To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the funding it provided to (a) Glasgow City Council and (b) all local authorities in its Budget for the current financial year was sufficient to protect community facilities, and whether it plans to increase the amount of funding it provides to local authorities during the current parliamentary session.
The 2021-22 local government finance settlement of almost £11.7 billion includes an additional £375.6 million. or 3.5 per cent for day-to-day revenue spending and represents a fair settlement. In addition, the value of the overall COVID-19 support package for councils now totals more than £1.5 billion and the Scottish Government also agreed a package of financial flexibilities for Scotland's councils to provide further assistance in responding to the pandemic.
Glasgow City Council will receive a total funding package of almost £1.5 billion to support local services, which includes an extra £29.8 million to support vital day to day services, equivalent to an increase of 2.2 per cent compared to 2020-21. To date, the council has been allocated an additional £221.7 million to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, through the local government settlement - over and above their regular grant payments.
In addition, Glasgow City Council will receive their fair share of a further £137 million included in the original 2021-22 local government finance settlement which is currently undistributed. The Council will also receive their fair share of the subsequent 2021-22 funding since the announcement of the settlement and any future funding will continue to be discussed and agreed with COSLA.
However, it is the responsibility of individual councils to manage their own budgets and to allocate the financial resources available to them, including on community facilities, on the basis of local needs and priorities. Ultimately, it is for locally elected representatives to make local decisions on how best to deliver services to their local communities.
Decisions on local government budget allocations for future years are subject to the outcome of negotiations with COSLA.