A new Barnett-type formula should be introduced that would legally mandate the Scottish Government to deliver a ring-fenced percentage of its budget to councils, Conservatives have argued.

Shadow cabinet secretary for communities and local government, Annie Wells, said the new model would ‘create a permanent financial settlement for local government’ that would provide ‘cash-strapped councils with the financial security, certainty and autonomy that they crave to play a leading role in helping our communities to rebuild and bounce back from the pandemic’.