Scottish councils face four years of cuts under Spending Review plans outlined by Scotland’s finance minister Kate Forbes.
Announcing the review Ms Forbes blamed the Westminster government for not updating its spending plans in light of higher than expected inflation. She told MSPs ‘Whilst the Chancellor has provided welcome, if limited and late support for households, the chill winds of UK Government austerity are blowing when it comes to spending on public services.’
She added: ‘When the UK Spending Review in October set out funding for the Scottish Budget, inflation was 3.1%. Despite inflation hitting 9%, the UK Government has not updated its spending plans, leaving us with far less funding in real terms. Following a real terms reduction of 5.2% between last year and this year, our real terms funding grows by only 2% across the whole four-year period of the spending review.’
The review will prioritise spending on health, welfare, education and climate change. But David Phillips, associate director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said budgets for local government, the police, prisons, justice, universities and rural affairs are set to fall by around 8% in real terms over the next four years, equivalent to a real terms cut of £1.1bn.
Projected spending for local government is at £10.6bn each year from 2022/23 to 2025/26, and £10.7bn in 2026/27.
The respected Fraser of Allander Institute said the review ‘implies that the local government budget will decline by 7% in real terms between 2022/23 and 2026/27.’
