Councillor warns Scottish Government against scrapping local councils

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 19 Oct, 14:31 · Archive

A West Lothian councillor has called on the Scottish Government to build on existing reforms rather than replace local councils with new structures.

Councillor Sally Pattle, Linlithgow's Lib Dem representative, has called on the Scottish Government to build on existing improvements to local government rather than replace councils entirely. The Scottish Government has announced plans for sweeping changes to create a two-tier service of nine regional authorities and around 160 local community authorities, saying it wants to hear from councils and unions about the proposals.

Pattle told West Lothian's Executive that the new proposals make no mention of potential workforce impacts or outcomes from nine years of local government review. She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: 'It's barely coherent and contains massive spending pledges with no indication of how they will be funded.' She pointed to existing successful reform work, including councils pooling resources and benefits from City Region Deals and regional transport partnerships. Pattle argued that instead of scrapping the system, the Scottish Government should properly fund local government to deliver services it is best placed to provide.

How it is being reported

• West Lothian councillor urges Scottish Government to build on existing local authority structureShe urged the Holyrood not to “rip it all up and start again”Edinburgh Evening News · 19 Oct, 17:49
• West Lothian councillor calls on Holyrood to build on success rather than scrap councilsLinlithgow Lib Dem says wholescale changes are uncosted and " barely conherent"Edinburgh Live · 19 Oct, 14:14

In this story: Sally Pattle · Scottish Government · Linlithgow · West Lothian · Clackmannanshire · Falkirk

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