Council and Holyrood agree cash priorities

Jul 31 2008 by John Rowbotham, Hamilton Advertiser

SOUTH Lanarkshire Council and the Scottish Government have agreed a list of priorities for the current financial year.

The so-called Single Outcome Agreement sets out what the council plan to do and how this will contribute to improvements the Government are seeking at national level.

It follows the ‘Concordat’ signed by local authorities in Scotland and Scottish Government Finance Secretary John Swinney.

In return for not increasing council tax rates, councils were given a total of £70m to mitigate the impact of such a freeze. South Lanarkshire’s share was £3.9m.

In Hamilton last week to sign the SOA with the council, Mr Swinney said: “This agreement puts councils at the heart of local democracy, reducing unnecessary bureaucracy, and allowing councils and their community planning partners to deliver the services people want and need.

“It's an excellent example of how we can integrate the delivery of our local public services, improving the quality of life for people across Scotland.”

Council leader Eddie McAvoy said the priorities set out in the accord matched those already framed by the council.

He added: “There has been good cooperation between South Lanarkshire Council and the Scottish Government.

“We’re happy with the agreement we’ve reached this year, which we believe will benefit the people of South Lanarkshire."

This SOA covers council services. Next financial year’s agreements will cover all public sector bodies involved in community planning partnerships.

These partnerships bring together agencies such as Police, Fire, NHS, Scottish Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland, the council and the voluntary sector to tackle issues such as health, the area economy, sustainable development and community safety.