SLC spending to be reviewed by MSPs

The way South Lanarkshire Council plans and spends its under-pressure budget is set to be scrutinised by a Holyrood committee.

And councils across Scotland have been warned that they face a period of unprecedented uncertainty.

The Scottish Parliament’s local government and communities committee has announced a review into local government spending ahead of its scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s draft budget 2018/19, which should be revealed towards the end of this year.

As part of its work, the committee will ask local authorities prioritise spending and assess the impact of increased charges.

MSPs will also explore the ways in which local government finances may evolve over time, including how communities can have a say in how one per cent of council funds are spent.

Convener of the committee, Bob Doris MSP, said:“We want to ensure that a fully transparent position of local government finances can be established, which takes into account other funding streams within councils such as pupil equity funds, health and social care integration funds and City Deal resources.

“While local authorities have been making savings over previous years, the future shape of the local government settlement is changing and this may pose a level of uncertainty they’ve not previously had to cope with.”

Members of the public can also have their say during the review.

Paul Manning, executive director of finance and corporate resources at SLC, said: “The council will co-operate with any request for information made by the local government and communities committee.”