The Scottish Budget approved on Tuesday included an increase of £100m for councils, but that sum ‘won’t touch the sides’, said UNISON.
Commenting on the Scottish government’s announcement of a £100 million cash injection to help settle local government pay disputes, Johanna Baxter, UNISON Scotland’s Head of local government, said:“The announcement of an additional £100m for local government is welcome. However, it won’t touch the sides of the £1 billion gap in local government budgets and doesn’t provide councils anywhere near enough funding for a decent pay uplift for local government workers.
“While local councils struggle to balance the books, thousands of jobs and community services are facing cuts. These scraps from the top table will do little to restore confidence in the Scottish government’s approach to local democracy or the communities our councils serve.”
The City of Edinburgh Council meets on Thursday to set the budget and the rate of council tax for the next year.
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