A coalition of disability charities is urging all 32 Scottish local authorities to maintain vital funding for children and young people with additional support needs (ASN).
The children and young people concerned, an estimated 199,000 in total, include those with physical, sensory or learning disabilities in mainstream education, as well as those with health conditions. Continue reading Disability charities urge Scottish councils not to cut special needs funding
An additional £9 million of funding will be provided to local authorities to prevent homelessness and help people into more permanent accommodation. The investment will increase the local authority funding being provided for Rapid Rehousing from £15 million to £24 million over three years.
This will help transform services so people facing homelessness can either immediately, or as quickly as possible, be placed into permanent, stable accommodation with the support they need.
The money is part of the Scottish Government’s £50 million Ending Homelessness Together fund.
Announcing the funding following a visit to an Aberdeenshire shared accommodation service, Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “Temporary accommodation provides an important safety net in a crisis, but we know it is not the solution.
“The evidence shows what most people need is a settled place to stay where they can rebuild their lives. Where additional support is required, it will be most effective when people are living in a stable home, in mainstream housing.
“This additional funding will help reduce time spent in temporary accommodation and get people experiencing homelessness into appropriate and sustainable housing as quickly as possible.”
Chair of Aberdeenshire Council’s Communities Committee, Cllr Anne Stirling said: “We are pleased to see some additional funding coming forward to help us tackle homelessness.
“We are committed to ensuring the right mix of housing options across Aberdeenshire and to reducing poverty and inequality across our communities. Our shared accommodation model helps us to ensure there are temporary affordable housing options for those who need it most.”
COSLA Vice President Graham Houston said: “Tackling Homelessness is a key issue for Councils across Scotland.
“We welcome the extra resource to help local authorities begin to move towards Rapid Rehousing. We will continue to work in partnership with Scottish Government to ensure Councils have the resources needed.”
Real terms funding increase for local government?
The Scottish Government says:
The Scottish Budget delivers a total funding package amounting to £11.1 billion for local government.
This provides local authorities with a £197.5 million increase for day to day spending on essential public services in 2019-20, alongside a £207.6 million increase on their capital spending budget.
Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said despite a £2 billion reduction in real terms to Scotland’s block grant over the last decade, the 2019-20 Scottish Budget provides local authorities with a real terms increase in overall funding of over £210 million. This alongside a real terms increase in both the revenue and capital settlements.
Mr Mackay said: “The Scottish Government has continued to ensure that our partners in local government receive a fair funding settlement despite further cuts to the Scottish Budget from the UK Government.
“After removing the health uplift the Scottish Government fiscal resource block grant funding goes down by £340 million or 1.3% in real terms for 2019-20. Despite that reduction, we have still provided a 2% real terms uplift in the total Local Government settlement for 2019-20.
“If local authorities choose to use their powers to increase Council Tax by up to 3% they can generate up to an additional £80 million to support the delivery of essential local services.”
2019-20 Local Government funding allocations.
| Local Authority | Revenue | Capital | Total Local Government Settlement | Council Tax Increase | Total Local Government Funding Plus Potential Council Tax Income |
| £m | £m | £m | £m | £m | |
| Aberdeen City | 335.935 | 36.645 | 372.580 | 3.669 | 376.249 |
| Aberdeenshire | 422.419 | 47.964 | 470.383 | 4.197 | 474.580 |
| Angus | 204.922 | 20.131 | 225.053 | 1.567 | 226.620 |
| Argyll & Bute | 195.978 | 21.878 | 217.856 | 1.559 | 219.415 |
| Clackmannanshire | 95.667 | 8.068 | 103.735 | 0.742 | 104.477 |
| Dumfries & Galloway | 285.816 | 27.803 | 313.619 | 2.088 | 315.707 |
| Dundee City | 298.885 | 27.361 | 326.246 | 1.921 | 328.167 |
| East Ayrshire | 231.385 | 22.897 | 254.282 | 1.686 | 255.968 |
| East Dunbartonshire | 186.682 | 13.850 | 200.532 | 1.921 | 202.453 |
| East Lothian | 174.747 | 15.824 | 190.571 | 1.660 | 192.231 |
| East Renfrewshire | 177.809 | 12.984 | 190.793 | 1.608 | 192.401 |
| Edinburgh, City of | 731.695 | 107.886 | 839.581 | 8.504 | 848.085 |
| Eilean Siar | 95.399 | 10.384 | 105.783 | 0.327 | 106.110 |
| Falkirk | 282.900 | 22.102 | 305.002 | 2.104 | 307.106 |
| Fife | 649.412 | 50.805 | 700.217 | 5.186 | 705.403 |
| Glasgow City | 1250.279 | 178.834 | 1429.113 | 8.655 | 1437.768 |
| Highland | 450.617 | 50.165 | 500.782 | 3.770 | 504.552 |
| Inverclyde | 166.007 | 11.719 | 177.726 | 1.082 | 178.808 |
| Midlothian | 162.730 | 17.000 | 179.730 | 1.427 | 181.157 |
| Moray | 160.995 | 15.355 | 176.350 | 1.287 | 177.637 |
| North Ayrshire | 276.359 | 24.705 | 301.064 | 1.920 | 302.984 |
| North Lanarkshire | 619.950 | 47.063 | 667.013 | 4.139 | 671.152 |
| Orkney | 74.592 | 8.283 | 82.875 | 0.280 | 83.155 |
| Perth & Kinross | 250.919 | 34.288 | 285.207 | 2.485 | 287.692 |
| Renfrewshire | 315.487 | 23.672 | 339.159 | 2.621 | 341.780 |
| Scottish Borders | 207.926 | 23.957 | 231.883 | 1.731 | 233.614 |
| Shetland | 85.703 | 9.026 | 94.729 | 0.289 | 95.018 |
| South Ayrshire | 202.043 | 18.863 | 220.906 | 1.848 | 222.754 |
| South Lanarkshire | 564.744 | 41.482 | 606.226 | 4.392 | 610.618 |
| Stirling | 169.881 | 14.923 | 184.804 | 1.503 | 186.307 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 188.777 | 13.361 | 202.138 | 1.268 | 203.406 |
| West Lothian | 319.734 | 22.711 | 342.445 | 2.333 | 344.778 |
| Undistributed | 150.768 | 82.221 | 232.989 | 0.000 | 232.989 |
| Scotland | 9,987.162 | 1,084.210 | 11,071.372 | 79.768 | 11,151.140 |
‘A Bad Deal for Local Government’?
COSLA says:
COSLA said it was disappointed that the value of the essential services provided by Scottish Local Government has not been recognised by the Scottish Government in the Scottish Government’s budget announcement.
COSLA went on to describe the proposed budget as a cash cut to Local Government’s core budget and said that as a priority would use the next few weeks to engage in meaningful dialogue with both Scottish Government and the wider Scottish Parliament.
COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson Councillor Gail Macgregor said: “First and foremost my feeling is one of disappointment. Disappointment for councils, disappointment for communities and disappointment that Local Government’s role as a deliverer of vital services, an employer and a procurer has not been recognised.
“There is always smoke and mirrors around how those at the centre present their budget. The one message that the Scottish people need to take from today’s budget is that the Local Government’s core budget which provides our essential services has taken a hit.
“We have engaged positively with Scottish Government throughout these budget negotiations and we have run a positive campaign around the meaningful impact that our essential services make to communities throughout Scotland.
“The essential services that Local Government deliver are the foundations on which Scotland is built – today’s announcement means that these foundations are under severe pressure.”
COSLA President Councillor Alison Evison said: “Whichever way you want to dress it up, the reality of the situation is that yet again the totality of the essential services Councils deliver has been neglected by the Scottish Government.
“There is no scope for Local Government to mitigate the impact of these cuts as there has been no movement yet on local taxation – the 3% Council Tax Cap remains and there is no indication about discretionary taxation, including Tourist Tax.
“It is extremely frustrating that, having worked well on a range of issues with the Government this year, our contribution to meeting key outcomes across Scotland has not yet been acknowledged.
“What we have today is a bad deal for communities and for jobs. Given these proposals today, serious financial challenges lie ahead for councils.”
So who is telling the truth about local government funding?
The 2019-20 Scottish Budget provides Scotland with economic stability by making strategic long-term investments to strengthen and prepare the economy for the future, according to Finance Secretary Derek Mackay. However local government umbrella organisation COSLA says the budget will mean only more cuts to council services. Continue reading Budget: saving public services?
Councils in Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s Health and Social Care Trusts are continuing to exploit their dominant purchasing power, according to a new report from UKHCA, the professional association for homecare providers. Continue reading Councils ‘buying homecare on the cheap’
Every council in Scotland has delivered on an agreement that all eligible families will be able to receive a grant of at least £100 to cover the cost of school uniforms. Continue reading School uniforms: Every Council meets £100 clothing grant pledge
Households who fail to recycle properly could soon be hit with a fee by their local council in a bid to reduce landfill waste. Continue reading Making a mess of recycling? Households could soon be charged a return fee
Ministers have published proposed changes to the Councillors’ Code of Conduct that will explicitly prohibit harassment and bullying. The amended Code has been submitted to the Scottish Parliament for approval following its endorsement by COSLA. This brings the Councillors’ Code in line with recent changes to the Scottish Ministerial Code.
Councillors have also agreed to update guidance on acceptable behaviour to accompany the changes to the Code.
Minister for Local Government and Housing, Kevin Stewart said: “Despite the great progress that has been made in promoting and achieving equality, it is clear that harassment and bullying are still issues that need tackled and this is unacceptable.
“Government works for the people and we need to be unequivocal that prejudice of any kind will not be tolerated. The proposed changes to the Councillors’ Code mean that it will specifically condemn harassment and bullying and make clear that where behaviour falls short people can expect to be held to account.”
COSLA President Councillor, Alison Evison said: “This change sends a strong message that all forms of bullying and harassment are not only completely unacceptable but are considered a breach of the Code of Conduct. It is only right that elected members in all spheres of government are held equally to account for their behaviour and set a high example to the rest of society.
“The change to the Code of Conduct is an important part of a wider picture such as continued efforts by COSLA and the Scottish Government to tackle gender based violence, including harassment, through the Equally Safe strategy.”
If agreed by Parliament the changes to the Code are expected to come into force in the summer.
The amendment states that ‘bullying or harassment is completely unacceptable and will be considered to be a breach of this Code’.
The changes have been endorsed by the Standards Commission and the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life, the independent bodies responsible for enforcing the Code, as well as by COSLA. Similar changes to the Scottish Ministerial Code were issued by the First Minister in February.
NHS, the economy and the low paid to benefit, says Scottish Government
COSLA welcomes recognition of local government concerns Continue reading A budget of compromise and consensus: ‘credit where it is due’?
“Our evidence tells us that councils are finding the financial pressures increasingly difficult to manage” – Ronnie Hinds, Accounts Commission
Councils are showing increasing signs of financial stress and face even tougher challenges ahead, says the Accounts Commission. In its annual financial overview published today the local authority watchdog says funding has reduced while costs and demands have increased, and more councils are using reserves to fund services.
The Scottish Government provides around two thirds of council budgets. This fell by 5.2 per cent in 2016/17 to £9.7 billion.
2016/17 was also the last year of the council tax freeze. Council tax provides just 14 per cent of councils’ income. The report notes that if all councils chose to raise council tax by three per cent, it would yield an estimated £68 million – broadly comparable to a one per cent pay rise for staff.
Overall council debt rose by £800 million in 2016/17 as councils took advantage of low interest rates to fund projects. While not posing an immediate problem some councils are concerned about longer term affordability.
The report highlights a number of financial pressures. A rising proportion of council funding directed towards national priorities such as educational initiatives means councils have to look at deeper cuts in other services. For example, resources for culture, planning and development, and roads have seen the sharpest falls in funding over the last three years.
The report also looks at the current financial year (2017/18) where councils have approved £317 million of savings and use of £105 million in reserves. Some councils could risk running out of general fund reserves within two or three years if they continue to draw on them at current levels.
The report aims to help councils plan ahead for setting their 2018/19 budgets.
Ronnie Hinds, deputy chair of the Accounts Commission, said: “Our evidence tells us that councils are finding the financial pressures increasingly difficult to manage. The elections in May this year brought in major changes in council administrations across Scotland. Councils that have demonstrated effective leadership and robust planning will be in a better position to deal with the challenges that lie ahead.”
