It will end in tears

I heard today that the Scottish Government wants all the single outcome agreements with Council's signed by March. (I was told June at the Full Council meeting in February) These are the deals that will grow out of the Concordat signed between CoSLA and the Scottish Government which forms the basis of the council tax freeze that the Scottish Government has made its priority

I have never been a fan of the Concordat but this is madness. How can we have the discussion we need to have as a Council to ensure we are signing up to a deal that reflects our local priorities as well as the national ones in six weeks. The administration says there can be slippage until June but thatss only a possibility.

How is this devolving powers to Local Government to make its own decisions if we have to rush through what is touted as the expression of most significant change in our relationship with the Scottish Government.

This is not devolution it is centralisation and it is bad news for local democracy and ultimately the communities we represent as local politicians.