Non-Domestic Rates Relief statistics 2020: supplementary tables

Introduction

This page contains additional tables published to supplement the Non-Domestic Rates Relief Statistics 2020 publication.

As in the publication, the data in the supplementary tables is derived from the Billing System Snapshot, a property-level dataset of all reliefs in place at the snapshot date, provided to the Scottish Government by local authorities, the latter being responsible for administering Non-Domestic Rates. This data was matched with the Valuation Roll which is maintained by the Scottish Assessors to access more information about the individual properties in receipt of reliefs.

Care should be taken in making comparisons with previous years, as the 2020 Billing System Snapshot was delayed by a month due to later than usual issuing of annual bills as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the snapshot was taken closer to annual billing than usual, allowing less time for corrections after the bills were issued. Please see the Background Notes in the publication for further information.

The relief values shown in these tables are the awards given as at the snapshot date, and do not necessarily reflect the cost of a given award over the full year: for example some reliefs may be awarded later in the year and backdated, while some may have been cancelled before the snapshot date, or before the end of the year. The relief values as at the snapshot date are likely to be an underestimate of total annual relief values. Rateable values may also change during the course of the year, which would affect final annual relief values.

It should also be noted that the value of reliefs presented here includes the full values of the discretionary reliefs, and not just the part funded by Scottish Government.

• Full publication and tables

Table S1

Table S1 shows the number of properties in receipt of 100% relief, and the total value of reliefs awarded to properties receiving 100% relief, broken down by local authority area, as at 1 July 2020.

Local Authority	Number of properties receiving 100% relief	Value of reliefs awarded to properties receiving 100% relief (£m)
Aberdeen City	3,960	90.2
Aberdeenshire	9,720	48.2
Angus	4,110	20.5
Argyll and Bute	7,760	26.2
City of Edinburgh	14,950	257.1
Clackmannanshire	1,140	7.9
Dumfries & Galloway	7,850	32.0
Dundee City	4,120	54.6
East Ayrshire	3,240	21.8
East Dunbartonshire	1,760	19.3
East Lothian	2,870	18.6
East Renfrewshire	1,360	13.5
Falkirk	3,550	28.9
Fife	10,480	77.6
Glasgow City	18,390	251.8
Highland	15,570	81.9
Inverclyde	1,740	14.9
Midlothian	2,090	21.8
Moray	3,810	19.0
Na h-Eileanan Siar	2,190	6.5
North Ayrshire	4,170	28.0
North Lanarkshire	6,370	61.9
Orkney Islands	2,180	6.0
Perth and Kinross	7,270	42.9
Renfrewshire	4,540	62.9
Scottish Borders	6,650	24.6
Shetland Islands	1,710	6.6
South Ayrshire	4,040	32.6
South Lanarkshire	6,720	67.0
Stirling	4,030	32.2
West Dunbartonshire	2,100	18.3
West Lothian	4,300	41.6
Scotland	174,730	1,537.2

Data source: Local Authorities' Billing System Snapshot return to Scottish Government, July 2020
 

Figures may not sum due to rounding. Numbers of reliefs awarded and number of recipients/properties rounded to the nearest 10.
“Relief” is used to mean either a relief or an exemption. “Properties” refers to subjects listed as separate entries in the Valuation Roll, and includes e.g. shops, offices, warehouses, but also self-catering properties, and properties that do not necessarily contain buildings, etc.
 

Reliefs reported as being awarded to zero-rated properties have been excluded from the table.
 

In 2020-21, all non-domestic properties in Scotland were awarded a 1.6% universal relief, which was typically awarded so that the gross bill was reduced before any other relief was applied. To receive a 100% relief, a property may have been awarded either a single other relief (such as the Small Business Bonus Scheme relief, or the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief), or a combination of reliefs (e.g. a mandatory and discretionary charity reliefs).
 

This table includes all non-domestic properties for which reliefs resulted in a 100% reduction in non-domestic rates bills.
The relief values are the awards given as at 1 July 2020, and do not necessarily reflect the cost of a given award over the full year; for example some reliefs may be awarded later in the year and backdated, while some may have been cancelled before the snapshot date, or may be cancelled before the end of the year. The relief values as at the snapshot date are therefore likely to be an underestimate of total annual relief values. Rateable values may also change during the course of the year, which would affect final annual relief values. Final audited figures are published in the annual Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics publication in February and the figures for 2020-21 will be published in 2022. These will however not be directly comparable to total values in this table as Local Government Financial Statistics only include the cost to the Scottish Government of providing relief, but exclude the discretionary element paid by councils.
 

The value includes both the Scottish Government's contribution and the councils' own contribution to the cost of reliefs. Other published data on reliefs (e.g. in Local Government Financial Statistics and in Scottish Fiscal Commission's published tables) exclude councils' contribution and reports only the contribution made by the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government contributes to 75% of discretionary charity relief and discretionary sports (top-up to the mandatory element) relief.

Non-Domestic Rates Relief statistics 2020: supplementary tables

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