Social work and education 'priority' in Aberdeen

Aberdeen City Council hopes to receive extra funding

Social work and education will be priorities if Aberdeen gets an improved funding settlement, the city council leader has said.

Finance Secretary John Swinney announced in his spending review that no council would get less than 85% of the Scottish average.

Aberdeen currently gets 82% and has lobbied for a formula change.

Local authority leader Callum McCaig said social work and education could benefit from millions of pounds.

Mr McCaig told BBC Scotland: "The big two are education and social work, they are without doubt faced with some difficulties, but they are services that are vital."

The budget also included commitments to a variety of infrastructure projects, including the Aberdeen bypass, should it overcome ongoing legal challenges.

Also included were a project to remove the bottleneck on the A96 at the Inveramsay railway bridge near Inverurie, and capital spending for the new prison at Peterhead.