Councils hold their breath over government fundingpublished at 11:57 GMT
11:57 GMT
Jamie McIvor
BBC Scotland News Correspondent
Scotland’s 32 councils will be waiting for news on how much Scottish government money they will get in the coming year.
Once they know this, they can start finalising their own budgets.
Councils are heavily dependent on Scottish government money – and
this money can essentially be split into two components.
Some of it is tied to specific objectives – the government will
expect it to be spent on a particular project or service. This is known as
ringfencing.
But some of it can be spent on whatever the council may deem
appropriate.
This is why councils often warn of cuts and savings in particular
services despite headline rises in government funding.
The big unknown at present is over the council tax.
Nothing has been said publicly to indicate whether or not
increases are likely to be limited.
Last year, councils were able to raise the council tax by as much
as they considered appropriate without losing any Scottish government money.
Some – such as Clackmannanshire – went for double-digit rises.
Generally since the SNP came to power in 2007, the Scottish
government has put the mechanisms in place to freeze the council tax or limit
increases – often to 3%.
After the Budget statement, individual councils learn how much the
government plans to give them and how much of it may be ringfenced.
Most will then confirm their own council tax level and local
budgets in February.