Local Government Budget Facts

2010-11 DRAFT BUDGET: LOCAL GOVERNMENT •

Don’t believe the SNP’s spin. The Scottish Government’s budget is rising by £600 million over the next year.

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In 2009-10 the Scottish Government budget was £29.38 billion. In 2010-11 it rises to £29.98 billion. This is both a cash increase and a real terms increase.

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Since 1999 the Budget has doubled.

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The SNP’s claim that the Scottish Government budget is being cut by £500 million is therefore not true. They have more money to spend, not less.

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John Swinney can’t make his sums add up because he has overstretched. Local councils are being forced to choose between raising tax and cutting services.

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The SNP are making bad choices. It is obscene that frontline services are facing cuts while they are spending nearly £1 million on the ‘National Conversation’.

The Local Government budget is going down in real terms. The total Scottish Government support for local authorities is actually going to go down by 0.5% for 2010- 11, from £11,763.1m to £11,709.7m in real terms. Local Government share under SNP is lower. Local government spend as a proportion of Scottish Government spend is lower under the SNP. Since the SNP low of 32.3% in 2007-08, the share of spend has consistently risen to 33.9% to this year, but this is still less than it was under Labour: Year

Total Budget by Level 2 Heading Local Government

2002/03

36.7% - Labour

2003/04

36.7% - Labour

2004/05

36.5% - Labour

2005/06

35.6% - Labour

2006/07

34.7% - Labour

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2010-11 DRAFT BUDGET: LOCAL GOVERNMENT 2007/08

32.3% - SNP

2008/09

33.7% - SNP

2009/10

33.8% - SNP

2010/11

33.9% - SNP

Why is Local Government taking hit for a third of NHS capital? Local government took the hit for £34m in its capital budget to meet its “share” of the UK Government’s change to the Scottish Government Budget. However, the total £129m reduction was as a result of NHS capital spend, which had nothing to do with local government and furthermore, the UK Treasury has allowed the Scottish Government to draw down the full £129m in End Year Flexibility money, so the entire sum is completely covered. John Swinney told Parliament on 25th June: “the Government will have sufficient resources on deposit at the Treasury to make good that shortfall”. It is therefore a mystery why local government has been asked to bear a £34m share. Pressures on local government. The Council Tax freeze (£70m) and the Small Business Bonus Scheme (Scottish Government estimate this will cost £165m in 2010-11) leaves local government under increased financial pressure and limits local government autonomy, whilst diverting money away from vital services. Since 2007 the council tax freeze and the Small Business Bonus Scheme has removed a total of £574m from local government budgets. This is compounded by the fact that income from land sales is falling and an increasing demand for services, such as social housing, debt advice and primary care. Concordat. Yet local government is expected to deliver the Scottish Government’s promises such as smaller class sizes, free school meals, kinship care allowance. Schools. The SNP are also forcing local authorities to take on a greater share of the cost for building new schools. Labour’s school building programme delivered 328 new or substantially refurbished schools. Fiona Hyslop has so far promised just 14, none of which will be completed in this parliamentary session. Furthermore, the SNP are only offering 60% of the money, with Councils being forced to fund the other 40% 2

2010-11 DRAFT BUDGET: LOCAL GOVERNMENT themselves. Under Labour, the Government provided 80%. Employees. Scottish Government figures indicate that there are 6,700 less people working in local government than there were two years ago.

DRAFT BUDGET 2010-11 – THE DETAIL FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT Local Government portfolio: Spending in real terms (£m) 2009-10

2010-11

Annual

Annual

Budget

Draft

Change £m

Change %

Budget General Revenue

7,719.5

8,120.2

400.7

5.2%

2,165.1

2,037.6

-127.5

-5.9%

462.6

354.7

-107.9

-23.3%

305.2

300.7

-4.5

-1.5%

832.3

694.5

-137.8

-16.6%

832.3

694.5

-137.8

-16.6%

11,709.7

-53.4

-0.5%

Grant Non-Domestic Rates General Capital Grant Supported Borrowing Specific Revenue Grants Specific Capital Grants TOTAL SUPPORT 11,763.1 FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES

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2010-11 DRAFT BUDGET: LOCAL GOVERNMENT •

In keeping with the SNP’s overall trend for the 2010-11 Budget they have cut local government’s capital budget, so they can be seen to be “boosting” the revenue budget.

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However, although the General Revenue Grant has gone up by 5.2%, from £7,719.5m to £8,120.2m (an increase of £400.7m in real terms), the Specific Revenue Grants budget has been cut by 16.6% in real terms, from £832.3m to £694.5m, a decrease of £137.8m.

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And with the exception of the General Revenue Grant all the other local authority budget lines have been cut as follows: ○

Non-Domestic Rates has gone down by 5.9%, a reduction of £127.5m from £2,165.1m to £2,037.6m in real terms.

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The General Capital Grant has gone down by 23.3% in real terms, a reduction of £107.9m from £462.6m to £354.7m.

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Supported borrowing has also seen a decrease of £4.5m, which is a 1.5% decrease, from £305.2m to £300.7m in real terms.

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The Specific Capital Grants has gone down by £76.4m, from £278.4m to £202m – a cut of 27.5%.

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