Communities in the north and north-east have been hit hardest by cuts to vital council services in recent years, new figures suggest.
Analysis carried out for Labour by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre showed that the drop in spending per person was the most dramatic in the Western Isles, Shetland and Argyll and Bute.
The Highland Council area also recorded an above-average fall in investment, according to the research, while the reduction in Aberdeen was branded “simply shocking” by Scottish Labour.
Across all 32 local authorities in Scotland, spending has been cut by an average of £137 per head over the last five years.
By far the most dramatic drop was in the Western Isles, where investment was slashed by £458 per person, followed by Shetland, which recorded a £341 fall, although the researchers said it was difficult to compare island authorities to the mainland because of population fluctuations and extra resource.
Argyll and Bute had the third-largest cut, worth £226 per resident, while Highland experienced a £161 fall, Aberdeen’s spending was reduced by £111, Aberdeenshire’s fell by £94 and in Moray it dropped by £93 per person.
James Kelly, Scottish Labour’s finance spokesman, said: “These figures show the price of SNP austerity for individuals across Scotland.
““It means residents in places such as Aberdeen, East Lothian and Stirling have lost more than £100 of spending per head over the last five years. That is simply shocking.
“Labour would use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to end austerity and invest in our lifeline services for the many not the few.”
In January, the Press and Journal reported that cash-strapped local authorities had cut more than 20,000 full time jobs in the last seven years, with Highland Council having shrunk its workforce by more than a fifth.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “In spite of continued UK Government real terms cuts to Scotland’s resource budget, we have treated local government very fairly.
“In 2018-19 councils will receive funding through the local government finance settlement of £10.7billion, delivering a real terms increase in both revenue and capital funding.
“The total 2018-19 local government finance settlement delivers an increase of £342million or 3.3% in support for vital local services compared to 2017-18.”
