SIC CEO: Local government failure ‘already happening’

The chief executive of Shetland Islands Council (SIC) said she believes that local government is “failing”.

Maggie Sandison also said there continues to be a gap between funding and what local authorities are being asked to do.

She made the remarks before councillors approved the SIC’s budget for 202425, which drew concern from many elected members over a planned £23 million unsustainable draw from reserves.

Ms Sandison was asked by SIC leader Emma Macdonald if she felt there was any recognition from government about the important role local government plays, and whether there is a risk some councils in Scotland are going to begin to fail.

Ms Macdonald also asked that, given there is reduced funding and increased

demand, whether Ms Sandison felt local government in its current format is sustainable.

The chief executive replied that, in her view, failure in local government was “already happening”.

She referenced how other councils are making difficult decisions about cutting services, including not investing in social work and social care.

Ms Sandison added that she is actively engaged in conversations with Food Standards Agency Scotland and an independent commission on animal welfare, who are recognising that local authorities are “underinvested for statutory services”.

She told councillors that there is an increasing amount of statutory work being placed on staff, without extra resources being provided.

“You will have noticed there has been no stop in new bits of legislation which require our staff, who are already fully occupied, to continue to do new pieces of work,” Ms Sandison said.

For example, she said there are “quite significant” additional licensing requirements particularly around animal health, and referenced the recent legislation on XL bully dogs.

“I think the fundamental failure of local government is happening at the moment,” she said. “What is the point of having legislation that you cannot enforce?” What worries me is our statutory services are being exposed to this. The government are not meeting the full cost of ring-fenced services and choices are having to be made about cutting other statutory services.

“The whole structure and financial arrangements in local government at the moment are setting us up to fail.”

She said the challenge for local councillors regarding meeting the 2024-25 funding gap “has been created by the failure to address the rising costs, the change in demand, the changing need arising from Covid and from the cost-ofliving crisis, (and) failure to fund staff pay awards”.

“You have a really big challenge.”

Maggie Sandison.