Council could receive grant settlement

South Lanarkshire Council hope to hear in the next few days their grant settlement from the Scottish Government.

The local authority must make cuts of over £22million to balance the books for 2016/17.

Councillors are due to discuss the budget proposals at an executive meeting today, Wednesday, December 14.

But the Reformer understands the item is likely to be continued until the grant settlement is concluded.

Officers believe that could be as early as this week.

A savings package was originally put to councillors last month. They included the potential loss of 282 posts.

Speaking after the cuts package was revealed, council leader Eddie McAvoy said he expected the Scottish Government to cut their grant from last year.

He added:“The proposals going before the executive committee have been developed by council officers based on the potential savings we might be forced to make.

“These are just options at the moment but we are legally obliged to balance our budget, so if any proposals in the package are rejected we need to find other ways to save the money.

“Councillors will ultimately have to make those tough decisions but I want local people to let us know what they think too.”

The £22.64m savings have been reduced from the £35m first estimated as the council have utilised the £3.5m underspend from 2015/16, £1.5m in reserves and taken £4m from the capital fund/capital receipts reserve. Increased income from council tax has also generated an additional £1m.

The council must set their budget by March 11.