New figures: Scotland has lowest council tax every year for 16 years under SNP

• Scotland could do more to put money in pockets with full powers of independence
  
  New figures from the House of Commons Library show Scotland has had the lowest council tax for 16 years under an SNP government, when compared with England and Wales.
  
  Whilst the average amount of council tax in Scotland has decreased by -7.1% (around £101) in real terms since the SNP came to power, in Labour run-Wales it has increased in real terms by 31.6% (around £445). In England under successive Tory and Labour governments, it has slightly increased.
  
  Council tax is also cheaper in every Band (A-H) in Scotland, when compared with England and Wales, and will likely remain so given the Council Tax freeze the SNP Scottish Government has recently announced, which has not been replicated elsewhere in the UK.
  
  The figures come after reports revealed the Labour Party’s ‘shocking’ plans to raise council tax by 32% in East Lothian, which has been stopped in its tracks by the SNP’s council tax freeze.
  
  Commenting, Anum Qaisar MP, the SNP’s Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said:
  
  “These figures show that only the SNP can be trusted to stand up for the people of Scotland - and keep money in their pockets.
  
  “Whilst the average amount of council tax in Scotland has decreased since the SNP came to power, in Labour-run Wales it has gone up by hundreds of pounds, and in England the Tories have done nothing to try to bring it down in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.
  
  “On top of this, Labour were planning to hike council tax by hundreds of pounds for residents in East Lothian before the SNP brought in the council tax freeze, showing just how out-of-touch Keir Starmer’s party are.
  
  “Whilst Labour and the Tories support damaging policies like Brexit, NHS privatisation and welfare cuts the SNP is saving families thousands of pounds through the council tax freeze, Scottish Child Payment and other policies that are helping to keep money in people’s pockets during this Westminster cost of living crisis.
  
  “With Westminster taking money away, and making people poorer, it’s clear Scotland needs the full powers of independence to protect families and boost household incomes. Independent countries like Scotland are wealthier and fairer than the UK - so the question is, why not Scotland?" 
  
  ENDS
  
  Notes for editors:

1. The table below shows year-on-year changes in average council tax payable per dwelling in England, Scotland and Wales, in both £ sterling and in percentage terms. This is adjusted for inflation using the GDP deflator, smoothed across 2020/21 to adjust for movement in the deflator caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This shows that the average council tax payable per dwelling has generally increased more slowly in real terms in Scotland than in either England or Wales, and has decreased more frequently.

In real terms, the average amount of council tax payable per dwelling in Scotland was about £101 lower (-7.1%) in 2023/24 than it was in 2007/08; in Wales it was about £445 higher (31.6%).
 

2. Average current tax rates by band for England, Scotland and Wales are shown in the table below. Note that in all three countries, rates for all other bands are set as a ratio relative to band D. All of the figures below were therefore estimated by applying the appropriate ratio to the band D average for each country (by StatsWales for the Wales figures, and by the Library for England and Scotland). We also provide the average tax payable per dwelling, which takes into account the distribution of dwellings into the various bands.