5. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support responsible and ethical tax collection practices. (S6O-02176)

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of ensuring that responsible and ethical tax collection practices are in place and the role of the tax collection agencies in that regard.

Robust governance arrangements are in place with HM Revenue and Customs and Revenue Scotland, which both have a statutory function to protect revenue against fraud and tax avoidance. Local authorities are responsible for the collection of council tax and non-domestic rates. The Scottish Government has empowered them to tackle avoidance loopholes and encourage them to share good practice on debt assistance and collection.

Paragraph 28 of the fair work agreement between Scottish ministers and civil service trade unions states:

“Scottish ministers are committed to publicly run, publicly delivered public services and are committed against the outsourcing of public services.”

The outsourcing of tax collection is a test of that commitment.

Last year, a new contract was signed by HMRC with private debt collection agencies. Will the Scottish Government, which has a service-level agreement with HMRC, rule out the deployment of private debt collection agencies for the collection of Scottish income tax? Will the minister write into the agreement that income tax compliance in Scotland will be undertaken only by workers in the public sector, and does he accept that this is a question of moral responsibility and ethical standards and not simply an operational matter?

I thank Mr Leonard for his supplementary question. He raises very significant points, and I know that he does so from a place of genuine moral and ethical concern. As he will appreciate, HMRC operates UK-wide, and, with regard to its debt collection practices in Scotland, it partakes in debt collection relating not only to the devolved aspects of Scottish income tax but to reserved taxes. One of those reserved taxes is national insurance, which could potentially be interlinked with debt pertaining to income tax.

Mr Leonard raised a lot of points. I will take them away and consider what further action can be taken, but I reiterate that HMRC operates UK-wide. Notwithstanding that, I will take the points away, and I will be happy to update him by correspondence in due course.