Big chance to have your say on council spending

Which areas should be protected... or face cuts?

North Lanarkshire residents are being asked for their views on which council services should be prioritised and which could be reduced in a pre-budget consultation process.

The local authority is carrying out a survey and will run a series of online “listening events” over the next two weeks, where elected members and local authority staff will “discuss the important decisions facing the council on local services”.

Residents completing the survey are asked which council services they most value and should be considered priorities and how communities can be involved in shaping these.

Participants are also asked if there are “any services the council could reduce or stop providing”; and about the importance of accessibility, cost, service standards and variety in making use of culture and sports facilities.

The online consultation states: “North Lanarkshire Council is seeking views from our communities in relation to the budget-setting process for 2022/23; information gained from the survey will be used to inform the budget spend for the next year.

“Councils can only make savings from unprotected areas of the budget. Ringfencing, national policy initiatives and protection to areas such as education, health and social care mean that more savings must be delivered from the nonprotected areas, which are continuing to reduce over time.

“We are very keen to find out your views in relation to the budget and want to know what you think our priorities should be – community participation is crucial and we want to involve as many local people and organisations as possible.”

Council leader Jim Logue said: “The opinions of residents are important to us and we would like to hear their views on what services people value most, their priorities for delivering [these] – and what services we could reduce or stop providing.

“We also want to discuss how best our communities can work with public services to support delivery, so I hope people will join one of our events to take part in the discussions and help shape future services for North Lanarkshire.”

All of the online events, taking place during the next two weeks, will be hosted on Microsoft Teams and run from 6.30pm to 8.30pm on Microsoft Teams.

There were two separate events for the communities of Airdrie and Kilsyth yesterday; Wishaw and Northern Corridor residents can both have their say today; events for Coatbridge and Shotts run tomorrow; followed by Motherwell next Tuesday, November 2, and Cumbernauld next Thursday.

Anyone wishing to register to attend is asked to email Communitymatters@northlan.gov.uk with details of their contact information, chosen event and any communication support needed to take part. Those registering will then be sent a joining link and relevant papers, while the survey can be completed online at http://www.surveymonkey.CO.UK/R/WFKSSXW

have your say Council leader Jim Logue says “the opinions of residents are important to us”