Fiscal framework between Scottish Government and local government: progress report December 2023

Scottish and Local Government Funding

The framework will reflect that the Scottish Government provides local authorities with funding to operate independently through the provision of block grant funding, and to take locally appropriate decisions, openly and transparently, to operate as effectively as possible within that fiscal context. Local authorities also have their own sources of revenue including the raising of Council Tax, discretionary local fiscal levers (for example the Workplace Parking Levy), and the setting of fees and charges for a range of services.^[1]

The framework will further reflect that it is the role and responsibility of each individual local authority to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them based on local needs, the fulfilment of any statutory obligations and jointly agreed national and local priorities. The management of the available budget and the effective utilisation of funds to deliver services to local communities are local decisions to be determined by locally elected representatives. From the signing of the VHA forward, decisions on ringfencing and/or restrictions on funding will be taken jointly in accordance with that agreement.