Scottish Government council tax reform proposals breach international law according to Green MSP

Scottish Parliament - Image credit: Holyrood

Scottish Government plans to take money from council tax and direct it to headteachers breaches international law, according to a Green MSP.

Andy Wightman MSP, local government spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, claims the Scottish Government's proposal to alter council tax and appropriate the additional funds contravenes European legislation.

Councils normally keep the council tax they receive and decide how it will be spent.

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Legislation has been set out in the Scottish Parliament aimed at increasing the top bands of council tax, with extra revenue raised by local authorities being taken by the Scottish Government for spending on educational attainment.

Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Derek Mackay, confirmed yesterday that the necessary legislation had been laid at Holyrood for reforms to take effect from April 2017.

He said an additional £500m would be raised over the current parliament, with the extra funds distributed to headteachers to invest in schools directly and improve education.

Mackay said: “The reforms I have introduced today will not only protect household incomes and make local taxation fairer, they will also benefit thousands of young people throughout Scotland as set out in our Education Delivery Plan.

“Although there will be no change for three out of four Scottish households in terms of how much council tax they pay as a result of these reforms, schools across the country will notice the difference this significant investment will make.

“This Government has made it clear time and time again that improving the life chances of Scotland’s young people remains at the top of our priorities. Today we have taken further action to make this vision a reality.

“Closing the attainment gap and giving our children the best possible start in life will ensure a more prosperous nation and I am pleased these reforms will be able to play their part in realising this.”

The Scottish Government has not yet explained how it will redistribute the funds to schools.

Criticising the Scottish Government proposals, Wightman said: “The cross-party commission on local tax concluded that the council tax is unfair and must go.

“It’s extraordinary that the Scottish Government, which talks up progressive measures, remains committed to such a regressive tax.

“The changes being proposed are meaningless without re-evaluation. As we know, most properties are in the wrong council tax band.

“Raising funds to invest in schools to close the attainment gap is perfectly reasonable, but such national measures must be tackled using national revenue, not a raid on local funds on top of almost a decade of a funding freeze on local authorities.

“The package being proposed by Scottish ministers is in breach of international law, namely the European Charter of Local Self-Government.

"Greens will continue to put forward alternative ways of raising revenue fairly for public services while at the same time giving local communities genuine autonomy to decide local priorities.”