Cuts may put council services at risk

Key council services could be put at risk without a “sustained change in funding” from the Scottish Government, a report has warned.

A new paper looking at trends across local authorities revealed “overall performance is falling across all councils and that satisfaction with services is declining amongst the public”. The report warned improvements in closing the attainment gap in schools, which First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has insisted is her top priority, will be “increasingly

challenging”. While core services such as education and social care have had their budgets protected, in other areas spending has been slashed.

Councils report a 28 per cent reduction in spending on economic development since 2011-12.