LOCAL government leaders say they will continue to press the Scottish Government for more funds despite Kate Forbes’s multi-billion pound Budget package.
Details of the £11.6bn settlement for the country’s 32 councils have been published by the Scottish Government.
Finance Secretary Forbes said councils would see an increase in their day-to-day revenue spending of £335.6 million, including £90m to compensate those authorities which choose to freeze the council tax.
A further £259m will be added in one-off funding due to pressures from the pandemic and there will be a total of £600m in additional cash to support services during the 2021-22 financial year.
Forbes announced the funding package when as part of her Scottish Budget last week. It is the first one she is fully responsible for since taking over from Derek Mackay last year, and comes ahead of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s UK Budget in March.
The earlier announcement of Scottish Government plans was made due to the Holyrood parliamentary timetable. Allocations for each local authority have now been published, with the average increase to council budgets being 3.1%.
Forbes said: “This Budget is being delivered in exceptional circumstances as we continue to battle a pandemic that has shaken our society and economy to the core.
“The local government settlement will help to fund vital public services that are much valued and needed. It includes additional funding of £59m to complete the expansion of early learning and childcare to 1140 hours a year, £72.6m for investment in health and social care and £7.7m to support the inter-island ferries in Shetland, Orkney and Argyll and Bute.”
She went on: “Just as we have chosen not to increase tax rates, ensuring people pay no more than last year, I have taken the significant step of offering funding equivalent to a council tax increase of around 3% to councils who choose to freeze council tax.
“I look to local government to join with me in providing the much-needed financial reassurance to those who are struggling. We need to focus on how we rebuild and renew our country, and the funding I am providing to local authorities reflects the key role that they will continue to play in that journey.”
However, a spokesman for the umbrella body of councils, Cosla, responded: “Parts of the Budget will support the work of local government in our communities, but overall it falls short of the fair funding local government requires.
“There is time to influence the process and we will use all of the time available to make the case to Scottish Government about the vital role of councils and our efforts during the Covid pandemic. We will also make the case to Parliament, starting with an appearance at the Finance and Constitution Committee.”
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