Fourth priority needed in Scottish Government’s spending plans, say councils

A fourth priority should be included in the Scottish Government’s long term resource spending plans, a local authority body has said.

In December, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes announced a multi-year resource spending review for the first time in more than a decade.

The review will set out spending plans on three priorities over the rest of this parliamentary term.

Spending should help the Scottish Government meet child poverty targets, address climate change and “secure a stronger, fairer, greener economy”, a framework for the review said.

But Cosla, the representative body for Scotland’s local authorities, pushed for a fourth priority to be included that would help people “live well locally”.

Adding a fourth focus, the body said, would help to meet the other three.

“Cosla’s view is that, to realise our vision, a fourth priority is necessary in order to “create the conditions for our citizens, businesses and third sector to thrive”, the body said in its response to a consultation on the review.

“Our proposal is that a fourth priority – ‘to ensure that everyone can live well locally’ – is introduced and used when assessing resource spending plans.

“Without a priority that is focused on the communities in which children grow up, in which local action on climate change, and in which businesses can thrive, public spending will continue to paper over the cracks.

“Without a focus on creating vibrant and supportive communities, our public services will continue to plough money into addressing complex and resource intensive problems that most certainly mean poorer outcomes for individuals.”

Recent policy decisions at Scottish Government level, such as the move to 1,140 of free childcare, has seen spending increase in certain areas “at the expense of others”.

“This erosion of councils’ core funding results in a reducing ability to invest in preventative work, taking us further away from key priorities such as tackling child poverty,” the submission added.