10 ways councils are making budgets go further
Discover 10 ways councils are stretching budgets further, from digital transformation and energy efficiency to community partnerships and data-driven decision-making.
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. |
Edinburgh first to enforce pavement parking ban
29/01/2024 Edinburgh City Council has become the first local authority in Scotland to enforce a ban on pavement parking. |
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. |
Argyll and Bute considers 10% council tax hike
25/01/2024 Argyll and Bute Council are considering a council tax rise of 10% in order to tackle ‘enormous budget challenges’. |
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. |
Council tax freeze costs Scottish Government £300m
15/12/2023 Fully funding local authorities for Scotland’s council tax freeze contributes significantly to the £1.5bn shortfall facing Holyrood, experts have warned. |
Quarter of Scottish councils fear bankruptcy
13/12/2023 Nearly a quarter of Scottish councils fear they will be unable to balance their budget next year, new research shows. |
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. |
Glasgow clean air bid gets all clear
31/10/2023 A legal challenge to Glasgow's Low Emission Zone (LEZ) from a local business has failed. |
How AI surveys show councils need a new approach on litter
31/10/2023 Gavin Ellis, co-founder and director of Hubbub, discusses how litter survey projects on Glasgow and Cardiff roads suggest that a new approach is needed by local authorities. |
‘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. |
