VE Day: Council duties under the Armed Forces Covenant
As we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Geoff Wild, Legal & Governance Consultant, looks at the duties of councils under the Armed Forces Covenant.
Scottish Government to consult on council tax reform
11/02/2025 The Scottish Government has announced plans to review the devolved nation’s council tax system to make it ‘fairer’. |
Scottish council chiefs call for help with NI hike
07/01/2025 Scottish council leaders have called on the Government to cover the costs the public and charity sectors are facing from the rise in national insurance. |
Council chiefs in Scotland call for £872m in capital funding
02/12/2024 Local authority leaders in Scotland have called on the Scottish Government to provide councils with £872m in capital funding in 2025/26. |
Scottish councils call for National Insurance rise funding
11/11/2024 The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has called on Holyrood to pass on Whitehall cash due from changes to employers' National Insurance Contributions. |
COSLA: Council leaders offer to ‘supplement’ pay offer
08/11/2024 Local authority leaders in Scotland have offered to ‘supplement and enhance’ the latest pay offer to trade unions to prevent further strikes. |
Council leaders withdraw support for social care bill
30/09/2024 Local authority leaders in Scotland have withdrawn their support for the Scottish Government’s flagship social care reform bill. |
Union threatens strike action after pay award decision
27/09/2024 Local authority leaders in Scotland have decided to impose a wage rise prompting UNISON to threaten strike action. |
Council worker pay strike suspended
13/08/2024 A strike over pay that was set to hit Scotland this week has been suspended after council leaders made a new offer. |
COSLA offers 3.2% pay uplift
18/07/2024 Local government employers in Scotland have made a new pay offer in an effort to resolve the ongoing pay dispute. |
Bin strikes could hit Edinburgh Fringe Festival, union says
02/07/2024 Waste and recycling workers in Scotland have voted to go on strike during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as part of an ongoing pay dispute. |
UNISON: Over 90% of council workers reject pay offer
17/06/2024 Thousands of council workers in Scotland have voted overwhelmingly to reject a pay offer from local government employers. |
Unite warns of strike action in escalating pay dispute
29/05/2024 Unite has served industrial action notices to 29 councils in the escalating pay dispute between local government employers and employees in Scotland. |
Scottish councils criticise ‘excessive’ tourism tax delay
28/05/2024 Local authority leaders across Scotland have called on Holyrood to accelerate plans to empower them to charge visitors for overnight stays. |
COSLA makes 2.2% pay offer
24/05/2024 Local authority employees in Scotland have been offered a 2.2% pay increase from 1 April. |
Scottish councils face £585m funding gap
14/05/2024 Council leaders across Scotland have called on Holyrood to find a ‘meaningful solution’ to the half a billion pound shortfall faced by local government. |
UNISON: Council employers ‘miles away’ from acceptable pay offer
13/05/2024 Local authority workers in Scotland are considering strike action because ‘employers are miles away from offering anything staff are likely to accept’. |
National care service overhaul fails to charm councils
28/02/2024 Councils in Scotland remain unconvinced by proposals to create a national care service. |
Scottish Budget 'not good' for communities
28/02/2024 Next year’s Scottish Budget is ‘not good’ for communities, council leaders have said. |
Council rejects tax freeze offer
23/02/2024 Argyll and Bute Council has become the first to reject the Scottish Government’s council tax freeze. |
Council leaders demand right to set tax levels
26/01/2024 Local authority leaders in Scotland have renewed their fight to set their own council taxes – despite the pledge of a freeze by first minister Humza Yousaf. |
Scottish councils face ‘difficult decisions’ on cuts
16/01/2024 ‘Intensifying pressures’ on Scottish local authorities mean they must make difficult decisions on service delivery to remain financially sustainable, a watchdog has said. |
Scottish budget ‘missed opportunity’ for reform
03/01/2024 The Scottish budget is a ‘missed opportunity’ for delivering on public service reform, local authority leaders in Scotland have told Holyrood. |
Council tax freeze to cost £156m
02/01/2024 Scottish councils face a real terms cut of up to £156m next year as a result of the council tax freeze, new research has found. |
Scottish councils get £14bn boost
19/12/2023 Local government in Scotland is set to benefit from a £14bn boost but council tax will be frozen despite criticisms of the plan by local authority leaders. |
COSLA ramps up Budget lobbying
04/12/2023 Well-funded councils are the key to unlocking the potential within Scotland’s communities, town hall leaders have claimed ahead of the country’s budget. |
Unison members accept ‘long overdue’ pay offer
27/11/2023 Council chiefs in Scotland have welcomed a decision by Unison members to accept the latest offer in a long running pay dispute. |
New offer in pay dispute
03/11/2023 More money has been offered in the hope of averting strike action by Scottish Unison members. |
School staff strike amid pay dispute
01/11/2023 Schools in parts of Scotland were closed on Wednesday as non-teaching staff went on strike in an ongoing dispute over local government pay. |
‘No agreement’ with Scottish councils to freeze council tax
18/10/2023 The decision to freeze council tax across Scotland was made ‘completely without reference to local government’, according to council bosses. |
Unison rejects Scotland’s 10% pay offer
16/10/2023 Unison members in Scotland today rejected local government employers’ latest pay deal, which would have seen the lowest-paid staff receive a 10% wage boost. |
Unite suspends strike
22/09/2023 The trade union Unite has suspended a planned three-day strike across education and local government in Scotland after receiving a ‘serious’ pay offer from employers. |
Calls to scrap council tax hike as consultation closes
20/09/2023 Councils should have complete control over their local tax, thinktank Reform Scotland has said in response to plans to increase council tax across Scotland. |
Unions reject latest COSLA offer
14/09/2023 The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) has warned trade unions face a choice between ‘real cuts to jobs and services’ and increased pay. |
Thousands of education workers vote to strike in Scotland
07/08/2023 Thousands of workers in education and early years services across 10 local authority areas in Scotland have voted to go on strike. |
COSLA and Holyrood strike 'landmark' deal
03/07/2023 A pledge for greater fiscal control for councils has been made in a ‘landmark agreement’ between national and local government in Scotland. |
Care homes 'at risk of closure'
25/05/2023 Care homes in Scotland have warned they are at risk of closure as they rejected a 6% fee increase from councils. |
Scottish councils ‘uniquely placed’ to assist reform
17/05/2023 Councils are well-placed to deliver the key aims of Scotland’s government – such as tackling child poverty and net zero – but need funding, experts warn. |
'Widespread industrial action' warning
10/05/2023 Unite has warned the Scottish Government and employers there ‘could be widespread industrial action’ without a ‘significant increase’ to the current pay offer. |
Scottish council leaders and police strengthen collaboration
18/04/2023 Local authority leaders in Scotland have agreed four key priority areas to strengthen collaboration between local government and policing. |
COSLA announces new chief executive
27/03/2023 The national association of Scottish councils today announced a new chief executive. |
Grievance forces Scottish councils to increase pay for chiefs
03/03/2023 Scottish councils have been forced to axe the pay cap on chief executives after a successful grievance was raised. |
Scottish council chiefs warn care reforms could cost 75,000 jobs
12/10/2022 Local authority leaders and unions in Scotland today joined forces to oppose plans to centralise the delivery of care, which they argue could cost 75,000 jobs. |
Scottish council workers consider 7.5% pay offer
05/09/2022 Strikes that would have affected schools and waste services across a number of council areas in Scotland have been suspended as workers consider pay offer. |
Scottish councils pledge to deploy staff and capacity to social care services
13/01/2022 Scottish councils have warned some services may be paused or reduced in order to protect critical social care services. |
Call to pay councillors the Real Living Wage
10/01/2022 Cosla has called for councillors to be paid the Real Living Wage of £9.90 per hour as a minimum. |
Scottish settlement ‘worst seen’ by leaders
23/12/2021 Council leaders in Scotland are demanding a meeting with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon over funding for next year. |
Scottish councils need extra £1bn to 'survive'
16/11/2021 Councils in Scotland need more than an extra £1bn a year just to survive, a new briefing has warned. |
Scottish union to hold nationwide strike ballot
24/08/2021 Councils in Scotland have been put on notice as Unison ballots members over industrial action. |
Unions reject Scots pay offer
06/04/2021 Trade unions in Scotland have formally rejected employers’ pay offer of an £800 lower-rate pay rise for 2021, dismissing the sum as an unacceptably poor response to staff efforts during COVID-19. |
COSLA calls on all parties to make commitment to local government
23/02/2021 Scottish councils have urged all political parties to give local government ‘the place and respect it deserves’ in their manifestos. |
Scottish Budget 'falls short'
29/01/2021 The Scottish Government’s £11.6bn budget ‘falls short of the fair funding local government requires,’ councils have said. |
Scottish councils' cost call
27/01/2021 Scottish local authorities have called for the costs of COVID-19 to be met by the Government north of the border. |
Scottish councils call for fair funding to avoid 'damaging consequences'
12/01/2021 Council leaders in Scotland have called for an end of small ring-fenced pots of funding and no cap on council tax in this year’s Budget. |
Scots union calls for urgent meeting to address funding
30/10/2020 Unison Scotland has called for an urgent meeting with Scottish finance secretary Kate Forbes in a bit to address the growing finance crisis. |
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Scottish councils release blueprint for change
07/09/2020 A local government blueprint laying out the changes required to unlock councils’ full potential has been published by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) today. |
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Local government associations pledge to tackle abuse of councillors
10/08/2020 The UK's four local government associations have pledged to work together to tackle the rise in abuse targeted at elected members. |
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Scots councils to get COVID cash top up
23/06/2020 The Scottish Parliament has agreed to top up its funding to councils to deal with the coronavirus crisis. |
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Call for lifting of immigration rules
20/04/2020 Council leaders in England, Scotland and Wales have called for a temporary lifting of the immigration rules that stop some migrants accessing public funds. |
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Scottish councils warn budget will 'devastate communities'
18/02/2020 Councils in Scotland have warned that efforts to tackle child poverty, climate change or deliver inclusive growth are at risk under the draft budget. |
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Scottish council chiefs warn budgets at ‘breaking point’
06/01/2020 Local authority leaders in Scotland have today warned Holyrood that council budgets are at ‘breaking point’. |
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Nearly £1bn cut from Scottish authorities in past eight years
05/02/2019 Funding cuts are finally beginning to take their toll as Scottish councils can no longer protect services, according to report published today. |
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Tax reforms and £90m secured in Scottish budget deal
31/01/2019 A £90m windfall for local authorities and moves to reform council tax have been pledged by the Scottish Government. |
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Unions offered new pay rise to avert strike action
14/09/2018 A new pay offer has been put forward by councils in Scotland in a bid to avert industrial action. |
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Union rejects Scottish councils' pay offer
20/06/2018 Members of the GMB Scotland trade union have rejected the Scottish local government pay offer, potentially sparking industrial action. |
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Scottish government under pressure over council pay
22/01/2018 Scotland’s Government is under pressure to reverse planned council budget cuts after MSPs warned ministers created an ‘expectation’ town hall staff would receive pay hikes. |
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Participatory budgeting given go ahead in Scotland
30/10/2017 Residents in Scotland will be given a say in how £100m of council funds are to be used after a ‘landmark’ agreement was reached between the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. |
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Council considers rejoining COSLA
30/09/2016 The leader of South Lanarkshire Council said he was reconsidering rejoining the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) after it broke away last year. |
