Scottish Secretary David Mundell has indicated he could hold talks with Aberdeen City Council leader Jenny Laing to seek her views on the Brexit negotiations.
Mr Mundell will have a series of meetings with the breakaway Scottish Local Government Partnership (SLGP) to hear members’ views.
In a letter to SLGP convener Mrs Laing he wrote: “I am keen to ensure that local government plays an active role in contributing to EU exit negotiations, and would be very interested to hear the emerging views of the Scottish Local Government Partnership in advance of any discussions.”
Councillor Laing, who is also the leader of Aberdeen City Council, said the response showed the UK Government valued the contribution of council leaders.
The SLGP, which is made up of Aberdeen, Glasgow, Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire councils, represents about 1.3 million Scots in areas which generate about half of the country’s economic output.
Mrs Laing said: “It’s crucial that any new constitutional arrangement once we leave the EU is done so with the involvement of local authorities.
“This is a historic opportunity to redraw the map in terms of how councils serve and empower their constituents and we need to ensure that from this deal new powers are transferred to the level of government closest to the people.
“It is, after all, local government which deals with the major bread and butter issues such as driving our economies, supporting business and creating the big infrastructure projects, and it is vital that in a post-Brexit world we have a defined set of new powers and responsibilities, which include greater fiscal autonomy at a local level.”