Independent Review of Local Government Finance

In June 2004, the Scottish Executive launched the Independent Review of Local Government Finance, and subsequently appointed a Local Government Finance Review Committee. The remit of the Committee is to examine options for local taxation, including: reform of Council Tax; to identify the pros and cons of implementing any changes to the local taxation system in Scotland and, to make recommendations.

To inform its work, the Committee commissioned research to explore public understanding of, and attitudes towards, local government funding in Scotland. A module of 10 questions was commissioned in MORI Scotland's Social Policy Monitor.

The questions in the local taxation module looked at issues relating to:

• satisfaction with different types of taxation, including Council Tax
• the impact of Council Tax on voting behaviour
• the balance of responsibilities between the Scottish Executive and local authorities
• the balance of funding between the Scottish Executive and local authorities.

The key findings of the study were:

• Three in five respondents were dissatisfied with Council Tax, while around one in five were satisfied. The only other form of taxation that received a lower satisfaction rating was Petrol Duty.
• The main reasons given for dissatisfaction with Council Tax were that it is too expensive (54%), that it takes no account of earnings/ability to pay (31%) and that it bears no relation to the services people use (25%).
• Just over a third of respondents (35%) were unable to identify into which Council Tax band their property falls. This rose to 47% among people living in the most deprived areas of the country and to 71% among 16-24 year olds.
• Around a third of respondents said that the level of Council Tax was a key factor determining how they vote in local elections. People aged 60-74 years were particularly likely to say this.
• Respondents had a reasonable awareness of the current balance of responsibility between the Scottish Executive and local councils. Majorities knew that local councils are responsible for roads and lighting, refuse collection, and sports and leisure facilities. Similarly most recognised that health care is the responsibility of the Executive.
• In terms of the desired balance of responsibilities, majorities felt that refuse collection, roads and lighting and sports and leisure facilities should be controlled mainly by local councils. Opinion was more divided with respect to school education, police and fire services, and health care. That said, there was a consensus that the Executive should have at least some control over these services. For social work services, the preference was more in the direction of localised control.
• Respondents tended to overestimate how much out of every 163100 spent by their local authority, is raised through Council Tax. The mean estimate was 16344.
• Just over a third of respondents felt that their local authority should be given more revenue raising powers, while around half were happy with the present situation.

A Fairer Way: Report by the Local Government Finance Review Committee pdf, 710KB

Technical details

1,017 interviews were conducted across Scotland between 20th August and 2nd October, 2005. All interviews were conducted face to face, in respondents' homes using Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing.