Council

new relief exceeds amounts currently provided to council ALEOS, around £45 million, this additional relief benefit will be offset against grant allocation in the local government finance settlement.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Leisure and cultural venues currently run by council arm’s-length bodies will continue to benefit from charity relief from non-domestic rates, following our recent rejection of the recommendation from the external Barclay review to end this relief. However, to mitigate against further expansion of arm’s-length bodies, and to ensure the right balance between rates liabilities and protecting local services, we have decided to offset any additional relief benefit to councils.” Councils have called on the Scottish Government to provide extra funding in future budgets to allow them to deliver on its public sector pay policy without cutting services.

Ministers announced an end to the pay cap for public sector workers as part of their 2018/19 tax and spending plans.

A budget deal with the Scottish Greens means pay rises will now apply to 75 per cent of those employed in the public sector.

The Greens’ deal also won an additional £170 million for councils.