14 March 2008
Plans to strengthen and expand the constitutional role of local government in Scotland are being considered by ministers and council leaders.
Finance Secretary John Swinney disclosed the joint discussions at the annual conference of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities at St Andrews on March 7.
He also announced a joint review with Cosla of the method of distributing the local government funding settlement.
Swinney suggested that ministers were willing to consider going further than the 'historic' concordat that aims to give councils greater involvement in the governance of Scotland.
Describing the components of the agreement, he said there was a new approach to policy development as a result of working in partnership.
He added: 'We are looking jointly at other issues. One is how we strengthen and expand the constitutional role of local government.'
The minister suggested that the plans to entrench the rights and powers of local government would be part of the Scottish National Party government's 'national conversation' on Scotland's constitutional future launched last August.
Swinney added: 'Our key pledge is that the enhancement of the powers of the Scottish Parliament will not be achieved by securing those powers from local government. The politics of this government are to secure new and additional powers from the Westminster parliament.'
Swinney said he wanted local government to make its views known on such matters as their experience in acting for the UK government on reserved issues such as housing benefit.
'But I am also anxious that we make sure that we take forward effectively joint work between local authorities and the Scottish government on the constitutional issues about the role of local government within Scotland.
'And the government wants to engage in a positive discussion about how we can entrench that role of local government in Scotland more securely than it has perhaps been in the past.'
Swinney welcomed the council tax freeze in Scotland as a 'clear milestone of success' for the concordat signed by ministers and local government leaders.
He attacked critics who had warned that the government's decision to remove 'ring-fenced expenditure' would put certain services at risk because local government could not be trusted.
He saw the development of new outcome agreements as 'perhaps the most radical element' of the new concordat.
PFmar2008
