Help for vulnerable Scots
24 Jun 2014 01:21 PM
Over 500,000 people protected from increased
council tax bills.
More than half a million Scots have been protected from
UK Government cuts to Council Tax Benefit, Finance Secretary John Swinney
revealed today.
Between April 2013 and March 2014 over 543,000 people
were protected from increased council tax bills, and received an average weekly
reduction of £12.79 through the Council Tax Reduction (CTR)
scheme
Over 208,000 pensioners and 89,000 lone parents were
also supported through the council tax measures.
The
Scottish Government and Scotland’s Local Authorities introduced the
Council Tax Reduction scheme following the UK Government’s abolition of
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 taken action to
protect households across Scotland from Westminster’s welfare
cuts.
“Thousands of Scots are paying a heavy price for
the UK Government’s welfare reforms with some of the most vulnerable
members of our society, including pensioners, families, lone parents and
disabled people, struggling to pay their bills.
“In Scotland we have helped over 500,000
households who would otherwise have seen bills rise and living costs increase.
In contrast, Citizens Advice say that council tax arrears are now the most
common form of debt in the rest of the UK following the abolition of council
tax benefit.
“With our partners in local government, we reached
agreement to plug the estimated £40 million gap in funding from the UK
Government for Council Tax Benefit successor arrangements in 2013/14. This
commitment has been rolled forward again for 2014/15 and will allow us to
continue to help Scotland’s most vulnerable people meet their council tax
liabilities.
“This work with local authorities sends a very
powerful signal of the sort of partnership approach we can develop with new
powers in an independent Scotland.
“Only with the full levers of independence can
Scotland properly capture economic opportunity and tackle inequality and
poverty, and we can do so more efficiently and effectively than currently
happens in the UK.”
The full statistical publication can
be accessed at: www.scotland.gov.uk/299582
Under the UK Welfare Reform Act 2012, responsibility for
assisting those who need help with their Council Tax in Scotland was localised
to the Scottish Government and Scottish Local Authorities, with funding
equivalent to forecast expenditure less 10%. In order to protect entitlement to
support for vulnerable people, the Scottish Government and COSLA reached
agreement to fill this 10 per cent gap in funding for
2013/2014.
Prior to its abolition, Council Tax Benefit was
administered by local authorities on behalf of the Department of Work &
Pensions (DWP), who met the costs of benefits and the administration of the
system. Individuals in receipt of CTB received a Council Tax bill net of the
benefit paid by DWP.
Under the Council Tax Reduction scheme, individuals now
receive a Council Tax bill reflecting that their liability has been
reduced.