Local Government is UNISON Scotland’s biggest service group. Its remit covers a range of employees including those of all of Scotland’s councils, Direct Labour and Direct Service Organisations, Trusts, Joint Boards, voluntary and related organisations and private companies.
For information on our pay campaign, industrial action and ballot – got to our campaigns page
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Catch up with the latest updates at Fighting for Scottish Council Workers
Catch up with the latest updates at Fighting for Scottish Council WorkersLatest updates
Briefing 168 – Population challenges for public services and the economy
This briefing looks at the implications of current and projected demographic change. It summarises recent publications from the Improvement Service ... Read More
Briefing 167 – Scottish Government Public Sector Reform Summit
On October 14th 2025 the Scottish Government held what they billed as a "Public Sector Reform Operational Summit" . The ... Read More
Briefing 165 – Scottish Government Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan
The Scottish Government has published it's Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan. The aim of the document is to provide some detail ... Read More
Briefing 164 – Scottish Government Medium-Term Financial Strategy
The Scottish Government have published their Medium-Term Financial Strategy. It outlines how they intend to approach public spending over the ... Read More
Briefing 163 – Scottish Government Public Service Reform Strategy
The Scottish Government have published their Public Service Reform Strategy. It outlines their intention to reduce the size of the ... Read More
Occupational therapists play a critical role in local social work teams, says UNISON
UNISON Scotland and the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) welcome that occupational therapists working in social work will be ... Read More
Briefing 160 – Children (Care, Care Experience & Services Planning) Bill: Call for Views
The Government has decided that some reforms recommended by the Independent Care Review for children & young people require legislation ... Read More
Red Book, local government terms and conditions 2025
This is the latest (April 2025) edition of the Single Status Agreement (commonly referred to as the ‘Red Book’). It ... Read More
Council staff vote to accept two-year pay offer
Local government staff in Scotland have voted to accept Cosla’s two-year pay offer, says UNISON today (Monday). Members of Scotland’s ... Read More
Briefing 158 – Care Reform (Scotland) Bill passes
On 10 June, the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill was passed. This briefing gives an overview of its provisions. The Act ... Read More
More Local Government News
Latest local government briefings
Care Futures 5 – Minimum Employment Standards
The fifth edition of UNISON Scotland’s Care Futures outlines UNISON's view of the minimum employment standards that care workers should ...
Care Futures 4 – Effective Voice
The fourth edition of UNISON Scotland's Care Futures looks at what Effective Voice could mean for workers in social care ...
UNISON Scotland Week 320 – Net zero debate, Dundee Uni pensions strike & more
UNISON Scotland Week 320 - Net zero debate, Dundee Uni pensions strike & more. Read full newsletter here ...
Scottish Government – Programme for Government 2021-22
The Programme for Government for 2021-22 has been announced. This sets out the Scottish Government's legislative programme and other administrative ...
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Latest responses and submissions
Draft Regulations relating to Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act – Set 2 response
There appears to be total disregard for the Staff Governance Standard within the document and there was an expectation that ...
Draft Regulations relating to Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act Set 1 response
As far as we can see there is nothing in these regulations that refer to the Chief Officer of the ...
Inquiry into the Flexibility and Autonomy of Local Government
UNISON believes that the public sector provides a means to both deliver services cost effectively and to allow citizens to ...
Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill response
UNISON raised a range of concerns in our submission to the 2012 consultation on what was then called the Community ...
More on responses page