War of words on Letham funding
Councillors row over cash cuts
A Perth City North representative has criticised a fellow ward councillor for voting to remove almost £2million of funding from a project in Letham.
Conservative councillor Harry Coates has come under fire from Councillor Dave Doogan, who heads up the SNP party at Perth and Kinross Council, after a meeting of Letham4All last week.
At the meeting, the group of community activists discussed their plans to create a wellbeing hub in the Letham centre, despite the council removing nearly £2m of funding.
Cllr Coates, who also represents Letham, voted by the Tory line to agree this funding cut.
Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Doogan said: “I have never seen a performance like this from a sitting councillor of any party.
“First of all, when pressed Cllr Coates tried to blame the Scottish Government’s budget settlement to Perth and Kinross Council which he claimed was reduced when, in fact, the council received a larger settlement for 2018/19.
“Then Cllr Coates went on to claim that a new build Perth High School, which the Tories have diverted Letham’s £2m towards, will be a great thing for kids in Letham, revealing that Councillor Coates has no idea that not one of the four primary schools in his ward feed into Perth High School.
“But it was his admission that he was powerless within the Tory group on the council to get this cut withdrawn before the vote, and his decision then to meekly vote for the direct transfer of £2m of investment out of Letham, that is truly shocking.”
He added: “In failing to defend this cash grab Cllr Coates has revealed that he had no hesitation in ignoring the interests of his constituents in order to tow the Tory party line.”
However, Conservative Cllr Coates has defended his decision on the funding.
The Perth City North representative said: “I was pleased to attend the Letham 4 All meeting and the Scottish Conservative-led administration of Perth and Kinross Council has committed to working with the community in Letham to deliver facilities.
“The recent capital budget process was a challenging one and I stand by my comment that local authorities are under continued pressure with real terms year-on-year reductions to our finances from the SNP Scottish Government and growing pressures on our services. The projects proposed by Letham4All require the council to work with the NHS and other partners to ensure that we deliver the right services for communities – not just now, but in the future too.
“Cllr Doogan sat through the meeting and never once mentioned that the budget proposal he submitted in his own name would have cut nearly three quarters of a million pounds from the project.”
He continued: “The cost of building a new Perth High School has to be funded by the council as there is no support coming from the Scottish Government to help us fund this school which needs replaced.
“What the SNP proposed at the budget was increasing borrowing to fund projects – that however needs to be financed and it was our concern that would lead to potential cuts to day-to-day front line services such as teachers and social works that meant we had to take a full look at the projects we were financing.
“Rather than launching personal attacks on me, Cllr Doogan would be better served in working with other councillors to ensure that we challenge the Scottish Government on their cuts to our NHS, as seen with the recent announcement on A&E at PRI and cuts to council budgets.”