Fife Council leader David Ross has warned the council tax freeze may be un-sustainable unless the Scottish Government finds some other way to fund local services.
Mr Ross said the Scottish Government’s announcement last week that it is providing an extra £5 million to help health boards improve the flow of patients through the health and social care system is “woefully inadequate”.
Health Minister Alex Neil said that the funding boost will aid further development of intermediate care, helping people to stay in their own home instead of going into hospital in the first place.
But with Fife set only to receive an extra £500,000 out of the £5 million windfall, Mr Ross said the funding will come nowhere near addressing the long term crisis in funding social care affecting Fife in common with the rest of Scotland.
He said: “I know the council tax freeze is popular.
“But council tax was the main way that councils had of raising additional funding to cope with increases in demand for vital services like social care.
“If the council tax freeze is to stay, then the Scottish Government has to find some other way of providing the money we need to care properly for our older people and to continue delivering all the other local services our communities need and desire.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The revenue allocations for 2012-16 represent flat cash settlements over the four years which will be increased by additional funding for new responsibilities in 2014-15 and 2015-16 and Fife Council has received its fair share. In 2014-15 Fife Council will receive a total funding package which will amount to over £663 million.”
Picture by David Wardle