COSLA Excellence Awards: Finalists Announced

Fifteen projects from eleven Councils across Scotland have been announced today as finalists for the 2023 Excellence Awards, which are COSLA’s annual celebration of Scottish Local Government success – celebrating the very best of Scottish Local Government.

No City of Edinburgh Council projects have made the final shortlist.

Scotland’s 32 Councils were invited over the summer to submit entries to a judging panel comprising a number of experts across local and national government as well as the private sector.

After much deliberation our judging teams determined their finalists from dozens of applications of an incredibly high quality. The judges’ shortlist features a series of projects and programmes which highlighted areas of best practice and innovative service delivery over five categories: Service Innovation and Improvement, Achieving Better Outcomes for the Most Vulnerable in Partnership, Tackling Inequalities and Improving Health and Wellbeing, Strengthening Communities and Local Democracy and Just Transition to a Net Zero Economy.

More than 200 applications were received, and the judges had the unenviable task of choosing just three category finalists in each category.

A further series of judging days will take place in late August, during which a team of judges led by COSLA President Shona Morrison, and Vice-President Steven Heddle, will decide on a winner in each category as well as the winners of four special awards – COSLA Chairperson’s Award, SOLACE Best Team Award, The Scottish Government – Delivering Excellence Award, and the Excellent People, Excellent Outcomes Award.

Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at COSLA’s Annual Conference and Exhibition, which will take place on Thursday 28th September, 2023.

Councillor Shona Morrison, COSLA President and Chairperson of the Excellence Awards, said: “I’m delighted that we are able to announce this year’s COSLA Excellence Awards finalists.

“It hasn’t been an easy task for our judges to narrow the applications down to just fifteen finalists across our categories, especially given the exceptional high quality of projects and programmes that have been entered by councils across Scotland this year.

“It has been wonderful hearing so many positive and inspiring stories from council teams working hard to deliver valued services in communities right across the country.

“The challenges councils are facing cannot be underestimated. What really shone through from the entries this year was innovation and creativity at a local level to overcome challenges – and the sheer determination from Scotland’s councils to simply make people’s lives better at a very challenging time for all.

“So, huge congratulations to this year’s finalists – it has been a pleasure to hear first-hand about the amazing work going on across our councils. I look forward to our winners being announced at the in-person awards ceremony in September”.

This year’s finalists are:

Category 1: Service innovation and improvement (Sponsored by Food Standards Scotland)

  • Delivering School Meals by Drones – Argyll and Bute Council
  • Stirling Council Healthier Homes Project – Stirling Council
  • 24/7 CCTV/Digital Alarms Hub – Falkirk Council

Category 2: Achieving better outcomes for the most vulnerable in partnership

  • Lighthouse – Perth and Kinross Council
  • Building Skills Together Refugee Integration Project – Dundee City Council
  • Up streaming Prevention of Youth Homelessness – West Lothian Council

Category 3: Tackling inequalities and improving health and wellbeing (Sponsored by Public Health Scotland)

  • Implementing regulate, relate, reason in education – Fife Council
  • Libraries for wellbeing – Falkirk Council
  • Alcohol and substance awareness education resource – Renfrewshire Council

Category 4: Strengthening communities and local democracy

  • Zetland Park Project – Falkirk Council
  • Historic Links to Slavery – Inverclyde Council
  • Joint Bonfire Protocol and Multi-Agency Control Centre – Glasgow City Council, Neighbourhoods, Regeneration and Sustainability

Category 5: Just transition to a net zero economy

  • Orkney’s Community Wind Farm Project – Orkney Islands Council
  • Blackburn as a Climate Action Town – West Lothian Council
  • Sustainable Grass Management Pilot Project – Falkirk Council

Places can be booked for the Awards Ceremony at COSLA’s Conference and Exhibition here.

Tweaking around the edges of Council Tax does not fix its fundamental flaws

On Wednesday, the Scottish Government and COSLA released their anticipated (and widely leaked) consultation on Council Tax changes (writes Fraser of Allander Institute’s EMMA CONGREVE).  

The proposals set out would see a repeat of the 2017 increases in band multipliers for properties in Band E – H with the consultation seeking views on whether the changes to the mulitpliers should be higher or lower, or not happen at all. .

Table 1 shows the proposed changes in the context of the original multipliers set out in 1993 and the reforms in 2017. The proposed changes would lead to an increase in the amounts paid of £139, £288, £485 and £781 per household (or dwelling in official council tax speak) for those in Band E, F, G & H respectively.

Table 1 – Council Tax Multipliers

 Council Tax BandOriginal multipliers2017 reformsNew proposals
A0.670.670.67
B0.780.780.78
C0.890.890.89
D1.001.001.00
E1.221.31 (+7.5%)1.39 (+7.5%)
F1.441.63 (+12.5%)1.75 (+12.5%)
G1.671.96 (+17.5%)2.13 (+17.5%)
H2.002.45 (+22.5%)2.68 (+22.5%)

The consultation documents note a number of valid points, but fails to mention others that are fairly fundamental to the operation of the Council Tax. Here we cover some of the main issues.

A fundamentally flawed tax

Council Tax is a regressive tax. By regressive, this means that the average tax rate (the % of the tax base paid in tax) falls as the value of the tax base rises. For Council Tax, the tax rate depends on the property you live in, meaning the relevant tax base is property value (as of 1991 – an issue we’ll return to later). The highest valued properties pay a lower % of that value in their Council Tax bill.

The consultation document restates research that was completed as part of the 2015 Commission on Local Tax Reform that found that, in order for Council Tax in its current banded form to be progressive, the Band H rate would need to be in the order of 15x the Band A rate. Given this was based on 2013-14 property values, this figure may have since increased even further.

It is a shame that the government has not revisited the 2015 analysis to provide up-to-date figures. This is not an easy task (this author was involved in it the first time round!) but the data exists to repeat much of the Commission’s analysis. Updated figures would provide a better evidence base for judging their proposals.

However, updated figures would not change the overall position: the proposed changes would place Band H at 4x the Band A rate, far below values that would be required to become anything approaching progressive. The consultation document does not shy away from admitting this, stating that the proposals will not address ‘the fundamental regressivity of Council Tax’.

How do the proposed reforms link to ability to pay?

Although Council Tax is tied to property, it is income or savings that are required to pay the bill each year. As well as being regressive with respect to property, council tax is also regressive with respect to income. That is, as your income rises, the % of your income that you pay in the tax reduces.

There are some protections in the system to ensue those on the very lowest incomes do not pay some or any of their bill. The 2017 reforms also came with a condition that anyone who had income below the national average (median) would not pay any additional amounts if they were in Bands E – H. However, the regressivity with respect to income remains an issue that these reforms will not be able to address.

If we look at the impact of the proposals on the upper half of the income distribution (where we expect most people to be outwith any form of CTR protection), the average impact on Council Tax bills range from around an additional £200 – £320 a year.

In the context of some of the recent figures on increases on increases in mortgage increases, these figures look relatively sedate (although it may feel far from that, especially for those affected by mortgage increases too).

In addition, these numbers do not include any other form of discounts or exemptions which may reduce the additional amounts, such as the single person discount. Table 2 shows that, as a proportion of household income (and with the same caveats re not accounting for other discounts) this is between 0.7% and 0.5% (i.e. a half of 1%).

Table 2 also shows that although those higher up the income distribution will pay more, the proportion of income paid decreases as income rises: that is the proposed reforms will be regressive with respect to income. Those in the top 10% of income are likely to pay a lower proportion of their income in additional tax than those in the next income decile down.

Table 2 – Additional charges faced by the top half of the income distribution

Income decile groupAverage additional chargeAverage income (latest data)Average additional charge as a % of household income
6£201£27,8200.72%
7£201£31,9280.63%
8£222£37,5440.59%
9£258£46,3840.56%
10 (i.e. top 10%)£317£64,8960.49%

i Average income data is taken from the DWP Households Below Average Income dataset for 2021-2022. Average income in this table refers to a reference household with two adults and no children. Income is net of tax and transfers.

This is partly a result of incomes not being directly tied to value of the property you live in. Many critics of using property values as a basis for a recurring tax cite this issue, particularly for pensioners who may have lived in a home that has accrued in value over many years, but have a relatively low disposable income (although not low enough to qualify for Council Tax Reduction).

An additional factor relates to the fact that there are relatively few Band H properties where the highest charge applies: even in the top 10% of households less than 1% of households are in a Band H property, a similar proportion to households in the 9th income decile.

The elephant in the room: revaluation

An additional fundamental issue, absent from the consultation document, is the fact that the property values used to put properties into bands are based on 1991 values. Some properties have grown much faster in value than others since then.

That means that two properties that were in the same band in 1991 may now be worth vastly different sums of money, and if there was a revaluation today they would no longer be placed together in the same band.

The issue is further complicated by new builds where finding a comparable hypothetical 1991 value is difficult.

A quick look at any property website will provide you with all the evidence you need to illustrate the issue where property value and Council Tax Band are often quoted side by side.

For example, the market at the moment in Edinburgh:

  • A 2 bed ground floor flat for sale in the New Town for offers over £415,000 which is in Council Tax Band D (and therefore will not face the proposed additional charge)
  • A similarly sized 2 bed ground floor flat in Craigleith for offers over £210,000, which is in Council Tax Band E (which will face the proposed additional charge)

For those not familiar with Edinburgh geography, the locations are shown on the below map*.

This is not a one off. The Commission’s analysis in 2015 estimated that over half of all properties in Scotland would have changed band if revaluation had taken place in 2014.

We could speculate, at length, why revaluation has not happened. Scotland is not the only country that has struggled to find the political appetite to make it happen (the UK Government has done no better in England), but other parts of the UK have managed it in the last two decades.

What should be happening

Most people would agree that reforms to Council Tax need to go beyond tweaking multipliers. There are a number of options available, with a proportional tax on the value of a property being the majority view of the 2015 Commission, and indeed the previous Burt Commission that came up with similar proposals back in 2006.

However, any reform is contingent on the tax being levied on correct values. That means a revaluation is necessary. Indeed, it should be a prerequisite even for the type of tweaking that the Scottish Government did in 2017 and is proposing now given the majority of properties are likely to be in the wrong band.

To continue without revaluation is deeply unfair and to take forward reforms without a revaluation just rubs salt into the wounds.

*This map contains information from OpenStreetMap, which is made available here under the Open Database License (ODbL)

Council Tax consultation: Should Higher Bands to pay more?

Potential changes to the council tax system that could see those in the highest value properties asked to pay more if they can afford to have been published.

A joint consultation with COSLA is seeking views on plans to increase the amount paid by people in bands E, F, G and H. This aims to address criticism that the system is unfair, because at present those in the lower bands pay a higher proportion of the value of their property than those in the higher bands.

Around 75% of properties would be unaffected if the proposals, which could be phased in over a period of three years, were implemented. The Council Tax Reduction scheme would continue to offer lower bills for those unable to afford their council tax, regardless of what band they are in.

Public Finance Minister Tom Arthur said: “We have listened to calls for the council tax system to be made fairer, as presently more of the burden falls on those in the lower bands when considered as a proportion of the value of their property.

“The changes would only affect around a quarter of properties and even after they are taken into account, average council tax in Scotland would still be less than anywhere else in the UK.

“We know that many people are struggling with their finances and our Council Tax Reduction scheme is there to ensure nobody has to pay a Council Tax bill they cannot be expected to afford, regardless of what band they are in.

“I would encourage anyone who has views on these proposals to complete our consultation before it closes on 20 September 2023, to help us determine if they should be taken forward.”

Cllr Katie Hagmann, COSLA Resources Spokesperson, said: “For many years there have been calls to make the council tax system fairer. We are pleased to be working jointly with the Scottish Government to explore ways that we can achieve this. A fairer and more progressive Council Tax is what the proposals in this Consultation aim to do.

“This is a consultation about ways to make Council Tax more proportionate for everyone, so that householders pay their fair share towards the delivery of essential local services, including looking at those higher value properties.

“We want to hear from individuals, households, and communities to inform any redesign of this local tax, so would encourage people to respond during the 10 week consultation period.

“If you have a view on Council Tax, this joint consultation with Scottish Government gives you the chance to share your views and gives us a chance to make Council Tax fairer.” 

Background

The consultation will run for 10 weeks from 12 July to 20 September 2023. Any changes would come into effect at the start of the 2024-25 financial year.

Even with the proposed increases taken into account, the average Band E to G charge would still be lower in Scotland than in England.

 Band ABand BBand CBand DBand EBand FBand GBand H
% change in average bill0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%7.5%12.5%17.5%22.5%
Average charge in Scotland after increases£944£1,102£1,259£1,417£2,001£2,590£3,259£4,251
England 2023-24£1,377£1,606£1,836£2,065£2,524£2,983£3,442£4,130

Only around 28% of properties are in bands E-H and could be impacted by the proposed change.

The consultation has been endorsed by the Joint Working Group on Council Tax, which was established as a commitment in the 2021-22 Programme for Government and the Bute House agreement.

In 2015, the Commission on Local Tax Reform highlighted how the original multipliers – set out in the 1992 Local Government Finance Act – resulted in properties in Band H paying three times as much Council Tax as a property in Band A despite the fact that the Band H properties were estimated to be worth, on average, fifteen times the value of properties in Band A. 

In 2023-24, Council Tax for a Band D property in different councils across Scotland varied between £1,261 and £1,515. In Scotland the average 2023-24 Band D rate (£1,417) is £648 less than in England (£2,065), and £463 less than in Wales (£1,879).

A new deal with local government

Verity House Agreement signed by First Minister and COSLA President

A landmark agreement to forge a stronger partnership between local and national government has been signed by First Minister Humza Yousaf and COSLA President Shona Morrison.

The Verity House Agreement sets out principles for working together to empower local communities, tackle poverty, transform the economy and provide high-quality public services.

It includes commitments to:

  • agree a new Fiscal Framework governing how local authorities’ funding is allocated, reducing ring-fencing and giving them greater control over their budgets to meet local needs
  • regularly review councils’ powers and funding, with the expectation that services will be delivered at a local level unless agreed otherwise
  • incorporate the European Charter of Local Self-Government into Scots Law
  • reform public services, building on the partnership working established during the pandemic recovery
  • develop a framework for collecting and sharing evidence to ensure progress is maintained

The First Minister said: “Today we have committed to build a stronger relationship with local government, with mutual trust and respect at its core.

“The Verity House Agreement is based on the idea that councils know best how to serve the people in their communities. By giving them greater flexibility over how they use their budgets and regularly reviewing their powers and funding, we can empower them to put that knowledge into practice – whether that’s to tackle poverty, transform our economy to deliver net zero, or to provide the high quality public services on which we all rely.  

“This is just the start of the process, and we look forward to working further with COSLA and councils in the interests of the people of Scotland.”

Councillor Morrison said: “Signing the Verity House Agreement today at COSLA’s offices is a clear signal that both parties want to reset the relationship between central and local government in Scotland. 

“This agreement is about creating a new way of working as a partnership of equals – discussing key issues as early as possible and using our collective expertise to deliver for communities across Scotland.

“Scottish local government is the sphere of government closest to the people of Scotland and delivers a range of essential services that impact on people’s everyday lives and livelihoods – from education to improving health; from social care to the fabric of our communities.

“When national and local government work together to tackle shared priorities, the result will be better outcomes for the people of Scotland. This is ultimately what councils seek to achieve every day of every year – better local outcomes for the people we serve, enabling everyone to live well locally.”

Audit Scotland: Radical change needed across Scotland’s councils

Scotland’s councils must radically change how they operate – particularly how they collaborate with partners – if they are to improve and maintain services to their communities.

Councils worked well with their partners to address the impacts of Covid-19. They need to implement the lessons learned during the pandemic in order to now cope with reducing budgets, growing demographic and workforce pressures, and declining performance across some services.

The Scottish Government and COSLA urgently need to finalise the planned ‘New Deal’ settlement for local government, allowing for more long-term planning, flexibility and transparency in councils’ budgeting process.

Currently, an increasing proportion of funding is ringfenced for national priorities; this constrains councils from making decisions about how to best use money to address the local needs of their citizens and communities.

Councils must now rethink how they work together, and with local partners and communities, to provide financially sustainable services whilst tackling national issues such as climate change, child poverty and inequalities. Few councils provide services jointly or share support services across different councils.

Councils also need better data in order to ensure that they can demonstrate that their services are meeting their citizen’s needs.

Tim McKay, Acting Chair of the Accounts Commission said: “The New Deal for local government, agreed between the Scottish Government and COSLA, is long overdue. Putting this in place will give councils longer-term financial stability, supporting them to make decisions and make the fundamental changes that are urgently needed.

“Councils have gone beyond the point where making savings is enough. If the change needed doesn’t happen now, some services will continue to get worse or deeper cuts will be made. This will impact communities and individuals that are already at crisis point with the effects of inequality and persistently high poverty.

“Councils need to have open and honest conversations with their communities and staff about the future of council services.”

COSLA President Shona Morrison has said that Councils are already at the forefront of service provision and are probably the most transformative and collaborative part of the public sector in Scotland.

The COSLA President also called on other parts of the public sector to be as radical and transformative as Scottish Local Government and praised how well Scottish Local Government collaborates with partners in particular.

Commenting yesterday (Wednesday) in response to the Accounts Commission Overview Report, Councillor Morrison said:  “As today’s report recognises, Councils worked well with their partners to address the impacts of Covid-19.

“The report also recognises the huge challenges Councils face due to budget constraints, increased cost pressures and demand, and increases in directed and ringfenced funding. As we have all seen, increasingly difficult choices are required about spending priorities and service provision given reducing budgets coupled with growing demographic and workforce pressures.”

Councillor Morrison added: “In addition, we are working with the Scottish Government on a ‘New Deal’ for Local Government, which will enable more long-term planning, more transparency in the budget setting process and a reduction in ring fenced funding for national priorities which constrains councils from making decisions about how to best use money to address the needs of their local communities.”

She concluded:  “Only on Monday of this week, in our response to the Finance and Public Administration Committee’s call for views on public service reform, we highlighted the significant efficiencies and reforms that councils across Scotland have already made in response to successive real-terms cuts to core funding for over a decade.

“We also welcomed the Scottish Government’s renewed commitment to work collaboratively with Local Government to deliver on shared priorities, including tackling child poverty and achieving a just transition to net zero.

“Today’s report from the Accounts Commission and our response to the Finance and Public Administration Committee deliver exactly the same message. Councils are uniquely placed to be the key partner in the Scottish Government’s public service reform programme and should be further empowered to better support local service delivery.”

Read the full consultation response: COSLA response to Public Service Reform Consultation

Unions unite to demand better following council budget ‘shambles’

Following the shambles of this year’s City of Edinburgh Council budget in which full council voted for a budget including privatisation and compulsory redundancies, Edinburgh’s trade unions have joined together to demand better for the workforce and the community.

GMB, Unison, and Unite represent the majority of workers employed across the council including front line services such as waste, care, parks and roads, and non-teaching staff in schools.

The joint trade unions welcome the council leader’s assurances he has no intention of implementing the budget in full, but this is not enough and are further calling on City of Edinburgh Council  to give their workforce security by re-setting a budget which takes compulsory redundancies and privatisation off the cards completely.

The joint trade unions are asking the public to stand by the council workforce, by signing the public petition and writing to their local councillors: https://edcouncilpledge.carrd.co/

GMB Organiser Kirsten Muat Said: “Scotland’s council’s have been underfunded for decades, but it is unacceptable of the council to ask front line workers to bear the brunt of the lack of political leadership on this issue.

“The workforce need to be given job security, the only way this can happen is by political leaders putting their words into action and putting a complete to stop to any privatisation or compulsory redundancies.

“Privatization and redundancies will never be in the public interest, it would be wrong and short sighted for City of Edinburgh Council to pursue this.”

UNISON Branch Secretary Tom Connolly said: “We want all Edinburgh Councillors to not only adopt the trade union pledge, but we also want them to publicly endorse their commitment and outline how they will ensure our pledges are delivered.

“The public have a massive role to play here too. You can help save our services by using our campaign tools to write to your elected officials and put pressure on them to deliver.

The Edinburgh Council unions have continually warned over many years about the devastating impact of cuts to council budgets and the threat to democratic accountability.

But under the Tory Government at Westminster and the SNP/Green Government in Scotland, local government is under pressure as never before. For years now, council workers have continuously been asked to do more with less and deliver more for less. With the current council budget, that trend will continue, and things will continue to get worse.”

Unite branch secretary Brian Robertson said: “The council needs to provide security to its workers as insecurity for the workers not only causes stress to them and their families but also puts stress on the services they deliver. 

“Best Value reviews must examine in-house service delivery as a serious option.  Improving Services, Creating Jobs is the Best Value our council can give to our workers, citizens, families and communities. Doing otherwise is a dis-service to our city.”

Campaign Resources:

Joint Edinburgh Unions Shared Webpage: https://edcouncilpledge.carrd.co/

Sign the petition – Edinburgh City Council: Pledge for Public Services | Megaphone UK

Send a letter to  your local Councillor and demand that they sign the union pledge  –  https://action.unison.org.uk/page/125663/action/1  

A New Deal for local government?

Councils and Scottish Government ‘working hand-in-hand’

First Minister Humza Yousaf has reaffirmed the Scottish Government’s commitment to resetting the relationship with local authorities in a meeting with COSLA President Shona Morrison.

A New Deal for local government has been embodied in the appointment of a dedicated Minister for Local Government Empowerment and Planning, Joe FitzPatrick, who joined the meeting alongside Deputy First Minister Shona Robison.

The New Deal will be jointly agreed with COSLA and will provide greater flexibility over local funding and clear accountability for delivering shared priorities.

The First Minister said: “These early discussions in my first week as First Minister have been an important opportunity for me to reaffirm the Scottish Government’s commitment to working collaboratively with local government.

“Together, local and national governments work hand-in-hand to deliver on our shared priorities for the people of Scotland and the vital public services in our communities whilst recognising the considerable financial pressures across the public sector.

“Work is already underway on developing a New Deal for Local Government. We will work together, through regular and meaningful engagement, to progress this, explore a new fiscal framework for councils and reform our public services.”

COSLA President Shona Morrison said: “I was very pleased to get a meeting with the new First Minister in his first week in office. It was both a productive and positive meeting with a range of issues discussed.

“I certainly hope we can build a strong working relationship as we jointly go about delivering for the people of Scotland.”

Edinburgh Association of Community Councils to meet tomorrow

NEXT MEETING:
Thursday 30 March 2023: 18.50 for 19.00 on Microsoft Teams.

Speakers:

Cllr. Mandy Watt, Convenor of CEC Finance & Resources Committee:

Funding Edinburgh’s ambitions in an era of budget constraint.’

Angus Murdoch, CEC Neighbourhood Environmental Services:

‘Doing the dirty work: empty, clean, recycle; repeat.’

Here is the Microsoft Teams link:

Meeting ID: 345 790 606 167
Passcode: mD6VYF
Join on the web

Update:

CEC’s Spatial Policy Division is running a Workshop on five Draft Action Plans prepared in support of the City Mobility Plan.

Three dates are offered, on 18, 19 and 21 April (09.30 to 13.00).

The Action Plans cover Active Travel; Public Transport; Road Safety; Parking; Air Quality.

Contact the Placemaking and Mobility Team at spatial.policy@edinburgh.gov.uk to attend. The closing date is 17 March.

See more on the EACC website:
Edinburgh Association of Community Councils (edinburghcommunitycouncils.org.uk)


Edinburgh Association of Community Councils (EACC)
EACC Secretary; Ken Robertson
secretary@edinburghcommunitycouncils.org.uk

COSLA Excellence Awards are back !

The COSLA Excellence Awards are about recognising the great work, talent and innovation across our councils and the exceptional people who deliver for our communities every day of the year.

The COSLA Excellence Awards 2023 will take place on Thursday, 28 September 2023 in the Crieff Hydro Hotel as part of the COSLA Annual Conference. 

A Timeline for the Awards process is attached

·       Applications will open on Monday 3rd April 2023

·       Application deadline for entries will be Wednesday 31st May 2023

  • Judging, led by a team from COSLA, SOLACE, The Improvement Service and Local Government Professional Associations,will take place over the summer, shortlisting to a final three in each category.
  • Finalists, will be invited to present to an adjudication panel at COSLA’s offices in Edinburgh on either Wednesday 23rd or Thursday 24th August

· All finalist teams will be invited to the awards ceremony on Thursday, 28 September 2023 at Crieff Hydro Hotel, Perthshire where the winners will be announced.


The categories for this year’s event are:

·       Category 1:  Service Innovation and Improvement

·       Category 2:  Achieving Better Outcomes for the Most Vulnerable in Partnership

·       Category 3:  Tackling Inequalities and Improving Health and Wellbeing

·       Category 4:  Strengthening Communities and Local Democracy

·       Category 5: Just Transition to a Net Zero Economy

Submitting Your Application Form

The deadline for submission of entries will be by COSLA application form at 5.00pm on Wednesday 31st May 2023.

Teachers begin two day strike action

The EIS will continue with its current programme of strike action ‘until a more credible offer is put onto the negotiating table’.

The reasons for rejecting the most recent offer are available here

The EIS recently announced an escalation of its action to include targeted strike action in schools within the constituencies of the First Minister, Deputy First Minster, Cabinet Secretary for Education, and COSLA Resources Spokesperson, Councillor Katie Hagmann.

As the Scottish Green Party is a party of the Scottish Government, part of its Education Spokesperson’s (Ross Greer) regional constituency has also been targeted – the part of Clydebank and Milngavie constituency that lies within the East Dunbartonshire Council area.

There will be two days of national strike action for all members on Tuesday 28th February and Wednesday 1 March and a further 20 days of rolling strike action between 13 March and 21 April 2023. 

National Strike Days

DateLocal Associations
Tuesday 28th FebruaryAll Local Associations
Wednesday 1st MarchAll Local Associations

Targeted Strikes

DateConstituencies
7th – 9th MarchGlasgow Southside, Dunfermline, Perthshire North, the part of Clydebank and Milngavie constituency that lies within the East Dunbartonshire Council area and Mid Galloway & Wigtown West

20 Days of Rolling Strikes

Local AssociationStrike Date – All SchoolsStrike Date – PrimaryStrike Date – Secondary
Aberdeen City27-Mar-2324-Mar-2328-Mar-23
Aberdeenshire23-Mar-2322-Mar-2324-Mar-23
Angus14-Mar-2315-Mar-2313-Mar-23
Argyll and Bute20-Mar-2317-Mar-2321-Mar-23
Clackmannanshire27-Mar-2324-Mar-2328-Mar-23
Dumfries and Galloway30-Mar-2329-Mar-2331-Mar-23
Dundee20-Mar-2317-Mar-2321-Mar-23
East Ayrshire15-Mar-2316-Mar-2314-Mar-23
East Dunbartonshire19-Apr-2318-Apr-2320-Apr-23
East Lothian17-Mar-2315-Mar-2316-Mar-23
East Renfrewshire30-Mar-2329-Mar-2331-Mar-23
Edinburgh17-Mar-2316-Mar-2320-Mar-23
Falkirk21-Mar-2320-Mar-2322-Mar-23
Fife17-Apr-2319-Apr-2318-Apr-23
Glasgow20-Apr-2321-Apr-2319-Apr-23
Highland15-Mar-2316-Mar-2314-Mar-23
Inverclyde19-Apr-2318-Apr-2320-Apr-23
Midlothian28-Mar-2327-Mar-2329-Mar-23
Moray18-Apr-2317-Apr-2319-Apr-23
North Ayrshire16-Mar-2315-Mar-2317-Mar-23
North Lanarkshire28-Mar-2327-Mar-2329-Mar-23
Orkney22-Mar-2321-Mar-2323-Mar-23
Perth and Kinross20-Apr-2321-Apr-2319-Apr-23
Renfrewshire21-Mar-2320-Mar-2322-Mar-23
Shetland24-Mar-2323-Mar-2327-Mar-23
South Ayrshire17-Mar-2320-Mar-2316-Mar-23
South Lanarkshire29-Mar-2328-Mar-2330-Mar-23
Stirling23-Mar-2322-Mar-2324-Mar-23
The Scottish Borders22-Mar-2321-Mar-2323-Mar-23
West Dunbartonshire14-Mar-2313-Mar-2315-Mar-23
West Lothian24-Mar-2323-Mar-2327-Mar-23
Western Isles29-Mar-2328-Mar-2330-Mar-23