30 January 2009
By David Scott in Edinburgh
Finance Secretary John Swinney has defended Scotland's local government concordat against claims it is on the verge of collapse because of the impact of the recession on council budgets.
He told a conference in Edinburgh on January 26 that the agreement between ministers and local authority leaders had not only produced a council tax freeze for 2008/09, but also freed local government from costly bureaucracy associated with ring-fencing and given councils the freedom to react to local needs and priorities.
'Together we have delivered a great deal – not least a freeze on council tax at a time when hard-pressed householders needed it the most. The resources are in place to allow councils to do the same again next year,' the minister said.
Swinney's argument came after some councils, including Glasgow City, warned that it might not be possible to freeze council tax again in 2009/10 because of severe financial pressures.
There are also concerns about councils' ability to achieve policy aims agreed in the concordat, such as smaller class sizes and free school meals for five- to seven-year-olds. This has led to claims that the concordat is in danger of falling apart.
Pat Watters, president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, said there were challenges arising from the agreement.
But he pointed out that the concerns raised involved only about £400m of a total expenditure of £11.14bn. 'In other words, that's 2.75% of our total budget,' he said.
Swinney told the conference that the document had resulted in a new and better relationship between local and central government, and he stressed that the global economic downturn made the relationship more important than ever.
'This government has put in place an economic recovery programme and, with our local government and public sector partners, we are working to deliver that recovery,' he said.
PFjan2009
