Scottish Labour leadership candidate Joe Fagan MSP has demanded increased core funding for local government as his third test for the Scottish Government’s Budget.
Mr Fagan is calling on Ministers to abandon plans which would mean real-terms cuts to council budgets and instead deliver a genuine increase in the core funding available for local services.
He has also backed COSLA’s call for an additional £750 million for social care, making clear that the SNP Government work towards boosting funding for care on top of the increase councils need to protect wider services.
Mr Fagan’s first two Budget tests called for the Scottish Government to give communities the powers and funding needed to bring bus services back into public control, and to deliver a minimum £15-an-hour rate for social care workers with better terms and conditions.
Candidate for Scottish Labour Leader Joe Fagan MSP said:“Councils have suffered disproportionate cuts under the SNP Government for too long.
“Current plans would mean another real-terms squeeze on the services working people rely on every day.
“That has to stop.
“I also back COSLA’s call for an additional £750 million for social care. But that money has to be additional. Ministers cannot put money into social care with one hand and take it back out of the rest of local government with the other.
“I led one of Scotland’s largest local authorities and I know what a difference it makes when councils are trusted to lead. Councils are closest to the people they serve and they understand where investment can make the biggest difference.
“For too long, the SNP has pulled power and resources into Holyrood while councils have been left to absorb the cuts and take the blame.
“We need to turn that around and shift resources into councils and communities.
“My first Budget test was about giving communities the power to take buses back into public control. My second was about delivering £15-an-hour pay for social care workers out there across Scotland. This third test is about making sure councils have the core funding to protect and improve the services people depend on.
“If the Scottish Government is serious about stronger public services and giving working people more control over their lives, it needs to fund local government properly.
“End the real-terms cuts. Increase core council funding. Back social care. Deliver fairer funding for local services, starting with the coming Budget.”