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LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE REVIEW COMMITTEE CONSULTATION: FEEDBACK REPORT
Who Responded
1. The Committee received around 350 responses in total
following this consultation 1. Around 290 were
from members of the public and approximately
30% of these described themselves as pensioners. We also
received responses from a number of organisations and groups,
which are listed at Annex A.
2. In addition to these replies, Help the Aged ran a postcard
campaign. The pre-printed postcards asked the Committee
to consider carefully the effect of local taxation on pensioner
households with low or fixed incomes. We received around
450 of these postcards. The Committee also received 13 copies
of a petition calling for the introduction of a Local Sales
Tax in place of Council Tax. Overall there were just over
100 signatories to this petition.
How We Will Use the Responses
3. The Committee has read every response with interest and
care. The comments received have been most valuable in helping
us to identify and prioritise issues we need to consider
more closely before we produce our report. Annex
B summarises some of the themes emerging from the responses.
4. Given the sample size of people who responded, these
submissions do not necessarily reflect the views of the
population of Scotland as a whole. So, in order to supplement
the valuable evidence that the responses have given us,
one of our tasks before we produce our report will be to
obtain a more detailed and representative impression of
the public's views. We also need to improve our understanding
of the reasons for these views and the issues that matter
most to the public, so we can attempt to tailor our recommendations
to reflect the public's main concerns as far as we
can. This is on top of detailed discussions and investigations
on the operation of different taxation models.
5. We are due to present our final report to Ministers by
Summer 2006. Below are brief details of some of the work
we expect to undertake between now and then.
- Public Surveys. We are commissioning
public survey work, which we hope will give us more representative
and detailed information about the views of the people
of Scotland on local taxation.
- Oral Evidence. We shall convene a series
of regional meetings across Scotland, to take oral evidence
from a range of invited parties. The purpose of these
sessions will be to test these organisations and groups
more closely on issues of concern to the Committee.
- "Proofing" Discussions. We are holding
a number of fact-finding discussions with certain stakeholders,
in order to test and assess the practical effects of potential
approaches.
- Research. It is likely that we shall
commission research to improve further our understanding
on a number of detailed issues. Further Contact
6. Although this review is independent of the Scottish Executive,
we have arranged for copies of consultation responses to be
put on display in the Scottish Executive Library, K Spur,
Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD. Copies
of responses can also be provided by post. Charges for photocopies
are made on a cost-recovery basis. To request copies by post
and enquire about charges or make an appointment to view responses
at the library, contact the Library on 0131 244 4552
or SElibrary@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.
We are only able to make available or copy responses where
the author has informed us that they are content for their
submission to be made public.
7. The Committee continues to welcome views and evidence.
Because we expect to face a challenging programme of work
before we produce our final report, we cannot guarantee that
we shall be able to take as much account of any submissions
we receive in future as we could of responses to the recent
consultation. Nevertheless, we will consider all submissions
carefully and, as far as possible, take these comments on
board as we continue our further work.
8. Any further views or evidence should be sent by e-mail
to lgfrc@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
or addressed to the Local Government Finance Review Committee,
c/o Scottish Executive, Area 3-J (North), Victoria Quay, Leith,
EDINBURGH, EH6 6QQ.
1 This includes 20 responses collated by Dundee
City Council.
Local Government Finance Review Committee
July 2005
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