This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Parliament debates local authority funding
03/02/2005
The Parliament today debated the order which approves
funding for local authorities in 2005-06. It will
distribute £8.087 billion in grant support to our 32
councils for revenue expenditure - an increase of £419
million or 5.5 per cent.
In the five years since Devolution, revenue funding will
have increased by £2.1 billion, an increase of 40 per cent
since 1999.
Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform
Tom McCabe said:
"The Executive is determined to deliver the improvement
in the delivery of public services that the people of
Scotland expect and deserve. Local government has an
absolutely vital role to play in ensuring we meet that
shared priority.
"That is why we are delivering record levels of
investment to councils to allow them to deliver better
public services across the range of core services that
local authorities provide and on which people across
Scotland rely.
"The settlement for 2005-06 will distribute £8.087
billion in grant support for revenue expenditure - an
increase of £419 million or 5.5 per cent over the
equivalent figure for 2004-05. This has to be viewed
against the big increases in funding local government has
received since Devolution.
"I firmly believe this settlement - and the potential
gains to be had from Efficient Government - allows our
local authorities to deliver excellent public services to
the people of Scotland. And I also believe that, with
average grant increases of 5.5 per cent and low inflation,
currently at 1.6 per cent, the case is clear for asking
councils to exercise restraint in setting council tax
levels."
The Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2005
provides the statutory authority for the payment of Revenue
Support Grant (RSG) to local authorities in 2005-06 and
confirms changes since the last Order to the amounts
payable to each authority for 2004-05. Full details of
the settlement for each council are available on the
Scottish Executive website at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2004/12/08150757