Every local authority in Scotland agrees to freeze Council Tax
It's after the Finance Secretary promised a cash boost of up to £90m to every administration
Last updated 11th Mar 2021
All 32 of Scotland's local authorities have agreed to freeze council tax for the year ahead.
In return the Scottish Government has committed to compensate each council up to £90 million.
That incentive is roughly the same income to what councils would expect from a 3% rise in council tax, according to the Government.
In total £11.6 billion is being given to local authorities for the 2021-2022 financial year.
During Budget negotiations, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes also agreed to "baseline" the council tax freeze, following concerns from local authority body Cosla about the implication on central funding in subsequent years.
After all the local authorities confirmed they would be freezing council tax, Ms Forbes said: "With people facing unprecedented challenges and extra pressures, now is a time to work together to provide stability and certainty.
"In the budget for the year ahead, I took the significant step of providing £90 million to support a national council tax freeze, giving local authorities the option to support families while ensuring there would be no impact on vital local services.
"I am pleased that councils have taken advantage of this additional support and have protected household finances. This will make a real difference to people across Scotland.
"I have also confirmed that the funding provided this year to support the council tax freeze will be maintained in local authority budgets going forward, providing additional certainty to local government."
Cosla's resource spokeswoman Gail Macgregor told Holyrood's Finance Committee last month that council tax should be determined locally but said it will now be "very difficult" for them not to take the cash from the Scottish Government to freeze the charge.
She also questioned whether £90 million will be enough to fully fund the council tax freeze, and added: "If it is not sufficient we will need to go back to Government and ask for more."
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