Councils back Cosla after others serve notice

COURIER COUNTRY local authorities say they have no plans to quit their umbrella group.

Aberdeen and Dumfries and Galloway councils have given the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) a year’s notice that they intend to quit and four more councils — Glasgow, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire — are expected to follow suit.

Cosla negotiates funding packages for councils and wage deals for the quarter of a million staff employed in the sector.

However, some councils feel they would be better served negotiating directly with the Scottish Government themselves, while many also resent Labour’s power within the body.

As the party runs half of Scotland’s councils, it has 50% of all the votes in Cosla’s leaders meeting —the group’s main decision-making body.

Cosla hopes to redress this by elevating quarterly delegates’ conventions above the leaders meeting, meaning other parties could out vote Labour.

“The organisation will be doing its absolute utmost to ensure that we resolve the issues that have been raised with us,” said a spokesman.

Dundee City, Angus, Fife, Stirling, Clackmannanshire and Perth and Kinross councils said yesterday they have no plans to quit Cosla.

However, Fife Council Labour group leader Alex Rowley said membership is constantly under review.