WIREDGOV

More than half a million low income households in Scotland continue to be protected from UK Government cuts to Council Tax Benefit, Finance Secretary John Swinney said yesterday.

New statistics show 537,730 people were protected from increased Council Tax bills through the Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme in June 2014.

The latest figures also revealed a 2.7 per cent decrease in the number of people receiving CTR, at the same time as recently-released labour market data show a record high employment level in Scotland has been reached.

Between April 2013 and June 2014 14,650 fewer people received a reduction in their Council Tax liability through the scheme.

The Scottish Government and Scotland’s Local Authorities introduced the Council Tax Reduction scheme following the UK Government’s abolition of the Council Tax Benefit in April 2013.

Eligibility for CTR is based on a number of factors, including income, savings, receipt of other benefits and financial status of partners.

Mr Swinney said:

“This Scottish Government has consistently taken action to protect households across Scotland from Westminster’s welfare cuts.

“We are helping over 500,000 low income households who would otherwise have seen bills rise and living costs increase.

“It’s clear we are working hard to help those people in Scotland who are paying a heavy price for the UK Government’s welfare reforms. Today’s figures demonstrate our commitment to helping pensioners, families, lone parents and disabled people who are struggling to pay their bills.

“It’s also encouraging to see the levels of people who require this support falling, at the same time as more people are able to enter the labour market and improve their household incomes.

“We are outperforming the UK as a whole on the three headline labour market indicators but our ambition is to ensure that everyone is able to benefit from a growing economy.”

Notes To Editors

Under the UK Welfare Reform Act 2012, responsibility for assisting those who need help in meeting their Council Tax liability in Scotland was localised to the Scottish Government and Scottish Local Authorities, with funding equivalent to forecast expenditure less ten per cent. In order to protect entitlement to support for vulnerable people, the Scottish Government and COSLA reached agreement to fill the ten per cent gap in funding for 2013/2014 and rolled this commitment forward for 2014/15.