Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra has claimed Government reform of councils is a “gathering mess”.
Ministers laid out plans to overhaul local authorities last month, with an opening position of scrapping the 32 council structure and replacing them with between six and 10 regional bodies and up to 160 local ones.
But the Government has stressed that the position – which was detailed in a paper in September – is open to extensive changes based on dialogue with councils.
I do not believe that these are mere details, First Minister, it is about producing a prospectus that people can engage with - so on the current path, this is a gathering mess
The Scottish Labour leader – speaking at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday – said there was “no real clarity in the principles that he is setting out around public service reform”.
“Today, it’s the doctors, at the start of the week, it was centralising education, taking it away from councils, last week it was health boards, councils, schools, social care, social work,” Mr Marra said.
“It appears that every thread that the First Minister grabs at leads to another unravelling and the Deputy First Minister has been unable to answer straight questions on how many jobs it will all cost.
“Trade unions are looking on aghast at moving from 32 employers to 160.
“Can the First Minister tell us how on earth that will work? How long it will take to negotiate?
“Who will people pay their council tax to? Will there be additional taxes? At what rate? And what will people get in return?
“I do not believe that these are mere details, First Minister, it is about producing a prospectus that people can engage with – so on the current path, this is a gathering mess.”
But First Minister John Swinney said he was seeking to “create as much agreement as I possibly can do”.
“If I had come to Parliament and set out, for example, a definitive proposition, Mr Marra would have accused me of not engaging in dialogue and of disrespecting local authorities.
“What I did was I set out an aspiration in our Programme for Government and committed to detailed dialogue, in that detailed dialogue with local authority leaders, they asked for a specific proposition.
“I have now given them that specific proposition and my ministers are actively engaging with them and other partners in relation to these points.”
The First Minister also rejected the Labour leader’s claims his plans were designed to centralise power, saying instead it was “decentralisation in action”.