Support for emergency budget plan
HIGHLAND Council chiefs are bashing out revised proposals to defer spending, accelerate savings and “restructure” recruitment to avert a £5.1 million budget overspend.
A bitter political row overshadowed a resources committee debate on it. Detailed measures will be presented next week.
Leaders of the minority independent administration said every attempt would be made to minimise the impact on services but “some impact on service is inevitable”.
Budget leader Alister Mackinnon said: “Our (emergency) reserves of £8 million are well below the minimum recommended by Audit Scotland and it’s vital that they’re not depleted further.” The committee agreed stricter controls on recruitment and overtime, a review of all agency appointments and tighter controls on staff travel.
The £5.1 million figure equates to one per cent of the total budget and compares with a £2.7 million estimate at this stage last year. The potential overspend is blamed on high cost placements for ‘looked-after children’, lower income from new parking charges and fewer savings from toilet closures because those two policies have not yet taken full effect.
Council chiefs insisted no staff jobs were at risk.
Finance director Derek Yule, however, warned there were “no more rabbits to be pulled from hats” to tackle the problems.
Black Isle Liberal Democrat Gordon Adam blamed Scottish Government grant cuts while SNP city councillor Richard Laird said the crisis was “entirely of this council’s making”.
Council leader Margaret Davidson claimed local government services were “not a priority for the Scottish Government”.
The budget leader angered the SNP benches, accusing group leader Maxine Smith of not fully participating in budget discussions. He said he invited her to meetings but had been turned down “because she views her private commitments more important than reorganising her diary”.
She was not in the chamber to respond. In a later statement she said: “On Friday, I received a request to attend a meeting on Monday to discuss the budget. I had commitments but they were pre-arranged meetings with constituents. I’ve sent him a meeting request for tomorrow. I’m available any time, so hopefully he’ll re-arrange his diary. On the budget, our job in opposition is to scrutinise.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “Highland Council has had more this year despite UK government cuts to our budget. It will receive over £487 million Scottish Government funding in 2018-19.”
n Support was voiced for a city councillor who has quit as the SNP’s deputy leader on Highland Council.
Richard Laird (32) cited health reasons for his decision. He will remain a Central Ward councillor. He said: “My health isn’t good enough. That’s the reason I’m stepping down. For the last year or so, both my physical health and my mental health have been in decline. I’ve been told by the doctor to reduce my workload a bit.”
SNP group leader Maxine Smith said: “I am saddened that Richard has had to step down as depute group leader, as we have worked well together. His illness has been creeping up on him for some time and he feels he needs time to rest, so removing the huge responsibility of chairing a strategic committee is a sensible thing to do. Richard will continue to be a valued member of our group. He is a highly intelligent man, who has lots more to give.”
