"Black hole" of between £20million and £28million in council finances

MORAY has a "vast black hole" in its finances of between £20million and £28million that will have to be closed within the next two years.

This week saw the first of four confidential budget briefings by senior officers at Moray Council.

It is understood that plans were outlined about how savings .were going to be made incouncil departments and acrtoss the services delivered by the local authority.

With three further briefings scheduled for this coming fortnight, Tim Eagle, the leader of the Moray Tory group, said: "If you thought last year was bad this year threatens to be much worse.

"Moray Council has saved millions of pounds already over the last few years but there is still a vast black hole in the finances.

"While the Conservative group wants to ensure the council is as efficient as possible these latest proposals have the potential to significantly impact upon the lives of people throughout the area.

"It is incredible that the Scottish Government are £500million underspent this year and £1.2billion underspent over the last four years.

"We need a tiny percentage of that to maintain good quality service levels and build for the future, yet all we get is a bigger squeeze on finances."

Cllr Donald Gatt (Keith and Cullen, Conservative) said: "Restructuring and how we work with other local authorities is a must for a sustainable future under the harsh environment the SNP government has put us in.

"Yet still we see no information about this coming through, just further department cuts."

In reply, the council’s leader Graham Leadbitter (Elgin South, SNP) stated that his administration had not had enough time yet in office to oversee the long-term measures he would like to implement.

He said: "I agree the council can’t keep doing the same old thing.

"But there’s a real pressure of time to balance the budget for this coming February.

"I’m afraid that austerity budgeting is a policy of the UK Government.

"Anyone who says otherwise is denying the facts."

It’s a commonly held view in Moray amongst politicians of all persuasions that the area gets less than its fair share of central government funding.

Cllr Leadbitter said he had been involved in talks with representatives from Scotland’s 31 other councils to try persuade them to adjust the formula which determines how the money is distributed.