Councils’ revenue surplus proof of fair treatment, says John Swinney

Scottish councils recorded a revenue surplus of almost £70 million last year, according to new figures.

Official statistics show local authorities reported an overall revenue surplus of £69.4 million for 2014-15, compared with a £54.8m deficit in 2013-14.

Councils held total revenue reserves of £1.879 billion on March 31 last year, an increase of 3.6% since the previous year.

Spending on services also increased by 1%, from £10.4bn in 2013-14 to £10.5bn in 2014-15.

The highest spend was on education, up 0.7% on 2013-14 to £4.61bn.

Finance Secretary John Swinney said the figures show councils have been treated “very fairly” by the Scottish Government amid protests from unions and opposition parties over the local government settlement in the 2016-17 Scottish Budget passed last week.

But a spokesman for local government body Cosla has said the deal will cut council budgets by £350m and put 15,000 jobs at risk.

“It is simply wrong to think of this money as being a surplus sitting in a bank account,” he added.