‘Sleepwalking’ to more cuts

Sir, MSPs are complaining that, due to the late autumn statement by the UK’s Chancellor Philip Hammond they will only have 15 weeks for scrutiny of the 2017 Scottish draft budget.

Under the Liberal Democrat-Conservative-Independent administration at Argyll and Bute Council we are lucky to get 15 minutes for scrutiny before the provost requires amendments.

The advice from Audit Scotland ‘to facilitate more transparent scrutiny of budgets, members should consider circulating proposals for significant changes to the budgeting pack in advance of the council meeting, ideally with agenda papers’, is ignored.

The SNP always published its budget four weeks ahead of the budget meeting to allow for proper scrutiny and to try to reach consensus.

The £10m of administration cuts this year are now starting to bite.

The administration took more than a year to decide its cuts but was still unable to control its overspending and had to be bailed out by an extra £1.7m of cuts secretly provided by the chief executive.

In contrast, the SNP amendment balanced the budget without management help, retained an extra £1.4m in education and protected more jobs.

With only four months to go before the budget meeting in February, the administration has put no plan to the council to deal with its forecast overspend next year.

The council leader has stated the projected overspend next year could be even greater than the £10.5m forecast by council officers.

The administration at Argyll and Bute Council is sleepwalking to another panic round of savage and thoughtless cuts to council services.

It is reckless and irresponsible of the administration not to put forward any plans to deal with its overspend next year and to reject SNP proposals to take forward a budget process.

The SNP approach would have been inclusive and transparent but the administration prefers to stick its collective head in the sand and operate in secrecy.

The behaviour of the administration will no doubt require further intervention from Audit Scotland and the Accounts Commission but it is the people of Argyll and Bute who will continue to suffer for the failures of the current council administration.

Councillor James Robb.