Council tax rates are to be frozen across Scotland, First Minister Humza Yousaf has announced.

The SNP leader made the announcement during his closing speech at his party’s conference in Aberdeen.

The Scottish government had previously proposed raising council tax rates by as much as 22.5% for homes in higher bands.

But Mr Yousaf has pledged they will remain at the current levels when councils set their budgets for 2024-25.

He described the proposed freeze as evidence of “the SNP delivering for people when they need it most”.

Mr Yousaf did not set out how the government would make up the budgetary shortfall for councils that would have raised taxes.

The levy generates about 13% of local government funding, with most of their cash coming from Holyrood funding.

Council tax had either been either frozen or capped at 3% since the SNP came to power in 2007, with the Scottish government providing local authorities with extra funding in return.

But councils have been allowed to use new powers to set their own rates for the past two years, with most areas seeing rises of between 4% and 7% this year – although residents of Orkney say their bills increase by 10%.

The SNP had a long-standing commitment to scrap and replace council tax and Mr Yousaf said he remained committed to reforming local taxation.