REVEALED: THE SNP HAS CUT COUNCIL SERVICES THREE TIMES FASTER THAN THE SCOTTISH BUDGET HAS BEEN CUT
A report by independent experts has revealed that the SNP government has cut council services three times faster than the Scottish Budget has been cut.
Research by the independent Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) shows local government budgets have plummeted by 4.6 per cent between 2013/14 and 2016/17.
Over the same period, the Scottish Government’s budget has decreased by 1.5 per cent.
This shows that the SNP has taken Tory austerity and passed it on to the poorest communities.
Figures published by the SNP government confirms that the majority of council spending in Scotland is on education and social work.
Instead of using the new powers of the Scottish Parliament to invest, SNP Ministers have slashed £1.5billion from local services since 2011.
We will continue to press the case to use the tax powers to stop the cuts and invest in public services instead.
Scottish Labour deputy leader Alex Rowley said:
“This report proves that the SNP has taken Tory austerity and passed it on to Scottish communities.
“The SNP has cut spending in local communities three times faster than the Tories have cut the Scottish budget.
“Those cuts fall on the poorest the hardest – the biggest chunk of council spending is schools, nurseries, and social work.
“This is SNP austerity, increasing poverty and leading to thousands of redundancies across Scotland.
“It is clear that Scotland is sick and tired of austerity. Only Labour is actively making the case to use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to stop the cuts and invest instead.”
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