Fife Council Leader Slams Government Budget Settlement Terms
As the deadline looms for councils to agree to the Scottish Government’s budget settlement, the leader of Fife Council’s revealed he’s signed reluctantly to the deal.
As the deadline looms for councils to agree to the Scottish Government’s budget settlement, the leader of Fife Council’s revealed he’s signed reluctantly to the deal.
Councillor David Ross has issued this statement:
“With the greatest reluctance, I have today written to John Swinney saying that I see no alternative but to confirm as Leader of Fife Council that we will comply with the terms he has set out in regard to the budget settlement because of the extreme punitive sanctions he would otherwise impose on the Council.
“In December he announced an additional cut of £17m in Fife’s grant that we hadn’t expected. He has now made it clear that, should Fife not comply with the conditions he is imposing on us to receive our full grant, then we will face a penalty of another £25m.
“This is outrageous behaviour more like that of a Chicago gangster than what I would expect from the Deputy First Minister of Scotland.”
Umbrella group COSLA says local authorities face a 350 million pound reduction in spending due to the settlement outlined.