Digital Transformation, AI and Local Government: The Case for Workforce Upskilling
The new LocalGov and Multiverse report explores how workforce upskilling is driving smarter, more efficient, and inclusive local government transformation.
Alarm sounded over Shetland Islands Council's £134m budget black hole
04/03/2026 Shetland Islands Council faces urgent pressure to address a projected £134.3m budget gap by 2029/30, auditors have warned. |
Scotland enshrines local democracy with European Charter vote
04/03/2026 Boost for local democracy after the Scottish Parliament voted to pass into law the European Charter for the Right to Local Self Government. |
Scottish councils reject world cup bank holiday
02/03/2026 An overwhelming majority of Scottish councils have so far rejected giving staff time off for June's bank holiday. |
Scottish IJBs at 'critical point', commission finds
26/02/2026 IJBs have reached a critical point in Scotland with a significant risk they will become financially unsustainable, according to Accounts Commission. |
Released prisoners face severe mental health challenges, study finds
18/02/2026 A new study has revealed that people released from Scottish prisons experience a mental health and substance use crisis. |
What the new cross-border placement rules in Scotland mean
17/02/2026 In this expert analysis, Ellen Bond, MFMac’s Family Law team, outlines what the new Cross-border Placement of Children Regulations 2026 will mean for councils. |
Social care in Scotland receives £20m boost
13/02/2026 The Scottish Government has confirmed that social care will receive a £20m cash injection. |
Scottish councils struggle to close budget gaps
10/02/2026 Councils in Scotland are struggling to balance their books following the announcement of the Budget. |
Scottish council leaders raise Local Growth Fund concerns
06/02/2026 Council leaders in Scotland have voiced strong concerns over the UK Government’s approach to the new Local Growth Fund. |
Scottish councils face £1bn budget gap
29/01/2026 The cost of delivering services in Scotland is rising faster than available funding which ‘risks the financial sustainability’ of councils, auditors warn. |
Scottish social care undermined by ‘systemic underinvestment’
27/01/2026 Social care in Scotland is undermined by the ‘systemic underinvestment’ in prevention and early intervention delivered by social care services, report finds. |
Scottish Budget proposes new council tax bands
14/01/2026 The Scottish Government is proposing the creation of two new council tax bands in an effort to increase funding for local authorities. |
Scottish islands challenge local growth funding cut
13/01/2026 Multiple local authorities in the Highlands and Islands area have challenged the Government’s decision not to allocate them any local growth funding. |
Scottish regions awarded £140m to drive local growth
08/01/2026 Five Scottish regions are to receive £140m of Government funding to support local growth initiatives. |
Scottish councils warn of financial breaking point
07/01/2026 Nearly three quarters of senior council figures in Scotland who took part in a survey have warned their local authorities are ‘close to effective bankruptcy’. |
Revealed: Scottish communities awarded Pride in Place funding named
15/12/2025 The 14 Scottish communities in 12 local authorities receiving £20m each in Pride in Place funding have been named by the UK Government. |
Council tax prison call
11/12/2025 England should follow Scotland and Wales in scrapping the sanction of imprisonment for non-payment of council tax, a charity has urged after latest figures from the Ministry of Justice revealed 19 people received suspended sentences last year. |
Alexander urges Scottish Government to devolve to councils
14/11/2025 The Scottish Government must devolve funding and powers to councils to secure a ‘decent and prosperous' nation, Scottish secretary Douglas Alexander has said. |
Major consultation to reform council tax in Scotland launched
27/10/2025 The Scottish Government and COSLA have launched a major consultation on the future of council tax. |
Scottish councils demand £750m social care lifeline
24/10/2025 Scotland’s political leaders have been told they face a ‘defining moment’ for local services — with social care at the centre of a new call for action. |
Aberdeen City Council launches rent consultation
22/10/2025 Aberdeen City Council has initiated a consultation inviting tenants to provide feedback on proposed rent changes for the 2026/27 period. |
Care system reform in Scotland held back by ‘confusion’
07/10/2025 Scotland’s efforts to reform its care system are being held back by a lack of clear planning, accountability, and defined roles, according to Audit Scotland. |
Councils to get rent control powers
02/10/2025 Councils in Scotland will be granted powers to limit rent increases on some properties under new legislation. |
Council takes action against ‘Kingdom of Kubala’
26/09/2025 A council has raised concerns about a group camping in the Scottish Border woodlands. |
Glasgow redundancy payouts 'deeply concerning'
04/09/2025 Redundancy payouts totalling £1m made to senior officers at Glasgow have been described as ‘deeply concerning' by a financial watchdog. |
Scottish care kids failing to attend school
27/08/2025 An increasing proportion of children in local authority care in Scotland are failing to attend school. |
Scottish Borders props up leisure services provider
22/08/2025 Scottish Borders Council has agreed to provide a £1m loan to its leisure services provider as it grapples with a budget shortfall. |
Watchdog urges councils to improve staff support
07/08/2025 Councils in Scotland have been urged by the Accounts Commission to improve staff support amid a raft of challenges impacting their wellbeing. |
Unions back Scottish local government pay offer
11/07/2025 Local authority leaders in Scotland have welcomed the decision by Unite and GMB members to accept the latest two-year pay offer. |
Union members accept two-year pay offer
08/07/2025 Local government staff in Scotland have voted to accept a two-year pay offer. |
COSLA makes two-year pay offer
16/06/2025 The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) has offered a 4% pay rise for 2025-26 and an increase of 3.5% the year after. |
Think-tank calls for Glasgow mayor
16/06/2025 Glasgow is at risk of falling behind England’s cities unless it receives a devolution deal and a directly elected city region mayor, Centre for Cities warns. |
North of Scotland awards £300m infrastructure contract
04/06/2025 North of Scotland Councils have secured a £300m contract for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. |
Scottish councils keen to explore further devolution
29/05/2025 Scottish councils are keen to explore ‘enhanced' devolution but have expressed reservations about following the English model of regional mayors. |
Scottish councils face £647m budget shortfall
23/05/2025 Local authorities in Scotland must transform the way they deliver services to close a budget shortfall of £647m, spending watchdog says. |
Union announces strike ballot over pay
16/04/2025 Scottish council workers are to be balloted over strike action in response to what a union has described as a ‘pitiful' pay offer. |
Scottish councils reject shared service proposal
11/04/2025 Three councils in Scotland have rejected a shared service proposal after concluding it would not offer ‘value for money'. |
Health and social care facing £457m funding gap in Scotland
06/03/2025 Health and social care finances in Scotland are facing a £457m funding gap in 2024/25, a new report has revealed. |
Call for devolution beyond England
28/02/2025 The Government has faced a call to extend its English devolution agenda to Scotland. |
Data protection regulator reprimands Glasgow and Edinburgh
27/02/2025 The regulator for data protection has criticised Glasgow and Edinburgh city councils for failing to respond to requests for personal information on time. |
Fife Council reaches £46m ‘turning point’
25/02/2025 Fife Council has reached a ‘turning point’ and will now have to save £46m, according to a new report by the Accounts Commission. |
East Lothian first in Scotland to confirm 10% council tax hike
19/02/2025 East Lothian Council is the first local authority in Scotland to confirm a double-digit council tax increase. |
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 councils told to transform at a pace ‘not yet seen’
28/01/2025 A spending watchdog has urged Scottish councils to pursue transformation ‘at a pace and depth we’ve not yet seen’ to deal with severe financial pressures. |
Scotland scraps core element of National Care Service
24/01/2025 The Scottish Government has scrapped plans to deliver structural social care reform through a National Care Service. |
Unions lodge pay claims in Scotland
24/01/2025 Unions have put in their pay claims on behalf of local government employees in Scotland. |
Edinburgh tourism tax could be starting point for fiscal devolution, experts suggest
20/01/2025 The approach to a tourism tax being taken forward in Scottish and Welsh cities could be a starting point for fiscal devolution in England, experts suggest. |
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. |
Scottish Government pledges to scrap two-child benefit cap
05/12/2024 The Scottish Government has announced plans to scrap Westminster’s ‘pernicious’ two-child cap on benefits. |
Fresh revenue raising powers promised for councils
04/12/2024 The Scottish Budget has pledged to ‘enhance the fiscal empowerment of local government through work on a fiscal framework'. |
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. |
UNISON accepts revised pay offer
28/11/2024 Trade union UNISON has accepted the revised pay offer from local government employers in Scotland. |
Scottish councils face ‘catastrophic’ funding issues
27/11/2024 Seven in 10 local authorities in Scotland have warned they will be unable to pass a balanced budget within the next five years without widespread reform. |
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. |
Scotland announces local safety cash with £4m for 20mph limits
05/11/2024 The Scottish Government has committed £14m to Scotland’s 32 councils to enhance road safety, with £4m dedicated to the rollout of 20mph limits. |
Scottish Government to decide fate of last man on housing estate
01/11/2024 The Scottish Government will determine what happens to the last man living on a housing estate earmarked for demolition by the local council. |
Scottish councils 'under extraordinary pressure'
30/10/2024 The council finance system in Scotland requires reform to avoid ‘catastrophe', newly-published research has found. |
Scotland faces 90% homelessness rise by 2040
29/10/2024 Scotland is set for a ‘homelessness crisis of alarming proportions’ if current trends persist, new research has found. |
Scottish councils must ‘urgently’ reform, watchdog says
01/10/2024 Local authorities in Scotland must urgently transform how they work if they are to ‘sustainably maintain services’, a public finance watchdog has said. |
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 told to ‘urgently address’ financial situation
27/09/2024 Auditors have praised Clackmannanshire Council for demonstrating improvement but urged the local authority to ‘urgently address its financial situation.’ |
Council drops all-Gaelic school plan
26/09/2024 Argyll and Bute councillors have decided to drop plans for a Gaelic language and culture school following a close-run public consultation. |
Holyrood warned against adding ‘bureaucratic layers’ to social care
20/09/2024 The Scottish Government should focus more on tackling the ‘ineffective’ funding of social care rather than adding ‘bureaucratic layers’, CIPFA says. |
Scottish councils face critical workforce gaps
05/09/2024 Local authorities in Scotland are facing critical workforce gaps in multiple areas, in particular in social care and social work, a new report has found. |
Unite ‘overwhelmingly’ backs COSLA pay offer
05/09/2024 Unite members have voted to accept the revised pay offer from local government employers in Scotland. |
Scottish Government asks councils to divert funds to cover pay deal
28/08/2024 The Scottish Government has asked councils to divert funds from a Nature Restoration Fund to help them meet the revised local authority pay deal. |
Call for Government RAAC remediation cash
20/08/2024 Pressure is growing on the Scottish Government to help shoulder the multi-million pound burden of replacing council buildings containing dangerous concrete. |
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 makes improved pay offer
12/08/2024 Councils have made an improved pay offer to staff in a bid to avert strike action across Scotland. |
Unions threaten ‘stinking’ summer after rejecting pay offer
22/07/2024 Residents in Scotland will be faced with a ‘stinking Scottish summer’ unless local government employers improve their pay offer to workers, union says. |
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. |
Scotland’s bin strikes will create ‘playground for pests’
04/07/2024 Residents in council areas that will be affected by the summer bin strikes in Scotland have been asked to take ‘reasonable steps’ to avoid attracting pests. |
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. |
Postal vote pressures threaten 'overload'
28/06/2024 A surge of demand for postal votes is threatening to leave people unable to take part in the General Election. |
Council plea for landfill ban funding
25/06/2024 The Scottish Government has been asked for funding to implement a looming ban on sending biodegradable waste to landfill. |
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. |
Edinburgh council celebrates ‘spectacular’ Eras Tour welcome
11/06/2024 The City of Edinburgh Council has paid tribute to fans, residents, transport services and staff after Taylor Swift’s global tour descended on the city at the weekend. |
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. |
Biffa sues Scottish Government for £55m over DRS
16/05/2024 Biffa has confirmed it is taking legal action against the Scottish Government for losses incurred after the scrapping of the deposit return scheme (DRS). |
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’. |
Re-elected Burnham calls for Right to Buy suspension powers
07/05/2024 Greater Manchester’s re-elected mayor has called for powers to suspend Right to Buy on new homes under plans to build 10,000 houses across the region. |
Unison warns of looming strike as it awaits pay offer
22/04/2024 Scotland’s largest local government union has warned that strike preparations could begin next week amid growing tensions over pay. |
Scots government 'unlikely' to create equal pay body
19/04/2024 Scottish Government ministers are unlikely to establish a national equal pay unit, despite calls from the trade union that led to strikes over the issue. |
Watchdog tells Falkirk to confront 'difficult decisions'
17/04/2024 Falkirk Council faces ‘difficult decisions’ to bridge a budget gap of tens of millions, according to Audit Scotland. |
Scottish councils’ debt is one-and-a-half times funding
08/04/2024 The debt of councils in Scotland is more than one-and-a-half times the latest local government funding settlement, the Scottish Conservatives have found. |
Proposed law could ease housing emergencies
27/03/2024 Scottish councils may be required to assess the condition of private rented accommodation under a proposed law. |
Scottish councils in tax U-turn
25/03/2024 Argyll and Bute and Inverclyde councils had both voted to raise tax in defiance of the Scottish Government's efforts to secure a nationwide freeze. |
Watchdog warning over Moray's funding gap
07/03/2024 Moray Council must act quickly to shore up its finances, Audit Scotland has warned. |
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. |
Regulator calls for 'substantial' planning intervention
26/02/2024 The planning system requires ‘substantial intervention’ by the Government to ensure consistent delivery of new homes, a major study has concluded. |
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. |
Orkney names Scotland's youngest council leader
21/02/2024 Orkney Islands Council has appointed Cllr Heather Woodbridge as Scotland's youngest local authority leader. |
Scotland’s public services ‘crumbling’
19/02/2024 Scots have observed worsening poverty and public services are failing to address social problem, according to a new report. |
Scottish council chiefs call for £45m uplift guarantee
12/02/2024 Leaders in Scotland have called for a guarantee the £45m Barnett consequentials from a £600m increase to the English finance settlement will be passed on. |
Scotland’s homelessness system 'at risk of failure'
02/02/2024 Scotland’s homelessness system is on the brink of collapse, according to the country’s housing watchdog. |
