COUNCIL BUDGET: Highland Council swings the axe as budget is agreed after chamber clashes
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Tensions ran high in the chambers yesterday as Highland councillors clashed over the best way of closing a near £50 million budget gap.
The administration proposed a £23 million raid on reserves coupled with a raft of savings to close the gap.
There were swingeing cuts to health and social care, education and early learning.
But the council managed to invest an extra £14 million in roads, deliver a below-inflation council tax rise and avoid compulsory redundancies.
The Liberal Democrat opposition wanted to go further.
They joined forces with the Conservatives and some Independents in tabling amendments that they said 'took the sharp edges' off the budget.
Essentially, their plans hinged on borrowing more from reserves to put more cash into roads and remove the most painful cuts.
However, the administration said it had to keep one eye on the future, and could not raid the piggy bank now for fear of more rainy days down the line.
Council leader Raymond Bremner (SNP) said escalating inflation, the cost-of-living crisis and ongoing uncertainty around Scottish Government funding created the 'perfect storm'.
He said this was the toughest budget in years.
But he believes his administration has listened to the public by delivering a modest four per cent council tax rise and spending on road repairs.
The SNP-Independent budget faced several rounds of amendments.
The Greens wanted to reduce the roads investment and use the cash to avoid cuts to community services and climate action.
The administration easily saw off the amendments though, with the budget passing comfortably on every key saving.
The key cuts
The main battleground in yesterday’s debate was not in fact roads but community funding.
Many of the biggest cuts put greater responsibility on local third sector groups.
Several councillors railed against the removal of discretionary funding for early years groups.
The £90,000 saving does not sound like much against a £50 million budget gap but it could spell closure for groups delivering services for kids with additional support needs, respite care, after school clubs, music and sports.
Affected groups include Snap in Inverness, the Pulteneytown People’s Project in Wick, Allsorts after school club in Dornoch and Lochaber Music School.
Many of these organisations have already said they might have to close.
A total of £50,000 will be saved on village hall grants scheme and a further £34,000 on sports council funding across the region.
Council officers said both grant schemes have been under subscribed in recent years.
Highland Council says it will help them to find alternative funding for affected community groups but councillors said this was bitter comfort.
“I often hear about the disdain we treat our partners with,” said Councillor Richard Gale (Scottish Lib Dem). “They’re worthy of equal respect but that is missing from this budget.”
In a similar vein, the council is removing half a million pounds in mental health services in the hope that community groups can pick up local needs.
Councillor David Gregg (Scottish Lib Dem) said that will cost more down the line, and community groups are too fragile to meet demand.
And early learning and childcare centres once again became a bone of contention.
The council plans to freeze the rate it pays ELC providers, prompting conservative leader Helen Crawford to say it was letting down a predominantly female workforce.
Other big cuts included £2.4 million in health and social care.
The council believes it can save money by paying more for foster carers, but opposition members say there was scant evidence of how this would be achieved.
Councillor Alasdair Christie (Scottish Lib Dem) said it would be 'catastrophic' and hit the most vulnerable hardest.
Roads investment delivered
The administration made some tough decisions but defended its budget. They said the cuts to community groups were 'regrettable' but the budget will be kept under constant review, including a revisit in September.
Councillor Bremner said the council had to deliver within its means, with its options ever shrinking.
Councillor Ken Gowans (SNP) said the delivery of an extra £14 million for roads is 'remarkable' in the current financial climate.
While Independent member Matthew Reiss urged the administration to lobby the Scottish Government for more roads money, opposition groups wanted the council to dip deeper into reserves.
SNP member Emma Knox said that would amount to a 'grab and dash' and this budget is not just for today, but for the future.
In the end, despite a series of amendments, the council budget passed.
But the battle is far from over, as the council continues to face escalating costs and depleting reserves.
Councillors Christie and Crawford both appealed to the administration to take a more collaborative approach when it comes to reviewing the budget in September.
