South Lanarkshire Council could reconsider its membership of COSLA

COSLA president Councillor David O'Neill - Image credit: COSLA

South Lanarkshire Council might reconsider its membership of COSLA, but not until after next year’s local government elections.

COSLA president Councillor David O’Neill and South Lanarkshire Council leader Councillor Eddie McAvoy issued the following joint statement on the matter following a meeting on Wednesday.

O’Neill said:  I had a very good meeting with Councillor McAvoy in Hamilton [on Wednesday] where I outlined in detail to him the direction of travel that COSLA is going to be taking following the conclusion of the recent rigorous review of the organisation.

“Tackling inequality has always been my real political passion and this remains the case. 

“However now more than ever I believe that if we are to tackle the scourge of inequality that blights Scotland then we as local government stand a better chance of doing so with 32 councils as opposed to 28.”

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McAvoy said: “I am very pleased that Councillor O’Neill took the time to come to Hamilton and outline in a fair bit of detail to me how COSLA is changing following its recent review.

“When South Lanarkshire left COSLA we made it clear that we believed changes were necessary. 

“Since then we have worked well with our colleagues in the SLGP [Scottish Local Government Partnership] and we have made significant progress in ensuring that the voice of local government is heard, especially with regard to how government policies impact on our residents.

“However, at the meeting I told Councillor O’Neill that if these changes to COSLA are progressed there may be merit in the council reconsidering its membership of COSLA, but that this would be a decision for the council following the election.”

South Lanarkshire Council left COSLA in March 2015.

It then formed the Scottish Local Government Partnership with fellow non-COSLA member councils Aberdeen, Glasgow and Renfrewshire.