By David Scott in Edinburgh
Councils across Scotland have agreed to freeze council tax bills for the second successive year.
Councils across Scotland have agreed to freeze council tax bills for the second successive year.Finance Secretary John Swinney had offered the councils a £70m grant incentive to prevent 2009/10 bills rising above the level for 2008/09. A hold on rises was initially agreed as part of the local government concordat drawn up by ministers and council leaders more than a year ago.
No increases were imposed by any of the 32 councils in 2008/09. The decision to maintain the policy in the next financial year is despite warnings from some council leaders that another freeze was in doubt because of the credit crunch and its impact on budgets.
Swinney said the move would provide vital relief for households at a time when the effects of the economic downturn were being felt across the country.
He added: ‘This government is doing all it can to help families and households through these tough economic times. We know that the punishing rises in council tax we saw before this government came to power are the last thing anyone struggling with domestic finances needs at the moment.’
Councils that were willing to agree to a further freeze were offered a share of a £70m fund given as part of the £11.8bn local government funding package announced last week.
Swinney stunned MSPs during his announcement on the funding settlement when he disclosed the government’s decision to ditch the party’s flagship local income tax policy until at least the end of the current parliamentary session.
Swinney pledged that the Scottish Government would maintain the council tax policy for the rest of the session, which is due to end in 2011.
The finance secretary has come under fire over his claim that a ‘swingeing spending cut’ in the Scottish budget was one of the reasons for ditching the local income tax plans.
Labour accused ministers of ‘dishonest scaremongering’, claiming the budget was due to rise by more than £1bn in each of the next three years.
A spokesman for First Minister Alex Salmond said the local income tax decision was made after considering other issues, including the implications of a £500m budget cut next year imposed by Westminster.
