Crucial Council Budget Vote

Fife Council will vote later on "the most difficult financial situation the local authority has ever faced."

That's the view of leader David Ross, who has shelved plans to cut education spending by £30million, and is calling instead for £27 million more in funding.

A budget shortfall of £77million must be addressed by 2018 - the local authority spends well over £1 billion every year, with education spendinh making up around half of that.

Finance Secretary John Swinney has told Scottish councils to maintain teacher numbers or risk losing out on a share of £51 million extra in cash.

The SNP's Douglas Chapman believes the Labour administration is shooting itself in the foot by only cutting £3 million:

But Mr Ross has described school spending as 'already reduced to the bones', and wants to campaign for more investment rather than slash expenditure:

Local Conservative members have slammed Fife Council for not making more of its budget available for scrutiny before the crucial vote.

They've called for an 'education trust' to be established, which would see schools run in a similar way to sports facilities and libraries, and could save £10 million a year through a financial loophole.

Dave Dempsey, Tory group leader, says the administration has not been as transparent as he would have liked: