COSLA has today (Wednesday) said that it is very disappointed with the level of spin put on their discussions with Government in relation to the Spending Review.
Commenting following John Swinney's statement to Parliament this afternoon COSLA's Finance Spokesperson Councillor Kevin Keenan said: "Scottish Local Government is disappointed but not surprised with the very unhelpful level of spin put on the Government's discussions with us ahead of today's announcement.
"There were talks held between our Political Group Leaders and the Government in advance of today's announcement. These were late in the day and the furthest we went during them, mainly due to the lack of detail forthcoming from Government, was that we indicated that we may be prepared to deliver on some of the issues that the Government wanted us to.
"There were no agreed priorities, we said that in order to maintain a partnership, there may be things that we would be prepared to do to a degree, but these are not joint priorities."
"Now that we can for the first time see what the Scottish Government wishes us to do – COSLA can respond with hard facts and no spin.
"It has to be fully understood that none of the things the Government wants to prioritise come without a cost attached– and that by prioritising some areas you are immediately damaging others even further.
"Protecting teacher numbers – may be laudable and seen by the Scottish Government as a priority but it comes at a cost to other services.
"Guaranteeing the whole of the police grant to police – means that unlike other services within local government there will be no saving in this area. It was also pointed out that for a government so committed to outcomes it was a bit strange that these are both input measures.
"Also by asking Local Government to reprofile its capital funding by giving up £220m in years 1 and 2 and getting it back in years 3 and 4. This will mean that local capital plans will have to slip in favour of national priorities and this will have real impact locally. Borrowing has been mentioned to make up the shortfall but this is not a cost free option to local government and will have to be funded from resources that are already stretched to provide core services."
Councillor Keenan continued: "On pensions this will have an impact on some of our employees and COSLA will need an understanding from Government of their stance. Council Leaders are clearly concerned at the possible impact that this could have on sections of the workforce.
"The hard nosed facts are that in reality Scottish local government is going to be 7% down over the period of this spending review.
"When you add in £1bn worth of demand on the vital services we provide that takes us to 15% down, and that can mean only one thing a significant reduction in local services and local spend, neither of which is good news for local economies throughout Scotland.
"There is no way of papering over the cracks with spin– these are the facts. Yes we can get round parts of this with efficiencies, preventative spending, collaborative working and re-organising services but there is no way that this can make up for the shortfall we are facing. This is simply the reality of the situation we are faced with."