Meeting of the Parliament 06 February 2014
Mr Stewart tries to blame the councils, as Mr Swinney did yesterday. I will come on to exactly why that is wrong.
The fact is that ministers have moved the target. In Aberdeen, that means that, rather than receiving £5.8 million, the city is now scheduled to receive only £300,000 from the scheme under the revised targets. That is a massive difference.
It is ridiculous for Mr Stewart to try to blame COSLA for lack of progress, as John Swinney did yesterday, because if councils had agreed to proceed with the current proposition, it would mean that they would forsake millions of pounds that should be going to local authorities. Ministers have said that it would mean an unjustified windfall for councils, but they are quite happy to secure that windfall for their own budget.
It is particularly important for North East Scotland that ministers finally make good their pledge on this scheme. I hope that they will, because the current arrangements mean that the region is losing out, despite its importance to the Scottish economy. On council funding, funding for health services, public sector jobs and, most recently, plans to close Aberdeen’s fire and police control rooms, North East Scotland is getting a raw deal.
Yet, even as ministers asset-strip the region of its key services, their proposition is that North East Scotland will, through its oil and gas industry, foot the bill for separation. No wonder that argument is not winning favour in North East Scotland. I ask ministers to think again on all those issues. In particular, I ask Mr Swinney to assure us today that he will work collaboratively and constructively with COSLA to make progress and at least alleviate the impact of a settlement that is bad for North East Scotland, as I have said, and for councils across the country.
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