On the eve of Fife Council setting its budget local MSP Helen Eadie has revealed the ‘hypocrisy’ of the SNP’s deal for local government after publishing damning new figures that clearly show the impact of the SNP decision to double cuts for local councils in comparison to their own budget.
She has called on all Fife MSPs to stand up for the region as it faces unprecedented cuts from both the ConDems and the SNP.
According to the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre (SPICe), the Scottish Government faces a 2.7 per cent reduction in income through the Barnett Formula but has cut grants to Local Government by a massive 6.1 per cent.
This means that Fife faces combined cuts of £105.9m with over £58m being directly attributable to SNP government decisions.
Local MSP Helen Eadie said:
“The SNP government is very good at passing the buck and blaming others for the impact of their cuts, but we shouldn’t allow them to get away with it. This is their budget. They are not simply passing on cuts, they are hugely adding to them.
“Fife Council stands to lose over £105m in real terms from its budget over the next three years. If the cuts to the overall Scottish budget were shared evenly, there would be a £47m reduction. The extra £58.6m is a direct result of SNP cuts in local government’s share of the Scottish budget.
“The SNP’s position is completely hypocritical. It castigates Westminster for cuts but then doubles cuts for councils providing key services such as education and social work. It’s time that all MSP stood up for Fife and said the Tory cuts are enough on their own without Mr Salmond deciding to more than double the pain.”
Fife Labour Finance spokesperson Councillor Mark Hood said:
“Councillors will be setting the budget in Fife tomorrow and they should be under no illusions about who is cutting our grant. It is clearly and demonstrably the SNP Government. Where is the fair deal for Fifers?
“These budget decisions made in Edinburgh were not opposed by the SNP in Fife. The SNP councillors have put their party interests ahead of their duty to the people of Fife. By not standing up to the SNP Government they have failed to fight for a fair deal and are directly responsible for the service cuts that they will rubber stamp tomorrow.
“Fife needs councillors that will stand up to the SNP Government’s cuts and make sure that Fife gets a fair deal. Fife’s SNP councillors have instead done everything to please their leadership in Edinburgh instead of standing up for Fifers.”
