Councils call for local democracy
Politicians urged to revolutionise system after Holyrood elections
SCOTLAND’S cash-strapped councils are calling on all parties to launch a revolution in local democracy within the first few months after May’s Holyrood election.
They accuse MSPs of spending too much time concentrating on cutbacks in police or teacher numbers, or telling local authorities how their budgets should be spent.
Cosla, the local authorities’ umbrella body, says the current political approach which has seen rows over the council tax freeze and huge cut-backs is wasteful and does little to prevent problems.
In its Manifesto for Stronger Scottish Democracy published today ahead of the election campaign, it says the next Scottish Parliament should put local communities more in control.
It says that 50 years ago, Scotland’s councils raised more than 50 per cent of their expenditure through local taxation.
Today that has fallen to 12 per cent, which is out of step with the rest of Europe.
Cosla says: “Not long ago we backed the radical vision put forward by the Commission on Strengthening Local Democracy to empower local communities to decide on their priorities, their services, and their spending. We are determined to deliver change.”
So Cosla is calling on every candidate to commit to delivering five key pledges within the first 100 days of their election:
Make Scotland’s public services local, through an immediate review to localise and simplify how all public services are governed.
Redraw the partnership between local and national government.
Give communities financial choices, by putting local control at the heart of local taxation.
Open up Scottish democracy, by joining Cosla in establishing a constitutional convention to design a new approach to accountability.
Join up thinking on reform... by focusing the debate on local outcomes not sound bites.
Glasgow City Council recently confirmed over half the £130 million it needs to make in cuts and savings over the next two years. It has a target of 1,500 jobs to go in the next 12 months. It came as more than 100 school janitors in the city were embarking on a threeday strike in a dispute over pay.
Speaking as he launched the manifesto, Cosla’s president, North Ayrshire councillor David O’Neill said: “In just over six weeks Scotland goes to the polls. It is a pivotal opportunity to think about the kind of country we want, and the changes that could make a real difference.
“I passionately believe in local democracy and see it as a real, meaningful and positive force for good.”
Local Government Minister Marco Biagi said: “A re-elected SNP Government will build on our record by working with communities, local authorities and Cosla to ensure that local communities have greater ability to tackle inequalities and grow local economies.”
T ODAY the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities launches its manifesto for the Holyrood elections in May. It is fitting it should be the first to deliver its thoughts on the way forward for Scotland’s councils. There is no greater issue before parliament than the financial and organisational crisis that is about to hit the local state.
Councils are facing headline cuts of about £350 million next year and substantially more thereafter. Glasgow City Council alone is facing £130m in cuts and will need to shed 1,500 jobs in the next 12 months. Since 2010, 40,000 jobs have already disappeared as councils have lost £1 billion in spending power. Most of this has been achieved through voluntary redundancy and natural wastage, but perhaps for not much longer.
In 2010 The Herald launched its Reshaping Scotland campaign to reform and restructure local government provision. We argued it was time to end the freeze on council tax, press forward with merging and sharing of services between councils, and review the rather arbitrary map of 32 local authorities, which was introduced in 1996 by the Conservatives largely as an electoral expedient.
The Scottish Government has inched forward on council tax reform, increasing taxes on higher bands, but the system remains fundamentally flawed and unfair since property values have not been reviewed since the early 1990s. Councils such as Stirling and Clackmannanshire have been innovative in collaborating on back office and other functions, but six years on from Sir John Arbuthnott’s proposals for reshaping councils in the west of Scotland, progress has been slow.
Cosla’s manifesto calls for the radical devolution of financial control to Scotland’s 32 local governments. Fifty years ago, Scotland’s councils raised more than 50 per cent of their expenditure through local taxation. Today that has fallen to 12 per cent.
There can be little doubt the decline in the quality of local government, and the calibre of councillors, is in large part a result of councils becoming clients of an over-powerful central government. This has been reflected in the poor turnout in local elections. It has long been accepted the Scottish Government needs to take on more responsibility for raising the money it spends, and this surely also applies equally to local government.
But this is no magic bullet and will not of itself address the funding crisis for councils. Increases in council tax required to restore financial accountability may be politically impossible. There is a reason why central government has taken over the responsibility for funding local government – voters did not trust councillors to spend their money wisely.
But accountability should certainly be looked at in the context of a wider reform process. Cosla is calling for a new cross-party constitutional convention to address the crisis in local governance. The Herald agrees. There is some consensus across Scotland’s parties on the general direction of change, but little concrete action. This must change and change fast if in future we are to continue to have good state schools, social care, parks and libraries.