Scottish authorities are to receive an extra £100m funding in a last-minute addition to Holyrood’s Budget.
Deputy first minister John Swinney said the Scottish Government has received £125m of additional funding from Westminster under the Barnett formula and £21m due to the correction of an error in its allocation.
He added: ‘I am committing to providing local government with an additional £100 million to support local authorities and their expenditure.
‘That funding is designed to assist councils in making a meaningful 2023-24 pay offer to non-teaching staff, in recognition of the critical role that those staff play in delivering front-line services.’
Mr Swinney said it brought total funding to councils to nearly £13.5bn before any council tax increases, the equivalent of a 3% real-terms increase.
Councils in Orkney, Shetland, Argyll and Bute and the Highlands will also hold talks with Mr Swinney on additional funding for ferry networks to deal with inflationary pressures.
Labour’s Daniel Johnson said: ‘The budget does nothing to prevent the long-term decline of local services.
‘More and more funding is tied up by Scottish Government directives and ring fencing.’
Alex Cole-Hamilton for the Liberal Democrats added: ‘Local authorities will still face significant real-terms cuts to their budgets, even with the extra £100m that has been announced today.’
MSPs voted to approve the 2023-24 Budget by 68 to 57.
This article was originally published by The MJ (£).
