Scots local authorities still owed £100m in unpaid council tax

Almost £100 million in council tax bills went unpaid across Scotland last year, according to new data.

A total of £2.076 billion was billed in council tax for Scotland in 2014-15 – but £95m was not collected.

Council Tax collection statistics show that a total of £2.076 billion was billed in Council Tax for Scotland as a whole in 2014-15, of which £1.981 billion was collected by 31 March 2015.

This equates to a provisional in-year Council Tax collection rate of 95.4 per cent marking a continuation of a steady improvement since 1998-99.

The statistics also showed that more than half a million Scots benefited from the council tax reduction scheme – with a total of £345.9m awarded in 2014-15.

But the 525,640 Scots who received this benefit was down 4.8 per cent on previous years.

Pensioners, families, lone parents and disabled people who are struggling to pay bills are among those who receive the reduction of £12.74 each week.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the fall shows “steady decline” in the need for support following the economic recovery.

But he added: “Anyone who is having difficulty in meeting their council tax liability and believes they may be eligible for support should contact their local authority, who will be able to offer advice on how to apply for the council tax reduction scheme.”