War of words over cuts to vital services
Tory MSP claims council is dipping into reserves
Jack Thomson Local Democracy Reporter
Renfrewshire Council’s leader has hit back at claims from a Conservative politician that the local authority is dipping into reserves to fund public services.
West Scotland MSP Maurice Golden expressed concerns the administration was running a budget deficit close to £ 5 million and said it was expected to slash vital funding for roads and the environment.
He said: “It is extremely worrying that SNP Government cuts are resulting in Renfrewshire Council running up a deficit of close to £5 million and having to use their reserves.
“With £131 being cut for every man, woman and child in Renfrewshire in the last five years, the SNP are hitting vital services in Renfrewshire hard.
“The SNP Government’s own figures show that Renfrewshire council is expected to cut their roads budget by over 10 per cent at a time when our roads need urgent repairs to make them fit for purpose.
“Rather than forcing councils to use their reserves to pay for everyday services, the SNP Government should be supporting them when it comes to setting budgets.”
However, council leader Iain Nicolson rejected Mr Golden’s comments as “inaccurate” and “not true”.
The SNP man said: “It is not true to say we are running a £5 million budget deficit and it is inaccurate to suggest we are dipping into our reserves to fund services.
“What we have done is invest money into services which had already been set aside and earmarked for spending as part of our medium-term financial planning.
“It is also not true to say Renfrewshire Council is cutting funding for roads. In fact the opposite is the case – this year we announced the biggest ever single-year investment in Renfrewshire’s roads.
“For 2018/19 we topped up the core roads budget by £4million to give a total capital investment of £ 7.2million for Renfrewshire’s roads and footpaths – and that programme of resurfacing and other maintenance is already well under way.”
Meanwhile, the Scottish Government insisted it was supporting local authorities and treating them fairly.
A spokesman said: “Despite continued UK Government real- terms cuts to Scotland’s resource budget, we have treated local government very fairly.
“Renfrewshire Council will receive £ 327.8 million in local government funding in 2018/19.
“Taken together with the council’s decision to increase council tax by three per cent, Renfrewshire Council will have an additional £11.3 million to support day-to-day services compared to 2017/18.
“In 2018/ 19, councils will receive funding through the local government finance settlement of £10.7 billion.
“This will provide a real terms boost in both revenue and capital funding.
“Local authorities must use their resources as efficiently as possible and deliver services effectively to ensure taxpayers get the best possible value.”