Co-operation or Conflict?
Scottish Parliament: Powers
Devolved powers
•Health
•Education
•Local Government
•Law
•Social Work and Housing
•Economic Development and Transport
•The Environment
•Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
•Sport and the Arts
The powers in red are those local
government treasures the most.
2008-09 Where the money went
Income
Scottish Government
Fees and charges
Council Tax
Non Domestic Rates
Reserves
Total
Expenditure
Education
Social Work
Housing
Roads, Environ, Culture, Planning
Police & Fire
Other services
Depreciation and Pensions
Total
Surplus
Source: Audit Scotland
£bn
bn
8.27
4.81
2.25
1.96
0.1
17.39
5.46
3.52
3.37
3.45
1.01
0.51
1.04
17.34
0.05
Roles of Local Government
Providing
Services
Strategic
Planning
Regulation
Community
leadership
Local
democracy
Providing Services
Education
Social Work
Housing
Local authorities provide the services most of us at some point in our life depend upon.
Strategic Planning
Local authorities must
produce long term
plans of how they will
provide services within
their area.
Sometimes several
neighbouring councils
will work together, for
example, in Edinburgh
and the east of
Scotland.
Regulation
Local authorities have
the job of deciding on
licenses, for example, for
taxi drivers and pubs and
clubs
Community leadership
The Local Government Act of 2003 provided local authorities with the responsibility
to promote “well-being”. Such initiatives, such as anti litter campaigns and Eco
schools, cut across local government departments and seek to improve the quality
of life for everyone.
Local Democracy
It is the job of councillors, elected local
representatives, to decide how the Council’s
budget should be spent.
The STV creates larger constituencies,
which are often multi-party in composition.
For example….
City of Edinburgh Council.
Ward 10: Meadows and Morningside
Paul Godzik
Scottish Labour
Alison Johnstone
Green
•City of Edinburgh has 58 Councillors,
elected in 17 wards
• Each ward will have 3 or 4 councillors
to represent the public
•The Council is led by a Lib Dem/SNP
coalition
Marilyne
MacLaren
Lib Dem
Mark McInnes
Conservative
•Councillors provide local leadership
and representation
The “old” Scottish Executive
•The 1999 – 2007 Scottish Executives were Labour/Lib Dem coalitions
•Reform of local government was a priority
•STV was introduced and a new employment system for councillors was introduced
“Old” Scottish local government
Prior to the 2007 local government elections, Labour was the
power in Scottish local government, controlling 13 out of 32 local
authorities.
2007 New Scottish “Government”
The SNP led Scottish
Government is not a
coalition but a minority
Government
It presides over a very
different political landscape,
with the SNP the largest
political party and many
coalition-led
local authorities
New Scottish local government
Only Glasgow, Midlothian and North Lanarkshire
have Labour controlled LAs.
In councils such as Edinburgh and West Lothian,
coalitions have been formed to exclude Labour.
It seems that after years of Labour rule, other
parties are no ganging up on Labour.
On the other hand, in East Dunbartonshire and
South Lanarkshire, Labour and the Tories have
formed a coalition to keep out the SNP!
What STV is providing is an entirely new style of
politics.
Aberdeen City Council
Aberdeenshire Council
Angus Council
Argyll & Bute Council
Clackmannanshire Council
Dumfries & Galloway Council
Dundee City Council
East Ayrshire Council
East Dunbartonshire Council
East Lothian Council
East Renfrewshire Council
Edinburgh City Council
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Falkirk Council
Fife Council
Glasgow City Council
Highland Council
Inverclyde Council
Midlothian Council
Moray Council
North Ayrshire Council
North Lanarkshire Council
Orkney Islands Council
Perth and Kinross Council
Renfrewshire Council
Scottish Borders Council
Shetland Islands Council
South Ayrshire Council
South Lanarkshire Council
Stirling Council
West Dunbartonshire Council
West Lothian Council
The New Broom: Aberdeen City Council
1
4
Callum McCaig
Kirsty West
John West
In 2007, thanks to
retirement packages,
many older councillors
retired and a “new
broom” of very youthful
Councillors were elected.
John West, in Aberdeen
Council had just left
school! Callum McCaig,
and John West’s big
sister, Kirsty, weren’t
much older.
Co-operation: The smoking ban
The relationship between
local authorities and the
Scottish Government is a
two-way one.
The Scottish Government
can pass a law .e.g. On
smoking in enclosed public
spaces, but it requires local
authorities to enforce it.
What to do about the Council Tax?
The SNP Government has abandoned its
plans to abolish the Council Tax
Labour’s Iain Gray famously tore up the
SNP manifesto
The Concordat
•The Concordat agreed
between the SNP Scottish
Government and COSLA in
2007 is based upon:
•Reducing “ring fencing” of
projects by the Scottish
Government
•Freezing Council Tax increases
•Establishing Single Outcome
Agreements (SOAs)
Tensions within the Concordat
Even before the Westminster Emergency Budget of June 2010,
there were signs that the Concordat was under pressure.
The maximum class size
of 18 in P1-P3 is now an
“aim”, rather than a
“pledge”.
The Council Tax will not be
abolished this Parliament.
Can the freeze on increases
last?
Do local authorities
have the money to pay
for free school meals in
P1-P3?
Cuts are taking place in all Scotland’s local
authorities
The Scottish Government will probably need to
reduce its spending by around 17% over the
next four years. Such savings cannot be
achieved simply by cutting waste or finding
"efficiencies".
The Scottish Government is almost certain to
follow the UK's lead in imposing a two-year
public sector pay freeze for employees on more
than £21,000.
The Scottish Government may well look again
at some of the key policies brought in since
devolution, such as free personal care for the
elderly and the introduction of free bus travel for
the elderly.
So, what happens to Best Value?
Examples: Cuts in school
transport, museums and
sports centres, police
overtime.
Redundancies are being
made and posts unfilled.
There are increases in
charges for breakfast
clubs, special refuse
uplifts and blue badges for
disabled drivers
COSLA is angry at Health
being disproportionately
protected. It is angry at
the degree to which local
authorities will have to cut
jobs and services.
The survival of the
Concordat is in jeopardy.
UNISON protest against the cuts, Glasgow 2010