Council funding cut by £100 per person

TAYSIDE: Scottish Government claims local authority spending has been protected through direct payments

Funding for councils has been cut by £100 for every person in Tayside and Fife over the last five years, new research shows.

Residents of Perth and Kinross have suffered the area’s steepest reduction in revenue grants from the Scottish Government, with the cut amounting to £128 per head.

The figures, which were compiled by Holyrood’s independent researchers for Scottish Labour, represent the “price of SNP austerity”, according to the party’s chief whip James Kelly.

In Perth and Kinross, the total revenue grant – which covers day-to-day spending but not projects like new schools – fell from £1,748 per head in 2013-14 to £1,620 in 2018-19. Dundee experienced the smallest real-terms reduction in per head funding across Courier Country, from £2,052 to £1,981.

James Kelly said the funding cuts to “lifeline services” are “simply shocking”.

“These figures show the price of SNP austerity for individuals across Scotland,” he said.

“Labour would use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to end austerity and invest in our lifeline services for the many not the few.”

The average per head cut for Scotland’s mainland authorities was £118, or £137 if the islands are included.

The Scottish Government say local government’s spending power has been protected, with some central cash going to joint NHS and council budgets and directly to headteachers.

A spokeswoman for Perth and Kinross Council said: “The council continues to take a prudent approach to financial management given the ongoing real terms reduction in local authority funding.

“We have sought and will keep seeking wherever possible to minimise any impact on service delivery and ensure we can meet the needs of our residents and service users as effectively and efficiently as we can.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “In spite of continued UK Government real-terms cuts to Scotland’s resource budget, we have treated local government very fairly.

“In 2018-19 councils will receive funding through the local government finance settlement of £10.7 billion, delivering a real-terms increase in both revenue and capital funding.

“The total 2018-19 local government finance settlement delivers an increase of £342 million or 3.3% in support for vital local services compared to 2017-18.”