Highland Council cuts set to be lessened in budget agreement
Cuts to Highland Council services will not be as severe as first thought, following a Scottish Government turnaround.
The Scottish Parliament is preparing to vote on a national budget, including a lesser cut to local authorities than originally feared.
This has welcomed by Highland Council budget leader Bill Leader, who said this, combined with income generated from a council tax rise, will mitigate the £26 million planned cuts.
Suggested cuts to organisations such as Women’s Aid, which was saved from a £40,000 cut at the eleventh hour last year, and Citizen’s Advice Bureaux, will no longer go ahead.
A £660,000 reduction in the budget for street cleaning, which would have resulted in the loss of 24 full time jobs, will also be lessened but the council is hoping for help from the public through a "change of attitude" towards littering.
Some, but not all, countryside rangers will also be saved, although the service may be transferred to High Life Highland and a £319,000 cut to music tuition will be reduced.
Cllr Fernie said: "This year has brought a tough settlement forcing us to make £26 million of savings to meet the budget gap.
"This has meant that cuts to services and the funding we provide are unavoidable.
"We see the clear value in keeping our streets clean and tidy and for this reason we intend to propose a lesser reduction in street cleansing by prioritising the areas serviced and by promoting a culture change in attitudes towards littering."
Allowances paid to councillors who take on committee chairman roles will also be reduced, which cllr Fernie said was in light of strong public opinion.
Currently a councillors’ basic salary is £16,726 but senior roles wages reach up to around £25,000.
The leaders’ salary is £39,029 with a drop to £29,272 for the depute leader.
"We have reduced the allowances to senior councillors which I know is something the public want to see," cllr Fernie continued.
"Around 1000 people have taken part in our budget simulator which demonstrates the difficult challenges we face in balancing the council’s books. The feedback provided gives us an understanding of people’s priorities."
But opinions expressed over the launch of the online simulator last week showed strong support for a cut to senior management salary, as many top employees are paid more than £100,000 per year, but this has not featured in the budget plans so far.
Cllr Fernie said the administration has worked hard to lessen the blow for communities and employees but pointed out a major shake-up and staff reduction, implemented through recruitment bans and voluntary redundancies, will still go ahead later this year.
"There will be fewer staff over the coming years through our vacancy controls and we will need to continue with re-design and change in order to manage the workload falling on fewer staff.
"Taking £26 million out of the budget will certainly have an impact, but we have done our very best to mitigate this for vulnerable people in our communities."
