NLC savings

Monklands residents are being asked for their views on suggested council cuts as North Lanarkshire seeks £8.2 million in savings from frontline services to address its £21.8m budget gap for the year ahead.

The measures which could be put forward in next month’s budget include bringing in car parking charges, reducing cleaning and janitorial cover at schools and reviewing their support staff, plus charging for special uplifts.

Councillors will also consider reducing the fee paid to Culture NL and North Lanarkshire Leisure – which could in turn result in the closure of up to three Monklands community centres and Kirkwood sports barn, plus a cut in hours at John Smith pool.

Also among the options is a review and redesignation of sheltered housing, the closure of Kilbowie outdoor education centre, and the end of Airdrie and Coatbridge’s annual fireworks displays.

The savings sums assume that councillors will exercise their option to increase council tax by three per cent – which would take the area’s annual Band D bill to £1130 – to generate nearly £4m of additional revenue.

Efficiency adjustments which do not impact frontline services, totalling £9.7m, have already been agreed – leaving the remaining required figure of £8.2m to find to balance the 2018-2019 budget.

The council’s public consultation on the potential savings, which have been identified by the council’s senior management team, is now underway and runs until February 7.

North Lanarkshire chief executive Paul Jukes said: “Like other councils in Scotland, we are facing challenging times ahead and are being forced to make some tough decisions on public spending.

“We provide services to almost 340,000 people including education, housing, social care, waste management and leisure.

“Funding from the government comprises 80 per cent of the council budget, so any change to the settlement can deeply impact on how we deliver services.”

He added: “We simply cannot make the further savings of over £8 million unless we make changes to how we deliver services and increase income.

“Senior officers have been working hard to come up with options that can help save millions but we would like people’s voices to be heard before any decisions are made.

“It’s important to understand that, at this stage, these are simply options. They’re not firm proposals or decisions and have been developed by officers; no politicians have been involved in bringing these forward.

“But councillors will have to make final