Meeting of the Parliament 04 February 2026
I am pleased to speak on the motion to allow the Parliament to reconsider the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill.
As the closest level of government to communities, it is right that councils, and elected councillors, are given the powers to act in the best interests of local residents. The Scottish Conservatives will therefore support the motion, so that Parliament can consider which amendments are needed to bring the bill within this Parliament’s legislative competence.
It is regrettable that the Parliament has had to wait so long for progress to be made. It is notable that more than 1,000 days have passed since the Supreme Court delivered its judgment in October 2021. Further, almost exactly a year ago, the Government said that it was working on the bill and that reconsideration would take place as soon as practical. It is only now, with just two months remaining before the end of this session of Parliament, that we have got to this point. However, I am glad that we have done so.
I would like to reflect on how the political debate around local government has developed since the Parliament debated the bill at stage 3, which is nearly five years ago. COSLA has long supported the principles behind the bill, but it has also indicated that local government is facing a “dire financial situation.”
In 2023, the Verity house agreement was published, which aimed to strengthen the Scottish Government’s working relationship with councils. Many of the principles in the agreement can be welcomed, but too much of what is in it has yet to become a reality, and councils are frustrated with the lack of progress so far. It was never intended that the agreement would have any legislative backing, but its principles draw on the European Charter of Local Self-Government. I hope that we can see genuine progress on the relationship between local and central Government, which the Scottish Government has been promising for years.
There is very limited time remaining in the current session of Parliament to reconsider the bill. I hope that the Government can work with Mark Ruskell to progress matters. It is right that the bill progresses to reconsideration stage, but the Government still has much more work to do if it is to regain the trust of local government.