Local government funding 2020-2021: process overview

Overview of the process to determine the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2020 to 2021. The figures used are set out in Finance Circular 2/2020, which was agreed by Parliament prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and so do not take account of additional COVID-19 funding.


How did we estimate how much Council Tax each council would receive?

The Scottish Government then estimated how much each council would raise from Council Tax.

Councils collect Council Tax based on an historical valuation of houses, with houses placed into one of eight bands, A to H. The number of houses in each band determines how much each council can raise.

Councils can also vary the level of Council Tax, which can raise additional income.

In 2019-20 Council Tax for a Band D property varied between £1,138 and £1,344.

In estimating how much Council Tax each council would receive, we assumed that there would be an increase in the total number of houses, but didn’t assume that Council Tax rates would rise.

Bar chart of income from Council Tax, from £2 billion in 2013-14 to £2.4 billion in 2018-19

If a council increased its Council Tax rates, it then had more income to spend on services in 2020-21.

Contact

Email: gaestatistics@gov.scot

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