Run a Citizens’ Assembly on Council Tax reform

Our verdict

Status

This pledge is in progress. The 2021-22 Programme for Government, released in September 2021, included detail on plans for council tax reform. The administration committed to establishing a working group on the topic deliberative engagement on local government funding, explicitly inclusive of council tax, indicating that this would culminate in a Citizens’ Assembly to address the subject. The government also indicated that this assembly would be convened during the current parliament and that it would respond to any resulting report within six months. In November 2021, in its response to the first Citizens’ Assembly report, the Scottish Government reiterated its intention to run a Citizens’ Assembly to address council tax.

A Fairer, Greener Scotland: Programme for Government 2021-22 (Scottish Government, 7th September 2021)

Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland – Doing Politics Differently report: Scottish Government Response (Scottish Government , 23rd November 2021)

Other pledges

The SNP also promised to respond to the report of the first Citizens’ Assembly, hold citizens’ assemblies annually, institute one for the under-16s and run them on a variety of other topics, including the role of local government, assisted dying, drug decriminalisation, and issues surrounding the type of country and independent Scotland would be.