Briefing number: 170 Date: January 2026
Please find attached a briefing on the Accounts Commission’s latest Local Government in Scotland – Financial Bulletin which was published today. In this latest update on council finances, the Accounts Commission reported that Scotland’s councils face a budget gap of nearly £1 billion by 2027.
Links to the full report and related documents are included within the briefing paper but can also be accessed here.
Briefing 168 – Population challenges for public services and the economy
This briefing looks at the implications of current and projected demographic change. It summarises recent publications from the Improvement Service.
There is a rising demand for services and pressures on budgets from an aging and increasingly unwell population and at the same time a declining population of working age to deliver and help fund these services.
This is already creating significant pressures on public services and contributing to the financial difficulties of councils, health boards and IJBs.
We need both a Scotland-specific migration policy and investment in social housing and public services to tackle these challenges and prevent a looming crisis.
Briefing number: 167 Date: July 2025Briefing 167 – Scottish Government Public Sector Reform Summit
On October 14th 2025 the Scottish Government held what they billed as a “Public Sector Reform Operational Summit” . The aim was to develop plans to fulfil the Scottish Government’s commitment to cut spending and jobs in public services. The invitees to the summit included virtually every Chief Executive in Scotland’s public sector.
Briefing 166 – Anti-racism Action Plan for Social Work
The Scottish Government published an Anti-racism Action Plan for the Scottish Social Work Sector in August 2025. The Action Plan sets out what the sector will do to make social work actively anti-racist. It builds upon the Statement of Intent published in November 2024, which set out a commitment and vision for removing racism and discrimination from social work in Scotland.
Briefing 165 – Scottish Government Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan
The Scottish Government has published it’s Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan. The aim of the document is to provide some detail on how the government intends to address pressures on their resource (ie day-to-day spending) budget over the next five years.
Briefing 164 – Scottish Government Medium-Term Financial Strategy
The Scottish Government have published their Medium-Term Financial Strategy. It outlines how they intend to approach public spending over the next five years.
Briefing 163 – Scottish Government Public Service Reform Strategy
The Scottish Government have published their Public Service Reform Strategy. It outlines their intention to reduce the size of the public sector workforce through a range of measures including deployment of automation and outsourcing to the third sector.
Briefing 162 – Local Government Workforce Report 2024
This briefing looks at the report on the local government workforce prepared for councils by SOLACE. The aim of the report is to provide information about the workforce and the current state of workforce planning across councils.
Briefing 161 – Local Government Benchmarking Report 2023-24
This Briefing summarises the main points from the annual Benchmarking Framework report compiled by the Improvement Service for CoSLA. The report looks at what has been happening to and in councils over a range of key measures and indicators in the last year. Comparisons are also made over time
Briefing 160 – Children (Care, Care Experience & Services Planning) Bill: Call for Views
The Government has decided that some reforms recommended by the Independent Care Review for children & young people require legislation. A Bill was introduced on 17 June 2025 which makes changes to the care system for children.
Briefing number: 159 Date: Jun 2025
Please find attached a briefing on looking at the implications of the recent UK Government Spending Review for public Spending in Scotland
Briefing number: 158 Date: Jun 2025
The Care Reform (Scotland) Bill
Introduction
On 10 June, the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill was passed. This briefing gives an overview of its provisions.
Briefing 157 – Care Management: Fit for purpose?
Care Management is the process for assessing individuals’ needs for social care services. It is integral to the social care system and how care users experience it. It is carried out by local authority staff known as Care Managers, usually social workers, occupational therapists or nurses.
Briefing number: 156 Date: Jun 2025
The Scottish AI Register and AI in Public Services
In the last few years, AI (Artificial Intelligence) has gained significant public attention with the release of tools like ChatGPT. Policymakers are quickly turning to AI as a potential solution to challenges in public sector funding, productivity, and staffing levels.
Briefing 150 – NCS Bill Update: National Care Service abandoned
The Government has finally abandoned its plans to create a National Care Service (NCS). This was confirmed to Parliament on 23 January 2025.
Read more.
Briefing 149 – UK Budget 2024: Implications for Scotland
This Briefing outlines the measures in the recent UK budget and examines some of the implications for public finances in Scotland.
Read more – UK Budget 2024: Implications for Scotland.
Briefing 148 – Census 2022: LGBTQ+
Over this year, detailed results have been being released from the 2022 census.
The results show that Scotland is more diverse than ever. This briefing examines what the Census tells us about Scotland’s LGBTQ+ population.
Read more – Census 2022: LGBTQ+.
Briefing 147 – Census 2022 -Race, ethnicity, and migration
Over this year, detailed results from the 2022 census have been released. These show a Scotland that is not only increasing in population but more diverse than ever. This briefing looks at some of the figures relating to race, ethnicity, and migration and what they tell us about the Scotland in which we live
Retired Members Summer Bulletin July 2024
Analysis has shown that pensioners will be just £20 better off this year after
the increase has been all but wiped out in the Budget by the sneaky personal
allowances freeze. Read more…
Stirling UNISON 