Meeting of the Parliament 01 March 2023 [Draft]
Across the world, Governments are meeting, as we are today, to discuss and approve budgets. I was disappointed that the minister did not touch on what has destabilised the whole process, which is President Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Ministers across the Scottish Government need to start recognising that and including it in their considerations of where we are. It is not just Brexit or Covid-19 but illegal war that is having a real impact on driving up prices and the inflation rate.
I thank all those who work in our local authorities across Scotland for their hard work and commitment to our communities, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. I also thank them for the work that they are undertaking to deliver recovery for our communities—that is something that we should very much recognise. The work that my council in Edinburgh and the council in Glasgow are doing to support Ukrainians and Ukrainian families in Scotland is tremendous. My council has highlighted to ministers pressures around education and housing support that have not been addressed in the budget. We need to make sure that ministers recognise councils’ lasting and on-going support.
The order before us allocates funding for each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities. We do not intend to oppose it, but we continue to raise serious concerns about the overall allocation of resources to local authorities across Scotland and the need for reform of how they are delivered. Council finance chiefs have warned Scottish National Party and Green ministers that Scotland’s local authorities are now facing unprecedented financial pressures. Let us not forget that the Scottish Government’s budget is the largest in devolution history, thanks to additional UK Government funding being allocated during and after the budget process.
The exercise of tracking funding allocations over the past decade points to SNP ministers not passing on to local government the additional resources that they have received. I hope to highlight that today, because, although we have this debate annually, we are not finding the solutions that local government needs. Councils have been left having to find savings and cut local services at the same time. This year, we are witnessing councils taking those difficult decisions and coming together, through COSLA, to condemn, again, their financial settlement.
It is clear that we need a new approach and a new conversation about how we take forward the budget process. The acting finance secretary, John Swinney, in his speech in last week’s stage 3 budget debate, said that the Scottish Government wants a new deal with local government. I agree that there should be a new deal, but it should not be set by just the Scottish Government; the Parliament and all local authorities should be part of the conversation. Ministers need to consider how finances will be properly delivered in the future. I hope that SNP and Green ministers are genuinely able, following this year’s budget process, to pause and reflect on the difficulties that councils say that a similar budget would present them with in the future.
We need the financial relationship between the Scottish Government and local government to be reset. We need a new partnership to be developed that accords respect to our local authorities and gives them the powers and funding that they need to deliver the vital public services on which we all rely.
The minister pointed towards a potential additional tax, which I think that only two councils are considering taking forward.
Wider discussion of local government reform is needed. We need a new fiscal framework for councils, and we need the powers that local authorities currently have to be respected. In that regard, debates about, for example, the national care service, also need to consider reform. To date there has been little scope for reform or discussion of reform, but I hope that an opportunity for that will be presented outside this budget process. Our having a new First Minister, a new finance secretary and new local government ministers will present an opportunity to build a new relationship and have positive discussions about a new funding settlement. Currently, there seems to be a stalemate when it comes to opening up discussions about that important issue, but reform is critical if we are to protect and enhance our local councils and communities.
I do not doubt that councils will continue to face difficult decisions in the coming weeks, months and years. From meeting and speaking to councillors across Scotland, not just from my party but from all parties, I cannot see where councils can find flexibility. In many areas, they have used the sticking plasters that they had to get this budget across the line; there is nothing else for them to cut without resorting to delivering core services and nothing else.
I hope that we can consider that backdrop and the financial pressures, which we all recognise, ahead of next year’s budget. I hope that SNP and Green ministers will reset their approach to how local councils are funded and to the local priorities of each local authority, whether it is rural or urban. I hope that all members of this Parliament will play a role in that. More important, we must ensure that our local authorities are able to deliver for our local communities.
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