Hundreds of Scottish local authority workers have won a multi-million pound equal pay settlement from Edinburgh City Council.

The council has reached a deal with Fox Cross Solicitors over equal pay claims by 400 classroom assistants, social care workers and clerical assistants.

The workers have agreed, as part of the deal, not to make any further claims. The overall cost of the deal will be revealed in due course, although it is thought to worth several million pounds.

‘When considering claims we had to consider and balance two important issues,' said Edinburgh's convener of finance and resources, Phil Wheeler.

‘One is meeting our legal and moral obligations to staff who may have been disadvantaged by historic unequal pay. The second is our responsibility to use public money wisely.

‘This has been a difficult process for all sides and I'm sure everyone will welcome a swift conclusion,' he added.

Carol Fox, from Fox Cross Solicitors, said it was an ‘important settlement'.

‘We hope that other councils will follow this lead and make the long-awaited payments due to low-paid female workers,' she said.

Earlier this week, local government minister, Bob Neill, gave the green light for 12 more councils in England to capitalise assets in order to settlement equal pay cases.

The local authorities include Birmingham City Council, Dorset CC and Sefton MBC.