Alex Salmond has called for the Scottish Government to fully fund a council tax freeze to ease the cost of living crisis.
In a dig at his successor Nicola Sturgeon, he also claimed that the good relationship he fostered with councils when he was leader had been eroded.
Salmond was First Minister between 2007 and 2014 and his administration froze the council tax for most of the period he was in office.
In the latest draft Budget, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes gave councils the freedom to increase the tax - but critics say any money raised will only mitigate cuts.
She last week announced another £120m for local authorities and said this funding should take away the need for “inflation-busting” rises.
Salmond, who formed the pro-independence Alba party after spectacularly falling out with Sturgeon, has written to Forbes demanding she copy his policy.
He wrote: “If it was possible for the Scottish Government I led to secure a good settlement for Local Government, in the midst of a global financial crisis, that fully funded a freeze in Council Tax, I can see no reason why the current Government cannot do likewise.”
He added: “Inaction by the UK Government will be compounded in April by their decision to increase National Insurance contributions, an act that will take even more money out of the pockets of hard pressed families at a time that they need it most.
“Without the Full Fiscal Powers of Independence, the Scottish Government is limited in the scale of response that it can exert to solve this crisis.
He also wrote: “Through the historic concordat achieved between the Scottish Government and COSLA, a new relationship based on mutual respect and partnership was created. Sadly, in recent years, it appears that the principles which underpinned that partnership have been eroded, along with the benefits to Local Government Service Users that the funding levels helped secure.”
The Scottish Government has been contacted.
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