POLL tax debt totalling more than £100million will be written off in Glasgow following an announcement by Alex Salmond.

The First Minister revealed plans to legislate to stop councils chasing people for cash still owed more than 20 years after the tax was scrapped.

The Scottish Government decided to act after it emerged some councils were considering using the enlarged, post referendum electoral register to track down people who still owed poll tax.

The biggest outstanding bill for unpaid poll tax is in Glasgow, where more than one quarter of Scotland's arrears is still owed from the four years when the charge was in place.

The council said it has been collecting around £4000 to £5000 a year from previously agreed repayment plans and did not use electoral data to pursue new cases.

Although officers have still been pursuing debt, the total amount was written off from the balance sheet years ago and has no impact on the council's budget.

Paul Rooney, City Treasurer, said: "As the First Minister knows, we are already years beyond the point at which tracing poll tax arrears ceased to be cost effective - and new electoral data would not have made the slightest bit of difference to that fact.

"In Glasgow, we will continue to focus on current collections and breaking the cycle of debt that can hurt households that repeatedly struggle with their Council Tax."

Mr Salmond said the Scottish Government will pass a law meaning councils will no longer be able to collect Poll Tax arrears and will pay some compensation in line with collection rates.

He said: "The poll tax was a hated levy, which poured untold misery on communities across Scotland.

"It was a hugely discredited tax, even before it was brought in - and it was rightly consigned to history just four years after its introduction.

"The electoral register should not be used to collect debts from a defunct tax - something which is even more important given the unprecedented high levels of democratic engagement we have seen recently."

He said collection has fallen from £1.3m a year four years ago to less than £400,000 last year.

stewart.paterson@eveningtimes.co.uk