COSLA have today (Friday 8th November) launched their latest budget lobbying campaign: Invest Locally in Scotland’s Future.
The Accounts Commission have projected a Local Government budget gap of £392.7 million in 2025/26, rising to a cumulative gap of £780 million by 2026/27.
In the face of a series of national and local challenges, Local Government cannot afford a repeat of last year’s flat cash revenue settlement and the £54m cut to core capital budget.
The latest campaign from COSLA, ‘Invest Locally in Scotland’s Future’, calls on the Scottish Government to provide Local Government with fair and flexible funding in the upcoming Scottish Budget, to allow our councils to continue to provide vital services, and to ensure a range of positive impacts for individuals, communities, and Scotland as a whole.
COSLA President, Councillor Shona Morrison, commented:
Councils are at the heart of our communities, providing the vital services we all use at some point over the course of a normal day – from ensuring the best possible education for our children to providing good quality affordable housing and to making sure our communities and public spaces are clean and safe. In turn, these services benefit us all by improving our health and wellbeing, strengthening our communities, and supporting us in reaching a just transition to net zero.
However, the great work performed everyday by our councils is increasingly at risk. Years of real-terms cuts and flat cash settlements from Scottish Government, compounded by rising inflation and operational costs mean that our councils are constantly required to do more with less.
Our councils have done their very best to protect core statutory services, such as education and social care. However, as we can see with the ever-increasing number of housing emergencies announced across our communities, even these essential services are facing real strain.
Our campaign, ‘Invest Locally In Scotland’s Future’, highlights the fantastic work being carried out across Scotland by councils and promotes a positive vision of how our services could look with sustainable funding. Without significant local investment and sustainable local services, we are all worse off. Ultimately, it is crucial that Scottish Government works in partnership with Local Government through the Verity House Agreement, to ensure that our councils get the fair and flexible funding necessary to allow us to carry out the vital work which will benefit everyone in Scotland.
COSLA Resources Spokesperson, Councillor Katie Hagmann added:
Across Scotland, councils are in an extremely challenging position, made worse by significant cuts to our core budget in recent years. This is putting unprecedented strain on our front-line essential services and Local Government is moving ever closer towards unsustainability.
The reality of budget reductions in areas such as roads, planning, culture, and leisure are threatening councils’ ability to meet statutory obligations including services such as housing and homelessness. Last year, the 2024/25 Budget resulted in a flat cash revenue settlement with further cuts to Local Government’s core capital budget. Our communities cannot afford for this to be repeated.
The 2025/26 budget must provide fair and flexible funding to allow Local Government to deliver our jointly agreed outcomes and address the multiple challenges we are facing. It is vital that the Scottish Government ensures that any additional revenue and capital funding, made available through the UK Budget, is passed onto Councils.
The key asks in COSLA’s ‘Invest Locally In Scotland’s Future’ campaign reflect the challenges across all our councils. We are calling on the Scottish Government to provide fair and flexible funding to allow councils to balance budgets, meet workforce challenges such as recruitment and retention issues, higher demand for services, and the ability to provide fair pay uplifts. It must look to reverse the real-terms reduction to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, and it must ensure that additional capital investment is made available to allow councils to meet higher costs and drive forward a healthier local economy.
Our councils carry out fantastic and essential work within our communities every single day. It is imperative that Local Government is provided with the necessary funding to preserve this and ensure sustainability of local services so we can continue to deliver the best outcomes for all.”
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Further information
Read the Invest Locally In Scotland's Future campaign document.
Read a summary of the campaign document.
A plain-text version of the document is available upon request to christine@cosla.gov.uk.
Media queries
Please email: press@cosla.gov.uk