Hansard

The motion seeks approval of the Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2007. As members know, the main purpose of that order is to provide next year's revenue funding for Scotland's local authorities. Parliament's approval is also sought for payment of various additional sums that will be announced during the course of the year.

In my statement to Parliament on 13 December, I announced provisional figures for 2007-08. Since then, there has been only one significant adjustment—just over £2.3 million has been added as a result of the passing of the Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006, which brings the confirmed total amount to be provided as core funding to local government for 2007-08 to £8.718 billion. Outwith the order, the Executive is making available about £1 billion to local government in additional revenue grants that come outwith the core funding settlement.

The order provides for the distribution and payment of £8.7 billion in revenue support for local authorities' core services in 2007-08. That money has been distributed using the usual needs-based formula, which has been in place for some time and which was agreed by the Executive and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. I receive an increasing number of representations about the precision with which that formula meets certain local authorities' needs, and have said to COSLA that I would like to review it in due course.

The increased funding will secure higher-quality services for people throughout Scotland. On average, councils' core grants will increase by 4.8 per cent. Over the years since 1999, we have seen substantial increases in the local government core grant. A look at next year's figures alone does not provide the whole picture, so now seems to be a good time to look back at what the Executive has provided to local government over the past eight years.

When we compare what local authorities budgeted to spend in 1999-2000 and what they are budgeting to spend in 2007-08, we find that budgeted expenditure on services has increased in several areas. In education, we see an increase of 57.2 per cent, which is helping to deliver 3,000 more teachers. In social work services, we see an increase of 80.6 per cent, which has resulted in 9,500 people receiving free personal care and more than 600,000 hours of care being delivered each year. With regard to the police, we see an increase of 47.5 per cent, which has resulted in an extra 1,366 full-time equivalent police officers on our streets.

The order also seeks approval to revise the previously approved figures for 2005-06 and 2006-07. It will provide councils with an additional £137 million to meet already-announced spending commitments that have arisen since the 2006 order was approved. That £137 million includes £30 million for community safety partnerships to tackle antisocial behaviour, £20 million of additional funding for youth justice and £15 million extra for the working with families initiative to help parents in disadvantaged areas.

I mentioned the £1 billion of revenue grants outwith the core settlement. Included in that sum is £400 million for the supporting people initiative, £107 million for community regeneration and £61 million to help achieve strategic waste targets. It is worthy of mention that, when all funding streams and locally raised income are included, councils will have well in excess of £17 billion to spend on services next year. The average council tax payment at band D is currently £1,129. Next year, council expenditure for every man, woman and child in Scotland will be more than £3,440.

In addition to core revenue funding, we will be providing a 28 per cent increase in capital charge support, amounting to more than £900 million. That means that the Executive's total support, including revenue and capital, will amount to £10.6 billion next year.

Most councils are due to confirm tomorrow their council tax levels for 2007-08. Glasgow City Council has already given a commitment that it will freeze its council tax levels for the second year running. That fits entirely with what Councillor Pat Watters, the president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, said to me in his letter following my statement of 13 December 2006. He said:

"I can confirm that all Leaders in Scotland are committed to delivering a downward trend on average increases across Scotland for 2007-08 and"—

importantly—

"forward into the next spending review period".

I urge all councils in Scotland to maintain that downward trend in tax levels; to do all that they can to keep council tax levels as low as possible; and to ensure that, once again, Scotland's council tax settlement is considerably lower than the settlement south of the border.