Enjoy the political peace, it probably won't last for long

PEACE, it seems, has broken out between the SNP administration and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. But for how long? A joint statement by First Minister Alex Salmond and Cosla president and Labour councillor Pat Watters after a meeting yesterday on the concordat praised their close relationship and partnership working. For good measure, it also highlighted the need to help the elderly and bring in measures to tackle climate change.

In what must rank as a first, Cosla, it appears, did not ask for more money. That may come as a surprise to many councils across Scotland. They have been warning that they would not be able to repair the damage caused to Scotland's roads by the prolonged freezing spell and the coldest temperatures for 30 years without extra funding. Hatchets have been buried – or snow shovels put away – for now.

It is as well that Cosla and the Holyrood administration can have a cordial meeting, for both sides are going to need all the skills of cordiality in the coming months. A previous top-level meeting saw an eruption between the two on the SNP's policy on reducing class sizes. It famously resulted in a veiled warning from a deeply frustrated education secretary Fiona Hyslop that the Scottish Government would pursue other approaches, widely interpreted as meaning it would take over control of the education budget. This was followed by a Cabinet reshuffle and the appointment of Mike Russell as the new education supremo.

If a state of truce has been reached, it is likely to prove as permanent as thawing ice. While the immediate crisis on road gritting supplies may have been resolved, it will be some weeks before local councils have a reasonable estimate of the damage caused to road surfaces this winter and the amount of pothole-filling and other repair work that will need to be undertaken.

Action will then need to be swift if these hazards are to be dealt with and damage limited.

But paling before this is the outlook for local council budgets and finance over the next three years. Local government is the means by which much of the government's spending programmes are carried into effect.

There is now broad agreement that whoever wins the general election a tough budget will be unveiled within weeks. How tough will be a matter of political dispute. But as a minimum, central government is likely to be obliged to reduce spending by some 30 billion over the next three years and taxes raised by some 20bn if the UK is to retain its triple A credit rating.

Local authorities are going to have to bear much of the pain. While budgets are already being pared, far more by way of spending cuts is going to be required. Such an exercise will need the maximum co-operation and co-ordination for the pain and inconvenience to the public to be kept to a minimum and the job losses carried out in a way that is seen to be sensible and fair. The cordial concordat has yet to be tested where it matters.