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Joint statement with local authorities
11/06/2008
A joint statement has been issued by First Minister Alex Salmond and Councillor Pat Watters CBE, President of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA), following a meeting this morning.
The statement reads:
"Today, as COSLA leaders and a Scottish Cabinet meet for the first time, we cement a new relationship between two arms of Scottish Government jointly charged with making Scotland a more successful country.
"Following last Mays elections, Scottish Ministers made clear that they wanted to forge a new relationship between national and local government - one that recognised the democratic role of locally elected leaders and gave local authorities across Scotland the freedom to deliver in the best way for their communities.
"That relationship was enshrined in the historic Concordat signed by Scottish Ministers and COSLA leaders in November last year. It delivered on the aspirations of local authority leaders, long articulated through COSLA, to put local government at the centre of governance in Scotland sitting alongside national government as an equal partner.
"The Concordat defines a better way of working.
"Todays meeting sits alongside that Concordat as an historic moment in the governance of Scotland with both the Scottish Government and local government now working jointly towards agreed outcomes under a single national purpose - to focus the Government and public services on creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth.
"Local government now has the freedom and flexibility to respond effectively to local priorities, but it also has more responsibility. National Government has moved away from micro-managing local government and reduced the bureaucratic burden of reporting to focus on shared outcomes. These changes give power back to local people, better able to judge for themselves, on a consistent basis right across Scotland, the quality and value of their local services.
"This statement welcomes the progress made and re-affirms our commitment to work in partnership for the communities we jointly serve.
"We will do more as we develop joint working on policies that matter to the people of Scotland. Our experience is that we govern better when policy development and delivery are taken forward together. This is at the forefront of our agenda as we move forward. We have ambitious plans for what we can achieve together and we will look to underpin this new relationship in the constitutional arrangements of this country.
"There is more to do. We will not sit-back or take anything for granted. We will keep progressing, learning and developing. We believe that the partnership we have established will result in better services, more opportunities and greater prosperity for the people of Scotland and the opportunity to build the more successful country we all seek."