Almost three in five council employees believe the local authority they work for no long provides quality services - with the same number also believing their council does not make the right decisions for the public.

A survey of more than 2,000 local government workers in Scotland by the trade union Unison found 82% said cuts to budgets had a negative impact on their ability to do their job.

More than two thirds (68%) of those questioned said local residents did not receive help and support when they needed it, while 51% were not confident that vulnerable people are safe and cared for.

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Council workers identified a lack of front line staff (69%), adult social care (59%), safeguarding children and young people (41%), a lack of housing options (43%) and road repairs (46%) as being the biggest challenges facing local authorities in Scotland.

A total of 57% of those who took part in survey - which was released to coincide with the union's local government conference - said they no longer believe their authority provides quality services, with the same proportion saying they did not think the council they work for takes the right decisions for the public.

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Seven out of 10 workers (70%) were worried about the financial situation of the council while they work, with 74% saying jobs had been cut in their department.

As a result more than half (57%) do not feel their position is secure, while 52% described their workload as being "unmanageable" and another 57% reporting that they regularly work beyond their contracted hours.

Looking ahead, more than three quarter (78%) have no confidence in the future of local services, with 50% thinking of quitting their post for a less stressful job.

One school support worker said: "The cutbacks mean that everybody is having a heavier workload which in some cases affects the children because people are feeling stressed .

"There is a greater number of children needing support and instead of reducing support staff they should be increasing them. At the moment not every child is getting the support they deserve."

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Meanwhile a roads worker said: "It is no exaggeration to say that my own workload has doubled in the last few years."

Mark Ferguson, chair of Unison Scotland's local government committee, said: "Local services are collapsing and council workers are being left to pick up the pieces and do the best they can amid the chaos. This disturbing survey should ring alarm bells in Whitehall and Holyrood and alert ministers to the crisis happening in councils across Scotland.

"Local authorities have had to cut so many vital services that they have now reached a point where vulnerable children and the elderly struggle to get the help that they need, entire communities are suffering, and the public are being put at risk.

"With cuts to road and bridge maintenance, potholes in roads are left unfilled, and bridges are at risk of crumbling. Crematoriums are not maintained, streetlights stay broken, and parks are in disrepair as councils don't have the equipment or the staff to adequately maintain them."