Council bosses have warned the Scottish Government’s Budget will leave services at “breaking point” next year amid warnings of “cuts in every community” and jobs potentially lost from local authorities.

The umbrella group for Scottish councils, Cosla, has now discussed its response to the Scottish Government’s spending plans, which offered £144 million in compensation for freezing council tax.

In a joint statement, Cosla leaders said the figure will not fully fund the council tax freeze – something First Minister Humza Yousaf had pledged would be the case.

Cosla also disputed the way the Scottish Government had calculated its figures for local government funding.

It said the Budget is “not only leaving councils at real and significant financial risk for the coming year, but, as it stands, it will mean cuts in every community in Scotland and job losses across Scottish local government”.

Read more: Scottish Budget: Major job losses as axe falls on public services

Deputy First Minister Shona Robison pledging £13.2 billion to councils as she outlined the draft Budget to Holyrood on Tuesday, which included £144 million to fund a controversial council tax freeze.

Cosla president Shona Morrison said: “Cosla’s initial analysis shows a real-terms cut to our revenue and capital spending power, which will leave council services at breaking point, with some having to stop altogether.

“The Budget in its current form could result in service cuts, job losses and an inevitable shift to providing statutory services only.

“This means potentially losing libraries, leisure centres and all the things that improve our lives.

“Cosla’s initial analysis of the Budget is that the council tax freeze is not fully funded.

“Leaders from across Scotland agreed today that decisions on council tax can only be made by each full council, and it is for each individual council to determine their own level of council tax.

Read more: Humza Yousaf facing battle with councils after 'low' tax freeze offer

“With any sort of shortfall in core funding, the £144 million revenue offered for the freeze is immediately worth less.”

Cosla resources spokeswoman Katie Hagmann said: “As it stands, this is not a good Budget for our communities or the people who deliver our essential frontline services.

“This is a Budget which will mean job losses – real jobs that support families and deliver vital services that make a positive difference to people’s lives.

“Sadly, the Budget as it stands leaves nothing for meaningful pay rises in 24/25 so we would call on the Scottish Government to look again, so that our workforce can get the pay rise they deserve next year.”

Read more: Scottish Budget: £200m cut to housing condemned amid homeless crisis

The Scottish Government’s cooperation partners, the Scottish Greens, have distanced themselves from the council tax freeze.

The party’s finance spokesperson, Ross Greer, told the Daily Record that the Scottish Government would have made better use of the funding needed to fund the freeze on anti-poverty measures, insisting it was not a “choice” made by his party.

He added that “our time and money would be much better spent moving towards its complete replacement and investing instead in other anti-poverty measures”.

Scottish Conservative shadow finance and local government secretary, Liz Smith, said: “Cosla’s fury at Shona Robison’s disastrous budget is palpable and entirely justified.

“It speaks volumes that even SNP councillors are saying local authority-provided services are at breaking point and that the council tax freeze has not been fully funded by ministers.

“Once again, our councils have been treated with contempt by an SNP government that expects them to work miracles. This brutal underfunding cannot continue.”

Ms Robison has claimed that local councils will receive more, in real-terms, than they did in this financial year.

She said: “The total resource budget has increased by £840.3 million since the 2023-24 budget, which is a 6.8% cash increase and a 5% real-terms increase.

“On top of that growth, the Budget also makes available up to £144 million to support councils to freeze their council tax.

“In total, the budget makes available more than £14 billion of funding to councils, should they agree to freeze their council tax. That is a record level of funding to local government—more than £14 billion.”