Council tax freeze across Scotland counts as success for government

COUNCIL tax rates were yesterday frozen in most of Scotland's local authority areas in a move which will be seen as a major success story for Alex Salmond.

More than half the country's authorities unveiled their budgets for the coming year yesterday and said their concordat with the Scottish Government enabled them to avoid tax hikes while maintaining front-line services.

The government had offered £70 million of funding to councils willing to freeze council tax as part of its plans to ultimately abolish the levy.

West Dunbartonshire took the unprecedented step of pledging a three-year halt. Seven other councils have already agreed a freeze and among the others to join them yesterday were Moray, South Ayrshire, Borders and East Renfrewshire.

All said they would be able to achieve it by efficiencies away from the front line, such as closer working between departments and natural wastage.

Moray Council has introduced more energy-efficient street lighting and reduced postage costs by finding alternative ways to issue payslips.

East Renfrewshire Council has got departments working more closely together to make better use of resources.

But unions warned teacher cuts would be inevitable to balance the books – and as education made up half the budget, it would be the first to be hit.

School boards in Aberdeen had already revealed that an accumulation of swingeing cuts over recent years had forced head teachers to consider drastic savings. And last night, the city council confirmed it would have to cut services by £27,000. The city has the highest tax rate – £1,230 for band D – and the Lib Dem/SNP administration vowed to fight for more cash from the Scottish Government.

East Lothian Council announced efficiency savings earlier this week, and the head of Musselburgh Grammar School told parents in advance this would cause problems.

Bill McGregor, general secretary of the Head Teachers Association Scotland, said there were still fears the pressure would be passed on to teachers. He said: "School funding has been cut to the bone. All that's left now is to cut teaching posts."

But Highland Council – which agreed a budget increase of 4.7 per cent but needs efficiency savings of £7.9 million – pulled back from anticipated cuts in teaching posts and to a care charity.

It scrapped plans which would have seen an increase in the number of pupils per teacher in small rural primary schools which, it was claimed, could have seen a loss of up to 40-50 teachers.

Instead, it will carry out a review of staffing levels across the council in time for the 2009-10 budget.

It also gave a stay of execution to the Highland Community Care Forum (HCCF) by deferring a decision to reduce core funding of £150,000.

Other councils who set their budgets yesterday were Aberdeenshire, Argyll & Bute, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Fife, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Orkney, Perth & Kinross, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire.

John Swinney, the finance secretary, said the mass freeze was "welcome news for taxpayers across Scotland who have borne unacceptable and punishing rises in the council tax over recent years".

He added: "We have given local government the opportunity to deliver the services their constituents deserve by providing record funding and giving councils more freedom to spend their money to meet local needs and deliver national priorities."

DEAL WITH LOCAL AUTHORITIES A COUP FOR SNP
THE historic concordat between local authorities and the Scottish Government was agreed last year, in a major coup for the Nationalist administration.

John Swinney, the finance secretary, described it as a "transformation in the relationship between local and national government (which] will free councils from micromanagement and central planning".

As well as giving councils £70 million to freeze council tax levels, it gives local authorities more flexibility over how they spend their cash. The agreement means councils will be able to keep any savings they make and gives the 32 local authorities an extra £101 million over three years.

Revenue funding – the largest part of the local government settlement – will total £31.8 billion over the three years, an increase of 12.7 per cent over that period.