Unions call for end to SNP’s council tax freeze

UNION leaders last night called for an end to the council tax freeze as local authorities lined up huge spending cuts.

John Swinney PA

Deputy First Minister and Finance Secretary John Swinney refuses to lift council tax

The STUC said freedom to raise the level of council tax could help recoup cash as town halls made tough choices to balance their budgets.

The local levy has been frozen by the SNP Government since it came to power in 2007 and was a pledge of opposition parties at the last election.

But the freeze now costs almost £500million to fund and as budgets continue to fall, some council leaders have demanded the freedom to raise council tax.

The call came as local authorities prepared to publish their spending plans for the next year.

In Edinburgh alone, councillors need to make £67million in savings over the next three years, while East Lothian announced £2million-worth of cuts to its workforce.

Deputy First Minister and Finance Secretary John Swinney has allocated more than £10.85billion for councils in his budget for 2015-16 – 80 per cent of every penny spent by local authorities.

He has long refused to cave in to demands to lift the council tax freeze insisting it helps families who face crippling rises in the cost of living.

But trade unions believe that local taxes will have to increase at some point and that the freeze should be lifted as soon as possible.

STUC deputy general secretary Dave Moxham said: “It seems to us that there is almost a conspiracy of silence about the absolute impact that these cuts are having on individuals.  

“We need to see the council tax increased and we need to start a proper debate about how we fund local government.”

It seems to us that there is almost a conspiracy of silence about the absolute impact that these cuts are having on individuals.

Dave Moxham, STUC deputy general secretary

Despite providing almost £11billion to councils in his budget, Mr Swinney also came under fire from Cosla, the organisation which represents 28 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities.

Cosla says that if teacher numbers fall, councils will lose their share of a further £10million, which they would receive next January.

Its president, David O’Neill, said: “Despite the financial difficulties and extreme budgetary pressures local government feels year on year, Scotland’s councils, do their utmost to protect frontline services and ensure to the best of their ability that the service user does not suffer.

However, it is both fair to say and blatantly obvious that this is getting tougher every year and really, really tough decisions are having to be taken by Scotland’s councils.”

Mr Swinney said: “Like all other organisations in the public sector, they have to live within the constrained resources that are now available to the public sector.

“In almost every circumstance, local authorities will engage in dialogue with a whole range of different organisations and stakeholders within the community to come to their decisions.

“I think it’s important at all stages that local as well as national government engages closely with the discussion and the debate about priorities in every locality in the country.”

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