ICAS ICAS logo

Quicklinks

  1. About Us

    Find out about who we are and what we do here at ICAS.

  2. Find a CA

    Search our directory of individual CAs and Member organisations by name, location and professional criteria.

  3. CA Magazine

    View the latest issues of the dedicated magazine for ICAS Chartered Accountants.

  4. Contact Us

    Get in touch with ICAS by phone, email or post, with dedicated contacts for Members, Students and firms.

Login
  • Annual renewal
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Find a CA
  1. About us
    1. Governance
  2. Members
    1. Become a member
    2. Newly qualified
    3. Manage my membership
    4. Benefits of membership
    5. Careers support
    6. Mentoring
    7. CA Wellbeing
    8. More for Members
    9. Area networks
    10. International communities
    11. Get involved
    12. Top Young CAs
    13. Career breaks
    14. ICAS podcast
    15. Newly admitted members 2022
    16. Newly admitted members 2023
  3. CA Students
    1. Student information
    2. Student resources
    3. Learning requirements
    4. Learning updates
    5. Learning blog
    6. Totum Pro | Student discount card
    7. CA Student wellbeing
  4. Become a CA
    1. How to become a CA
    2. Routes to becoming a CA
    3. CA Stories
    4. Find a training agreement
    5. Why become a CA
    6. Qualification information
    7. University exemptions
  5. Employers
    1. Become an Authorised Training Office
    2. Resources for Authorised Training Offices
    3. Professional entry
    4. Apprenticeships
  6. Find a CA
  7. ICAS events
    1. CA Summit
  8. CA magazine
  9. Insight
    1. Finance + Trust
    2. Finance + Technology
    3. Finance + EDI
    4. Finance + Mental Fitness
    5. Finance + Leadership
    6. Finance + Sustainability
  10. Professional resources
    1. Anti-money laundering
    2. Audit and assurance
    3. Brexit
    4. Charities
    5. Coronavirus
    6. Corporate and financial reporting
    7. Business and governance
    8. Ethics
    9. Insolvency
    10. ICAS Research
    11. Pensions
    12. Practice
    13. Public sector
    14. Sustainability
    15. Tax
  11. CPD - professional development
    1. CPD courses and qualifications
    2. CPD news and updates
    3. CPD support and advice
  12. Regulation
    1. Complaints and sanctions
    2. Regulatory authorisations
    3. Guidance and help sheets
    4. Regulatory monitoring
  13. CA jobs
    1. CA jobs partner: Rutherford Cross
    2. Resources for your job search
    3. Advertise with CA jobs
    4. Hays | A Trusted ICAS CA Jobs Partner
    5. Azets | What's your ambition?
  14. Work at ICAS
    1. Business centres
    2. Meet our team
    3. Benefits
    4. Vacancies
    5. Imagine your career at ICAS
  15. Contact us
    1. Technical and regulation queries
    2. ICAS logo request

Local Government Financial Overview

  • LinkedIn (opens new window)
  • Twitter (opens new window)
By The Accounts Commission

20 December 2018

Key points:

  • The Accounts Commission publishes its Local government in Scotland: Financial overview 2017/18.

  • Councils are holding up but facing financial pressures.

  • Challenges include increasing demand for services against tightening budgets and uncertainty due to Brexit.

Councils in Scotland are facing an increasingly complex range of challenges and continuing pressure on their finances, says the local government watchdog, the Accounts Commission.

What issues are councils facing?

Challenges include increasing demand across many of the wide range of services councils deliver to local communities. Demand has to be met against tightening budgets in many service areas along with uncertainty stemming from external factors such as EU withdrawal.

One of the most significant issues for councils continues to be funding. In 2017/18, funding from the Scottish Government, councils’ main source of funding reduced by 2.3 per cent in real terms.

The reduction was largely offset by increases in council tax and councils’ fee income, with most councils applying the maximum three per cent increase to council tax. In total, the net effect of Scottish Government and council action was a reduction in funding of only 0.1 per cent in real terms, although the impact on individual councils varied.

In general, increased spending in education and social work was offset by reductions in other services.

Government funding forecast to reduce

The forecast trend is for further reductions in funding from the Scottish Government in the medium term. Pressure, therefore, remains on councils to make further savings and find ways to meet service demand more efficiently and effectively.

This, says the Commission, will require difficult decisions and innovative thinking by councillors and senior management working together. And it is important that these decisions are taken in a planned and coordinated way.

The importance of planning

Almost all councils now have medium-term financial planning in place – which is a positive development – and some have made progress with long-term financial projections.

Although overall reserves have continued to reduce, no council is using its reserves at a level that risks their financial sustainability in the next two to three years. However, the majority of Integrated Joint Boards (IJBs) – funded by councils and the NHS – have underlying financial sustainability issues.

Graham Sharp, chair of the Accounts Commission, said: “Councils did a good job last year in managing resources as budgets are tightened and demands on them rise.

“The position varies from council to council but there is a clearly need for continuing change in the way services are provided. It’s not been easy but the pressure on them – and the key services we all rely on – shows no signs of easing.”

2022-01-xero 2022-01-xero
ICAS logo

Footer links

  • Contact us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Modern slavery statement
  • Privacy notice
  • CA magazine

Connect with ICAS

  • Facebook (opens new window) Facebook Icon
  • Twitter (opens new window) Twitter Icon
  • LinkedIn (opens new window) LinkedIn Icon
  • Instagram (opens new window) Instagram Icon

ICAS is a member of the following bodies

  • Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (opens new window) Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies logo
  • Chartered Accountants Worldwide (opens new window) Chartered Accountants Worldwide logo
  • Global Accounting Alliance (opens new window) Global Accounting Alliance
  • International Federation of Accountants (opens new window) IFAC
  • Access Accountancy (opens new window) Access Acountancy

Charities

  • ICAS Foundation (opens new window) ICAS Foundation
  • SCABA (opens new window) scaba

Accreditations

  • ISO 9001 - RGB (opens new window)
© ICAS 2022

The mark and designation “CA” is a registered trade mark of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), and is available for use in the UK and EU only to members of ICAS. If you are not a member of ICAS, you should not use the “CA” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to accountancy, tax or insolvency services. The mark and designation “Chartered Accountant” is a registered trade mark of ICAS, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and Chartered Accountants Ireland. If you are not a member of one of these organisations, you should not use the “Chartered Accountant” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to these services. Further restrictions on the use of these marks also apply where you are a member.

ICAS logo

Our cookie policy

ICAS.com uses cookies which are essential for our website to work. We would also like to use analytical cookies to help us improve our website and your user experience. Any data collected is anonymised. Please have a look at the further information in our cookie policy and confirm if you are happy for us to use analytical cookies: