Aberdeen council leaders want powers to be devolved to tackle budget cuts

Aberdeen council leaders want powers to be devolved to local government in a bid to tackle budget cuts.

Jenny Laing, co-leader of Aberdeen City Council, said the local authority should have “great control” over economic levers to generate its own income.

It comes as the Scottish Government agreed as part of Thursday’s budget deal to bring forward legislation to give councils power to tax visitors for staying overnight in a hotel.

Ms Laing said: “I think it’s clear, particularly around the tourism levy – one we have been fighting for since 2015 – that it’s unlikely to impact on 2019 looking at the timescales around that.

“But I think it is a start for us to open up that wider conversation about the devolving of more powers to local government.”

Ms Laing argued that Aberdeen is “practically self-sustaining” already because 86% of its income comes in through council tax, business rates or fees and charges the council raises itself.

She added: “So we think there is a conversation to be had that devolved powers should come to local government.

“It allows us to shape up our budgets that meet the needs of our people and the economy we have here.”

City leaders have long called for the powers to be devolved from Holyrood to allow them to introduce a levy which they say would boost council coffers by £1.7 million a year.

The scheme – similar to those in Paris and New York – would mean tourists paying an additional £1 a night for stays, with the money going to the local authority.

The move is also being considered at Scottish tourist hotspots like Edinburgh and Inverness.