As West Lothian Council’s financial staff draw up spending plans for the next year it is clear that the room for flexibility is diminishing as the purse strings pull tighter on funding from Holyrood.
While funding is increasing, so too are the demands on the council and others across Scotland.
These demands are squeezing the operation of and provision of the services local authorities are traditionally expected to provide.
All of this comes without the added demands of the ongoing Covid pandemic.
West Lothian’s budget will be decided by the end of this month.
Council Tax makes up 20 per cent of the total revenue budget, with the remaining 80 per cent coming directly from the Scottish Government.
The Scottish Government has made the decision to compensate councils that freeze Council Tax levels at last year’s rate.
However, if the council does agree to freeze council tax, the council will lose over £1.7 million next year compared to what agreed budget assumptions are; this funding that was needed to maintain local existing services.
Leader of the council, Councillor Lawrence Fitzpatrick, said that there is an unprecedented strain on the finances of Scotland’s councils this year.
He said: “A lot is made of the budget setting process, but as reports to councillors from council officers have stated on several occasions, West Lothian Council has been forced to make savings of nearly £133 million since 2007/08, with further savings of over £19 million estimated for 2021/22 and 2022/23. The budget gap is caused by Scottish Government grant funding being less than required to meet increasing costs and demand for council services.
“The budget settlements for councils over the past 12 years have left many services struggling to cope with less resources and more demands. “All we ask for is a fair funding settlement.
“Increasingly, funding given to us by the Scottish Government, is earmarked for specific national programmes, so reducing any flexibility for innovation, and forcing the council to cut back on essential service areas.
“There’s no increase to the capital budgets that councils have to spend on improvement works and projects, and following a massive shortfall in capital grant last year, the council faces another significant shortfall in grant funding for 2021/22.
“There is a 0.7 per cent increase in core revenue budget which pays for the running of services. However, each year costs increase with inflation so overall it is a real terms reduction in our core funding.”
The Scottish Government announced details of their Budget Settlement for councils last week.
In West Lothian, council officers are currently assessing the full details on how the Scottish Government’s budget will impact on local services.
COSLA – the umbrella body representing Scottish councils, said that the Scottish Government “falls short of the fair funding Local Government requires”.
Councillor Fitzpatrick said: “After years of insufficient funding handed down to councils by the Scottish Government, the Accounts Commission recently laid bare the true reality for Scottish councils. They highlighted that the financial cost of Covid-19 on councils in the current financial year is estimated to be £767 million – and that is on top of existing financial pressures. The challenges are unprecedented.
“The council has yet to receive confirmation of funding for 2021/22 to address the many Covid-19 related financial pressures that we face.
“Councils deliver critical services – education, social care, care homes, welfare support, as well as services such as maintaining our road networks, waste and council housing. Services that are critical to the well-being of local people and local communities.
“There’s no hiding place. The reality is that after years of insufficient funding councils continue to operate in extremely difficult conditions, trying to navigate the delivery of critical services like schools and social care through a continual backdrop of reducing budgets.
“Despite the challenges, we are resilient and strive to make best use of the funding to maximise services in West Lothian.”
COSLA’s resources spokesperson, Councillor Gail Macgregor, said “We welcome elements of the Scottish Government’s announcement but overall this budget falls short of what we would consider a fair settlement for Local Government.
“We would anticipate further constructive discussions with the Cabinet Secretary in the next few weeks.”
