Orkney and Shetland Labour
3 July 2019
The SNP government has turbo-charged Tory austerity on councils and the lifeline services they provide, a new report has found.
New figures from the independent Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Spice) show that between 2013-14 and 2018-19, the Scottish government revenue budget was cut by 2.8 per cent but the SNP has hammered councils with cuts to their budgets of 7.5 per cent.
Scottish Labour say the cuts have put lifeline services at risk and show the SNP has not only failed to stand up to Tory austerity, they have increased it for local services across Scotland.
Commenting on the report, Scottish Labour's finance spokesperson James Kelly MSP said:
“The SNP has turbo-charged Tory austerity on councils across the country.
"Instead of using Scotland's powers to stand up to the Tories, the SNP government has used Holyrood as a conveyer belt for cuts.
"And we know these cuts have been made amid the government sitting on almost half a billion pounds of unspent cash.
"It’s time for Derek Mackay to listen to Scottish Labour and properly fund local services."
The SNP government has turbo-charged Tory austerity on councils and the lifeline services they provide, a new report has found.
New figures from the independent Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Spice) show that between 2013-14 and 2018-19, the Scottish government revenue budget was cut by 2.8 per cent but the SNP has hammered councils with cuts to their budgets of 7.5 per cent.
Scottish Labour say the cuts have put lifeline services at risk and show the SNP has not only failed to stand up to Tory austerity, they have increased it for local services across Scotland.
Commenting on the report, Scottish Labour's finance spokesperson James Kelly MSP said:
“The SNP has turbo-charged Tory austerity on councils across the country.
"Instead of using Scotland's powers to stand up to the Tories, the SNP government has used Holyrood as a conveyer belt for cuts.
"And we know these cuts have been made amid the government sitting on almost half a billion pounds of unspent cash.
"It’s time for Derek Mackay to listen to Scottish Labour and properly fund local services."