“Austerity in Scotland continues to fall disproportionately on Scottish Local Government, with the cuts experienced by Scotland's Councils in recent years being several times greater than the cut to the Scottish block grant from Westminster.
MSP's in the Scottish Parliament have failed to use the powers of that Parliament to offer an alternative to austerity, continuing to cut taxes for business whilst making timid variances to Income Tax bands designed not to offer protection for vital public services but rather designed to fit on a leaflet.
Serious reform of local taxation, that is more progressive and enables local services to be protected, has failed to materialise due to a lack of political vision. The latest budget deal between the SNP and Scottish Greens kicks any prospect of real reform on local taxation into the long grass.
What has been presented as "fiscal empowerment" for Local Government is a Tourist Tax and a Workplace Parking Levy.
North Ayrshire Council has called for the power to introduce a Tourist Tax to be given to Scottish Councils and therefore welcomes any move towards this. However, we acknowledge that whilst a Tourist Tax will raise millions of pounds per year for City Councils it will raise considerably less for the rest and this is therefore not an adequate solution in itself. North Ayrshire Council believes this must be taken into consideration prior to the introduction of the power.
However, North Ayrshire Council believes the idea that "fiscal empowerment" of Local Government should be achieved through means such as a Workplace Parking Levy is a damning indictment of the failure of the Scottish Government to adequately fund Local Government and to devolve real fiscal powers to Councils to end austerity. Having made the political decision not to prioritise and protect Local Government funding, having failed to use its fiscal powers to raise the revenue to protect local services the SNP Government and Scottish Greens are now asking Councils to decide whether to cut vital jobs and services or introduce a car parking tax on workers. A tax that could apply to local government workers from every service we provide including janitors, support staff and teachers in our schools - this could lead to proposing a pay offer in one hand and handing out a bill for several hundred pounds to park at work with the other.
North Ayrshire Council opposes the idea of a Workplace Parking Levy and therefore signals our intention not to introduce one if the power is created. Furthermore, the Council resolves to write to the Scottish Government outlining our position on the Levy.
The Council also wishes to raise, whilst stating our support for the power to be devolved to councils, the disparity between what a Tourist Tax will raise in City areas in comparison to other local authority areas and therefore to emphasis the need for "fiscal empowerment" of Local Government to offer equitable benefits for all local authority areas.
North Ayrshire Council wishes to state, in no uncertain terms, the urgent need to end austerity, to protect local services and jobs and outline to the Scottish Government our opposition to the proposed cuts to be imposed on North Ayrshire Council through the Scottish Budget.”