Council leaders warn services at ‘breaking point’ and some may face axe

Council services are at “breaking point” and leaders have warned that some may have to be scrapped following the Scottish Government’s budget.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney announced on Thursday that local government will see a funding increase of £550 million, but within hours the figure was being questioned by two of the country’s most influential economic think tanks.

The Fraser of Allander Institute said the funding is equal to a 4.9% real terms decrease based on spending last year, while the Institute for Fiscal Studies accused the Government of overstating the spending increases by comparing spending next year to last year’s budget and not taking into account in-year rises.

At a Cosla meeting on Friday, council leaders unanimously backed a motion arguing that the budget will be detrimental to local government services.

The leaders also again urged the Scottish Government to pause its proposed National Care Service, saying funding should instead be reallocated to social care and prevention measures within local government.

Katie Hagmann, Cosla’s resources spokeswoman, said: “Council services will now be at absolute breaking point and some may have to stop altogether.

“This is a result of cuts to our councils’ core budgets and direction on spend towards other Scottish Government priorities over the last few years.

“Yesterday’s budget announcement compounds this and there is a real risk that many of our essential services will not only be cut, but may have to stop altogether.”

Analysis published by Cosla suggests the cash increase could be just £71 million once Scottish Government-mandated policies are paid for, while it claims capital funding will remain flat for next year.

The Scottish Conservatives said Cosla’s verdict “undermines John Swinney’s boasts of delivering a fair deal for local authorities”.

Tory local government spokesman Miles Briggs added: “Once again, the reality is that the SNP-Green Government have passed down brutal cuts to our councils.

“Council leaders’ concerns that were made clear before the budget have failed to be heeded by ministers and the impact of this settlement will be devastating for our communities.”

But the Scottish Government rejected the claims by Cosla, with a spokeswoman saying: “We have protected councils in the most challenging budget since devolution to provide more than £13.2 billion in the 2023-24 local government settlement.

“This represents a cash increase of over £550 million, or 4.5%, which is a real terms increase of £160.6 million, or 1.3%.”