SIC challenges council tax figures announced by MSP

Shetland Islands council has responded after an MSP insisted thousands of people across Scotland were forced to apply for Council Tax exemption.

Labour’s Rhoda Grant demanded action to protect families and households she said were facing a ‘cost of living crisis’.

The list MSP highlighted statistics published by the Scottish government that claim to show Shetland having as many as 1,180 applying for exemption from their council tax.

But the SIC insists that figure is wrong. It says just over 1,000 – 1,025 – households in Shetland were in receipt of a council tax reduction – last March.

It said the figure had risen to 1,129 households by the end of December – an increase of 104 households over the first nine months of 2020/21.

The council said these were households in receipt of a council tax reduction, due to the households being classed as being on a low income. But they had not applied to be exempt.