Support needed

Senior South Lanarkshire councillors are warning of tough times ahead after the cost of coronavirus was laid bare.

The leaders of the council’s political groups are all looking to the governments at Westminster and Holyrood to continue their monetary support given to councils over the past five months.

SNP council leader John Ross said: “COVID-19 costs to the council are in excess of £6m and after government funding will still leave a shortfall of £37m.

“This will have consequences not just for this year but in years to come, too.

“I am extremely concerned that without the means to fund this additional expenditure, the effects on service delivery both for this year and in future years will be challenging.

“COSLA, the Scottish Government and our officers are doing all within our powers to support public services.

“However, our powers are limited and although funding from the UK Government is welcome, they must do more to stimulate the economy if we are to recover from this recession.”

Leader of the Conservative group, Councillor Alex Allison, said the COVID-19 pandemic had“hit everyone hard,”with the council is no exception.

He added:“The revenue budget report clearly shows the impact the crisis has had, however, unprecedented funding from the UK government has reduced the loss to South Lanarkshire Council in the current year from £75m to £29m at the time of this report.

“This is on top of many schemes that have been put in place, such as the furlough scheme which has supported 48,000 individuals in South Lanarkshire, alongside grants and loans to businesses and self-employed.”

Labour group leader Councillor Joe Fagan estimated the cost of COVID would be“enormous”and, without government intervention, all councils will be facing unthinkable cuts.

He said:“Local people have already endured a decade of austerity and it is not to fair to heap the costs of another crisis onto their services and communities.

“Costs of this pandemic should be fairly spread across society, with frontline services protected to the fullest extent possible.

“We believe that, as a minimum, the Scottish Government should fully fund social care mobilisation as promised, help councils replace lost income and provide emergency support”

Liberal Democrats group leader Councillor Robert Brown added: “Enormous amounts have been spent by local councils to get communities through lockdown and the ongoing crisis.

“Both the Scottish and UK governments made promises they need to honour.

“It is vital that national government refund councils the money they have spent protecting vulnerable people and delivering on the commitments made by ministers in Edinburgh and London.

“If they backtrack on their promises and fail to refund councils it will have a devastating impact on crucial local services.

“Government also needs to use its powers to quarantine the Covid debt.”