Councils are responsible for delivering vital services like street cleaning (Image: Ross Turpie / Daily Record) Get the latest Scottish politics news sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter More Newsletters Subscribe Please enter a valid email Something went wrong, please try again later. More Newsletters We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info Thank you for subscribing! We have more newsletters Show me See Our Privacy Notice See Our Privacy Notice × Group 28 Get the latest Scottish politics news sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign Up No thanks, close We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info × Group 28 Thank you for subscribing! We have more newsletters Show Me No thanks, close See our Privacy Notice Since I first became council leader in 2007, I have never known my local authority's financial position, and that of every other Scottish council, to be more precarious. While some English councils have already declared effective bankruptcy, Scotland’s councils are not far behind . This situation has been a long time in the making. Years of real-terms cuts in Scottish Government grant, freezes and caps on Council Tax rises , and increased ring-fencing of funding have taken their toll. My council now relies on the Scottish Government for 84 per cent of our revenue income, only 14 per cent comes from Council Tax and the balance of two per cent is raised through fees and charges. A one percent cut in Scottish Government grant would require a six per cent increase in Council Tax to compensate for it. Ring-fencing of funding for Scottish Government policy priorities, like the expansion of free childcare, and huge areas of education and social care, means the cuts councils have to make fall disproportionately on community services, environmental services and economic regeneration and employability. These are services that have a significant impact on our quality of life. Read More Related Articles Scottish Government can still meet poverty targets, says senior minister Read More Related Articles Stephen Flynn demands
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United Nations Councils have also faced ongoing cuts in our capital grant from the Scottish Government and are now struggling to maintain our existing asset bases, never mind fund new assets or meet our net zero targets. While funding from the UK Government through initiatives like City Region Deals, the Levelling Up Fund and the Shared Prosperity Fund is welcome, it cannot be used to maintain core assets or core services. All councils setting budgets this year have used reserves to balance the books and fund capital programmes. This is unsustainable and will lead to a cliff edge for many in the next one-three years. The financial crisis facing councils has been exacerbated by the Scottish Government’s imposition of a Council Tax freeze, the twelfth since the SNP came to power in 2007. This has deprived councils of £150m of funding that could have been raised through a five per cent Council Tax increase and used to protect services and jobs. While Scotland’s councils are under a legal duty to set a balanced budget, it is increasingly likely that in the years ahead many councillors will not have the appetite for making the level of cuts that will be required to achieve this. We may just walk away and let the Scottish Government send in commissioners to do their dirty work. The situation is that serious but unfortunately the Scottish Government is in denial. Their sole focus is on the next UK
election and the need to deliver the First Minister’s regressive and irresponsible Council Tax freeze bribe. A Council Tax freeze does not help those on low incomes as they are either exempt from Council Tax or they qualify for the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, which means they don’t pay any extra when Council Tax increases. These are the households who rely most on Council services and suffer most when services are cut. Those who benefit most from a freeze are those on higher incomes living in higher banded properties. The Scottish Government’s freeze policy has been opposed by anti-poverty groups, trade unions and even Councillors from the SNP’s coalition partners the Scottish Greens. Scottish politics Health boards blow millions on taxis
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protests SNP lost thousands of members in 2023 Matheson urged to reject pay-out The policy also contradicts the SNP/Green policy of increasing income tax to fund public services in Scotland. While households in
Scotland may receive a marginal short-term financial benefit from the Council Tax freeze, they will find that the price of this will be fewer teachers In our schools, fewer libraries and community centres, dirtier streets and higher charges for burying our dead. Is that a price worth paying for saving a couple of pounds a week? To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here . Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Follow Daily Record
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