By stewartb

Whilst on the theme of cross UK comparisons, I recently came across a report from the Taxpayers’ Alliance (TA) which examined what it referred to as the ‘burden’ of Council Tax (CT) in England, Scotland and Wales.

(This Tufton Street-based organisation is not one I’ve ever referred to before – at least not positively – but, usefully in this instance, it’s a source likely to seen as credible not just by Tories but nowadays probably also by the leadership of a rightward leaning Labour Party!)

See: McGoldrick, C, (August 2023) Britain’s council tax burdens. (https://www.taxpayersalliance.com/britains_council_tax_burdens_2023 )

The TA compiled a database of 2023-24 Band D CT rates in 325 Local Authorities across GB. (It missed out three in Scotland but adding their CT rates was done from Local Authority websites.)

When the 2023-24 Band D amounts charged by Local Authorities (LAs) across Great Britain are ranked from lowest to highest, SCOTLAND’S 32 LAs ALL FALL WITHIN THE 36 LOWEST RATES BEING CHARGED ANYWHERE – the other four LAs in the group of 36 are London boroughs. All Band D rates in Scotland are lower than the lowest rate Band D rate in Labour-controlled Wales.

For interest, the 2023-24 Band D Council Tax payment levied on households in the constituency of Rutherglen and Hamilton West is presently THE FIFTH LOWEST OF ANY LOCAL AUTHORITY AREA IN GREAT BRITAIN – of the four areas lower, two are in Scotland and two are London boroughs.

However, just comparing Band D CT rates in the different nations is complicated by for example different property values, different values at Band boundaries, variations in rates of pay and therefore affordability. Acknowledging these factors, the TA compiled for 325 LAs the BAND D CT RATES AS A PERCENTAGE OF MEDIAN ANNUAL GROSS PAY based on official statistics. (Band D is the benchmark rate against which all others are set by calculation using an assigned multiplier.)

The TA uses this metric to ascertain relative affordability across Great Britain. The lower the percentage, the more affordable – the less of a ‘burden’ in the TA’s terms – on average CT is likely to be. (Of course other mitigations are used to help struggling households with CT payments.)

The TA’s data reveal that Band D rates as a percentage of median annual gross pay in SCOTLAND’S LAs FALL WITHIN THE LOWEST 40 OUT OF 325 LAs ACROSS GREAT BRITAIN. The TA’s data for Scotland’s LAs reveal they have a LOWER PERCENTAGE THAN ANY IN WALES BAR ONE, the case where Scotland’s highest percentage is equal to the lowest equivalent value in Wales.

In South Lanarkshire – the metric relevant to voters in the upcoming by-election – the current Band D CT rate is 4.62% of median annual gross pay. THIS IS THE FOURTH LOWEST PERCENTAGE IN SCOTLAND AND THE NINTH LOWEST OF ANY LA ACROSS GREAT BRITAIN. This is substantially lower – making CT more affordable – than in LAs in Wales where THE LOWEST VALUE FOR BAND D CT AS A PERCENTAGE OF MEDIAN ANNUAL GROSS PAY IS 6.20%.

Why focus on Wales? Because it is Labour-run! Too often the leadership of the Labour Party in Scotland is in denial over the relevance of examining its party’s policies and governing credentials based on what’s happening in Wales where Labour has always formed the devolved government.

Labour ministers in Cardiff have made clear on various occasions that Westminster government harms Wales yet the unionism of Labour leaders in Scotland too often leads them to blame Scotland’s ills on Scotland’s devolved government! (I note in passing that when complaining about CT in Scotland in The Scotsman on 11 July 2023, Labour’s Dame Jackie Baillie MSP opted to draw comparisons between Labour-run Wales and Scotland! So what’s good for the goose ….!)

Now households across Scotland may wish they had been asked to pay more in CT in 2023-24 – just like households the length and breadth of Great Britain, including in Labour-governed Wales – in order to have more money spent on local services. There is a legitimate and important debate to be had over such matters. However, opponents of the Scottish Government are presently seeking to scare voters over potential future increases in the higher CT Bands in Scotland, confident that the BBC and mainstream media will once again fail to provide relevant context or perspective.

(It’s beyond the scope of this already lengthy btl post but comparing the highest CT band rates in 2023-24 in Scotland with those in Labour-run Wales gives added ‘perspective’ that I suspect the Labour leadership hopes voters in Scotland never acquire!)