School support staff jobs axe fears
Council tax in East Renfrewshire will rise by six per cent as part of plans to plug an £18million black hole in the budget, which is likely to see school support jobs cut.
Labour’s Owen O’Donnell, the council leader, pledged there will be no compulsory redundancies as a result of the 2023 to 2024 budget – adding“fewer than 50” jobs would be lost.
However, savings totalling £4.1m will be made to help balance the books, with a voluntary redundancy programme for school librarians, bilingual assistants and technicians.
Winter maintenance, roads management and street light replacement budgets will be slashed to save over £500,000.
A large chunk of the budget gap will be covered by the‘reprofiling’ of PFI payments – deals which saw private sector investment in public projects, including schools and roads.
The costs will be spread over 50 years rather than 25. This approach will see the council use £7.5m of a “one-off benefit”of £14.8m this year as well as a £2.7m recurring saving, reducing the shortfall by £10.2m.
East Renfrewshire’s SNP group put forward budget plans, which kept the council tax rise to 5.5 per cent, used £10.7m of the reserves available due to the PFI changes and reduced the amount of savings to just over £3m.
It also planned to use £943,000 to“step back” from some of the worst cuts due to“leeway” provided by East Renfrewshire’s share of the Scottish Government’s extra £100m for councils.
Councillor O’Donnell said this money was “ring-fenced”for“pay awards”.
The SNP amendment, supported by councillor David Macdonald, independent, was voted down by 11 votes to seven – with the Conservatives backing Labour’s proposals.
Officials had set out £4.7m of savings, which could be taken, but the minority Labour administration, which includes independent councillor Danny Devlin, chose not to slash the number of behaviour support assistants in secondary schools.
They also held back from removing funding for campus police officers.
Funds will be brought in through an increased garden waste collection charge, which will rise to £50 to collect an estimated extra £230,000.
Burial charges will also increase to bring in £50,000 while new electric vehicle charging fees are set to raise £52,000.
Councillor O’Donnell said outlining cuts as a result of an“unfair funding settlement”from the Scottish Government gave him“no pleasure”.
The council is facing “rising energy costs and high inflation”but received“barely any extra cash on a like-for-like basis from the Scottish Government to fund our services”, he said.
It has been awarded £233.1m for 2023-2024 which, Councillor O’Donnell said, after ring-fenced funding for national initiatives and a bigger rates bill for council buildings, works out as just £800,000 more than last year.
He said the council tax rise, which means a
Band D household will pay £1415.22 in 2023 to 2024 – an annual increase of £80.11 – will“reduce the level of cuts required”.
Councillor O’Donnell added: “We do not want to make these cuts but we must take these difficult decisions to meet the legal requirements to balance our books.”
He warned that, without more funding from the Scottish Government, “further severe cuts”will be needed in future.
The council leader said capital investment will see a £3m per year road resurfacing programme increased to £3.5m and extended over another five years. Plans also include the opening of a Neilston learning campus.
The SNP’s budget would have prevented cuts to school staff and the roads management budget.
CouncillorTony Buchanan, the SNP group leader, said its budget took“out all of the staff cuts just about”and proposed a 5.5 per cent council tax rise as the cost-of-living crisis is“an ongoing problem”.
Councillor Buchanan added proposals were “costed”and“deliverable”.
He added:“We listen to our residents but, crucially, we also deliver and have a track record of delivering for our residents over the last number of years.”
Councillor Caroline Bamforth, SNP, added council cash issues were due to“underfunding”by the UK Government and “high interest rates mainly driven by the appalling mismanagement of the economy by the Tory government”.
Councillor Gordon Wallace, Conservative, said he had entered budget talks with“a mindset of responsible opposition”.
He believed the administration plan “clearly shows the concerns we voiced have been listened to”and accused the SNP of “squandering one-off benefits”from the PFI reprofiling.
Councillor O’Donnell had said the Labour group had chosen to“spread the benefit over the following two years”.
Andrew Morrison, Conservative councillor, said he thought more savings“could be obtained whilst maintaining frontline services”but“compromise is necessary in minority government”.
Councillor Macdonald, independent, added the council was currently “quite tribal”and urged Councillor O’Donnell to negotiate a“constructive” future for East Renfrewshire with the SNP group.
The council leader said the SNP group had been offered opportunities to talk about the proposals but withdrew from a budget strategy group.
He added the SNP’s proposals had taken a “short-term view”and counting on money “specifically ring-fenced for pay awards”was “irresponsible.”
Councillors approved future savings of just over £2m for 2024 to 2025 to allow preparatory work to begin. Work will also be carried out on a number of potential cuts, including to janitorial and cleansing services in schools.