on unrounded figures.

Contact

Email: eddie.Chan@gov.scot

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