First Minister John Swinney has been accused of sowing confusion over his public sector reform plans after a fraught meeting with council leaders left them frustrated by his lack of detail. Sources described the session with council umbrella body Cosla as "shambolic", claiming Swinney kept his "radical" restructuring plan largely to himself and struggled to explain how an overhaul of social care would work, prompting sharp criticism from opposition parties over transparency and preparedness.

Despite earlier suggestions that council mergers could be on the table, Swinney told Cosla that all 32 local authorities will remain unchanged for at least five years, with councillors elected next year serving full terms. He instead pointed to new regional bodies sitting alongside existing councils, potentially with extra pay for councillors who serve on them, seemingly contradicting his earlier pledge that reforms would not create additional layers of administration. The plans come as the Scottish Government grapples with a £4.7 billion fiscal shortfall, having previously proposed cutting health boards from 14 to two and reducing quangos from 135 to fewer than 100, while sources said Swinney could not clearly define which parts of social care he wants shifted to NHS control.