Decision to freeze council tax made too late for consultation, says Robison

Scotland’s Deputy First Minister has said the decision to freeze council tax next year was made too late for discussions with local authorities ahead of being announced.

Humza Yousaf used his conference speech this week to outline the policy, but he has encountered criticism from councils, his government partners the Scottish Greens and the STUC.

The policy, which he said would be fully funded, is a step back from previous plans featured in a consultation which could have seen council tax increase by 7.5% and 22.5% for the highest valued properties.

Following meetings with local authority body Cosla, which said it had not been informed of the decision until it was mentioned in Mr Yousaf’s speech, Shona Robison said it was made int the 24 to 48 hours before the announcement.

“I think because the decision to go ahead was made late on, there was therefore not the opportunity to do the normal consultation and communications what we would have around decisions like this,” she said on BBC Radio Scotland on Thursday.

“And I understand the concern about that and I spoke to Cosla directly, myself, yesterday and I understand their concerns about that.”

The Deputy First Minister also said the announcement had not been signed off by Cabinet.

But Ms Robison assured councils that any increases planned by local authorities to council tax would be funded by the Scottish Government.

“This is a one-off freeze that will mean the Scottish Government will fully fund the council tax rises which councils would otherwise have been putting through which would have impacted on household budgets.”

Asked if high rises in council tax will also be covered by the Scottish Government, Ms Robison said the “quantum” would be negotiated with Cosla to ensure they were “fully funded in a reasonable and fair manner”.

Scottish Tory finance spokeswoman, Liz Smith, said: “Shona Robison has effectively confirmed that this announcement was rushed out for political reasons and to secure easy headlines for her party during their conference and pad out Humza Yousaf’s keynote speech.

“That lack of proper process has completely undermined local authorities, which is typical of the SNP’s attitude towards councils during their 16 years in power.”

The Verity House Agreement was signed earlier this year in a bid to reset the relationship between councils and central government, pledging to create a fiscal framework for councils – which was due to be in place by last month – that would ensure there were “no surprises” in budgetary announcements.

A statement from Cosla on Wednesday said the announcement “flies in the face” of the deal, but the Deputy First Minister stressed its importance.

“The Verity House Agreement is important for a number of reasons, not least the reduction of ring fencing, for example and of course moving forward with a different fiscal framework,” she said.

While it is not yet clear how much the Scottish Government will have to pay to local councils to cover the council tax freeze, Ms Robison, who also serves as the country’s Finance Secretary, will have a tough time setting this year’s budget.

She said earlier this year that the country faces a £1 billion black hole in its budget for 2024-25.

The Government now faces the prospect of having to fund the freeze, as well as a £500 million fund over the next five years for the renewable energy supply chain, £300 million over the next three years to address NHS waiting lists and the doubling of investment in the arts.

The Deputy First Minister said some of the cash could be drawn from capital budgets and it would be spread over multiple years.

She added: “Yes, there is a very challenging budget ahead of us.

“These announcements, of course, will be priorities within that difficult budget process.”

Ms Robison added that there will be “tough decisions” to be made when she lays out the draft budget in December.