Meeting of the Parliament 03 March 2026 [Draft]
I am pleased to open on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives. The amended European Charter of Local Self-Government (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill represents a step in the right direction for Scottish local government. The aim of the European Charter of Local Self-Government is to protect and strengthen the powers of local authorities. It is already recognised in the legal system, and successful incorporation of the charter into Scots law will send a clear message about the important role that this level of government can play in people’s lives. That was the case five years ago, when we debated the bill at stage 3, and it is still the case today.
COSLA has highlighted that the current relationship between local and central Government depends on good will and the assessment of the Scottish Government. However, we have seen in recent years that that good will can sometimes not be respected.
This is only the second bill that this Parliament has had to reconsider. Although it is welcome that the Parliament is able to vote on the final version of the bill today, this debate has been a long time coming. More than 1,000 days have passed since the Supreme Court made its judgment back in October 2021, and the Law Society of Scotland has made it quite clear that it has taken far too long for the bill to reach the current stage. It stated:
“Future Bills which are determined by the UK Supreme Court to be outside the competence of the Scottish Parliament should not have reconsideration delayed beyond two years from the date of the decision.”
We support that.
The introduction of the Verity house agreement two and a half years ago set a new vision for councils and the Government to work together more effectively, but many councils have been frustrated by the lack of progress since that agreement was introduced. There is significant overlap between the principles that are set out in the charter and those in the Verity house agreement. Legislative backing for those principles is therefore an important step in improving outcomes for Scottish local government, and I note that COSLA called for that in its evidence to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee. That needs to be combined with an end to the erosion of local government funding and the re-establishment of services that have been cut. Without improvements to the local government funding settlement, councils will still be trying to do their job with one hand tied behind their backs.
Our councils are the closest level of government to communities and it is only right that they are empowered to act in the best interests of those whom they represent. All too often, however, councils are made to act as though they are an extension of the Scottish Government rather than the true form of local government that they are. We will, therefore, support the amended bill at decision time. The onus will rest on the Scottish Government to address the outstanding issues within local government, to ensure that it is able to deliver in the way that local communities rightly expect.