Tag: public services

Devolution: Work With Us

COSLA comments on the Prime Minister’s speech on devolution

Commenting on the Prime Minister’s speech on devolution on Friday, COSLA Vice President Cllr Steven Heddle stressed the need for early and meaningful engagement with Scottish Local Government around any significant proposals for a model of regional empowerment.

Cllr Heddle said: “The Prime Minister has set out UK Government’s thinking around greater devolution to Scotland and to Local Government in particular.  

“COSLA is strongly supportive of that principle of subsidiarity, and has been actively and positively involved in discussions around regional economic partnership working, albeit not the specifics of the Prime Minister’s speech today.  

“The development of any proposals such as this must be based around meaningful engagement.  COSLA stands ready to participate fully in any discussions with both UK and Scottish Governments around the future shape of local democracy in Scotland.

“Our position remains consistent – this must be about bringing decisions closer to communities, improving local democracy and delivering better outcomes for all.  This should not be devolution imposed from the top down.

“Communities and vital staff delivering services day-in-day out must meaningfully inform the future of local services and UK Government must work with COSLA on any future devolution proposals.”

PRIME MINISTER ANDY BURNHAM’s SPEECH IN FULL:

It’s great to be with you. Thanks to the college, as Douglas says, for having us. 

It’s good to be back in Scotland, to be here in Motherwell. 

And I should say – I’m going to say this now, but I might regret it – the true north!

Please don’t tell anyone in Manchester that I said that.

You know I’ve created Number 10 North? Are you aware of that? Have you heard of that?

I know here you’ll probably call it Number 10 South. 

And then you’ve got now Number 10 South South. 

So you’re going to have to have your own way now of describing it. 

But it is brilliant to be here. 

I was in Scotland for the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in the summer and, can I say, what a job Glasgow did in stepping forward to host it. Really grateful to them, did it brilliantly.  

I’m actually here more than you might think. I sneak into Scotland without you knowing. I was here between Christmas and New Year last year for Hibs-Hearts and it has not escaped my notice that Motherwell are currently above the former in the SPL. 

Although, well I think there are some Motherwell supporters here, surely. I hope there are. 

I care about Scotland and I am coming today with a big offer and in search of common ground.

When I walked into Downing Street in July, I said I wanted to do politics differently. Place-first not party-first. 

Honestly, I meant it. I meant it and I arrive here in that spirit because people in Scotland, in my view, deserve better from politicians and politics, as they do all over the UK, to be honest.

So that’s why I’m here. I’m here in that spirit because I want to show that politics can be better and we can work in a different way, place first, not party first. 

And I want to say something so Scotland understands this. 

I left Westminster in 2017 to become the first Mayor of Greater Manchester because I had come to see quite clearly how Westminster didn’t work for the North of England, North West of England as well. 

My work on Hillsborough had brought me to the same conclusion that Scotland had reached many years before us.

And I felt the same frustrations as Scotland, Scottish ministers, in my ten years as the mayor, because often the way we were treated wasn’t right, it wasn’t good enough. 

So I want everyone in Scotland to know that my reason in going back to Westminster is not to carry on with the same old Westminster and Whitehall ways and go back to that, I’m going back to change all of that. That’s why I’m Prime Minister. 

When I say I want good growth in every postcode, that means every single postcode in Scotland as well.

And what that requires is giving more power to people and places everywhere to change more things for themselves.

One of the most important examples of this that I have seen came not from Manchester but from somewhere not so far from here. 

In August 2023, with the help of the ground-breaking Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, I visited FARE-Scotland at Bannatyne House in Easterhouse with the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit.

And we went because we’d heard all of the reports about what was happening, and the innovation that they were doing in Easterhouse. 

Many of our communities had the same challenges – unfairly labelled and, you know, given a certain reputation – and that kind of hangs over. 

But we had picked up on the stories that were coming out of things that were being done to turn people’s lives around. 

So we went to see. 

I had expected to spend two hours there talking about policing, drugs and violence.

Instead, we only talked about empowerment and opportunity.

The need to stop communities being labelled and defined by the negatives and instead to celebrate their positives and the assets that they’ve got.

It was an amazing time. I’ll never forget it. 

And also we talked about how to create personal pathways, very personal pathways, for each young person, individually tailored for them, working with local employers.

And then to help those young people take those chances up to get them the right clothes so they didn’t feel out of place when they were going to those opportunities and those appointments, or those interviews, and have their travel covered as well. 

It was something I’d never really heard explained in quite that way before. 

It was true extra mile, bottom-up, person-centred support.

Rooted in local values.

Run by the local community and the people on the estate.

And it worked.

Well, why wouldn’t it work? It would work, wouldn’t it, if you run things like that. That’s how they should be done. 

So I took everything I heard that day from Easterhouse and I took it back to Greater Manchester and I used it to pioneer what we called the Live Well model in Greater Manchester.

It was all about moving away from top-down, tick box systems that no one trusts and sometimes can make people feel worse about themselves, not better, when they’ve interacted with that system. 

It was about moving away from the often patronising approach of public services so powerfully described by Darren McGarvey in his book Poverty Safari. And if you haven’t read it, I would recommend it to you. 

And it pointed towards a new approach based on trusting local communities, and let them sort things out for themselves, because they know the solutions that they need.  

And lo and behold, just as Easterhouse had done, we began to achieve more for people than we could have imagined before through Live Well. 

So I carry all of that learning with me into my time as Prime Minister, and I am really clear about the changes I want to see. 

When I walked up Downing Street and into No10, I was determined to push power out of it – and into the hands of local people. That’s what this country needs, in my view, all over it. In all of the regions, in all of the nations. 

To rewire the state, rewire it so that it works right across the UK, and every postcode is empowered to do more for itself. 

So I will do that because in the past we saw too many people, too many places written off, powerless to fight the effects of deindustrialisation. 

And I don’t think I need to say that in this room today, with the history that there is on this site with regards to the effects of deindustrialisation. 

I don’t want anyone ever to be in the position again that this community was in 30 or so years ago. 

And it’s the reason I wanted to come to Motherwell today.

The story of this area and this town gets to the heart of why I believe we need to do things differently.

You know, it’s important to talk to Pamela today as the local MP to understand that history, but also to understand how those challenges are still there, and we know they’re very real challenges, and we want to be able to empower people here to be able to do more, to soften the effects of those things, find new solutions.

What you have here is a proud manufacturing past, and the apprentices who are with us today are obviously taking that tradition forward, and we’re proud of you, and we know you’ll go on to do great things. 

But you’ve been let down. Certainly young people in all parts of the UK have been let down by political choices made far away from here. 

By people often who have no clue, really, about what life is like here. 

So that is basically the history. 

You know, in the past, if you think about this area, if Britain was building something big the fair chance was the steel would have come from here. 

You know, it was the heart of an industrial Britain. 

And this college, I think I’m right in saying, is on the very site where Ravenscraig once stood. 

And in my youth, if I go back to the 70s and 80s, you couldn’t not hear that name, Ravenscraig, on the news, such was its massive importance to the country. 

When it closed, it wasn’t just a works that shut.

It was a whole community which saw the pillars underneath it just taken away, collapse beneath it. 

And that was a decision taken hundreds of miles away by people, without any real consequences for what that would mean for people here. 

Taken by people who would never have to live with those consequences and see those consequences every day. 

And more than thirty years on, I know that work is still ongoing to fill the Ravenscraig site, such is the hole that it left.  

And I know that story myself, as well. 

Because I represented a former mining community, Leigh in the old Lancashire coalfield, and I was the MP there for sixteen years from the early 2000s, just after the pits had shut in the 1990s.

It broke my heart to see the old miners shuffling into my surgery every week carrying oxygen bottles still struggling to get compensation for the damage that was done to their lungs

It pained me to drive past the wasteland around Bickershaw Colliery, one of the last pits to close in Leigh.

Nobody asked Leigh what was going to come next either.

No one in Whitehall went to Leigh and said, “Here’s what we’re going to do with transition”. Just gone. 

And this is the way the UK has been run in our lifetimes, and it’s what needs to change.

It took so much, this country, from Motherwell and its people in terms of the building of Britain. 

And it took so much from Leigh in terms of the powering of Britain, and then just abandoned them when life moved on.

So I am here today to spell out how I plan to do things differently as Prime Minister in all parts of the UK.

Taking power out of the centre, and putting it into places like this, empowering people. 

Because that to me  is just as important in Scotland as it is anywhere else in the UK.

All of the nations that make up the UK, including Scotland, are too unequal internally. 

Like in England, public transport in Scotland is way better in the capital of Scotland than it is in any other city or town in Scotland. 

Or if you look at high streets. 

If you go to Edinburgh today, you’ll see around one in twenty shops lying empty.

But if you go to Dundee, it’s more likely one in five.

Again, not an accident.

It’s what happens when too many of the good jobs go.

When the spending power reduces, and then obviously the high streets suffer and the shops go. 

And people in Aberdeen are living through that now, and they’re very much on my mind, and I’ll have more to say about that in due course. 

If you look at population in Scotland, there are places that haven’t grown like the rest of Scotland, where if you say in the West like Inverclyde, the working population has shrunk.

And why? It’s because it’s what happens when young people can’t see a future for themselves in those areas, and then they move away to find it.

And this one should really give us pause for thought: life expectancy.

It’s wonderful to see the emphasis being put in this college, if I could say this to the principal, on brain health. 

Really asking every student to think about health. 

I think that’s such a powerful message that you’re sending. 

But the truth is we need to do that because the health inequalities are still far too wide. 

A man in East Renfrewshire can live, as I understand, on average seven years longer than a man in Glasgow, even though there is only ten miles between the two places. 

It’s the same elsewhere, in all parts of the country. 

You can just go a few miles and you can see the housing change, you can see the community change, and of course you can see then the health of the people is not what it should be. 

And when people live in a country like that, where it doesn’t feel fair place to place, that’s what then creates the divides that people see, and then it damages people’s trust, and they don’t feel the country is fair to all people and to all places. 

Because when you’ve watched the works go, when you’ve watched the jobs go, the high street become empty, and one government after another tell you that things will get better, why should anybody believe any of us?

And it means we’ve got to change first. Politicians have to change. 

Write a new script, do things very differently, because it’s not been working, what we’ve been doing. 

We spend a lot of time focusing on the differences between Scotland and England.

But what is perhaps more striking is how similar the problems in places across Scotland and England.  

The same cost-of-living pressures and lack of good jobs.

The same huge gaps between the regions.

The same decline sometimes seen on the high streets. 

And the same sense that where you live still has too much bearing on your life as a whole.

And the issue was never the regions themselves. 

They never lacked potential.

Ambition…

Talent…

Drive.

It’s just that the country, at a national level – UK level, Holyrood level – has not often shared the same ambitions of those places and empowered them to achieve those ambitions. 

For decades, the centre sown in London has looked past too many places.

And hasn’t trusted people in those places to make their own decisions about their future.

And that centre has also refused to give up power when it’s been asked to do so. It’s kept hold of the power even when places across the country have been desperate for more ability to do more for themselves. 

Twenty-seven years on, you led the way on devolution here in Scotland with the creation of the Scottish Parliament.

And that was absolutely right.

But devolution was never meant to stop there.

It was never supposed to stop at the doors of the Scottish Parliament.

Obviously, there’s huge progress to look back on. 

Public control of water…

Public ownership of rail…

Free personal care…

And these are all Issues very close to my own heart, and I applaud them…

But they were always meant – as I understand it, because I was in Parliament, as Douglas said, at the time with him – always meant to be the start of something deeper.

The foundations of a nation where communities had more of a say in their own future…

And where the norm was always to push power out until it reached every person and every post code.

Instead, we’ve ended up with the situation where Scotland, the most devolved nation in the UK, is itself one of the most centralised nations in Europe.

And I don’t say that to score points.

Genuinely, I don’t. 

I say that because I believe we need to be honest about that if we really want to get growth in every post code, if we really want to renew every part of the United Kingdom. 

That’s why one of the first things I did as Prime Minister was start shifting that power out of Westminster.

And already we’re giving local leaders in England more power and control over transport…

More say over skills and investment…

More freedom to build an economy around the strengths of their communities.

We’re finally making the centre work for people…

Rather than asking them to work around us.

And this is what I mean by devolution by default, and deep devolution. 

Not swapping power from one parliament to another…

But going deeper.

Putting power down into the regions…

Control back into the hands of the local people who know how to use it best.

And as our English regions see the benefits…

I want those same opportunities for Scotland and Scottish regions.

The chance to stop looking back what was once here…

And start looking forward to what’s coming next.

And that does mean something different for both governments, the UK government and the Scottish government. 

This is the heart of what I wanted to say to you today. 

It means working together in a different way and backing places in a different way across Scotland, and giving them the necessary investment to bring forward a new vision for the reindustrialisation of Scotland that these young people who are with us today can feel hopeful about. 

It is great that the Scottish government has this week agreed to match the UK government’s £10 million to create two defence technical excellence colleges, and Douglas informed me of that news today. 

So there will be one in the east and one in the west. 

That’s an example, I think, of how it should be done. 

The UK government and the Scottish government making something bigger than it might otherwise have been if one of them had done it alone. 

And credit to Douglas and John Swinney for working together on that. 

It means Scots trained for well-paid, skilled jobs in a defence sector that already supports 12,000 jobs here in Scotland

My government’s job is to do whatever we can to support more of those high ambitions in every part of Scotland.

It’s why we’re backing Scottish shipbuilding.

It’s why we’re working with the Scottish government to help secure new investment and new opportunities for the Grangemouth site. And we will keep working hard at that. 

And it’s why we are committed to ensuring the next generation of energy jobs, created right here in Scotland.

Because I know how much these industries matter to people.

To workers.

To their families.

And to the communities they have built around them.

It’s also why I am working on a new deal for food and farming at the EU-UK Summit on the 20th of November. 

I am working closely with our EU partners in relation to that. Why? Because it would have hugely beneficial impacts on the food industry and farming here in Scotland.

And it is why I want to see a change in public procurement across the UK and working with the devolved governments, the same there.

When I was Mayor of Greater Manchester, I put buses back under public control, and it meant I had the ability to choose where the buses we bought were built, and I chose Scotland.

I chose to back Scottish manufacturing. 

I rejected the old Whitehall way of always going to find the cheapest contract anywhere in the world, because I recognised if you paid even a little more, it would still have circular benefits for British communities. 

So I was determined that the buses on the roads of Greater Manchester today were built by Alexander Dennis in Falkirk. 

And I did that because I knew it would sustain those communities. And Euan was there with me when we announced some of those contracts. 

I want all public procurement in the UK to work like that, to follow the same approach and back a plan, a solid plan, to reindustrialise all of Britain. 

But, from there, we have to allow our own regions to forge their own future, and that means Westminster and Holyrood learning to let go and make decisions about what comes next themselves.

The good news is Scotland’s regions already have so many strengths to build on.

In Dundee, you’ve got a world-leading video games industry.

Across the Highlands and the Islands, you’re building a new space industry, with new launch sites emerging.

In Edinburgh, a thriving fintech sector.

The list goes on.

Imagine what more places could achieve if they had greater control and investment to help those businesses grow.

If the people who understood those industries best had more say over where the money went, and which opportunities they went after, they would be building more stronger technical education paths, education paths into their emerging sectors.

We’ve already seen glimpses of what that can look like.

An approach that puts local businesses, universities and councils in the driving seat has seen companies like Chemify turn groundbreaking research into real manufacturing jobs in Glasgow.

And that’s the sort of thing I want to see so much more of.

It’s why we’re putting a billion pounds into research and innovation across the UK in the coming years.

But I don’t want all the decisions about where that money goes being made in Whitehall.

We’re already giving English mayors more control over funding for local innovation.

And I want to explore now how Scotland’s regions can have the same powers to decide where more of that research and development investment goes. 

Because the people building these industries, they know where those industries can go in the future. 

Our job isn’t to stand in their way…

It’s to give them what they need to go after those opportunities.

And there’s one more thing.

Because none of this means very much if the people growing up in these communities don’t get the chance to take up the opportunities that come out of it.

We can announce all the investment we like and all of the big numbers. 

We can build factories…

We can win contracts…

We can create new businesses.

But if a young person down the road growing up here can’t get the skills or support they need to work there…

Then we haven’t got it right.

And right now, too many young people are missing out.

I mean, none of us feel comfortable about these statistics, and it’s the same in England, I’m not pointing the finger at Scotland. 

But the fact is around one in six young people here are not in education, employment or training.

It just isn’t right, is it? It isn’t good enough. 

All of those young people experiencing that feeling of less hope and not having a sense of direction for the future. 

I’ve been clear that care for people is at the heart of everything that I’m about and what my government will do.

And I won’t have a country where we get comfortable with the idea of kids in their 20s just being there on benefits. 

I won’t. I never will accept that some are just written off, given the feeling that they don’t matter or they’re not seen. 

I don’t believe the answer is another scheme designed in the centre – another top-down scheme – and then kind of imposed on every community in the way that we’ve done it in the past. 

It won’t work again. We’ve heard it before. 

The review led by Alan Milburn is challenging us to look at this very differently.

To build a system based on the Easterhouse principle of names not numbers.

Build it from the bottom up. 

Let communities build it. They know best. 

And this is what I’m here to say. I think the time has come for deeper devolution in Scotland to empower all of the proud places across this wonderful nation, every single bit of it. 

More power to do more, and that unlocks a feeling of positivity that you can do something to change the place where you live. 

That’s what I want to see. More power to give people the support they need to access opportunities as they become available in new industries.

And, crucially, treat them as an individual.

I come back to that phrase, names not numbers.

That’s what you can do when you work from the bottom up, as they did in Easterhouse. 

You can just think about the person in front of you, not sometimes the “computer says no” approach where you just give them bad news. 

Come at it a different way, see what they’ve got, and then help them unlock all of that potential.

Don’t see them as a problem to be managed via a programme designed and implemented from Westminster or Holyrood. 

Because the barriers a young person faces in Glasgow, they won’t necessarily be the same as someone growing up in the Highlands.

And the opportunities in Dundee won’t be the same as those in Lanarkshire. That’s just a fact. 

I want to work with the Scottish government and Scottish local government to join up colleges, employers, employment support and local services.

And just like Scotland did in Easterhouse.

And just like we did in Greater Manchester, let’s create a new way of supporting people. 

That’s the vision everybody. I hope it resonates: a revitalised Scotland in a reindustrialised UK, where every region plays their part, and there are new paths for people in every post code across the UK.

I want all areas of Scotland to be part of that and to feel the possibility that they can be part of that, to play their part. 

And I open out a hand to the Scottish government, perhaps not in a way that people in my job have come and done in the past, but I do. 

Because I am long in my political career now, and I know enough now to know that tribal politics and point-scoring in the end doesn’t get you anywhere  

Politicians like to do it, but the public can’t bear it because it just doesn’t work. 

Problem-solving, not point-scoring is what I said when I walked up Downing Street and I mean it, and I’m going to stick to it. And you can all hold me to account on it. 

I know progress has been made here over the last decade with the City Region Deals.

But it is time to think about what comes next.

And how we build on them for the next generation.

We need to look at the resources and decision-making powers that sit at the regional level in Scotland so that no Scottish city regions are left behind.

And I know the Scottish government has also announced a long-term programme for local government reform.

But, if you ask me, we’ve got to move faster and we’ve got to do more. 

Growth won’t wait. 

And if we don’t move now, Scotland could lose out. 

There is a risk that some of the towns and the cities become underpowered when some of the towns and cities of the North of England are going the other way and starting to power up, and I don’t want to see that as Prime Minister. 

I want everywhere to do well. And I think everywhere can do well. 

I do want good growth in every postcode here and the rest of the UK.

And I want to work with the First Minister to deliver it. 

Because, the fact is we won’t agree on everything and we’re not going to and we shouldn’t try because there are some things we will disagree on. 

But that does not mean just because you can’t agree on everything it doesn’t mean you can’t agree on anything. 

We can agree on some things, and I know that because I’ve worked with John over a long period of time as well. 

In my mind, the real question is not whether we should try and work together… 

The real question is why on earth we wouldn’t we?

It would only be party politics that would stop that, and that’s not a good enough reason not to try and work together. 

So today I want to make a serious and genuine offer to the Scottish Government.

I want to move on from the old politics of conflict…

To bring people together….

Across governments and in Scotland… 

Alongside Number 10 North….

Or Number 10 South to you…

And in the immediate months ahead, I want us to design a new model, together, of regional economic empowerment across all of Scotland. 

One that puts control where it should be, in the hands of local people.

And if it’s going to really mean something, it has to be thorough.

At the UK-level, we are looking at how we can devolve innovation, enterprise and employability funding so that that can be used to be matched to the strengths of Scotland’s people and places to create new industries and jobs.

And let me just be really specific about this.

It goes back to what I said about that book, Poverty Safari. 

Because I read that and it had a big impact on me. 

You know, it makes people feel really remote, doesn’t it, from the powers that be and those making decisions? 

So I’m going to be specific and make an offer today. 

An offer of DWP devolution. 

I want to offer Scotland a model of localised employment support, similar to the one in England but obviously shaped by Holyrood and one that’s right for Scotland, not repeating that. 

Because that’s a classic example of where the UK government should work with the Scottish government. 

If you want the best employment support, not a tick-box system, then it has to go deep. It has to go right down. In other words, it has to be based on the Easterhouse principle. Has to be. 

Names not numbers. If it’s not based on that, it won’t work. It will just be repeating the same system in a different way. 

But I want to give Scotland the power to take the Easterhouse model nationwide here 

Not a project on one estate, but the way we support everybody, everywhere. 

And we should absolutely explore how to give Scotland’s regions the ability to develop the skills, the transport systems and investment, the infrastructure, the housing, everything they need to make sure the areas here are set up to deliver their full potential.

So in a couple of weeks, the National Economic Council will meet with the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales, and the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, and we will do that for the first time since I became Prime Minister to put that offer on the table and to see if we can work out a plan together.

I think that feels different. I hope you sense that too as you hear me lay it out. 

And my message to John is simple: 

I want to push economic power out into the regions of Scotland. 

Do you? Do you? 

Because, if you do, let’s agree on it. Let’s agree a new process, working with Douglas and working with John’s team. Let’s agree on a new proposal that’s right for Scotland, and we work together on it. 

Let’s have both of Scotland’s governments coming together with a joint ambition to push power out from the centre – from Westminster and Holyrood –  and put it into the hands of local people. 

And together, let’s reindustrialise Scotland.

Because I absolutely know that it can be done. 

And I’ll finish on this point, you’ll be glad to hear. I’ve had a lot to say, and I wanted to say it directly so you understood fully where I am coming from. 

Here’s the thing, how much time have we wasted – and I’m thinking about my visits as a politician to Scotland – how much time have we wasted just debating what differentiates us, rather than saying, right, what can we agree on and let’s talk about that, rather than talking about the other stuff. 

And I think the time has come for that. 

The country is not in a position to carry on putting politics before places and politics before people. 

It’s not in a position. We can all see and feel that. 

We need to build our prosperity everywhere. 

We need to get the growth going everywhere. 

And that’s the thing. If we get this right in this moment, we will all spend more time in the years ahead talking about the exciting things that are happening in all of the different places in Scotland, and less about politics and political dramas.

And after all, isn’t that the best thing of all that politicians could do for the people, to stop you having to worry about politics and all of us talking about how we build a better future together?

So thank you for listening, everybody. Thank you for letting me speak to you today. I am really taken by the fact that so many people are here, so many people are listening. 

Is there a feeling that we make this a moment of change? Is that what people want? 

And do you think you speak for people around Scotland? Does everyone want a moment of change? The two governments working together?

Well, let’s do it then.

Local governance reform in Scotland

Empowered Communities? Proposals outlined to shape consultation

Initial proposals designed to deliver fundamental reform of local governance have been set out to help shape the debate on improving public services.

The possible changes, if implemented, could help achieve a better balance of decision-making powers across the public sector to ensure investment is focused on delivering improved services.

Initial proposals – which have been shared with COSLA and Holyrood Committees – include:

  • Replacing current local government arrangements with a smaller number of regional authorities to focus on strategic decision-making alongside a substantial number of community authorities with a focus on local decision-making
  • Separate arrangements for island communities have been suggested in recognition of their particular needs  
  • Councillors sitting on both community authority and the associated regional authority to remove the need for a further layer of elections or additional tiers of bureaucracy
  • Ensuring regional administrative corporate structures support both regional and community authorities

Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth said: “Reforming Scotland’s public sector is about delivering the best public services for people across Scotland.

“We need to ensure investment is focused on frontline delivery, with the right staff in the right roles to empower communities and deliver real improvements in public services.

“Some decision making is best delivered at national level and regional level while others better sit closer to communities and we must get that balance right. Existing local government responsibilities could also be extended, including enhanced roles in economic development and business support so that individual areas can reflect local strengths and ambitions.

“These proposals are intended to provide a starting point to facilitate debate and discussion as we work to deliver reforms that strengthen public services and improve outcomes for the people and communities we serve.”

Commenting on the Scottish Government’s public sector reform proposals for local governance, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said: “Whilst the Scottish Government have the laudable ambition to strengthen local democracy, it’s absolutely for the birds to think the sheer scale of this local government reform can be achieved without the initial and substantial investment required to bring about change in our communities.

“There is an argument that community authorities can improve decision making but only if the funding exists to deliver these services. The Scottish Government must be clear that, in the short-term, this will cost money – not save it.

“You cannot credibly claim to empower communities whilst looking set to cull 20,000 public servants who would, in reality, be required to get these reforms off the ground in the first place.

“Unions will continue to monitor the government’s proposals and will engage in good faith. However, we must be clear that any reforms forthcoming must not be a mere smokescreen for brutal cuts cosplaying as progress.

“Real progress means ending the £3 billion outsourcing within the public sector, delivering sectoral bargaining within social care and properly funding our public services through progressive taxation that builds, not bulldozes, our local government and public services.”

Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive, Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), said: “Today’s proposals for reform of local governance are ill-advised and entirely impractical. Expecting councils to engage in meaningful discussions and reach an agreement based on this within a mere 10 weeks is entirely unrealistic.

“The plan is clearly half-baked and raises numerous unanswered questions, such as what exactly will the new regions be and how will the geographies of community authorities be decided and by whom?

Crucial service sectors are similarly glossed over without practical detail. On education, suggesting that certain responsibilities be devolved locally to community authorities while empowering headteachers effectively strips local councils of education oversight.

“Transitioning to these regional and community tiers will also incur significant financial costs that remain totally uncalculated. Meanwhile, the statement provides zero clarity on social care: is it destined for nationalisation, takeover by two new NHS Boards, absorption into the new regional authorities, or some confusing hybrid of all three?

“Scottish Government must learn from England’s failings on reorganisation and understand how notoriously complex, costly, and difficult it is. It consumes immense energy and attention, distracting everyone from core priorities. If you are going to attempt it, you need absolute clarity on geographies rather than rushing straight to structural fixes.

“Real regional collaboration and stronger community engagement can easily be achieved within existing local authority structures—it doesn’t demand structural change. Substituting structural upheaval for real progress simply reflects a lack of imagination, a reluctance to put in the hard yards of true collaboration, and the vanity of chasing a political legacy.”

COSLA President, Councillor Shona Morrison, has responded to Scottish Government’s proposals for Local Government reform: “Today’s statement gives some clarity to the Scottish Government’s intentions around the future of local government and public service reform.

“COSLA has been clear that public service reform will only succeed if it is rooted in communities and that any changes to our governance landscape must enhance local democracy and bring decisions closer to communities.

“Councils will engage with Ministers to shape the future of local democracy. We will not support reforms that dilute local democracy or remove accountability from the people we serve.

“COSLA’s membership will consider these proposals from Scottish Government and continue constructive dialogue on what may be a fundamental restructuring of governance in Scotland.”

COSLA Leaders will meet on Friday to discuss public service reform proposals.

Earlier this month (11 September) COSLA confirmed that Local Government will engage constructively in the Scottish Government’s proposed three-month dialogue on public service reform, but participation must not be mistaken for agreement to any predetermined structure or transfer of responsibilities.

Councillors are elected by their communities to represent their interests. It is therefore vital to public trust that engagement is meaningful and truly informs any change to public services.

Council Leaders are clear: public service reform must be developed jointly by Local Government and Scottish Government, grounded in evidence, focused on outcomes, and shaped by the communities and workforce who will be most affected.

COSLA President, Cllr Shona Morrison, stated clearly: “Public service reform will only succeed if it is rooted in communities, not organisational charts. Local Government will engage with Scottish Government, but we will not support reforms that dilute local democracy, centralise decision-making or remove accountability from the people we serve.

“Decisions around public service reform must be made in agreement between Local Government and the Scottish Government and have the endorsement of councils on any issue affecting them.”

There will be no “one size fits all” approach

Public services should be designed with the focus being on outcomes, not organisational structures.

Services should remain local and closest to communities by default, work regionally where scale adds value, and operate nationally only where there is a clear benefit. Protecting local accountability of our public services is essential. Councils already have practical proposals for greater collaboration, shared services and stronger partnership working across the public sector.

Social care must remain local

Council Leaders have once again reaffirmed that social care and social work services must remain within Local Government and be accountable to local communities.

Social care and social work should be an equal partner to the NHS not subordinated to it.

Any approach to social care reform must recognise that it is not simply about meeting individual needs, but about removing societal and structural barriers, advancing inclusion, and supporting people have choice, control, and be able to participate in their communities. Local Government must be an equal partner in shaping future arrangements.

Communities and Staff Must Be Heard

COSLA is seeking assurance that communities, the workforce and their Trade Unions will be fully involved, and that evidence is not sidelined by a compressed timetable. Scotland already has a strong foundation for reform through years of work on local democracy and democratic literacy.

The Financial Case for Public Service Reform

Councils need clarity on expected costs, savings, risks and the investment required to make any change successful. Public Service Reform cannot become a vehicle for cutting the Local Government settlement, and we cannot afford to put our communities at risk like that. Sustainable reform requires funding certainty, investment in prevention and resources that match responsibilities.

Looking at the Whole System

A debate on local governance must not focus solely on councils. COSLA believes there is a strong case for considering whether some functions currently delivered nationally could benefit from local democratic accountability. Councils recognise and have been progressing opportunities for greater collaboration across the wider public sector – but these should be underpinned by local knowledge and understanding of needs.

Key Messages from COSLA Leaders

  • A planned approach to Public Service Reform must be agreed jointly between Local Government and Scottish Government, be flexible and asymmetric recognising the different geographies, demographics and needs across Scotland.
  • Consideration should be given to a range of services not currently within the remit of local government that should be brought closer to local democratic accountability, such as public health, transport and further and higher education;
  • Council Tax reform must be delivered on – Local Government has been seeking this for over a decade and the analysis published today shows public support for the case for change.
  • Social care and social work services must remain within Local Government and not be over-medicalised.
  • Communities, staff and trade unions must have a meaningful role in shaping Public Service Reform.
  • Public Service Reform must respect the Verity House Agreement, the European Charter on Local Self Government, and local democratic mandates.
  • Local government elections in May 2027 should not be affected by Public Service Reform proposals, and the election timeline should be considered in this process.
  • The workforce impacts must be carefully considered and addressed, prior to any agreement on change.
  • Greater clarity is needed on the financial implications of Public Service Reform.

Scotland’s public services will be strengthened not by imposing structures from the top down, but by working with councils, communities and the workforce to deliver better outcomes for people.

A Proposal For Reform of Local Governance

‘Intense engagement’ shaping Scotland’s public sector reform

IMPROVING SERVICES?

A period of intense engagement is underway to ensure streamlined public services are delivered for Scotland, Public Service Reform Secretary Ivan McKee has said.

This week’s Programme for Government set out how the Scottish Government plans to deliver stronger and efficient public services that are sustainable for generations to come.

Plans include replacing the current 14 territorial health boards with two strategic health boards, removing unnecessary duplication and overlap in public services and seeking a clear shared direction on substantial reform to local governance, including social care.

Mr McKee said: “Public service reform is at the heart of this Government’s priorities for the next five years and this work will help to ensure that every pound of investment is focused on frontline delivery, with the right staff in the right roles to deliver real improvements in public services.

“I will meet public sector leaders and other key partners at the Public Service Reform Summit later this month to discuss the challenges and opportunities posed by public service reform and the agenda set-out in the Programme for Government.

“My colleagues and I are also engaged in intensive dialogue with public bodies, NHS Boards, local government, trade unions, the third sector, businesses and communities to strengthen the work that is already taking place and to ensure that proactive leadership and collaboration are central to our approach.

“Our focus over the coming months is to build a shared understanding of how we will deliver the changes necessary to support the needs of diverse communities across Scotland.”

COSLA President, Councillor Shona Morrison, has responded to Scottish Government’s Programme for Government plans: “The Programme for Government is a significant statement of the Scottish Government’s priorities, and we will take time to consider its detail carefully.

“There are important implications for local government and council services, particularly the proposed NHS reforms and what they will mean for the future delivery of social care.

“Over the coming days, COSLA will engage closely with our member councils and with Scottish Ministers to ensure these proposals are focused on what is best for communities across Scotland and respect the democratic legitimacy of local government.

“Public services work best when decisions are taken as close to communities as possible. We look forward to meaningful engagement with the Scottish Government and believe that the dialogue on the future of local governance must be carried forward with councils and COSLA as the collective voice of local government.”

STUC: Programme for Government ‘reckless rather than revolutionary’

Commenting on the Programme for Government, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said: “Presenting the public with a misleading choice of cuts packaged as public service reform was disingenuous at best and a falsehood at worst from the Scottish Government.

“Crushing down Scotland’s health boards into two may seem bold on paper but further centralising power when local communities are crying out for health and social care services tailored to their needs seems more reckless than revolutionary.

“This is not the way to do public sector reform. Before the axe is swung on any public service, whether health, council or social care, Scottish Government ministers would do well to engage meaningfully and purposefully with the workers who deliver on the ground.  This cannot be done in the timescales outlined. 

“Measures on food cap prices, childcare, breakfast clubs and bus fare caps are welcome. However, by avoiding the big decisions on wealth redistribution – on council tax reform, wealth taxes and taking national stakes in our energy infrastructure – cost of living measures will always fall short of the radical transformation both our economy and communities require.

“We will be engaging actively with Government on its promise to bring forward a responsible strategy for data centres in Scotland. We need to take stock of how such projects can benefit decent jobs, workers and the communities in which they will reside. We need to move away from industrial strategy that allows our heavy industry, manufacturing and renewables sectors to be sold off to the highest bidders with little public benefit in return.

“Finally, it’s deeply welcome the First Minister has pledged further support for survivors of gender-based violence. It’s time that all organisations, employers and society as a whole adopts a zero-tolerance approach to violence against women and girls and it’s correct that this is a strategic priority for the Scottish Government in which the First Minister will find support from Scotland’s trade unions.”

Programme for Government 2026 to 2031 – gov.scot

“Choose People Over War”

Communist Candidate Blasts Underfunding of Local Government ahead of Edinburgh By-Elections

.Richard Shillcock, the Communist Party of Britain candidate for the upcoming Southside/Newington ward by-election, has launched a fierce critique against central government accusing political leaders of prioritising military spending over critical public services.

Responding to voters questioning the link between local council services and military budgets, Shillcock outlined a direct connection between UK defence spending and the decline of local communities.

Skyrocketing Military Spending

Shillcock noted that since the 2022 Edinburgh Council elections, annual UK defence spending has surged from £48 billion to £62 billion, with further increases planned.

He highlighted that during this same period, the UK has committed over £25 billion in support to Ukraine—including £16 billion in weapons—alongside active arms deals with Israel totalling hundreds of millions of pounds.

Shillcock argued that the funds directed toward international conflicts are directly starving local councils of resources.

Richard Shillcock said: “The choice is simple: welfare or warfare. We can invest in people or waste money on war.

“My message to Edinburgh voters is clear—every cut to public services, every council tax rise, every waiting list, every crowded school, every substandard home, and even every pothole could be fixed if we stopped funding war.”

A Challenge to Rival Parties

In a direct challenge ahead of the 3 September by-elections, Shillcock called out rival political campaigns for offering superficial solutions to deep-seated systemic issues.

“Unlike others, the Communist Party of Britain is not going to pretend that performative tinkering with our political system will bring about substantive improvements for working-class people,” Shillcock ssaid.

“Voters should challenge every single candidate standing on whether they prioritise investing in people or wasting money on war.”

Scottish Budget: Delivering for families and public services?

The 2026-27 Budget will support a stronger NHS, with a record £22.5 billion for health and social care, expand cost of living support and invest in Scotland’s infrastructure.

Published alongside the latest multi-year Scottish Spending Review, Infrastructure Strategy and Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline, the draft Budget invests almost £68 billion including direct support for families and household budgets.

The 2026-27 Budget includes: 

  • a cost of living package to: help families with funding to trial a programme of activities in a range of primary schools between 3-6pm; a Summer of Sport – free children’s sporting activities, including lessons on how to swim for every primary school child in the country; and a breakfast club for every primary school by August 2027
  • continued investment in Scotland’s existing cost of living measures, including free prescriptions, free eye examinations, removal of peak rail fares on Scotrail, free tuition fees for young Scots, free school meals for thousands of children, including all pupils in P1 to P5, and free bus travel for under-22s and over-60s
  • funding to increase Scottish Child Payment to £28.20 per week and investment to allow the introduction of a premium payment of £40 per week for eligible children under 12 months from 2027-28, bolstering efforts to drive down child poverty
  • extra funding to keep more children out of poverty from funds initially set aside to mitigate the UK Government’s two-child cap, including £50 million of whole family support and a further £49 million for measures to be announced in the Child Poverty Delivery Plan in March
  • tax choices which increase the Basic and Intermediate rate income tax thresholds to put more money in the pockets of low and middle income earners, maintain current income tax rates and bands, and provide a competitive non-domestic rates relief package worth an estimated £864 million, including measures for pubs, restaurants and retailers
  • a record £22.5 billion for health and social care, including a record £17.6 billion for NHS boards and resources to begin the national rollout of walk-in GP clinics, making it easier to access same-day appointments
  • an almost £15.7 billion record settlement for local government to support the services communities rely on including social care and education
  • significant extra funding for universities and colleges, with colleges seeing a combined increase of £70 million in resource and capital funding, equivalent to a 10% uplift,  targeted support to help retrain workers in the oil and gas sector and ongoing commitment to Scotland’s apprenticeships, which this year will provide more than 31,000 Scots with a pathway to sustainable, well-paid jobs
  • over £5 billion to tackle the climate emergency, reduce carbon emissions and increase resilience as well as backing regenerative and sustainable skills in food and farming
  • £4.3 billion transport funding including investment in railways, the renewal of the ferry fleet, removal of peak season fares for residents of Orkney and Shetland on Northern Isles ferries and nearly £200 million for the dualling of the A9
  • record investment in new affordable homes

Ms Robison said:“This Budget delivers for families across the country, for a stronger NHS, and for a more prosperous future. 

“It will fund landmark policies to continue efforts to eradicate child poverty – investing in a brighter future for Scotland and the children growing up here.

“Almost £68 billion is being invested in 2026-27 and almost £200 billion through the Scottish Spending Review and Infrastructure Investment Pipeline, demonstrating the scale of our ambition for our nation.”

Other measures include:

  • from April 2027, an Air Departure Tax (ADT) will come into force and the framework offered by the new ADT will be used to introduce a private jet supplement
  • the introduction by April 2028 of two new council tax bands for the most expensive properties in Scotland, those worth more than £1 million, on an up-to-date valuation
  • support for high-growth firms to attract private investment and connect entrepreneurs
  • £200 million for the Scottish National Investment Bank – delivering on the commitment to invest £1 billion in the Bank by the end of the parliamentary term
  • record funding for police and fire services and an additional £10 million investment in community justice services
  • a £20 million increase in the culture budget, recognising Scotland is richer because of its world-famous culture and creative sector
  • support for the creation of a diverse and sustainable supply chain for offshore wind, to boost the economy.

Scottish Budget 2026-27

Scottish Spending Review 2026

Infrastructure Strategy

REACTIONS:

Responding to today’s proposed Scottish Budget, Poverty Alliance Policy & Campaigns Manager Ruth Boyle said: “People in Scotland want a just and compassionate society – but too many feel the system is rigged against them.

“There was some good news today – but we can do much more to make sure that every child in Scotland gets the investment they need for a decent life and a better future.

“Ensuring that every child in primary school gets a healthy breakfast is an excellent investment, because no child should go to school hungry.

“Increasing the Scottish Child Payment to £40 for eligible households with a baby under 1 is welcome and will help families at a time when they face increased costs. However, this must be a first step towards boosting that payment to £40 for every eligible child in the country.

“That is the kind of fundamental investment the Government needs to make if they are serious about meeting the 2030 child poverty targets.

“With Scotland not on track to meet those legally binding targets, we need all political parties to set out their plans to invest in country where no child lives in poverty. Our children can’t wait any longer.

“We can make that kind of investment in Scotland – and there is support for it. In among the Budget documents is new polling from YouGov showing that 54% of people in Scotland believe that Government should redistribute income from the better-off to those who are less well off. Just 29% disagree.

“The Scottish Government must raise revenue to invest in our shared national priorities, like tackling child poverty and reducing the cost of living. It’s right that the Government has turned to those with the biggest assets to contribute more with a tax on private jets and increased council tax for the highest value homes. 

“This has to be the start of long-promised, fundamental reform of council tax so that our local councils can provide the services that all of us need, and that are a vital lifeline for so many households in poverty.

“The Poverty Alliance will continue to call for the measures we need to provide a Minimum Income Guarantee that no-one will fall under – including increasing wages, investing in strong public services, and providing a social security system that gives everyone in Scotland a secure foundation to build a better future.

“Today’s budget has some positive steps towards that ambition – but we need to go further and faster if we are to build a Scotland free from poverty.”

Commenting on today’s draft Scottish Budget, Mary Glasgow, Chief Executive of Children First, Scotland’s national children’s charity, said: “It’s hugely positive to see child poverty being made a top priority in today’s budget.

“The significant funding boost to whole family support and extra resources for third sector organisations will provide a lifeline to families who need help most, right across Scotland.

“But we can’t afford to slow down. Scotland’s legal target to eradicate child poverty demands bold, accelerated action. Life is tougher than ever for many children and families and at Children First we witness this first-hand every day.

 “That’s why we urgently need a National Front Door that offers a simple accessible way for families to get the help they need when they need it.”

Children First’s manifesto for the 2026 Holyrood elections calls on the next Scottish Government to deliver a comprehensive offer of whole family support to tackle child poverty and give every family the emotional, practical and financial support they need.

Read the manifesto here: 2026 Holyrood Election Manifesto | Children First

Trussell’s Cara Hilton said: ‘While we welcome the @scotgov‘s £40 SCP rate for babies under 1, we continue to call for an increase to £40 a week for all.

‘Our @TrussellUK data shows food parcels for families with children aged 12-16 in Scotland rose by 7% over the past 5 years. #ScotBudget‘.

Responding to the Scottish Budget and Scottish Spending Review, Anna Fowlie, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) Chief Executive, said:   “Too often and for too long, voluntary organisations that provide vital services to people and communities across Scotland are treated as the poor relation to mainstream public services.

“They have had to contend with budget cuts, short-term funding cycles, late payments, incoherent decision-making, poor communication, inadequate grant management, and more. 

“Reform of the voluntary sector funding landscape is long overdue. The Scottish Spending Review is welcome, giving the Government the long-term outlook to make progress on its commitment to deliver improvements, including multi-year funding for Scotland’s voluntary organisations. 

“Welcome too is the Scottish Government’s commitment to multi-year funding for sections of the voluntary sector—this shows, again, what is possible.  

“Today we had hoped for more than a recommitment to the ‘first step’ announced last February—the Scottish Government’s ‘Fairer Funding’ pilot.

“We know the benefits of multi-year funding: better staffing, stability, and future planning for the services people and communities rely on. The Government’s own research confirms this.  

“Multi-year funding alone, however, will not provide the sustainable funding environment the voluntary sector so desperately needs, funding that is flexible, sustainable, and accessible.  

“We need to see real progress and recognition of SCVO’s Fair Funding asks beyond multi-year funding. Wider reforms are, unfortunately, now unlikely to be seen before  the next parliamentary term.

“In the meantime it is essential that in the weeks following the Scottish Budget the Scottish Government support local authorities and voluntary organisations by meeting their commitments to timely notifications and payments. 

“We look forward to further engagement on both Fair Funding and charity regulation in the next parliamentary term.”  

Shelter Scotland Director, Alison Watson said: “Social housing delivery in Scotland remains too slow, too little and too late for the more than 10,000 children homeless tonight. Today’s budget doesn’t do enough to change these facts.

“Shona Robison’s budget was an opportunity for Ministers to put their money where their mouth is. On the face of it an additional £34 million for social housing, compared to the most recent budget, is a step in the right direction – but it is not enough.

“The extra money will only deliver 36,000 affordable homes by 2030 – more than 26,000 short of where they say they would need to be to deliver their promise of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032.

“The new Parliament will need a new approach and new money to deliver the social homes needed to reduce homelessness. Homes that the government promised, that academics say we need but for which there is still no credible plan to deliver.

“We must be honest about the real costs of failure. Failing to build the social homes we need means rising homelessness, rising child poverty, rising costs for councils, health boards and the taxpayer.”

Responding to the Scottish Government’s Budget, Debbie Horne, Scotland Policy and Public Affairs Manager at Independent Age said: “It is disappointing to see nothing new in this Budget to adequately respond to the growing number of older people in poverty. 

“One in six pensioners now live in poverty across Scotland, a total of 160,000 older people, and we must see more action to support them.  

“We want the Scottish Government to set out a clear, targeted strategy to bring down the alarming number of older people in poverty, increase access to the vital Discretionary Housing Payments that can help older renters meet shortfalls in rent, and increase the social security support available to those on a low income in later life. 

“With pensioner poverty at its highest level in nearly 20 years, and likely to continue to rise as our population ages, it’s vital all political parties include measures to bring down the levels of poverty in later life in their manifestos’ ahead of May’s Holyrood elections. In a compassionate and wealthy society, we should all be able to live a financially secure, dignified later life.” 

Responding to the Scottish Government’s Budget statement which slashed the 40% discount on business rates bills for pubs at the same time as a rates revaluation will lead to higher bills from 1 April, Stuart McMahon, Director of pubgoers group CAMRA Scotland said: “Pubgoers and publicans simply won’t stand for a Budget which will force more of our locals to go to the wall by landing them with bills they simply can’t afford. 

“I fear that slashing the 40% discount on business rates bills for pubs to just 15% at the same time as these bills are increasing will be absolutely disastrous. 

“Transitional reliefs may sound good but if this Budget still means higher business rates bills than pubs are paying now then this will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for many hard-pressed licensees.

“Pubs need permanently lower business rates bills so that they can survive, thrive and play their part as vital community hubs.” 

The Scottish Government’s budget announcement of further funding for the college sector, which includes a combined increase of £70 million in resource and capital funding, received a qualified welcome. Principal of Edinburgh College, Audrey Cumberford said: “While this is a welcome step in the right direction for college funding, there is still more that needs to be done.

“This increase will help to undo some of the damage done by years of real terms cuts, but more is needed if we are to ensure the future sustainability of our sector.

“There is now a clear consensus across the political spectrum for better funding for colleges.

“I would urge parties to continue to work together to make sure we unleash the true potential of our sector so we can continue to drive economic growth and improve the lives of Scots across the country.”

Responding to the Scottish government’s 2026-27 budget, announced today by Finance Secretary Shona Robison, RCEM Vice President for Scotland Dr Fiona Hunter said: “Scottish Emergency Departments are in the midst of a crisis born of political apathy towards tackling the difficult problems of social care capacity, delayed discharges and the overall issue of hospital flow.  

“Today’s budget indicates once again that the Scottish government understands what the issues are. £2.3bn extra for social care, an uplift in frontline NHS spending, specific targeted action on delayed discharge and local engagement – these are all measures we warmly welcome from the government.  

“As well as this, our members will be pleased to hear about improvements to training, retention and working conditions. 

“However, we’ve been here before. Time after time the reality in our A&Es has got worse, not better, despite claims from the government that the NHS has been on ‘the path to recovery’ in recent years.  

“We are seeing more and more patients waiting alone on trolleys in hospital corridors for hours on end, getting sicker and being put at risk of harm.  

“This has happened because exit block has not been tackled, despite promises to the contrary from the government. 

“The devil will be in the detail and I will reserve judgement for when myself, and the members I represent, see improvements in our Emergency Departments.   

“We look forward to continued engagement with the government on how it seeks to tackle hospital flow, and await further information on how the Health Secretary will take today’s promises and turn them into action and, ultimately, improvements for our patients.”

Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive, LGIU, said: “This Budget offers some short-term stability for councils, but it ducks the bigger questions about how local government is funded. 

There is still no meaningful move towards multi-year settlements, which councils overwhelmingly say they need in order to plan sustainably. Our annual State of Local Government Finance in Scotland research, launched last week, reinforces this.  

Incentivising a council tax freeze risks further undermining local fiscal autonomy, while adult social care remains the single biggest pressure on council finances without clear, dedicated funding. 

Housing investment is welcome, but spreading it across the country without enabling local flexibility limits its capacity to tackle the areas of greatest need. 

Overall, this is a Budget that manages immediate pressures but avoids the structural reform required to put local government finance on a sustainable footing.”

The Existing Homes Alliance (EHA) is a coalition of over 20 housing, environmental, fuel poverty, consumer and industry organisations calling for urgent action to transform Scotland’s existing housing stock.

Lori McElroy, Chair of the Existing Homes Alliance said: “While we welcome the ongoing support to help homeowners, landlords and tenants to make their homes warmer, healthier and more affordable to heat, this remains a drop in the ocean when we have over 800,000 households living in fuel poverty and 44% of Scotland’s homes falling below Energy Performance Certificate band C. 

“Scotland has excellent fuel poverty and energy efficiency programmes such as Warmer Homes Scotland, Area-based Schemes and the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund, as well as generous grants through the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme, but the gap between what is needed and what is currently being delivered is wide.

“This Budget, as it stands, is a missed opportunity to significantly scale up these programmes which would reduce fuel poverty, improve public health by tackling damp and mould, and prepare the workforce and supply chains needed to deliver our climate change targets – supporting thousands of jobs and economic opportunities across Scotland.”

Joanne Smith, Policy and Public Affairs Manager for NSPCC Scotland, said: “For children to thrive, it’s vital that they have the best start in life, and so we are heartened by the Scottish Government’s commitment to increase the Child Payment for under ones. But we are disappointed that young families now will not reap those benefits, with it starting in more than a year’s time.

“We also welcome the Scottish Government’s renewed investment in the whole family support fund and its work to continue to deliver the Promise. But it is so important that in this it recognises the fundamental need for support for very young children, just like the Scottish Child Payment does, so that families get the help they need right from the start.”

Scotland’s Chief Constable Jo Farrell has responded to the Scottish Government’s tax and spending plans for 2026 to 2027.

Chief Constable Farrell said: “I recognise a £90m cash-terms uplift to revenue funding and an improved capital allocation for policing against a challenging public finance picture.

“I set out the funding requirements for policing in evidence during the Criminal Justice Committee’s pre-budget scrutiny work.

“Police Scotland will continue to engage with the Scottish Police Authority and the Scottish Government to understand the full implications of the budget and develop our planning for the year ahead.

“My focus continues to be on prioritising our frontline to deliver safer communities, less crime, and supported victims as part of our vision for policing.”

COSLA: Budget Reality

26-01-13 Budget Reality 26-27 FINALDownload

COSLA calls for £16bn budget boost

COSLA is urging the Scottish Government to provide a £16 billion boost in revenue in the Scottish Budget, to secure fair and sustainable funding for Scotland’s councils.

A demand for a £844 million general capital settlement has also been requested, plus a restoration of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme to £955 million, to maintain, repair, expand and secure the future of Council estates.

COSLA has today launched a lobbying campaign urging the Scottish Government to use the upcoming Scottish Budget to provide councils with the fair, sustainable and multi-year funding needed to protect essential local services.

The campaign – ‘Strong Councils, Strong Communities’ – highlights growing pressures facing local government and the very real consequences of continued underfunding for communities across Scotland. The financial pressures in social care and housing are two key areas COSLA are asking the Scottish Government to specifically address in their upcoming budget.

COSLA warns that without urgent action in January’s Budget, councils will be unable to maintain essential services such as social care, education, housing support, roads, and community safety.

COSLA Resources Spokesperson, Councillor Ricky Bell, said: “Scotland’s councils deliver the services that people rely on every single day — from caring for older and vulnerable people to keeping schools open, streets safe and communities thriving. Councils are facing greater demand than ever and are required to do more with significantly less. This is unsustainable.

“The upcoming Scottish Budget is a pivotal moment. The Scottish Government must deliver a settlement that matches the scale of the challenge. Without fair funding, communities will see services reduced and inequalities deepen, and we will struggle to meet national targets in key areas such as child poverty, housing, and net zero”

This year, councils continue to face rising inflation, increasing demand for services, and the continued impact of workforce pressures across social care and education. COSLA’s analysis shows that even maintaining current services requires substantial additional investment. As a fair and sustainable overall financial settlement COSLA’s key asks from the campaign include:

  • An immediate £750m investment in social care.
  • Flexibility for councils to make local decisions that respond to community needs.
  • Recognition of local government as an equal partner in delivering national priorities and tackling inequalities.

COSLA President, Councillor Shona Morrison, added: “Councils work tirelessly to deliver for Scotland’s communities, however, continued pressure on resources makes this increasingly challenging.

“This is about safeguarding what matters most, support for the most vulnerable, opportunities for young people, support for families, and safe, thriving communities. We hope the Budget will reflect the vital role Local Government plays in Scotland’s public services.”

Supporting regional partnerships to drive growth

Empowering regions to make the decisions that are right for them

Regional economic partnerships can further boost local economies and support jobs across Scotland, First Minister John Swinney has said.

In a speech to the Glasgow State of the City Economy Conference, the First Minister outlined proposed legislation – to be introduced in the next Parliament subject to the election outcome – that would help regional partnerships to unlock new powers and deliver on local priorities.

Speaking in Glasgow, the First Minister said: “Glasgow and Scotland are well placed to flourish in the years ahead.

“It is because we are so blessed that I am all the more determined to deliver on my government’s central economic mission: to increase the wealth and wellbeing our citizens by building a more productive, more dynamic, and more regionally balanced economy  driven by innovation, investment, and inclusive growth.

“Therefore capable of achieving the governments aims of eradicating child poverty, enabling our transition to net zero and strengthening our public services, particularly the National Health Service.

“I want our regional partnerships like Glasgow City Region, to have the opportunity to expand their strategic capacities and role, with a package of additional devolved competencies available over time.

“On the table, powers such as skills, economic development and planning.

“That includes empowering Scotland’s regions because working in partnership with national government, it is our regions that are best placed to drive inclusive economic growth in a way that is both local and strategic.”

COSLA Environment and Economy Spokesperson, Cllr Gail Macgregor said: “As we’ve made clear in our Manifesto, councils can make places thrive, investing in public spaces, transport systems and local economies.

“A place-based approach to policymaking is essential. Looking to the future, we are seeking to maximise the benefits that regional economies can realise, and the First Minister’s announcement today is a positive step in that journey.

“I particularly welcome the place-based flexibility and empowerment suggested, and look forward to working with partners to develop these proposals further.”

Leader of Glasgow City Council Susan Aitken said: “Glasgow City Region is already one of the UK’s biggest collaborative success stories – but we need the backing of both our governments to truly empower us to unlock its extraordinary potential.

“I’m delighted that the First Minister has today recognised our region holds the country’s most compelling opportunity for inclusive economic growth, equity, innovation and transformation.

“His commitment puts the devolution of powers and resources to Scotland’s communities firmly on the national agenda – and Glasgow City Region is more than ready to lead the way.”

Reeves Budget ‘tackles cost-of-living and backs Scottish industry’

Scottish families will benefit from a Budget to cut the cost-of-living, create more high skilled jobs and invest in public services, as the Chancellor reaffirmed her commitment to drive economic growth.

  • Chancellor announces fair deal for working families with removal of two-child benefit cap, energy bill saving and fuel duty freeze 
  • Scottish industry backed by investments in Grangemouth, Greenock, Leith and Fife 
  • Public services backed with extra £820 million for Scottish Government

Rachel Reeves recognised Scotland’s huge £204 billion annual contribution to the UK economy with investments in Grangemouth, Greenock, Leith and Kirkcaldy, and provided long-term certainty to the oil and gas industry to support North Sea jobs and investment. 

Despite wages growing more in the first year of this government than at any point in the 2010s, the Chancellor was clear too many families are still struggling with the cost of living which is why the Budget included a range of measures to cut bills and boost pay packets.   

Saying that the fairest way to help people with the cost-of-living was to cut inflation and increase wages, Reeves announced £150 off energy bills, a fuel duty freeze, and national minimum and living wage rises. 

The Chancellor announced the removal of the two-child limit. 95,000 children in Scotland will benefit from this change. Funded by tackling welfare fraud and long-overdue reforms to the Motability scheme, it will result in the biggest reduction in child poverty at any Budget this century.

The Chancellor’s Budget also ensured that Scottish public services are fairly-funded, with an extra £820 million for public services in Scotland through the Barnett Formula, on top of a record settlement in June.

Secretary of State for Scotland, Douglas Alexander MP said: “This is a Budget which delivers for Scotland – raising children out of poverty and helping tackle the cost of living for working families with action on energy bills.

“Scrapping the two-child benefit cap will lift thousands of Scottish children out of poverty. Funded by raising online gambling taxes and tackling welfare fraud, it will result in the biggest reduction in child poverty at any Budget this century.

“The UK Government has backed Scotland’s public services with an extra £820 million — on top of the extra annual £9.1 billion already committed at the Spending Review.

“The £14.5 million announced for Grangemouth is also vital investment in Scotland.”

Ms Reeves also announced reforms to modernise the tax system, asking those with broader shoulders to contribute more through long-overdue fair reforms.

Backing Scottish industry 

  • £14.5 million will back Grangemouth’s transition to a hub for low carbon technologies as the UK Government cements Scotland’s place as the home of the UK’s clean energy revolution. 
  • A further £20 million for Inchgreen near Greenock will upgrade the port’s dry dock, creating up to 1,750 jobs.  
  • Up to £20 million will transform Kirkcaldy town centre and waterfront, including the creation of ‘Adam Smith Growth Works’, boosting local business and tourism.
  • £25 million will be released following the full sign-off of Forth Green Freeport – spanning Leith, Grangemouth and Fife.
  • To support oil and gas workers, the UK Government is introducing ‘Transitional Energy Certificates’ to manage existing North Sea fields for the entirety of their lifespan, and a new Jobs Brokerage Service – offering end-to-end career transition support.

Tackling child poverty, the cost-of-living and economic inactivity

  • 95,000 children in Scotland will benefit from the removal of the two-child limit. 
  • Raising the National Living Wage by 4.1% and the National Minimum Wage by 8.5% —building on April 2025 increases to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage that already directly benefitted 220,000 workers in Scotland. 
  • Uprating Universal Credit Standard Allowance by 6.1%, the first ever permanent real terms increase.
  • Increasing the State Pension by 4.8% from April 2026, directly raising incomes for 1.1 million pensioners in Scotland. 
  • Extending the fuel duty freeze and 5p cut, saving the average car driver £49 next year. 
  • Unleashing talent and opportunity with a Youth Guarantee package. This will include ensuring every eligible 18-to-21-year-old who has been on Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months in Great Britain will get a six-month paid work placement.

Public services investment 

  • The Budget provides an extra £820 million for the Scottish Government to spend on its priorities such as education and tackling NHS waiting times— on top of the extra £9.1 billion already committed during the Spending Review.   
  • The Scottish Government continues to receive over 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending across the rest of the UK reflecting the real costs of delivering services across Scotland’s diverse geography, from the Highlands to the central belt.

Holyrood: ‘Chaotic’ UK Budget fails to deliver for Scotland

Finance Secretary responds to Chancellor’s statement

The UK Budget “fails to deliver” for Scotland and will not move the dial on the cost of living for squeezed households, according to Holyrood’s Finance Secretary Shona Robison.

Responding to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s statement, Ms Robison said: “This Budget has been absolute chaos from start to finish. Westminster has been consumed with leaks, briefings and out and out incompetence – with Scotland left as an afterthought and families left to pay the price.

“We needed a step change from the UK Government with investment in public services, support for jobs and industry in Scotland and serious action on energy bills. Instead, we got a chaotic mess and the increase in funding for the Scottish Government will not even cover half the cost of the employer’s national insurance contributions brought in this year.

“With UK energy bills £340 higher than the Prime Minister promised even after today’s announcement, the UK Government are not even trying to deliver on the their promises. It is insulting to see the UK Government stand up and trumpet a proposed reduction that does not even cover the increase since they came to office.

“It does not come close to meeting the Prime Minister’s pledge on energy bills – they have not even attempted to keep their promises.

“The electric vehicle tax is the wrong decision for motorists, the climate and for Scotland given its disproportionate impact on rural drivers.

“And there is no serious support for jobs and industry in Scotland. The Energy Profits Levy is to remain in place – risking thousands of jobs in Scotland and in the North East in particular. Yet again, Scotland is an afterthought.

“And while the moves on the two child cap are welcome, they are long overdue and the UK Government has been forced into this position by the Scottish Government and other campaigners. And without a simultaneous change to the benefit cap it falls well short of the bold anti-poverty measures we have been calling for from the UK Government.

“But the complete chaos around this Budget gets to the heart of the fact that we should not be leaving crucial decisions around the economy, public finances and household bills in the hands of a deeply incompetent Westminster UK government.  We should take these decisions for ourselves with the fresh start of independence.” 

The impact of the increase Employers National Insurance contributions on public services is forecast to cost the Scottish Government at least £2 billion over the next five years.

Responding to the UK Government’s Budget, Poverty Alliance Chief Executive Peter Kelly said: “The Chancellor’s decision to fully scrap the unjust two-child limit is the right thing to do.

“For eight years, this cruel policy has severed the link between what families across the country need and the support they are entitled to, pushing children into poverty and limiting their potential. Our children deserve better.

“Campaigners across Scotland have been unified in their demand to scrap the two-child limit and we are pleased that the UK Government has listened, sending a strong message that every child in this country matters. The end of this policy must be the starting point of reform which ensures that our social security system truly provides security.

“This decision also frees up money earmarked for the mitigation of the policy in the Scottish Budget. Coupled with the additional £820 million allocated to the Scottish Government in this UK Budget, this will allow further investment in the action we know is needed to meet our child poverty targets, including increases to the Scottish Child Payment.”

Commenting on the UK Government’s Budget response, Debbie Horne, Scotland Policy and Public Affairs Manager for Independent Age said: “The Autumn Budget was an opportunity to address pensioner poverty across the UK. However, the UK Government has sadly missed the chance to take action on an issue that now affects almost two million older people across the UK, including 160,000 pensioners in Scotland. 

“While we welcome the retention of the Triple Lock, this measure alone does not go far enough for older people on the lowest incomes who are living across Scotland in cold homes and with not enough money to live on. 

“We continue to call on the UK Government to increase the Warm Home Discount to ease the burden of escalating bills, to support older private renters by uprating Local Housing Allowance so no one has to make dangerous sacrifices to pay their rent, and to boost income through a comprehensive take-up strategy for entitlements, including Pension Credit. 

“The absence of meaningful action to address later-life poverty will leave many older people on a low income in Scotland feeling forgotten and many will be worried about losing more of it in tax, because of the extension of the freeze on personal tax allowances to 2031, a year longer than was expected. 

“We estimate that without decisive government intervention almost 190,000 pensioners in Scotland could be in poverty by 2040. Worryingly, nothing in this Budget suggests we are being steered away from this frightening outcome.” 

Mary Glasgow, Chief Executive of Children First, Scotland’s national children’s charity said: “We welcome the UK Government’s decision to scrap the two-child limit as outlined in the Office for Budget Responsibility report. This is long overdue and frees up Scottish Government budget for other crucial support for children and families.  

“Poverty has a devastating impact on children’s mental and physical health, development, happiness and ability to learn that can last a lifetime.   

“Both governments must now work together to build on progress and meet the legal target to reduce child poverty in Scotland. Families need a stronger social security offer, for example, through the Scottish Child Payment and whole family support across Scotland to give every family the financial, practical and emotional help they need to tackle the root causes of poverty.  

“Children can’t wait. The Scottish Government must use this opportunity to go further and faster in their stated mission to eradicate child poverty.”  

Children First’s manifesto for the 2026 Holyrood elections calls on the next Scottish Government to deliver a comprehensive offer of whole family support to tackle child poverty and give every family the emotional, practical and financial support they need. 

Read the manifesto here: 2026 Holyrood Election Manifesto | Children First 

Helen Barnard, director of policy at Trussell, said: “Trussell is delighted to see the Chancellor take this bold step which will protect hundreds of thousands of children from growing up facing hunger and hardship. She has listened to the families and food banks across the UK who have been imploring her to act.

“The cruel two-child limit has driven countless families into hardship, forced to turn to food banks to survive. Today’s announcement of its full and swift removal will help ensure all our children have the best possible start in life, ease pressure on public services, and help to boost our economy.  

“This government came to power promising to end the need for emergency food and reduce child poverty. Removing the two-child limit will make a vital and significant contribution towards delivering on those manifesto commitments.

“This move will pull 470,000 children out of severe hunger and hardship by 2027 and ease pressure on food banks throughout the UK.

“The government has built on positive steps in strengthening support for people facing severe hunger and hardship. But this cannot be the end. Food bank need remains well above levels five years ago and many people are still struggling to afford the essentials.

“We need more bold choices to transform lives across our communities.”

The End Child Poverty Coalition commented:

Harnessing data and technology to revolutionise public services

First Minister: “Scotland ready for new phase of digital innovation”

Scotland is taking a major step towards becoming a digital-first nation with plans to join public services together through a digital platform, First Minister John Swinney has said.

The Scottish Government is building technical infrastructure to lay the groundwork for innovations to connect people and public services.

This foundation will support the launch of a new app in 2026 to help people access personalised public services more easily. The app will initially provide alerts on weather and travel disruption, followed by digital proof of age, with further functionality expanded over time.

This announcement follows the publication of the updated National Digital Strategy earlier this week, which aims to deliver sustainable public services and create better opportunities for the people of Scotland.

First Minister John Swinney said: “Digital technology is already growing our economy and transforming lives for the better. Scotland is ready to enter a new phase of digital innovation and become a digital-first nation.

“While the corporate world has led the way in making our lives easier through digital technology, my ambition is for digital delivery in the public sector to match the very best of the private sector, in a way that is inclusive for all.

“Innovation will help make public services more efficient, resilient and accessible – while ensuring privacy and security.

“From harnessing data-sharing to help tackle child poverty, to using innovation to support health diagnoses, the potential of technology to improve services and benefit lives stretches across all areas of the public sector. Building this technical foundation will help us develop new ways to grow the economy, end child poverty, improve public services and tackle the climate emergency.”

The Scottish Government is working with tech consultancy Netcompany on this project. Thomas Rysgaard Christiansen, Partner at Netcompany said: “By building the new digital communication infrastructure on our AMI platform, Scotland will benefit from proven technology and domain expertise already applied across Europe.

“Based on re-useable components tailored to local needs, the platform ensures both speed and security in delivery. This approach accelerates Scotland’s digital journey and demonstrates both the scalability and adaptability of our solution to meet varying country-specific needs.

“This is a significant opportunity to help nations digitalise their critical infrastructure and create real value for citizens.” 

Roadmap to Scotland’s digital future – gov.scot

Tax Justice Scotland: A fair wealth tax could raise almost half a billion pounds a year from Scotland’s 10 richest families alone

New report reinforces case for stronger wealth taxes as a key building block of wider package of UK and Scottish fair tax reforms

A new report for Tax Justice Scotland has exposed Scotland’s staggering wealth gap with just five families holding more wealth (£19.3bn) than a quarter of Scotland’s population with the least wealth combined (£18.9bn).

The news comes as campaigners, frontline delivery organisations, academics, trade unions and others gather in Edinburgh for a major tax justice conference to explore the urgent need for a package of fair improvements to the tax systems at Scotland, UK and global levels.

The report, Taxing Wealth for a Fairer and Greener Scotland, produced by the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) on behalf of the campaign, makes clear that fairer taxes on wealth at UK and Scotland levels must be at the heart of this package of reforms to invest in and drive progress towards a fairer, greener and more prosperous future.

Tax Justice Scotland says improved wealth taxation is only one part of a fairer tax system and is today also challenging all political parties in Scotland to outline detailed proposals for using the powers of the Scottish Parliament to improve devolved and local tax systems. 

The STUC analysis highlights the extreme end of wealth inequality after official data showed the wealthiest 2% of Scottish households have more wealth than the poorest 50% combined.

The report shows that the fortunes of Scotland’s very wealthiest people are surging far faster than people’s pay packets. Between 2024 and 2025, the combined wealth of Scotland’s ten richest families shot up by almost 8%, outstripping average earnings growth (5.9%).

Incredibly, the five richest families in Scotland are estimated to have more wealth (£19.3bn) than the Scottish Government collected in Income Tax (£19bn) last year. 

For illustrative purposes, the STUC analysis shows that a modest annual wealth tax of just 2% on all those with assets of more than £10 million could raise nearly half a billion pounds (£492 million) from Scotland’s 10 richest families alone, enough to pay for 12,000 new nurses, or 11,000 new teachers, or to double the Scottish Child Payment and lift more than 30,000 children out of poverty.

Given such a wealth tax would apply to all those with assets of more than £10 million in Scotland, it would raise even more.

Roz Foyer, General Secretary of the STUC, said on behalf of Tax Justice Scotland: “This research lays bare the shocking concentration of wealth in Scotland. While families across the country are struggling to pay their bills, a handful of the super-rich are lining their pockets with more and more money.

“It doesn’t have to be this way: fairly taxing this eye-watering wealth could, according to STUC research, mean more 12,000 new nurses in hospitals, 11,000 more teachers in classrooms or to double the Scottish Child Payment and lift more than 30,000 children out of poverty

“Politicians across the UK should be in no doubt that it’s their dithering and delay that is deepening the crisis within our communities and public services. The powers to make a radical change to our tax system are at their disposal. The excuses must end. Scotland can work for everyone, not just the richest few. It’s time that work was started without equivocation.”

Tax Justice Scotland believes a series of tax reforms are needed to deliver the investment Scotland needs, while incentivising positive behaviours, to tackle poverty, strengthen public services, cut emissions and support fair work, while reducing the many forms of inequality that persist, including gender and economic inequality.

The campaign says this package of reform is essential to building a fairer, greener and more prosperous future for everyone in Scotland. While, over time, raising enough revenue is likely to require broad-based tax increases – fairer wealth taxation is vital.

As the Chancellor prepares her autumn Budget, campaigners point to growing momentum behind fairer taxes, with 68% of people in Scotland thinking the very richest should pay more. Over three-quarters (79%) of people in Scotland back a UK-wide wealth tax on the very richest people. 

Previous analysis has shown that the measure, alongside a series of other reforms to improve existing UK-level taxes on wealth, like increasing Capital Gains Tax and applying National Insurance to investment income, could raise up to £60 billion a year across the UK. 

A UK-wide wealth tax, if introduced, could help boost the Scottish Budget. But the STUC’s analysis shows that if the UK Government fails to act, the Scottish Parliament could use its own tax powers, with HMRC support, to introduce a locally-administered wealth tax.

The findings come against a backdrop of growing fiscal pressure: the Scottish Fiscal Commission has warned of a £4.7 billion shortfall in the Scottish Budget by the end of the decade, alongside mounting longer-term challenges. The Commission is urging all parties to work together before and after the Scottish election to address these challenges.

While making the case for improved taxation on all forms of wealth, Tax Justice Scotland says improving tax on property wealth in Scotland is particularly essential. Campaigners say the outdated and unfair Council Tax, still based on property values from 1991, must finally be replaced with a reformed property tax that reflects today’s housing wealth. 

Property wealth has surged by almost £100 billion in just ten years, yet the Council Tax system remains frozen in time, letting those in the most expensive homes pay far less than they should, while many others are left paying over the odds.

Tax Justice Scotland say replacing Council Tax, alongside wider reforms to better tax the wealthiest and to build upon modest but progressive changes to Income Tax in Scotland, would collectively make sure those with the broadest shoulders contribute a fairer share. 

Campaigners emphasise that while tax isn’t a silver bullet, it can play a much bigger role in building the Scotland we want to see.

Jamie Livingstone, Head of Oxfam Scotland, a member of Tax Justice Scotland, said: “Our tax system can do so much more to help build the country the people of Scotland want, but, right now, it’s stacked in favour of the wealthy.

“It’s time to fix the system; and that must include better taxing wealth right across the UK and, in Scotland, finally replacing the outdated Council Tax.

“With the Scottish election fast approaching, all political parties have a clear choice: defend a broken system that protects the richest while short-changing critical priorities or back a fairer one that delivers a fairer, greener and more prosperous country for all of us.”

STUC-Taxing-Wealth-for-a-Fairer-and-Greener-ScotlandDownload

Read the report Taxing Wealth for a Fairer and Greener Scotland here: 

https://bit.ly/TaxingWealth 

SCOTLAND DEMANDS BETTER on TAX:

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