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 later this month.
The Scottish government will announce its Budget on 19 December, and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) today launched its lobbying campaign to ensure under-pressure councils receive a sufficient share of the cash pot to continue delivering key services while planning stronger futures for their communities.
With budgets likely to be tight again next year, COSLA’s leaders urged Scotland’s ministers to ensure they free up enough cash to tackle rising poverty, deliver net zero commitments by 2050 and fully fund key public services.
COSLA president, Shona Morrison, said: ‘Councils really are the key to unlocking the best for our communities – from safe, quality housing; to clean streets; to supporting the most vulnerable people to thrive; to education and social care – the importance of these services cannot be emphasised enough, but they need to be funded properly.
‘Unfortunately, councils have no choice but to protect core statutory services, especially with the unprecedented financial challenges we are all experiencing.
'Budgets are tight, creating risks to many other local services our communities rely on, such as programmes supporting children and young people, sports and leisure facilities and public transport.’
This article was originally published by The MJ (£).
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