People forgotten in petty power struggle between Scottish and UK governments
Why is it that every time the SNP Scottish Government has dealings with local councils, it turns into a pantomime. Weeks ago, the UK Government announced a £1.6 billion package of support of councils in England. Many English councils immediately told the government the amount was nowhere near enough, but nevertheless got on with what the Government was wanting them to do, such as making grants to local businesses to help them through the Coronavirus crisis, setting up Community Response funds etc.
Now why could not that have happened in Scotland? The equivalent package of support due to Scotland under the Barnett formula was £155 million, but instead of passing it straight to councils, the Scottish Government are raising all sorts of issues, asking for details of costs to the nearest penny, and reopening the discussions over the last Scottish budget.
The City of Edinburgh Council, for example, is estimating their extra costs to be up to £50m. They are spending money getting homeless people off the streets and stopping them passing on the virus. They are having to take on more staff to administer the grants scheme, and food distribution, bearing in mind many are away from work for numerous reasons. The income Edinburgh expects from parking charges will be well down.income from Lothian Buses could well disappear – the bus company will be lucky just to stay afloat.
Whatever sum Edinburgh council receives, it will be far far less than the expenditure it is having to incur. The impact of this under-funding will fall on us council residents, either through rises in council tax or through further cuts in public services once the crisis is over. The poor council taxpayer is forgotten in this petty power struggle.itreallyistimeforthe SNP Scottish Government to stop playing silly games. The money was to help councils and the government should get on with paying it over. If they want an argument, the party who say they represent the people of Scotland should allow Scottish councils to get on with the heroic job they are doing in this time of crisis, and call on the UK government to fully fund the councils’ coronavirus costs.
PHIL TATE Craiglockhart Road, Edinburgh