Councils say Mackay’s Budget is the ‘final nail’ in local services
COUNCIL leaders have reacted furiously to details of their Budget allocation for the coming year, warning it risks damaging the country’s social fabric.
The umbrella group Cosla said the local government settlement for 2019/20 could throw people out of work and “put the final nail” into communities and essential services.
Cosla president Alison Evison said that, after years of cuts exacerbated by increased demand, “we have now reached a point where there is simply nowhere left to go”.
In a call to opposition parties, she said that if Finance Secretary Derek Mackay did not rethink his position before a crunch Holyrood vote in February, there should be a “parliamentary intervention” to force him.
The scathing attack followed Mr Mackay issuing the detailed local government settlement for 2019/20, setting out the money for every local authority.
It assumed every council would raise council tax by the maximum 3 per cent, meaning the average bill for a Band D home will rise from £1,208 to £1,245 from April.
In his draft Budget last week, the Finance Secretary claimed Scotland’s 32 councils would enjoy a real terms boost of £210 million, taking their overall settlement to £11.1 billion.
But analysis by the Scottish Parliament said the true figure was about £500m less, because so much of the headline total was ring-fenced for central government priorities, and so off-limits to councils.
Holyrood officials estimated there had been a real terms cut of around £300m.
Cosla uses a cash figure of
£240m cut from its core budget. Mr Mackay last night insisted it was “fair funding” despite more Westminster cuts to his budget.
He said: “We have still provided a 2% real terms uplift in the total Local Government settlement for 2019/20.
“If local authorities choose to use their powers to increase council tax by up to 3% they can generate up to an additional £80m to support the delivery of essential local services.”
However, Cosla said it continued a pattern of aggressive cuts in council budgets. Resources spokeswoman Councillor Gail Macgregor said: “Without meaningful movement on the basic settlement and proper discussions around enabling local government to raise more locally, I fear we are running towards a cliff-edge.
“The issuing of the circular confirms this is a severe cut to the core budget that provides the vast majority of our essential services. If this settlement is not changed it will mean substantial job losses in places where local government is the main employer.
“Scottish Government needs to look at the bigger picture and really start to think again about the economic impact of such a challenging settlement for Scottish local government.”
The Scottish Greens, who helped the minority SNP administration pass its last two Budgets, but who are now playing hardball over local tax reform and budgets, were also unimpressed.
Green MSP Patrick Harvie said: “It’s increasingly clear the Government’s proposed budget cuts will force local councils to slash frontline services. Ministers cannot continue to spin their spending plans as fair when the impact on jobs, care services and schools will be profound.”
Since 2010, the Scottish Government has seen its budget fall by 6% in real terms, but it has passed on real terms cuts of around 10% to local government.
Councils, who employ about one in 10 of the Scottish workforce, have seen the biggest relative decline in jobs in the public sector as a result.
Labour MSP James Kelly said: “Rather than insult people with spin, Derek Mackay should be delivering a Budget that delivers the radical investment local services need.”
Scottish Libdem leader Willie Rennie said: “Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP have passed down cut after cut to local funds and expected councils to deal with it. Something has to give.”