This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Proposed water charge exemptions
16/01/2002
Proposals that many groups serving local communities
should be exempted from water and sewerage charges until at
least 2006 have been outlined to the Scottish
Parliament.
In a letter sent to members of the Parliament's
Transport and Environment Committee in advance of their
consideration today of the Water Industry Bill, Deputy
Environment and Rural Development Minister Allan Wilson
said:
"We. . . recognise the desirability of helping those
bodies that have a local remit and do not have access to
significant central or local government funding. This has
led us to propose a fairly simple scheme aimed at those
bodies with particularly limited incomes that are likeliest
to feel most severely the impact of having reliefs
withdrawn generally.
"The sort of bodies that it will assist will include
those relying on local financial support and occupying
premises such as local halls: in short those least well
placed to cope with the withdrawal of reliefs.
"The proposed scheme, with its £10,000 threshold, will
help small local bodies most affected by withdrawal of
relief from water charges. For example the McFadden
Commission suggested that over a third of Scottish
charities have incomes of less than £5,000 and over half
have income below £25,000.
Mr Wilson went on to say:
"Crucially, unlike other proposals put forward in this
area, the scheme will catch those bodies that have no
formal charitable status - thereby ensuring that the
smallest groups, such as parent and toddler groups, or
local scout or guide groups do not risk being excluded.
"The Executive believes that this approach, with its
guaranteed exemption for up to four years, is the most
effective and straightforward means of dealing with the
impact of relief withdrawal on the sort of bodies that the
Committee itself identified."
The proposed scheme's basic criteria are a requirement
on the part of applicants to demonstrate that they are
claiming in respect of premises eligible for relief under
current water authority arrangements and have an annual
income of less than £10,000 in respect of the premises.
Bodies that are eligible in the coming financial year will
be totally exempted from all water and sewerage charges
during the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2006.
Mr Wilson's letter to members of the T&E Committee
was issued yesterday in advance of the Committee's Stage 2
consideration of the Water Industry Bill today. Due to
extensive consideration of earlier parts of the Bill, the
Committee did not discuss on charges relief for charities.
This is now likely to take place next week (23
January).
The proposal of exempting small, locally based bodies
from water and sewerage charges will be implemented by
Scottish Water, which, subject to approval of the Water
Industry Bill by the Scottish Parliament, is due to assume
responsibility for the provision of all public water and
sewerage services in April.
Better funded bodies, including the larger charities,
will continue to have their relief phased out. In many
cases, these larger bodies receive substantial financial
assistance, either directly or indirectly from the
Executive. This support for the voluntary sector has
increased dramatically in recent years.
Direct support from the Executive during 2001/2002 will
amount to £39 million, representing an increase of £6
million on the previous year, and an additional £16 million
on the figure for 1998/1999. Indirect support (i.e. that
provided by agencies such as health boards and Scottish
Enterprise) for 2001/2002 totals £304 million, an increase
of over £35 million on the previous year. Ministers believe
that in the main it is better to deliver its support to the
sector in this way, rather than by continuing with relief
generally, given that these simply reflect the rateable
value of premises occupied.