Item 15 Appendix 1
West Dunbartonshire Council · 25 March 2026
Back to West Dunbartonshire Council — 25 March 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Response ID ANON-N4UP-4A7Y-C Submitted to The Future of Council Tax in Scotland Submitted on 2026-01-20 08:29:47 Council tax system 1 Do you think the current council tax system in Scotland needs to be reformed? Yes 2 Do you think property values used to calculate council tax should be updated to reflect current market values, instead of using 1991 values (i.e. should there be a revaluation of every property in Scotland)? Yes 3 How often do you think property values should be reviewed and updated for council tax purposes? Every 5 years If other, please specify in the text box below: 4 Following a revaluation, do you think council tax band property value thresholds should be set at a national level or vary by council area? Thresholds should be set nationally to be the same across all council areas 5 Which of the following is most important to you in the design of council tax bands? Ensuring tax rises between bands are gradual and predictable (differentiation) If other, please specify in the text box below: Designing a new council tax system 6 Which of the potential council tax systems do you most support? Revalued 12-band (differentiated) system 7 Which of the potential council tax systems set out in question 6 do you least support? Revaluation with 8 existing bands Transition, phasing and support schemes 8 Do you support the establishment of a transitional relief scheme to limit how much a household’s council tax bill can increase each year following reform? Yes 9 Which transitional relief scheme would you prefer? Other, please specify below If other, please specify in the free text box below:: Increase by one band per year until reach revised band. Any decrease in bands should be immediate. 10 Do you support the establishment of a council tax deferral scheme for homeowners? No 11 In your view, who should be eligible to receive support from a council tax deferral scheme? If other, please specify in the text box below: 12 Should households who defer payment pay interest on the amount deferred? Yes 13 Do you think the Council Tax Reduction scheme should be expanded to support more households following any reform? Appendix 1
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Yes 14 Which changes to the Council Tax Reduction scheme would you support? Other, please specify below If other, please specify in the text box below: Increase earnings and capital disregard, review childcare costs levels and reducing taper to increase support. This would increase the cost of the Council Tax Reduction scheme however the changes are necessary to the need of local tax payers. Other comments 15 Do you have any information you wish to share that has not already been discussed in the paper on the impact of council tax reform on any of the following: Please add any comments in the box below: • A 12-band differentiated system introduces smaller increases in tax between bands to reduce the large jumps in between tax bands, reduces the tax rate for lower value properties and increases the rate for higher value properties. As such it is more aligned to ability to pay. As West Dunbartonshire Council has approximately 70% of properties in bands A to C, it would be unacceptable to be financially impacted as result of the re-banding with reductions in tax rate for lower valued properties. If re-banding results in reductions in estimated Council Tax income, the distribution model would need to be reviewed. • In addition to the introduction of higher bands there should also be a consideration of redistribution of the additional income generated from those higher bands to ensure the additional revenue generated nationally is distributed on a needs-based approach. As it stands the distribution model does not recognise that areas of higher deprivation tend to generate lower collection yields while having greater demand for public services. While it is recognised Council Tax is fundamentally a local tax, the current model is not ensuring taxation revenue is being distributed on the basis of need 16 Please provide any other comments or views on the consultation themes or council tax reform that you have not been able to share above. Please provide your comments in the text box below: There should be redistribution of the additional income generated from increased charges applied to second homes and long-term empty properties. Increasing the charges allows Councils with higher number of these properties to increase income however often these taxpayers do not access the services funded. Therefore the additonal income should be ringfenced and an incresase applied as a legislative requirement rather than local decision. The 25% single person discount (SPD) should be replaced with an ability to pay scheme (already exists within the Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme). i.e. someone in receipt of full CTR and SPD, with the removal of SPD, the CTR would increase to cover the 25% SPD and the same would apply on percentage basis for those in receipt of partial CTR. Levels of water and sewerage reduction should be increased to those in receipt of CTR. Councils in more deprived areas have a higher level of CTR and residents are required to pay water and sewerage charges leading to further hardship. Those on full CTR should not have to pay water and sewerage charges. Therefore Water and Sewerage Reduction scheme should mirror the CTR scheme and award up to 100% relief. Finally, there is nothing in consultation on the impact of increased bandings on water and sewerage. For example, if they are to be linked to current bands: are they going to be set with the new banding structure, and if so, how is the additional revenue going to be accounted for. About you What is your name? Name: Laurence Slavin Are you responding as an individual or an organisation? Organisation What is your organisation? Organisation: West Dunbartonshire Council Further information about your organisation's response Please add any additional context: The response was shared with the leader of the Council, Leader of the Opposition Party and Chief Executive.
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For individual respondents, please tell us which local authority area(s) you live in?For organisational respondents, please tell us which local authority area(s) your organisation operates in? Council Area: If you pay council tax, please indicate which council tax band(s) apply to the property (or properties) for which you pay council tax? Not Answered The Scottish Government would like your permission to publish your consultation response. Please indicate your publishing preference: Publish response only (without name) Do you consent to Scottish Government contacting you again in relation to this consultation exercise? Yes What is your email address? Email: laurence.slavin@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Where did you hear about this consultation? Scottish Government website If other, please say where:: Evaluation How satisfied were you with this consultation? Slightly dissatisfied Please enter comments here.: The boxes for freetype answers were too restrictive in terms of character limits. How would you rate your satisfaction with using this platform (Citizen Space) to respond to this consultation? Slightly satisfied Please enter comments here.: