Scotland’s councils still face a £96m shortfall from increased employer national insurance contributions despite new funding from the Scottish Government, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities...
Scottish councils face “severe challenges” to balance their books, with cuts in expenditure of up to 8.5% required over the next three years, the nation’s spending watchdog has warned.
A real-terms increase in funding will not be enough for Scottish councils to run preventative services that help people out of poverty, local leaders have warned.
High service demand, rising costs and the large ringfencing of budgets could see 24% of Scottish councils issue Section 114 notices next year, the Local Government Information Unit has said.
A proposal to freeze council tax next year risks “compounding councils’ ongoing underfunding”, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has warned while criticising the lack of engagement with...
Proposals to increase council tax rates in Scotland will impact the highest value properties and make the levy less regressive, ministers and local leaders have said.
More flexible council funding and the understanding that services will be run locally “by default” are the cornerstones of the Scottish Government’s new deal with its local authorities.
Scottish council leaders have claimed the latest local government pay offer is fair and recognises the importance of the workforce, despite opposition from unions.
Delaying its controversial flagship social care policy gives the Scottish Government time to engage with councils over the reforms, local leaders have said.
Scotland’s largest teaching union has rejected a pay offer it labelled insufficient, and signalled that planned strikes will continue until a better offer is tabled.
Inflation has left local authorities in Scotland with their “most difficult budget-setting context seen for many years” and could require millions of pounds of service provision being cut, the...
Scottish ministers have overstated the level of funding in the 2023-24 draft budget, after falling to account for top-ups in this year’s budget, economists have claimed.
The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has reached an agreement with local government unions, avoiding the resumption of strike action but facing criticism for “unnecessary” delays.
“Power grab” proposals to centralise social care services in Scotland could see thousands of staff moved to a national body, and the plans face searing criticism from council leaders and unions.
