Local councils given ‘fair’ funding deal after tax freeze – Robison
The Scottish Government allocated £144 million to local authorities to compensate them.
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Your support makes all the difference.Local authorities have been given a “fair” settlement to compensate them for the council tax freeze, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Shona Robison has said.
However the trade union Unison said the money did not go far enough in protecting local services.
The Scottish Government allocated £144 million to local authorities to compensate them for freezing council tax.
But opposition MSPs have said this is only around half of what councils needed to fully fund the tax freeze, which economists estimated would cost £300 million.
Council leaders from around Scotland will consider the Budget settlement at a meeting on Thursday.
Speaking to journalists after her Budget statement, Ms Robison said the Scottish Government was no longer going ahead with changes to council tax multipliers – the way different tax bands are calculated – meaning the £144 million would come close to councils’ needs.
I think it's a fair figure
She said: “I think it’s a fair figure based on the actual requirements from last year and of course, above inflation.”
The funding is based on a 5% increase in council tax across Scotland’s 32 local authorities.
She said: “I think also when you look at the £300 million figure that’s being used based on the Fraser of Allander Institute – that included £180 million for the council tax multiplier. That’s a policy we have dropped.
“And when you take that out of their calculation, the figure that you’re left with is very close indeed, to the figure that we are offering local governments.
“We’ll continue to talk to local government about how we can take this forward in a constructive way.”
Unison’s Scottish Secretary Lilian Macer said the council tax freeze would still impact local services.
She said: “Today’s budget is a bad day for local services and deals a further financial blow to local councils who are already struggling to balance the books and to deliver the vital services our communities rely on.
“Our public services are on their knees due to years of underinvestment and the Scottish government’s council tax freeze will be a disaster for local services.
“We need to see investment in public services and a council tax freeze stops investment in public services, in schools and in the NHS.
“The Scottish Government had the chance to make big choices to raise more money for Scotland’s public services, but while the measures on income tax are welcome, much more could and should have been done.”