Residents ‘willing to pay more’

More than half of Argyll and Bute’s residents would be willing to pay more for collections of bulky waste, according to a council survey.

And nearly half think commercial waste services are worth paying more for, writes Ellis Butcher.

These are two of the findings from a consultation on Argyll and Bute Council’s service provision, carried out in late 2020 as part of the authority’s annual budget-setting process.

Around 1,100 people took part with more than 40 per cent saying they’d be prepared to pay more for parking permits, while just under a third would pay extra for car parking.

Community involvement was also mentioned during the consultation as a way of delivering statutory services differently.

The findings were revealed in a report that went to the council’s policy and resources committee at its virtual meeting on Thursday February 18.

Council executive director Kirsty Flanagan said: ‘While we received feedback specific to the topics covered, this overall reference emerged: rather than cut services, find different ways of working or delivering them, to make them sustainable.

‘Recurring suggestions for how the council might do this were efficiency savings, a campaign for more funding for the council, introduce or increase charges and support communities to get involved in delivering services that matter to them. Charging and involving communities more received some objection as well as support. Main concerns about charging were about the level of charges and the impact on low income residents. Main objections to community involvement were about expectations of what paying council tax should make possible.’

Efficiency savings already identified include reducing management/councillor costs, reviewing how services are delivered, using technology and reducing the council’s energy costs.

Data shown further down the report reveals the results of a question on which services residents would pay more for.

Bulk waste uplift attracted 55 per cent of votes, while commercial waste services got 47 per cent. Those were the two most popular.

Respondents to the consultation were also asked whether the council should introduce charges for other services if possible if it meant avoiding a reduction or end to another service. A total of 58 per cent of respondents said yes, 26 per cent said no and 16 per cent did not know.