Scottish Liberal Democrat President Malcolm Bruce today joined former party leader Nicol Stephen and John Sleigh, candidate for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine at Doonies Farm to campaign for a fair funding deal for local authorities.

Doonies Farm was threatened with closure in 2007 because Aberdeen City Council doesn’t get a fair funding deal from the Scottish Government and has to make budget cuts.

The Liberal Democrats announced that they will introduce a new rule to ensure that no authority receives less than 90 per cent of the average revenue support grant per head.

John Sleigh said:

"The Liberal Democrats would deliver an extra £28million per year to Aberdeen and £16million per year to Aberdeenshire. It would transform the funding available for education and other vital local services. For the last four years the SNP have repeatedly refused to take action to help our local councils. John Swinney has done precisely nothing - and the First Minister has been sitting on the sidelines refusing to take action. The SNP have been letting down the North East on this crucial issue."

Nicol Stephen said:

"Once average funding slips below 90% of the average, it starts to have a major impact on core services like schools and care for the elderly. In Scotland, only five out of the thirty two councils suffer this low level of funding. The Liberal Democrats are determined to give these authorities extra cash to help with funding for schools, transport, care for the elderly and other services. It costs just as much to deliver education and care services in the North East, but Aberdeen gets 82% of the national average funding, while Glasgow gets 120%."

Malcolm Bruce MP said:

"We know the requirement to keep services in local hands. A single police force, a single fire service and central control of social care would all be bad news for the North East, and for Scotland as a whole. The SNP have used gimmicks and opportunism at the expense of local control and decision making."

Notes:

The new Liberal Democrat safety net for local authority funding will give more funding to the following councils:

Aberdeen, (extra £28 million)
Aberdeenshire, (extra £16 million
East Dunbartonshire, (extra £2million)
Edinburgh, (extra £45 million)
East Dunbartonshire, (extra £2 million)

The funding change will be introduced as cash increases for local government to ensure that no other authority will lose any cash as a result of the change.