Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics (SLGFS) 2019-20
Annual publication providing a comprehensive overview of financial activity of Scottish local authorities in 2019-20 based on authorities' audited accounts.
Key Facts
How much did local authorities spend on services in 2019-20?
Revenue expenditure is the cost of delivering services each year.
Gross service expenditure is total expenditure on services in year minus internal transfers.
Gross service income is total income authorities receive from services, such as service specific grants or income generated through fees, etc.
Net revenue expenditure is gross service expenditure minus gross service income. It reflects the amount of service expenditure to be funded by general funding or reserves.
| Gross Service Expenditure | £20,108 million |
|---|---|
| - Gross Service Income | - £9,031 million |
| Net Revenue Expenditure | £11,077 million |
How did local authorities fund services in 2019-20?
General funding is largely made up of the General Revenue Grant (GRG), Non-Domestic Rates (NDR) and Council Tax.
Local authorities use general funding to meet their net revenue expenditure on services and any other revenue expenditure that is not directly related to services, such as repayment of debt.
In 2019-20, local authorities' expenditure exceeded their general funding. This deficit had to be funded from local authorities' reserves.
| Net Revenue Expenditure | £11,077 million |
|---|---|
| + Non-Service Expenditure | + £1,666 million |
| - General Funding | - £12,323 million |
| Deficit met from Reserves | £420 million |
What was the value of capital investment in 2019-20?
Capital expenditure is expenditure that creates the buildings and infrastructure necessary to provide services, such as schools, flood defence, roads and vehicles.
Capital expenditure also includes capital grants or loans to third parties funded from borrowing.
Note: 'Other' includes Social Work, Central Services and Training Services
Total Capital Expenditure = £3,794 million
How did local authorities finance the £3,794 million of capital expenditure incurred in 2019-20?
Local authorities can finance their total capital expenditure in a number of ways. The main sources of financing are:
- Grants & contributions, including those from the Scottish Government;
- Borrowing or entering into credit arrangements, such as a finance lease or service concession arrangement;
- Using revenue reserves.
Note: A = Capital Fund & Capital Receipts
What reserves did local authorities have at 31 March 2020?
Usable reserves are local authorities' surplus income from previous years. This can be used to finance future revenue or capital expenditure.
The General Fund is the main usable revenue reserve, although there are other reserves that authorities may be able to use.
There are also two usable capital reserves.
Note: A = Other Statutory Funds, £13m
Total Usable Reserves = £2,708 million
What debt did local authorities have at 31 March 2020?
When a local authority borrows money or uses a credit arrangement to finance capital expenditure, a debt is created.
Local authorities have to repay this debt from future revenues.
In 2019-20, local authorities repaid £624 million of debt.
Total Debt in 2019-20 = £19,274 million
More information available at www.gov.scot/collections/local-government-finance-statistics/
Contact
Email: lgfstats@gov.scot
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