The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Council tax freeze for city – but warning of big cuts lying in wait
Council tax payers in Dundee will see their bills frozen for a year after councillors agreed the city’s annual budget.
The freeze fixes the band D rate for the second year at £1,379, after additional funding from the Scottish Government.
It came as part of a £373 million spending package which council leader John Alexander billed as “honest, robust and clear” in its intentions to tackle social problems.
However, the opposition Labour group accused the SNP of “raiding” around £778,000 of Scottish Government cash earmarked for the Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership.
The SNP group’s plans included a smaller rise for the body at the heart of social care delivery during the pandemic.
Significant further cuts loom on the local authority’s horizon.
A three-year financial plan contains a further £24m of savings over the next two financial years after the one ahead.
Even greater amounts may yet need to be found to pay for Covid-19 costs from March 2022 onwards, the budget papers warn.
Councillor Willie Sawers, finance spokesman, said: “I am pleased and relieved to be in a position to be able to freeze the council tax this year in recognition of the exceptional challenges that have been faced by both public and household finances in the past 12 months.
“Covid-19 and its aftermath have added to the considerable challenges the city was already tackling but Dundee’s reputation as a well-run, high-performing, awardwinning and ambitious local authority that delivers best value for our communities remains intact.”
ANNUAL BUDGET: From left are Dundee City Council finance spokesman Willie Sawers, leader John Alexander and Labour group leader Councillor Kevin Keenan.
Mr Alexander said: “We have to be mindful of the challenge that is ahead of us and that still gives me cause for concern.”
Labour group leader councillor Kevin Keenan said those on the front line in the fight against coronavirus, working in the health and social care partnership, deserved a greater funding boost.
He said: “Our proposals fundamentally look to support health and social care. We don’t believe we are out of the pandemic.
“We would leave the money in health and social care as we believe there have been a number of issues.”
His colleague, Councillor Michael Marra, recently appointed to new Scottish
Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s “campaign cabinet”, said: “We know there are severe economic consequences yet to come that we will all feel right across these islands and beyond.”
The approved plans include a pay increase for the council’s lowest paid employees, a renewed commitment to building a new Mill of Mains Community Facility and a £60m Craigie/braeview secondary school replacement.
The budget also includes a freeze on burial charges and an extra £1m for mental health, drugs issues and tackling poverty.
Councillors voted down opposition amendments, including more money for the Dundee Health and
Social Care Partnership, town centres and extra street cleaners.
The council expects to have to make overall cuts of £25.5m over the next three years to balance its budget.
The savings target for the coming financial year is £1.35m, with significantly larger savings on the horizon for the remaining two years.
In 2022-23, savings of £8.7m will need to be found while for 2023-24 the cuts total almost doubles to £15.4m.
The local authority’s projected general fund, which must remain uncommitted to protect against future risks, drops to £7.5m.
This is close to the council’s lowest permitted level.
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We have to be mindful of the challenge that is ahead of us and that still gives me cause for concern
Angus Council’s administration secured its spending plans for the year ahead after an ill-tempered marathon budget session.
In a near six-hour virtual meeting, councillors clashed on issues including the controversial £13 million Arbroath active travel plan and a south Angus recycling centre feasibility study.
The Conservative/ Independent ruling group had previously revealed plans including a council tax freeze and the suspension of parking charges until the end of the current administration.
And while the respective administration and opposition budgets were broadly similar, arguments raged during the debate.
The 15-12 passage for the administration’s plans will see uncommitted reserves used to fill the £3m funding gap the council was facing after efforts to tackle an £11m deficit in the £288m spending proposals.
Finance spokesman Angus Macmillan Douglas said: “This has been a difficult year for so many people due to Covid-19.
“Overall, the council has done brilliantly in maintaining its services to the citizens of Angus and introducing and managing additional humanitarian services that have provided real value for so many.
“When facing this pandemic, we have been fortunate in that Angus Council went into it in a stronger financial position than many other councils.
“This approach allowed us to build up reserves for a rainy day.
“The pandemic has given us all a rainy year, so we feel justified in using the money in this way,” said Mr Macmillan Douglas.
He suggested Angus was funded at a level of around £61 per head short of the Scottish average.
“If we were only funded at the Scottish average level we would be receiving an extra £7m for this next year.
“This consistent underfunding is very disappointing to say the least,” he added.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “In 2021-22, Angus Council will receive a total funding package of £237.9m to support local services, which includes an extra £6.7m to support vital dayto-day services, equivalent to an increase of 3.1% compared to 2020-21.”
The finance spokesman highlighted areas including the £25.5m Angus fund in the Tay Cities Deal, ambitious plans for Montrose and 37% rate of council contracts being serviced by local suppliers as good news for the area.
A permanent investment of more than £600,000 in children and families provision was a feature of both budgets.
But the ruling group was accused of “pulling a rabbit from the hat” over plans for an extra £1m for roads maintenance – trumping an SNP group spending plan of £800,000.
SNP group leader Lynne Devine said: “For the second year running we have seen rabbits pulled from hats.
“This is sleekit. They have looked at our proposals and have chosen to do that out of reserves.
“It doesn’t give me a good feeling,” she said.
New projects in the council’s capital plan include a £140,000 replacement boundary fence at Sandy Sensations in Carnoustie, £120,000 for Arbroath harbour protection; £285,000 for reservoir infrastructure repairs and a near £400,000 vehicle replacement programme investment.
Approval of the main budget was followed by further controversy around an amendment by Sidlaws SNP councillor Sheila Hands, who proposed a £500,000 contribution from the council’s Covid contingency fund for two projects to help lookedafter children (£300,000) and a community resilience fund (£200,000).
It led to administration figures accusing the SNP group of springing a budget surprise, five hours on from the coalition coming under fire over its roads spending plans for a similar reason.
Ms Hands’s motion was defeated, but councillors were told the main budget proposals already included reference to further reports coming forward on the distribution of any future Covid support monies.