THE FUNDING crisis faced by many local authorities will result in huge losses of jobs and services unless the Scottish government invests in them, public-sector union Unison warned today.

Some parts of Scotland could see vital council services disappear altogether without an urgent injection of support, the union said.

A decade of cuts had left councils under “severe financial strain” even before the additional pressures imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, officials told Finance Secretary Kate Forbes today.

The union also demanded that a £500 bonus payment pledged to health and social-care workers be extended to all public-service workers who have helped during the pandemic.

Mark Ferguson, chairman of Unison’s local-government committee, said that ministers must “recognise the efforts of workers.”

Unison head of local government Johanna Baxter said: “We know that many local authorities are now recasting their budgets and are looking at service cuts as a result of the financial crises they are in.

“We have already seen £2 billion of ‘efficiencies’ taken out of local government over the last decade, and the pandemic has led to a double whammy of extra demand for services alongside a substantial loss of income.

“The Scottish government needs to step up to protect the vital jobs and services they provide and reward local government workers who have gone above and beyond in keeping our communities safe during the pandemic.

“This is a crisis of unprecedented scale.”

A Scottish government spokesman said the value of the overall Covid-19 support package given to councils was worth more than £1 billion, and thanked frontline workers for their efforts during the pandemic. 

He added that work was ongoing “to ensure we are doing everything within our power to save jobs, protect our public services and reboot our economy.”