Scottish Tories: £1bn of SNP council cuts
The Scottish Conservatives have called for a new financial deal for councils, claiming they should be getting a £1 billion more a year from the Scottish government.
They said that local government funding as a percentage of SNP government spending fell from 35.9% to 33.1% between 2007-8 and 2019-20.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross called for a “Barnett Formula for councils” – a permanent financial settlement ensuring their budgets would be protected.
He said: “If councils had the same share of the Scottish Budget as they got before the SNP came to power, essential local services would be a £1 billion better off.
“They’ve hoarded power and funding at Holyrood and we’ve all seen the result. Local schools are not quite what they used to be, potholes expand in number and size, and bin collections are less frequent.
“The SNP are quick to blame the UK government, even when funding is hitting record highs, but they’ll happily raid and rob councils.”