REBEL councils have been warned they are putting at risk vital services and thousands of jobs by "complaining from the sidelines" as local authorities braces themselves for a cash cut of over half a billion pounds.
On the eve of the announcement of the cash pots councils will receive for the next year, the four authorities which quit the body representing Scottish local government face calls to rejoin to exert influence over ministers and the oncoming financial squeeze.
Councils are expected a £550million cut, or five per cent of their grant, when finance secretary John Swinney announces the local government settlement at Holyrood on Wednesday.
With the spending pressures councils already say they face for next year, local government is looking at a financial black hole of £1billion.
But four of the country's biggest authorities, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire, all Labour-led, are excluded from negotiations with ministers since they quit Cosla over a year ago, with the Government only holding discussions with the main group.
The breakaway group, which goes under the banner of Scottish Local Government Partnership(SLGP), has now been urged by the president of Cosla David O'Neill to rejoin the fold.
Mr O'Neill said: "There can be no doubt whatsoever that we are an organisation that has influence, real influence.
"We are not talking in the abstract here we are talking about influence over things that matter and have an impact on people’s lives; local spend and services in their area and perhaps most of all local jobs.
"All I would ask is that people think about where they put their ability to influence. I would say to our four non-members that they are stronger with us but at the same time I fully recognise that we are stronger with them.”
Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow's SNP opposition and the party's local government convener, said: "Party political knockabout is all very well, but it is simply not credible or sustainable for the leader of the Glasgow to just complain from the sidelines without actually doing anything constructive to change the situation. Frank McAveety must show that he is willing to work with others, rejoin Cosla and actually fight for a better deal for our city."
The four councils quit in a prolonged row on where the power lies within Cosla, how funding to local authorities is distributed and the overall effectiveness of the body.
Eight authorities had initially signalled their intention to quit but half pulled back. The Herald understands senior figures in at least one of the rebel four have voiced regret over their withdrawal, while others had hoped Frank McAveety would reverse the decision taken by his predecessor Gordon Matheson.
But Mr McAveety said: "We left Cosla because it was not delivering fairly for the people of Glasgow. The additional cuts Glasgow will have to make next year cannot be stopped by COSLA and would not be stopped if we were back in.
“This is about the SNP wanting use Cosla to justify the cuts the Scottish Government is making in Glasgow. This debate shouldn’t be about the hokey cokey, who’s in and who’s out, it should be about protecting the services people in Glasgow rely on. I honestly can’t see COSLA playing any positive role in protecting those services.”
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