'Get funding into the hands of the people who need it', says council budget leader
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Highland Council saw frayed tempers today as members struggled to agree how best to help Highland families while setting its own house in order.
Part of the problem was the expansive nature of the tabled proposals on the financial crisis.
The council administration sought to do two things at once. Firstly, to outline a range of measures to help people struggling with the cost of living.
Secondly, to sketch out a transformative vision to close a budget gap expected to reach £40.9 million per year.
However, the plans drew a barrage of criticism from across the chamber – and from some Highland service providers.
The Liberal Democrat opposition suggested the paper had been flung together too quickly, while the Tories said the council wasn’t moving quickly enough.
Budget leader Derek Louden sounded bewildered as he observed that the council was accused of being too slow and too quick. “We’d have considerable difficulty pleasing both parties,” he said.
At the crux of the argument, how can Highland Council realistically address the cost of living crisis?
The SNP administration ultimately won the day, its proposals defeating a lengthy amendment from the Liberal Democrats. This allows council to press ahead with plans to give £145 to the poorest households, provide free school meals every day of the school holidays and award grants to community groups and FareShare.
Nobody was arguing against those plans. But the Lib Dems wanted the council to do more.
An amendment tabled by councillors Christie and Gregg asked Highland Council to explore the possibility of ‘heat hubs’ in council buildings and arrange local cost of living summits. It also called for the council to review its food waste strategy, help people wishing to donate benefits they don’t need, and coordinate the distribution of warm clothes.
There were frustrated exchanges across the chamber, with the administration and the opposition accusing one another of not having allowed sufficient time to fully review the plans. Labour councillor Andrew MacKintosh said he feared members would unintentionally agree to something “buried in the belly of the report”.
In a stinging speech, Mr MacKintosh branded both governments and the council administration a “failure”. He said Highland Council could have started working on cost of living proposals in May instead of waiting until nearly October to outline help. Instead, he said, “the administration spends most of its time giving posts to its friends”.
While the administration and council chief Donna Manson spoke in warm terms about “collaboration” Mr MacKintosh said this is a ruse for sharing responsibility. His fear, that this responsibility would include redundancies and service cuts as the council struggles to balance its books.
Mr Christie raised similar concerns. “The chief executive said no redundancies is the ambition and Derek Louden said they will protect jobs where possible. These are shifting sands, and I say this to highlight how serious it is.”
Mr Christie pointed out that while the council says it will reduce headcount through natural turnover, 33 deleted posts would save £1m. Therefore closing the budget gap would cost hundreds of jobs.
He challenged the administration to “work carefully, not away in smoke filled rooms”.
Other members across the chamber spoke about their fears for early learning centres (ELCs). Councillors told the chamber they were inundated with emails from Highland nurseries saying they can’t make ends meet.
While the council previously gave a rates uplift to ELC providers, the tabled proposals don’t make the same commitment.
Councillor Helen Crawford said “This sector has appealed to us saying ‘we can’t operate, we will have to close our doors’. This merits full and transparent information.”
However, education chairman John Finlayson said the council has to be realistic. “Context is everything,” he said. “We can’t commit to further uplifts due to the current financial crisis. Life is tough for everyone and we would be foolish to make commitments we can’t afford.”
The Liberal Democrat amendment asked the council to effectively defer a decision on the ELC as well as devolved school management budgets until next month. This was alongside its changes to the cost of living plans.
SNP councillor Ken Gowans accused the opposition of presenting its Highland cost of living proposals too late. “It’s easy to put forward amendments to grab a headline that would actually deliver limited value,” he said.
Mr Christie hit back, stating that Mr Gowans had coined “a whole new definition of nonsense”.
“Anyone who votes for these proposals is letting people down and is not serious about addressing this crisis,” he said.
Budget leader Derek Louden attempted to end the debate on a conciliatory note. He praised members for the passion shown in the debate and promised to “do better” in collaborating cross party.
He surmised: “We need to get funding into the hands of the people who need it.”
