Assessors
The Lands Valuation (Scotland) Act 1854 established a uniform system of valuation and assessment by requiring the commissioners of supply in each county and the magistrates in each royal burgh and parliamentary burgh in Scotland to appoint assessors to make up an annual valuation roll for the area.[1] The valuation rolls were used to assess properties for local assessments and taxes. They recorded the yearly rent or value of ‘all Lands and Heritages’ along with the names and designations of the proprietors and the tenants, listing properties whose actual or theoretical annual rental value was estimated to be above a statutory minimum. Some tenants were not listed individually if their rent fell below the minimum amount of £4 per annum. When towns acquired powers under the Police Acts to levy assessments, they were required to use the valuation rolls to draw up annual assessment rolls.[2]
The 1854 Act also established a separate Crown appointment of an Assessor of Railways and Canals and enabled water, gas and other companies to opt to have their lands assessed by this railway and canals assessor rather than by the local county or burgh assessor.[3] The name was changed to the Assessor of Public Undertakings (Scotland) in 1934 and the post abolished in 1997.[4]
In 1975 county and burgh assessors were replaced with regional and islands assessors.[5] Under the Local Government (Scotland) etc Act, 1994, the new councils were to become the valuation authorities for their area and were required to appoint an assessor. However, before this came into force a subsequent statutory instrument created ten valuation joint boards as independent, autonomous local authorities covering similar geographic areas as the former regions.[6]
Assessors were responsible for compiling valuation rolls and complete series of these,1855-1989, for the whole of Scotland, arranged by county, burgh or (after 1975) region, are held by the National Records of Scotland. Indexed digital copies of these are available on the ScotlandsPeople website (fees apply). Some local authority archives services and local studies libraries hold less comprehensive runs of valuation rolls for particular counties, burghs and regions. See the Knowledge Base entry on valuation rolls for more details.
Compilers: SCAN contributors (2000); Editor: Elspeth Reid (2021)
Related Knowledge Base entries
Bibliography
Ferguson, Keith, An introduction to local government in Scotland (Glasgow: The Planning Exchange, 1984)
McDonald, D., ‘Historical Review of Valuation and Assessment in Edinburgh’ in Historical studies in the development of local government services in Edinburgh Series I (National Association of Local Government Officers, Edinburgh and District Branch, 1935-36), pp. 23-39
McKechnie, Hector, ‘Valuation’ in Source book and history of administrative law in Scotland ed. by M. R. McLarty (Hodge, 1956) pp. 213-19
Whyte, W. E., Local Government in Scotland (Hodge & Co, 1936)
References
[1] Valuation of Lands (Scotland) Act 1854 (17 & 18 Vict. c.91).
[2] General Police & Improvement (Scotland) Act, 1862 (25 & 26 Vict. c.101) s.84, s.91, s.102; Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c.55) ss.340-348.
[3] Valuation of Lands (Scotland) Act 1854 (17 & 18 Vict. c.91) s.23.
[4] Assessor of Public Undertakings (Scotland) Act (24 &25 Geo. V c.22); Local Government and Rating Act 1997 (c.29).
[5] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65) s.116.
[6] Local Government etc (Scotland) Act, 1994 (c.39) s27; Valuation Joint Boards (Scotland) Order 1995 (1995 No. 2589 (S.186)).