Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Scottish Government submission of 12 August 2021
PE1868/A: Support for working single parents
We are committed to reforming Council Tax to make it fairer. Whilst the present system is in place, our Council Tax Reduction Scheme provides relief to just under 500,000 low income households in Scotland. This reduces Council Tax liabilities according to income and need. The Scottish Government provided funding of £376 million to local government in 2020-21 in relation to the scheme. Anyone who thinks they may qualify for a reduction should contact their local council directly.
The Scotland Acts 2012 and 2016 provide the Scottish Parliament with power to set the rates and bands that apply to non-savings, non-dividend Income Tax in Scotland. Decisions on who is liable to Income Tax (sometimes referred to as the tax base) and setting the tax-free Personal Allowance remain reserved to the UK Government.
The matters referred to in the petition pertaining to Income Tax are beyond the devolved responsibility of the Scottish Parliament and, as such, the Scottish Government has no authority to intervene. However, we continue to press the UK Government to ensure that reserved policies take full account of the needs of Scotland. In the longer term, the Scottish Government’s position is that all tax powers should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament so that fiscal decisions that affect the people of Scotland can be made here.
Where we do have powers over taxation, we have used them to introduce a fair and progressive tax system, protecting lower and middle income earners and raising additional revenue, while supporting Scotland's economy and helping to fund the widest range of free-to-access public services in the UK.
Similarly, where we have powers over social security, we have introduced Scottish Child Payment which supports single parent families on a low income. This payment of £40 per week per eligible child has already reached over 78,000 children with at least one payment, as of the end of March.
The Scottish Child Payment represents an intervention to tackle child poverty which is unparalleled across the UK. We have committed to extending eligibility to under 16s, by the end of 2022 - subject to data on qualifying benefits being received from the DWP.
Our Scottish Child Payment together with Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods will provide over £5,300 of financial support for families by the time their first child turns six. For second and subsequent children this will provide over £5,000.
We will also double the payment to £80 every four weeks (£20 per week) by the end of this Parliament, setting out plans in due course.