Slower pace of cuts in Scotland ‘may have allowed preventative measures’

Scottish councils may have had more room to invest in preventative measures, as cuts in local government spend in Scotland appear to have been slower than in England, according to new research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The ‘cost of the cuts’ report, published today, uses analysis of local government expenditure data to suggest the largest cuts in local government funding have been in the most deprived areas of England, while cuts in Scotland have been “at a slower pace”.

The report concedes direct comparisons are difficult to make, but on one estimate the Scottish reduction is 11 per cent cuts in net terms, in contrast to a 27 per cent reduction in England. 

Professor Annette Hastings from the University of Glasgow said: “Local councils find themselves in an incredibly difficult position. At a time when the agenda is about how to make public services work better, particularly for those that need them the most, councils are being subjected to year on year funding cuts.  Their capacity to deliver positive change is being reduced just when it is needed the most. The cuts are only half way through and it is clear that the cuts to come will have major impacts. Some of these impacts will be very damaging – and this is much more likely when funding cuts are so severe and so rapid.”

The JRF recommends further devolution of fiscal responsibility to local government needs to take place with a fairer system of funding which makes sure that poorer areas are not disproportionally affected.

Read Colin Mair, chief executive of the Improvement Service, writing for Holyrood on the key challenge for local government: to maintain its commitment to a universalism that respects diversity