Highland Council delivers £18m of budget savings
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Highland Council has reported a successful year end position for 2019-20 delivering £18 million of a three-year savings plan and an underspend of £7.526m.
The local authority's unearmarked reserves, which act as a general contingency against unforeseen events or to meet unbudgeted costs, stand at £15.451m at 31 March 2020, having almost doubled over the year due to the in-year budget surplus.
The year end position was considerably improved from the quarter three forecast, councillors heard at the latest meeting of the council's corporate resources committee.
However, the figures will be expected to worsen considerably next year unless there is a Scottish Government bail-out which appears unlikely at this time for local authorities.
The full impact and cost of Covid-19 including care for key workers' children and a huge drop in income for the council have come about mainly from April onwards – outwith this latest reporting period.
Alister Mackinnon, Highland Council's chair of corporate resources committee, praised all staff for delivering the latest savings.
He said: “The key drivers behind the positive year-end position are improved governance, further reductions in overspend, and robust management of all budgets.
"Rigorous approaches to financial governance are improving compliance and adherence to policy linked to budget spend across services.
"I want to thank the chief executive and her team and all staff for the part they have played in this very successful turn around in the council’s financial position.”
But he added: “The raised levels of reserves are critical to our financial sustainability. The year ahead, in which we are facing an unprecedented in-year financial deficit, is extremely challenging.
"However, the improved financial position and new governance measures have given us a much stronger foundation from which to rebuild.”
