Scale of Council cuts become clearer.

Commenting, Aberdeenshire councillor Martin Ford said:

"Effectively, Mr Swinney has re-introduced Council Tax capping, with the cap set at no increase at all. Preventing some of the threatened cuts in services by a measured rise in the Council Tax has to all intents and purposes been ruled out - although there is a strong case for taking that option. As it is, that choice has been denied to communities and their elected representatives by a Scottish Government that is showing no respect for local democratic decision-making and is forcing councils to make cuts that could have been avoided.

"Freezing the Council Tax is clearly financially unsustainable and, given inflation and rising costs, is effectively a tax cut. A Council Tax freeze as a temporary measure when budgets were rising was one thing. Forcing councils to, in effect, cut local tax when their grant funding is also being reduced, is quite another.

"Far from reducing the impact of budget cuts arising from decisions at Westminster, the Scottish Government is adding cuts of its own.

"As best it is possible to judge at this stage, taking into account higher costs and other pressures, Aberdeenshire Council is probably going to have to cut around £30 million from its budget for 2011/12. Some of the savings required can be achieved by finding efficiencies, but service reductions are inevitable with a funding shortfall of this size"