This settlement is a core cut of £237m and means jobs will go

DESPITE Brexit dominating the headlines, the Scottish Budget has also featured heavily in the news agenda. It is a good thing it has because this news has highlighted the proposed financial settlement for local government, which is devastating for our communities and for the shared ambition of inclusive growth for Scotland.

The Scottish Government and local government have together agreed shared outcomes for Scotland, but these cannot be delivered unless local government has the resources to do its part.

The people of Scotland hold their public services in high esteem and rightly so. Scotland has a long and proud tradition of delivering high quality public services but, with the proposed settlement from Scottish Government, the ability of councils to maintain even the essential services that communities rely on every day is coming under real threat and there is nothing left to respond to any local vision.

The Government’s draft Budget for local government should be of considerable concern to us all.

There is a £237m cash cut to the core budget, which does not recognise the essential services local government deliver are the foundations on which Scotland is built. In many areas our investment in people and places plays an essential role in strengthening the communities we live in.

Council budgets have been subject to year-on-year cuts, while, at the same time, the demands on the services they provide have only increased.

That is why we have now reached a point where there is simply nowhere left to go. Without a rethink from Scottish Government or a Parliamentary intervention, these Budget proposals could put the final nail into many communities and services we deliver.

The settlement for Scottish local government, as it currently stands, puts inclusive growth for our whole country at risk.

This is not an idle threat. This settlement means real jobs in real communities will go. It is as stark and simple as that.

Councillor Alison Evison is President of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.