ICYMI earlier - comment from COSLA's President following the release of the Accounts Commission Local Government Overview Report today ⬇️⬇️⬇️

It's been another busy week at COSLA! Read all the latest in our bulletin for Elected Members ⬇️⬇️⬇️

6 airports in the case of the Orkney Islands Council

This week is Carer’s Week and this year’s theme is ‘Recognising and supporting carers in the community'. We are looking forward to being involved in the Carer’s Scotland event on identifying carers tomorrow. You can find out more about Carer’s Week here: carersuk.org/scotland/news-…

🆕📣#BuildingForTheFuture The Scotland's Futures Forum has published a new report looking at the relationship between Central and Local Government: Building for the Future. Read the report now⤵️ ow.ly/loyr50OIYsG Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee Convener Ariane Burgess highlights the key findings⤵️

With input from Joe FitzPatrick MSP, Steven Heddle from COSLA, James Mitchell and Jonathan Carr-West from LGIU, and a room full of engaged people, a few key messages came out strongly... scotlandfutureforum.org/central-and-lo…

From meeting MSPs at Scottish Parliament to engaging with the Lord Provost & Council Leader at City Council, from discussing shared challenges & opportunities with Scottish counterpart COSLA to meeting Irish business & community members and Scottish councillors - Slán go fóill AILG!

What a fantastic day COSLA! This unprecedented agreement will reset relationship between local & Scottish government, building trust & working together to serve our communities. Thank you Shona Morrison Humza Yousaf Steven Heddle Shona Robison MSP Joe FitzPatrick MSP Let’s get down to work.

Kicked into the long grass the day after local government is handed a £100M cut in its capital budget, when it needed a £100M increase to keep up with inflation. What is this money being spent on?

Full COSLA News Release on the Scottish Government Budget here - including comments from the President Shona Morrison ; the Vice-President Steven Heddle and Resources Spokesperson @KatieHagmannSNP cosla.gov.uk/news/2023/cosl…

Disappointed to hear Keith Brown on GMS citing the Council Tax freeze as a positive policy initiative for hard up families. It's nothing of the kind, it's a cumulative disaster for Local Government services, paid for by the poorest in our society.

Very sad to learn of this. I liked Robin a lot and always enjoyed speaking to him. A great loss, and my thoughts are with his family and friends.