Clash over the budget

Parties disagree on terms

The leader of South Lanarkshire Council has welcomed the Scottish Government’s draft budget, despite the authority still facing millions in cuts.

John Ross, of the SNP, said the settlement from Holyrood could stave off some of the £23m of savings his minority administration need to make to balance the books in 2018/19.

As part of the Scottish Government’s budget, finance secretary Derek Mackay announced the settlement for local authorities.

South Lanarkshire Council will be allocated a block grant of £568m, with a possible £4.2m of income available from a three per cent rise in council tax.

A final decision on proposed cuts was postponed at a meeting of the council’s executive committee until January pending the announcement of the settlement from Holyrood.

While council leader Ross hailed the government’s budget as “good news” for the people of South Lanarkshire, opposition parties say front-line services are still at risk, with a £157m cut in real terms to local authorities.

Mr Ross said: “I am awaiting a full analysis by council officers of what the budget will mean for local authorities, but my initial impression is that the Scottish Government has made it possible for us to reduce our need to find savings in next year’s budget.

“This would be hugely welcome and would allow councillors to look again at some of the proposals put forward by officers when they were working on early assumptions.”

South Lanarkshire Labour leader Davie Mclachlan, however, said that the budget would still mean savage cuts. He said: “The real-term cut to councils’ budgets throughout Scotland will mean South Lanarkshire Council will still need to cut millions of pounds out of the budget, on top of the over £100 million in the past 10 years.

“This budget will be no comfort to the people of South Lanarkshire, who will lose out on vital services that are essential to their everyday lives.

“Where on the face of things the increase in public sector pay is a win for the council’s staff and constituents, it has not been made clear by the government how this will be paid for. It looks like the SNP are expecting the councils to foot the bill, adding to the millions of pounds they are expecting the councils to cut from front-line services.

“Councillors from the South Lanarkshire Labour Group joined trade unions outside Parliament on Thursday to campaign for a fairer deal for Scottish councils.

“I will call for John Ross, the leader of the Snp-led South Lanarkshire Council, to join us in standing up for our constituents and demand a better deal from his Government for the people of South Lanarkshire.”

I am awaiting a full analysis