Recommendation 26

The Scottish Government has confirmed it will make amendments at Stage 2, the content of which has not been considered. Given the expedited time frame for consideration of the Bill, the Stage 2 period will not be long. It is therefore imperative that the Scottish Government provides clarity on the time frames for consultation and transition periods where local authorities have already begun implementation of a percentage-based scheme and wish to change to a fixed-rate model, or where local authorities wish to increase fixed-rate charges to reflect inflation.