Scottish Government plans to scrap council tax and introduce a local income tax could be scuppered by Westminster's refusal to pay council tax benefit. The SNP plans had been based on retaining the £400M a year rebate from Westminster. But the UK work and pensions secretary James Purnell said: ‘If they are promoting a system which is income-related and based on the ability to pay, then there is no need for a benefit on top of that. They can't have it both ways.' The Scottish Government claims the council tax benefit is ‘part and parcel' of the system of locally-raised tax to help fund local government services.
