Scots council funding to increase next year

12 Dec 13
Scotland’s council tax freeze will continue for a seventh year after Finance Secretary John Swinney announced that the funding given to councils for 2014/15 would be increased in cash terms.

By Richard Johnstone | 12 December 2013

Scotland’s council tax freeze will continue for a seventh year after Finance Secretary John Swinney announced that the funding given to councils for 2014/15 would be increased in cash terms.

In a statement to the Scottish Parliament, Swinney said that funding for councils would total nearly £10.6bn, up from just over £10.3bn in 2013/14.

Included in the settlement is £81m to fund the additional cost of early learning and childcare provision for three- and four-year-olds, and it will also allow authorities to continue the council tax freeze, Swinney said.

‘Local government provides a wide range of services and plays a major role in local partnerships that are essential to the delivery of the services that matter to the people of Scotland,’ he told MSPs yesterday.

‘The allocations include resources to enable local authorities to continue to freeze their council tax, which is an important measure to protect household incomes in Scotland.

‘This settlement of almost £10.6bn comes at a time when, as a result of Westminster’s austerity agenda, our spending power has been cut by around 11.1% in real terms between 2010-16.’

In addition, increases in business rates in Scotland will be capped at 2% next year, the same level announced by Chancellor George Osborne in last week’s Autumn Statement for England and Wales. This was needed to maintain Scotland’s ‘competitive advantage’, Swinney said.

Spacer

CIPFA logo

PF Jobsite logo

Did you enjoy this article?

AddToAny

Top