Dundee West Labour
13 April 2020
Yesterday, during the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee, the minister from Public Finance and Digital Economy, Kate Forbes, stated that local authorities are not “collapsing” in Scotland.
This is despite warnings from COSLA ahead of the budget statement that stated local authorities were under immense pressure and in need of massive investment.
COSLA has stated that the budget statement, as put forward by Kate Forbes on Thursday, not only failed to provide local authorities with the resources they need but will inflict more and deeper cuts to local authority budgets.
Despite this, and in face of the evidence produced by COSLA that the budget would mean cuts to core budgets of £95 million and £117 million of capital spending, the minister asserted that the Scottish Government had increased local government funding.
Commenting, Scottish Labour Local Authority Spokesperson, Sarah Boyack MSP, said :
“The comments made yesterday by Kate Forbes demonstrate a detachment from the reality facing local government after 13 years of SNP mismanagement and cuts.
“This double whammy of cuts to local authorities means councils making cuts to key services across the country whether it is libraries, sports facilities, roads maintenance and economic development.
“At a time when local councils need to be planning ahead to meet increasing demands they will be having to make cuts unless the SNP Government is prepared to ensure fair funding for local government services.”
Yesterday, during the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee, the minister from Public Finance and Digital Economy, Kate Forbes, stated that local authorities are not “collapsing” in Scotland.
This is despite warnings from COSLA ahead of the budget statement that stated local authorities were under immense pressure and in need of massive investment.
COSLA has stated that the budget statement, as put forward by Kate Forbes on Thursday, not only failed to provide local authorities with the resources they need but will inflict more and deeper cuts to local authority budgets.
Despite this, and in face of the evidence produced by COSLA that the budget would mean cuts to core budgets of £95 million and £117 million of capital spending, the minister asserted that the Scottish Government had increased local government funding.
Commenting, Scottish Labour Local Authority Spokesperson, Sarah Boyack MSP, said :
“The comments made yesterday by Kate Forbes demonstrate a detachment from the reality facing local government after 13 years of SNP mismanagement and cuts.
“This double whammy of cuts to local authorities means councils making cuts to key services across the country whether it is libraries, sports facilities, roads maintenance and economic development.
“At a time when local councils need to be planning ahead to meet increasing demands they will be having to make cuts unless the SNP Government is prepared to ensure fair funding for local government services.”