Claims of pensions' share of council tax disputed
Dundee City Council, Angus Council and CoSLA have denied that half of all money raised through council tax is spent on pensions.
- By Stefan Morkis
- Published in the Courier : 28.07.10
- Published online : 28.07.10 @ 04.14pm
Figures released under Freedom of Information legislation revealed the city council raked in £57.3 million in council tax last year.
The total bill for the pension fund came to £30.4 million — equivalent to more than half the total income from council tax. But a city council spokesman said council tax only accounts for 12% of its total income, which exceeds £300 million.
He said, "Around 6% of Dundee City Council's total income is spent on pension contributions. More than 80% of the council's income is provided by the Scottish Government, with council tax accounting for around 12% of total income."
A CoSLA spokeswoman said suggesting a direct link between council tax income and pension payments was disingenuous.
"Council tax revenues are part of councils' overall funding to pay for a vast range of services to communities. There's no link whatsoever between council tax revenue and the amount to be paid in pension costs."
An Angus Council spokesman said the local authority did not allocate its budget to specific departments until after council tax is combined with its government grant allocation.
This means there are no figures to show what proportion of council tax is spent on pension funds. But pension costs only account for 6% of the annual budget.
The spokesman said, "Council tax revenue contributes just 17% to the council's overall net revenue budget, with the majority (83%) coming from government grant.
"That revenue budget pays for over 100 services provided to the public as well as meeting salary and pension costs of the staff who deliver these services.
"It is therefore not accurate to present any single cost such as roads, social work, education, or pensions as a percentage of council tax income.
"The amount raised from council tax is added to the whole pot, it is not assigned to a specific service or cost. In the present financial year, pension costs represent 6% of the council's revenue budget."
Photo used under a Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user alancleaver_2000.
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