Warning of two further years of cuts for councils
SCOTLAND’S councils are facing at least two more years of funding cuts which could damage public services and lead to more tax rises.
A respected economic body has predicted that hundreds of millions of pounds will be ripped out of council budgets over the next two years.
The move is expected to mean that more local authorities increase council tax next year – after some families saw their bills rocket by up £554 this year as a result of SNP reforms which hammered the middle classes.
It will also force councils to consider more cuts, with everything from school cleaners and teachers to public toilets and bin collections already facing cutbacks as a result of recent funding reductions.
The Fraser of Allander Institute report predicts the local government settlement will reduce by 2.6 per cent, equivalent to around £250million, in the financial year beginning next month, followed by a further 1.8 per cent reduction in 2019/20.
The report, commissioned by the Scottish Local Government Partnership (SLGP), says that last year the SNP made three high-profile spending commitments regarding the NHS, police and free childcare.
It says that if these continue to represent policy the implication for ‘unprotected’ spending is likely to be substantial and some degree of real-terms cut seems inevitable.
The report concludes: ‘Overall, the future funding outlook for local government remains uncertain. The Scottish Government has only set a one-year budget for 2017/18.
‘The outlook for the Scottish Government’s block grant from Westminster, together with the Scottish Government’s stated spending commitments and tax plans, implies that local government should expect further real-terms falls in its budget over the next two years.’
From next month everyone living in Band E-H homes will see their council tax bills soar as a result of the SNP Government’s reforms.
On average across Scotland, the changes will mean Band E bills will rise by £106, Band F by £207, Band G by £335 and Band H by £517. The biggest increase is in Aberdeen, where Band H charges will rise by £554.
In addition, one in four of Scotland’s local authorities opted to increase council tax by 3 per cent from next month.
Further cuts to their funding could force more councils to consider more tax rises in future years.
Jenny Laing is leader of Aberdeen City Council and convener of the SLGP, which consists of four of the country’s biggest local authorities.
She said: ‘Day after day we learn more about the SNP Government’s contempt for councils and this latest report by Fraser of Allander shows there are more budget cuts to come.
‘How are we expected to deliver the critical services which ordinary families depend upon if Nicola Sturgeon and her Finance Secretary keep slashing our grants?
‘I am calling for an urgent Holyrood inquiry in an attempt to bring some common sense to the situation.
‘This position is not sustainable and we need to force a reversal in policy by this SNP administration which keeps piling financial misery on to the people of Scotland.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The Government has treated local government very fairly.
‘Local authority funding between 2010-11 and 2017-18 is broadly the same as the reduction in the Scottish Government’s budget imposed by the UK Government over the same period.’
‘I am calling for an urgent inquiry’