COSLA hit back at Mackay’s fair funding claim
MEANWHILE, DOMESTICALLY..
THE Finance Secretary was condemned yesterday for using “misleading” figures in a row over local authority funding.
Derek Mackay claimed a £450million revenue surplus in 2015-16 showed the Scottish Government are treating councils “very fairly”.
He also drew attention to a 5.8 per cent increase in council reserves, which held £1.34billion in April last year.
David O’Neill, the president of local government group COSLA, warned any previous surplus was overshadowed by £550million of cuts to council settlements between 2016 and 2018.
He said: “There have been various presentations and misrepresentations of the local government budget over the last couple of years which we feel are not only confusing to communities but also significantly damaging to the role of local government.
“It is extremely disappointing that the Cabinet Secretary is linking growth in reserves in 2015-16 with a fair settlement for local government this year.
“Over 2016-17 and 2017-18, local government has seen a £550million reduction in its settlement and that is the budget reality.”
COSLA insisted reserves had to be built because of “gloomy” forecasts.
Publishing the annual financial figures, Mackay said: “Today’s statistics show that the Scottish Government continue to treat local government very fairly at a time of continuing austerity from the UK Government.
“This Government have made clear our priority is to close the poverty-related attainment gap and to deliver on the integration of health and social care that will best deliver for local people.
“It is, therefore, encouraging to note that the highest spends across 2015-16 were in education and social care, as they were the previous year, and that there was a welcome real terms increase of 1.9 per cent in spending on education by local government.”
A Labour spokesman said: “Under the SNP, the budget for locals services like schools has been cut by £1.5billion since 2011.
“That is why there are 4000 fewer teachers and the gap between the richest and the rest in our classrooms is growing. These cuts will hit everybody, but hurt the poorest hardest.
“Instead of cutting local services the SNP should back Labour’s plan to use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to invest in our communities.”