Politicians, business leaders and academics today unite in calling for fundamental reform of Scotland's councils to help them survive the current economic crisis and the pressure of making multimillion-pound savings.
Politicians, business leaders and academics today unite in calling for fundamental reform of Scotland's councils to help them survive the current economic crisis and the pressure of making multimillion-pound savings.
As The Herald launches a major debate on the future of our local authorities, including a radical blueprint for streamlining the current 32 separate councils to just 10, those backing a comprehensive overhaul include the former minister in charge of local government.
Tom McCabe's call for a redrawing of the map of Scotland comes as business leaders lend their weight to demands for reform, claiming cash-strapped councils could make big savings by arranging themselves in clusters and spreading the load of back-office functions, while the Scottish Tories have said it is the "ideal time" for a debate on the future of local government.
Such major reorganisation would carry a massive one-off cost and have a significant impact on jobs, given the tens of thousands of back-office staff employed by Scotland's councils.
The calls for change follow revelations in The Herald last week of the worsening state of local government finances. The chief executive of Scotland's largest authority, Glasgow's George Black, warned all reserves could soon be depleted, while savings of £25m are being increased to at least £40m at the same time as revenue collapses and costs rise.
Recent estimates put the financial black hole faced by the three biggest city authorities, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, at at least £150m. The squeeze is expected to tighten as pressure to achieve £500m of savings in the next two years mounts.
While Mr McCabe was unsuccessful in his attempts at reform while a Scottish Executive minister because of political reluctance within the Lib-Lab coalition, he remains wedded to the idea that a cull in the number of authorities, a reduction in tiers of management, and the sharing of functions are the only way councils can continue to provide public services fit for purpose.
He said: "It's as good as impossible to justify 32 education directors and the huge tier of professionals below that. You could say the same about finance and social work.
"Councils are being artificially cosy when the numbers don't add up. An overall plan for Scotland is bigger than individual councils because this balloon is going to burst. Local authorities are there to deliver services and this produces a good number of sustainable and safe jobs. The equation must be that way round."
Tory local government spokesman Derek Brownlee said: "An open debate about how local we can expect local government to be, and what scope there may be for devolving power down to councils or beyond, should be something we can all engage in."
Iain Macmillan, CBI Scotland director, added: "Clusters of councils could come together and share and make savings; clusters could bring together education and social work and achieve some rationalisation there.
"Do local councils need to undertake all their services individually? The principal role of councils is not job creation, but delivering services at the best possible cost to the taxpayer."
Local Government Minister John Swinney has stated, as part of the concordant signed with councils, that there will no boundary changes in the current parliament, but he faces pressure to force councils to collaborate on back-office functions.
Glasgow, arguably the most ready and capable council to begin taking forward shared services, which it is estimated could save £750m a year, has submitted a blueprint to the Scottish Government but has yet to receive a response.
But the authority is unwilling to make its own public appeal, for fear of being labelled "predatory" by smaller authorities. A senior source said: "We're ready if asked. But we need either a worsening financial situation or ministerial coercion, rather than encouragement, to make it happen."
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "As the Cabinet Secretary has previously made clear, now is not the time for a costly, bureaucratic exercise like reorganisation, which could hamper delivery of services at a time when people need them most.
"As we all feel the effects of difficult economic conditions we need to focus our efforts on helping businesses and households and that is exactly what we are doing. We remain very supportive of moves among councils to work together to shape services to a greater extent."
