Number of council tax reduction recipients in Scotland decreased to record low in the course of 2022/2023
New Scottish Government statistics also highlight that CTR recipients saved more than £800 a year on council tax last year on average, and that almost 60 per cent were in one of the 30 per cent most deprived areas in Scotland
The number of council tax reduction (CTR) recipients in Scotland decreased to a record low in the course of 2022/2023.
'The statistics are based on monthly data extracts from local authorities, and cover the time period April 2022 to March 2023. This publication will also make references to the previously published March 2022 statistics for comparative purposes.'
The Scottish Government goes on to say that there were 454,350 CTR recipients in Scotland in March 2023, a decrease of 1.8 per cent from 462,670 in March 2022, and that –
'… the total number of CTR recipients in Scotland decreased over the course of 2022/2023 with the largest change, a decrease of 1.2 per cent, observed in October 2022 compared to the previous month. The number of CTR recipients in Scotland remained relatively steady between March 2022 and September 2022 then started to decrease, reaching a record low of 454,180 in December 2022. From January 2023 to March 2023, the number of recipients rose and fell again, remaining just above the record low.’
NB – supplementary tables accompanying the statistics show that the number of CTR recipients last peaked in the Covid-19 pandemic, at just over half a million (501,680) in August 2020, before trending downwards since then.
Elsewhere, the statistics show that –
the provisional yearly expenditure on CTR in Scotland in 2022/2023 was £366.3 million;
on average, CTR recipients saved over £800 a year on council tax as at March 2023, compared to £750 at the same point in 2022; and
of all CTR recipients in March 2023 –
58 per cent (261,220 recipients) were in one of the 30 per cent most deprived areas in Scotland;
36 per cent (163,180 recipients) were aged 65 or over; and
17 per cent (75,100 recipients) were lone parents.