3 May 2011
The Scottish election campaign enters its final days with party leaders refusing to be drawn on a think-tank's claims that 25,000 public sector workers could lose their jobs and others suffer real-terms pay cuts of up to 12%.
A report by Glasgow University’s Centre for Public Policy for Regions suggests that a combination of efficiency savings, inflation, increased demand and a council tax freeze would leave a funding shortfall of £180m over the next five years. It accuses the parties of failing to face up to the tough choices ahead.
The second-last TV debate of the campaign saw none of the leaders eager to accept the CPPR predictions. The Scottish National Party’s Alex Salmond said job prospects would depend on factors such pay restraint, while Labour’s Iain Gray said it was hard to know how sums would look beyond the two years for which Labour plans a council tax freeze.
Meanwhile, Pat Watters, president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, urged whoever wins Thursday’s election to build a new partnership with local government. Relations between local and national politicians have been soured by party promises to find savings by reforming local service provision.
Cosla has been infuriated by a Dutch auction of promised council tax freezes; by cross-party plans to bundle social care in with health provision; and by proposals for regional fire and police services to be cut to as few as one national body for each.
‘We have spoken out because we have a duty to protect communities from the unintended consequences that could arise,’ Watters said. ‘These are the wrong proposals at the wrong time.’
But he added: ‘As the rough and tumble of electoral politics gives way to the more serious business of government, my message to any incoming government is simple. Delivering excellent public services requires all tiers of government to work together on an equal footing.
‘We are looking forward to building that relationship with national government, and we are ambitious for what we can achieve.’
One view local and national government do share is relief that the biggest Scottish teaching union has agreed a two-year pay standstill in return for guarantees on job security. Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland voted in favour of the deal – a real-terms pay cut to save £45m – although the smaller Scottish Secondary Teachers Association rejected it. The ‘yes’ vote by the bigger union means the deal will be accepted by the union side in the tripartite negotiations with Cosla and the Scottish Government.
