Continued Petitions

PE1793, by Gordon Walker, calls on the Scottish Government to remove water and sewerage charges from all households in Scotland on a low income or benefits. The petition was last considered in November 2020, when the committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government. In response, the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform reiterated that the Scottish Government is of the view that water charges should remain linked to council tax bands because, in the vast majority of cases, that is an indication of the ability to pay.

The cabinet secretary highlights that the recently published principles of charging for 2021-27 include measures that seek to protect those who are least able to afford water charges, such as increasing the maximum discount that is available under the existing water charges reduction scheme and extending the scheme to include around 290,000 households that receive a 25 per cent single person discount. The cabinet secretary also notes that the Scottish Government is working closely with Citizens Advice Scotland on affordability and responsible debt recovery methods.

This is another interesting and important petition. We got a detailed response from the cabinet secretary. The point that there is a connection between a higher council tax band and income might in general be true, but we know that one reason why council tax is unpopular is because some people who have a relatively low income, particularly older people, can be in a higher band property. That has been a bone of contention for a while. There is also a bone of contention for local authorities, who feel that they are accountable for water charges over which they have no control.

I am encouraged by the fact that Citizens Advice Scotland has engaged with the issue. Many of the issues will not be resolved until we find a way of funding local government that people find satisfactory and until we address the question of water charges separately.

The committee has had a good look at the issue. I am absolutely confident that discussion on the matter will be on-going. The Local Government and Communities Committee, Citizens Advice Scotland and various other groups will not let it go. For the time being, we cannot take the petition any further. I am reassured that the Scottish Government is working closely with Citizens Advice Scotland on the matters.

You are right that there will be a challenge in building a consensus on local taxation, as that issue has been with us since the beginning of the Parliament.

We agree to close the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders. We recognise the issues that are involved, and we note the increase in the discount. Most importantly, we want to underline that the Scottish Government must continue to work closely with Citizens Advice Scotland on the question of affordability and responsible debt recovery methods. As Tom Mason and others have highlighted, in any discussion on local taxation, it is important to take into account the question of water charges.

We agree to close the petition. We thank the petitioner for engaging with the committee in the way that they have done.