UNISON has warned that the tight grant settlements announced for local councils by Tom McCabe, Minister for Finance and Public Services, could lead to cuts in local services and councils failing to deal with key staff shortages.

Having to pay for PFI facilities could skew authorities' budgets leading to cuts elsewhere.

Joe Di Paola, UNISON's Scottish Organiser for Local Government, said "Efficient delivery of public services is not achieved by cutting the jobs of those who deliver them. We all know how short Scotland is of social workers, and other key workers."

UNISON also warned that unless the opportunity was taken to allow authorities to move away from expensive PFI/PPP projects, money was unlikely to be used to deliver services most efficiently.

Joe said: "The Executive must take a leaf out of the Treasury's book and use this opportunity to create a level playing field for public authorities."

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