By David Scott
29 January 2010
MSPs have called for a fundamental review of the role of Scottish local government.
In a report published on January 28, the Scottish Parliament’s local government committee said a debate on council services and their provision was vital to the financial future of local authorities.
The report followed an inquiry by the all-party committee into the potential effect of the economic downturn and other pressures on local authority finances.
According to the MSPs, a fundamental review of what councils do and how they do it would ensure there were ‘no knee-jerk’ reactions that could affect frontline services.
The committee warned that while councils should be looking at ways to share services and make efficiency savings, it was not clear whether these would be enough to balance budgets.
Committee convener Duncan McNeil said: ‘There needs to be a full and open debate about what services are provided and the quality and cost of those services. The committee hopes this report will stimulate such a debate.’
While not advocating an examination of local government boundaries, the committee warned that decisions taken now on prioritising services would have a significant impact on communities in the future.
It called on the Scottish Government to clarify whether it would introduce legislation to ‘smooth the way’ on council shared services.
