A rising gap between higher demand for services and dwindling resources is ‘killing Scotland', according to the leader of the country's 32 local authorities.
Rory Mair, chief executive of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) warned the spending gap, which could be as high as £3bn by 2016/17 from an overall £12bn budget, could hasten the end of universal public services. Addressing a conference run by The Scotsman newspaper on the new Scottish Parliament, the COSLA chief accused the Scottish Government of failing to address an issue he deemed ‘politically unattractive'.
