Glasgow City Council gets £1591 per person from the Scottish Government in General Revenue Funding, whereas Aberdeen City Council gets just £407 – in spite of Aberdeen’s huge tax contributions. Aberdeen is forecast to pay more than Edinburgh (and almost as much as Glasgow) in Business Rate charges – despite being significantly smaller than both.
It is absolutely clear that Aberdeen is being ignored and underfunded by the SNP as a result of their central belt bias. This situation should not be acceptable to anyone living and working in Aberdeen.
This is nothing new for the SNP and is just part of a long standing pattern of disregard for the city that is even evident in individual projects such as the new Aberdeen Art Gallery. The SNP Government refused to help support its restoration but were quite happy to pour £37 million into Dundee’s V&A – plus £3 million a year towards its running costs!
As Scotland’s third largest city, Aberdeen deserves similar support from the Government in Edinburgh.
If Aberdeen were to receive the same funding per person as Glasgow does the City Council would benefit from an additional £270 million each year to support local projects. This would have a tremendous impact on the lives of Aberdonians, creating jobs and supporting the City’s post-pandemic recovery and energy transition.
Aberdeen more than pays its way, it’s time it got its fair share.
