Proposed Local Government Reform (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities)

On 4 November, the First Minister and I met the COSLA presidential team alongside other members of the Cabinet and the ministerial team, as part of our ongoing engagement on local government reform. Our discussion highlighted the significant common ground between the Scottish Government and local government on the need to improve outcomes for people, to strengthen local democracy and to ensure that public services remain sustainable in the face of increasing demand and financial pressures. We agreed that reform must be developed in partnership with local government, communities, the workforce and trade unions, and our ongoing programme of engagement is focused on building a shared vision for the future, on which we will continue to engage with COSLA in the weeks ahead.

The clear agenda for ministers throughout the process is to go out and listen to local government. We are not going in with a prepared agenda directing local government as to our final vision for local governance reform; we are there to listen to councils and engage with them.

On Friday just last week, I had a really helpful discussion with Fife Council, which spoke to some of the issues that it faces—yes, there are challenges, but there are real opportunities for reform, too.

The meeting that we had with COSLA only last Wednesday was really productive in respect of the common ground that we were able to establish on a number of different fronts. As a result of that meeting, we have agreed to further joint working on the future distribution of powers. I would welcome Mr Burnett’s contribution to that process, because this is a Parliament of minorities and we will need to engage ahead of the budget. If he has any suggestions for me ahead of the budget, I am all ears.

I thank Julie MacDougall for her question. I have to say that I am somewhat surprised by it, given that I met the chief executive of Fife Council only on Friday—as I intimated in my previous response—and I did not hear such a suggestion from her. I appreciate that she may have engaged with others.

Of course we will continue to engage in the dialogue, but we have quite deliberately set a truncated period for that engagement to take place, because there is a necessity here, which goes back to Mr Burnett’s point about financial sustainability. For a number of councils, the status quo is not working and we need to move on reform—the financial reality of where we currently are necessitates that we do so. However, we also need to improve services. I very much hope that, at the end of the three-month period, we will have reached a consensual position with COSLA and will be able to move forward. I look forward to the further meetings that are to take place between now and the end of the consultation period.

I welcome the fact that discussions are progressing on the Scottish Government’s proposals for local government reform. Does the cabinet secretary agree that reform, such as continuing to develop shared services to deliver savings that can then be reinvested in front-line provision, is vital to ensure that the service best supports the needs of our communities?

Yes, I very much agree. Public services are facing unprecedented pressures and, without reform, demand is going to outpace resources, and the sustainability of our public services will be put at risk. Every £1 that is spent on bureaucracy or duplication is £1 that is taken away from front-line services, so reform is therefore not a choice but a necessity, and it is going to help us refocus our resources where they matter most.