Budget ‘erosion’ is the biggest challenge for councils, says Cosla president

The “erosion” of councils’ core  budgets is the “biggest single challenge” facing local authorities in Scotland, a leading councillor will tell the First Minister.

Alison Evison, the president of the local government organisation, Cosla, will use a speech on Thursday to highlight the issue of funding as well as the “increasing centralisation” of services.

At an online conference being attended by both Nicola Sturgeon and UK Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Gove, Ms Evison will make plain her view that “local government is just as important as the other spheres of government”.

She will tell the Cosla gathering that councils “rose to the challenge” during the last two years of the coronavirus pandemic, telling how local authorities “demonstrated leadership” throughout the crisis.

But she will insist that “only properly and sustainably funded local government” can deliver for people across the country.

Ms Evison, who is quitting Labour to fight the May council elections as an independent candidate, will go on to state: “The erosion of our core budget is probably the biggest single challenge facing local government today.”

While she will say she remains “positive” that this issue can be addressed through talks with the Scottish Government, she will argue that councils need more “local discretion” when it comes to raising their own cash.

Under the current system, authorities are “continuing to see an increasing centralisation of service”, she will claim, with this resulting in more and more spending decisions being “centrally directed” by Holyrood ministers.

This impacts on councils’ “ability to determine local priorities that best suit the needs of our constituents”, Ms Evison will add.

Meanwhile, Scottish Government proposals to set up a National Care Service are “an attack on localism and on the rights of local people to make decisions democratically”, she will insist

Speaking about the proposed National Care Service, Ms Evison will say: “It once again brings a centralising approach to how decisions which should be taken locally are made.”

She will add: “Centralisation is the enemy of everything we stand for in local government. It does not lead to efficiency and effectiveness, it leads to increased cost, inflexibility, an inability to respond to local requirements and lesser outcomes for communities.”

Her speech will also seek to highlight the role that councils play helping asylum seekers and refugees, saying they can “help shape UK policy for the better in Scotland”.

Ms Evison will make clear Cosla’s view “that hotels are entirely the wrong accommodation for people who have arrived in Scotland having left their own homes in incredibly difficult circumstances”.

Social care minister, Kevin Stewart, stressed the Government was “committed to addressing the issues facing social care” adding that he wanted to work with Cosla to “deliver improvements to the pay and terms and conditions of the social care workforce now and in the future”.

The minister said: “Integration of health and social care has been the shared ambition of national and local government for many years, but the Independent Review of Adult Social Care found the current way of working has not fully delivered the improvements it was intended to achieve.

“Our ambition is to create a comprehensive community health and social care service that that promotes quality and consistency of care and provides support for all. We’re going to end the postcode lottery of care provision in Scotland.

“However, we are not waiting for the National Care Service to start improving social care and we are taking steps now to improve outcomes for people accessing care and support and care workers. We are committed to increasing funding for social care by 25% by the end of this Parliament.

“Meanwhile, we are working with partners in local government, the third sector and independent providers to attract more people to the care sector and a new £1 million fund has also been established to support projects which look after the wellbeing of staff working in social care.”