Watchdogs urged to help stop Highland Council counter closures
Community councils in the Highlands have been urged to ramp up the pressure on their local SNP, Liberal Democrat and Labour representatives, ahead of a crunch decision on Highland service points.
Every community council in the region has been encouraged by opposition leader Carolyn Wilson to fight the controversial proposals tabled by Highland Council.
The Nationalist/Lib Dem and Labour administration wants to shut 23 counters in a bid to save £160,000 in the wake of falling public demand and footfall.
The surprise move has sparked uproar as it would see almost two-thirds of the network shut. Service points are regarded as the public face of the local authority with people using them to apply for council housing, benefits, pay Council Tax and register births, deaths and marriages.
Councillors will vote on the cost-cutting proposal at Wednesday’s finance, housing and resources committee on Wednesday (26.2).
Councillor Wilson, the Independent group leader, has e-mailed community councils because of the "drastic" impact the closures would have and urged them to lobby their councillors who are coalition members.
But committee chairman Dave Fallows has himself written to the community councillors and defended the move. The SNP councillor said the cash saved would make it easier for residents to use services by phone, online and in person.
In her e-mail, Councillor Wilson said the administration was eroding and centralising key services.
"We are asking for your help to fight this and urge you to contact the members of the council who represent your area to make them aware of the implications for all those we represent," writes Councillor Wilson. "This must be one of the most important decisions we will be asked to make, we need your help to stop this."
Councillor Fallows accepted it had sparked public controversy but said the Independent group had supported a £160,000 saving in the customer service department at a budget-setting meeting last year.
"On Wednesday, the finance, housing and resources committee will be asked to begin the process of upgrading how the council provides services across the Highlands," he writes. "Residents’ expectations of how they can engage with the council have changed and our services need to change to reflect that."
Overturning the coalition’s closure programme could be tough for the Independent group on Wednesday as there are 13 coalition members on the 22-strong committee compared to its nine representatives.
However, it could be a close vote as two coalition councillors who are committee members have publicly criticised the service point closures and others have privately claimed they were unhappy about the lack of detail provided on the closures by the leadership.
The SNP’s Bill Lobban (Badenoch and Strathspey) said it was "ill-thought out" and questioned the business case while Labour’s Deirdre Mackay (Edderton and East Sutherland) said there would be a "hidden" impact on communities.
