BUDGET BRINGS FUNDING BOOST FOR FIFE

Published date : 22 Feb 2018

MORE CASH FOR LOCAL SERVICES THANKS TO PROGRESSIVE REFORMS

Fife Council is set to receive a significant funding boost as a result of this year’s SNP Scottish Government budget – with local services in Fife benefiting from an extra £13.7 million.

The Scottish Government’s progressive reforms – which will see 55% of taxpayers pay less in income tax than if they lived in the rest of the UK – guarantee a 2.15% increase rise in Fife Council’s resource budget, providing extra funding for schools, roads and housing. The budget will also see Fife schools benefit from £10 million as part of the Pupil Equity Fund, helping to tackle the attainment gap.

The Scottish Budget also provides additional spending on our NHS – which will see an extra £400 million in funding to help protect our health service from Tory austerity.

Commenting, Jenny Gilruth MSP for Mid Fife & Glenrothes said:

“This extra funding for Fife council – an additional £13.7 million for the coming year – is a great settlement for our communities.

“The Scottish Government’s progressive reforms on income tax, seeing 70% of people pay less than they did last year, and 55% pay less than they would if they lived south of the border, are vital for allowing this funding increase despite continued austerity being imposed by the Tories at Westminster.

“And it takes the total resource budget for our council’s services – such as schools, roads and housing – to £639.4 million for the coming year, to Fife, an increase of 2.15% when compared with last year.

“This progressive budget also provides extra funding for our NHS, education and broadband, and more money for our economy, research and our environment too – as well as protecting free university tuition, free personal care for the elderly, free school meals and free prescriptions.

“While the Tories propose cutting over £556 million from public services in order to pay for their tax cuts for the wealthiest – the SNP Government delivers for our councils and protects the vital local services in Fife that we all hold dear.”

ENDS

Notes:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING SETTLEMENT 2018-19 – RESOURCE FUNDING

Local Authority

2018-19 Total Resource Support for Services

Change

Change

£m

£m

%

Aberdeen City

330.159

6.129

1.86

Aberdeenshire

417.222

10.273

2.46

Angus

201.428

4.550

2.26

Argyll & Bute

195.603

2.604

1.33

Clackmannanshire

95.652

1.982

2.07

Dumfries & Galloway

286.359

6.422

2.24

Dundee City

297.990

9.866

3.31

East Ayrshire

227.900

4.945

2.17

East Dunbartonshire

184.176

3.567

1.94

East Lothian

171.912

4.193

2.44

East Renfrewshire

178.017

3.075

1.73

Edinburgh, City of

723.318

16.507

2.28

Eilean Siar

95.978

1.059

1.10

Falkirk

279.485

6.535

2.34

Fife

639.404

13.763

2.15

Glasgow City

1252.010

27.437

2.19

Highland

446.198

9.061

2.03

Inverclyde

165.093

2.828

1.71

Midlothian

158.403

6.335

4.00

Moray

158.624

3.877

2.44

North Ayrshire

275.273

6.285

2.28

North Lanarkshire

616.382

13.474

2.19

Orkney

74.865

7.721

10.31

Perth & Kinross

247.768

5.139

2.07

Renfrewshire

311.453

8.823

2.83

Scottish Borders

205.711

4.593

2.23

Shetland

86.336

6.000

6.95

South Ayrshire

201.665

4.878

2.42

South Lanarkshire

561.037

12.107

2.16

Stirling

167.326

3.287

1.96

West Dunbartonshire

189.264

4.380

2.31

West Lothian

316.739

9.990

3.15

Undistributed

55.650

-56.765

-102.00

Scotland

9,814.400

174.920

1.78

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