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Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 16 January 2024
Ariane Burgess
Minister, in relation to the fiscal framework, you mentioned the accountability and assurance framework a couple of times. It seems that you are putting a lot of weight and importance on its development. Are you in a position to give us an indication of what you want to see in that framework, in terms of the relationship between COSLA and the Scottish Government?
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 16 January 2024
Ariane Burgess
Thanks for that.
I will now take a longer-term view. In November, the Scottish Government informed the committee that
“local government revenue funding is 2.6 per cent higher in real terms than it was in 2013-14—as confirmed in the recent Accounts Commission report.”
Around the same time, COSLA wrote to the Parliament’s Economy and Fair Work Committee to say:
“Over the past decade, Local Government has experienced significant cuts to funding. A 9.6% reduction in revenue funding from 2013/14 to 2020/21 was followed by further real terms reductions in 2022/23 and 2023/24.”
I am interested to hear how you account for the differences in interpretation.
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 16 January 2024
Ariane Burgess
David, do you want to come in?
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 16 January 2024
Ariane Burgess
It has been a very useful evidence session. We have come to the end of it, you will be glad to know. It is helpful to hear the perspective of COSLA.
I think that Stephanie Callaghan has a supplementary question.
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 16 January 2024
Ariane Burgess
We will get into some of those details now.
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 16 January 2024
Ariane Burgess
Katie, do you want to come in on that?
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 16 January 2024
Ariane Burgess
Under agenda item 2, the committee will take evidence from two panels of witnesses on the Scottish Government’s 2024-25 budget. For our first panel, we are joined online by Councillor Katie Hagmann, resources spokesperson for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, and we are joined in the room by Mirren Kelly, chief officer for local government finance at COSLA; and David Robertson, finance lead at the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers and chief executive of Scottish Borders Council. I welcome our witnesses to the meeting.
We will try to direct our questions to a specific witness where possible, but if you would like to come in, please indicate as much to the clerks. Councillor Hagmann, as you are participating virtually, you can do that by typing R in the chat function.
I will direct my first question to Councillor Hagmann initially. The Deputy First Minister told the Parliament that the 2024-25 revenue settlement represents a 5 per cent real-terms increase on last year’s budget. However, COSLA has stated that the settlement is actually a £62.7 million reduction over the year. The committee is interested in understanding how COSLA arrived at that figure and why it appears to be so different from the Scottish Government’s interpretation. At a meeting last year, we heard from the directors of finance that the provisional 2024-25 budget allocation should be compared against the final budget figures for 2023-24.
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 16 January 2024
Ariane Burgess
Thanks very much. That experience at local authority level is why you ask such good questions.
I just want to note that we had quite a lot of food metaphors this morning, so we have had a cake and apples while we have been busy with all those numbers. Thanks so much for joining us this morning. [Interruption.] I have just been reminded that we also had pizza—I forgot about that one.
I briefly suspend the meeting to allow for a change of witnesses.
10:23 Meeting suspended.Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 16 January 2024
Ariane Burgess
On our second panel, we are joined by Joe FitzPatrick, the Minister for Local Government Empowerment and Planning, and, from the Scottish Government, by Ian Storrie, who is the head of local government finance, and David Cowan, who is the head of regeneration and place.
I welcome you all to the meeting and invite Mr FitzPatrick to make a short opening statement.
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 16 January 2024
Ariane Burgess
Do you have anything to add, David?
09:15