Dundee West Labour
4 March 2020
Citizen’s Advice Scotland has highlighted that a shocking 88 per cent of debt enforcement actions by sheriff officers are in recovery of warrants for council tax debt.
Citizen’s Advice Scotland stated that council tax debt is now the most common reason people seek assistance from the organisation and that council tax debt in Scotland is a growing issue.
This year’s SNP-Green budget has once again failed to provide local councils with the funding it needs and has continued to delegate obligations from central government to councils without financial compensation.
As such, councils have been forced to raise council tax across Scotland with the majority of councils already declared raising council tax by 4.84 per cent, the highest rise possible.
By passing further obligations onto local government without proper financial support, Scottish Labour has suggested the SNP is hiding the true regressive nature of the budget behind smoke and mirrors.
Commenting, Scottish Labour Local Government Spokesperson Sarah Boyack said:
“ This year’s budget, like past SNP-Green budgets, has entirely failed to provide local government with the funding that it needs and will only cause council tax debt to soar, hitting the most deprived in our society hardest.
“When faced with tough decisions over funding the SNP has decided to yet again balance their budget on the backs of the most vulnerable in our society.
“Local Government has faced 13 years of disinvestment from the SNP and 13 years of increased delegation of roles from a central government shirking it’s duty.
“This is why Scottish Labour has called so persistently for a fair deal for local councils. By increasing council tax, the most vulnerable in our society suffer while wealth inequality is firmly entrenched.”
Citizen’s Advice Scotland has highlighted that a shocking 88 per cent of debt enforcement actions by sheriff officers are in recovery of warrants for council tax debt.
Citizen’s Advice Scotland stated that council tax debt is now the most common reason people seek assistance from the organisation and that council tax debt in Scotland is a growing issue.
This year’s SNP-Green budget has once again failed to provide local councils with the funding it needs and has continued to delegate obligations from central government to councils without financial compensation.
As such, councils have been forced to raise council tax across Scotland with the majority of councils already declared raising council tax by 4.84 per cent, the highest rise possible.
By passing further obligations onto local government without proper financial support, Scottish Labour has suggested the SNP is hiding the true regressive nature of the budget behind smoke and mirrors.
Commenting, Scottish Labour Local Government Spokesperson Sarah Boyack said:
“ This year’s budget, like past SNP-Green budgets, has entirely failed to provide local government with the funding that it needs and will only cause council tax debt to soar, hitting the most deprived in our society hardest.
“When faced with tough decisions over funding the SNP has decided to yet again balance their budget on the backs of the most vulnerable in our society.
“Local Government has faced 13 years of disinvestment from the SNP and 13 years of increased delegation of roles from a central government shirking it’s duty.
“This is why Scottish Labour has called so persistently for a fair deal for local councils. By increasing council tax, the most vulnerable in our society suffer while wealth inequality is firmly entrenched.”