Council spending reduced by 11%

ScOTTISH councils have reduced their spending by 11% between 2010/11 and 2015/16, according to a new report.

Investment in areas such as child protection has increased significantly, while leisure services, parks and road maintenance have seen cuts.

Analysis of local authority spending is contained in the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) report from council body cosla’s improvement service.

It found Scotland’s 32 councils reduced their spending from £17.18 billion in 2010/11 to £15.3 billion in 2015/16 — an 11% real terms cut.

Education spending was down 4%, while child protection has grown by 19%.

Elsewhere investment in adult social care increased by 6% and waste disposal spend linked to the transition from landfill to recycling increased by 11%.

Substantial cuts to spending were seen in roads maintenance, down 21%, and parks and open spaces, down 18%.