Friday May 22nd 2026
Edinburgh City Chambers
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Kirsty Paterson
Councillors in Edinburgh have called for “lessons to be learned” after an error meant around 320 students were wrongly told they were no longer eligible for council tax exemptions.
The SNP’s newly elected group leader, Councillor Lesley Macinnes, told a meeting of the City of Edinburgh Council this week (Thursday) that it was important to examine “how this happened, what lessons have to be learned from it and how to avoid it in the future”.
Eligible full-time students can earn a 100 percent council tax exemption if their course runs for more than 21 hours a week, saving them anywhere from £1042 to £3,830, depending on their tax band.
But an error in interpreting the rules meant that some full-time students at Edinburgh College were told they were no longer eligible, sparking fears of financial hardship.
Members heard that since the situation had been highlighted, council officers have been working with Edinburgh College to ensure that exemptions are being reinstated and cases reassessed.
The SNP’s motion called for a report looking at: how and why the original decision was taken; what evidence was relied upon; what has changed to allow exemptions to now be granted; and what steps are being taken to prevent recurrence.
It said that “students should not bear the consequences of administrative or interpretative errors”.
Cllr Macinnes also asked that “all affected students be reassessed without delay because clearly that delay imposes yet further financial difficulties on the students who are impacted”.
She said that the motion was asking for a “very close look at the systems the council employs and a warning bell that this kind of thing cannot happen again for a group of our residents”.
Conservative councillor Iain Whyte proposed ‘no action’ be taken, saying that the council tax team “were already addressing the issue for the students concerned”.
He said he had been told that the council tax team had reviewed relevant cases and exemptions had been applied, while enforcement action had been withdrawn and credit scores had not been impacted.
He told the meeting that the motion was “completely unneccesary” and suggested it should be withdrawn, saying further reports were “a waste of officer time, public money and our time at the committee”.
Cllr Macinnes, however, said that taking no action “ignores the impact this had on people living in vulnerable situations and helps to sweep it under the carpet”.
“The fact that the situation is being rectified is a very good thing – what’s not a good thing is that it occurred in the first place.”
The SNP’s motion was supported by 46 votes to 10.
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