Council budgets declined faster than Scottish Government budget

Local government budgets shrank by 4.6 per cent between 2013/14 and 2016/17, while the Scottish Government’s budget decreased by just 1.5 per cent over the same period.

Following Council Tax reform, and not accounting for discounts and exemptions, the average Council Tax bill for properties in Bands A-D has seen a modest increase of 2.1% as a result of local authority applied rate increases.

The average bill in Bands E-H, by comparison, as a result of changes to the multiplier structure, has seen much greater increase, with the average Band H bill seeing a 25.1% increase between 2016-17 and 2017-18.

Local Government Finance Statistics show that, between 2010-11 and 2015-16, fees and charges for services have increased by almost 13%, with the most significant increases in charging being in Central Services, Planning and Development Services, Education and roads and Transport.

Income from fees and charges within education services specifically rose by 29% between 2010-11 and 2015-16.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Alex Rowley said the SPICe report “proves that the SNP has taken Tory austerity and passed it on to Scottish communities”.