Moray Council services will be cut again

A REPORT from Scotland’s national watchdog for local government confirms budgets are straining to keep pace with demand.

Most of Scotland’s 32 councils, including Moray Council, are increasingly relying on money from reserves to keep up with demand for services and balance their budgets, but the Accounts Commission points out that the financial pressures are likely to get worse.

Chairman of the Accounts Commission, Graham Sharp, confirmed demand for services continues to grow, funding for councils from the Scottish Government has reduced by 7.6 per cent since 2013/14 and is forecast to reduce further.

Mr Sharp, said: "We urgently need much faster progress in the reform of our health and social care services. The current position is increasingly unsustainable.

"There’s a need for councils to continue rethinking how they deliver services, as well as look at ways to increase their income. For some councils in Scotland, finding ways to do this is getting more and more difficult as their current income doesn’t match demand."

Demand for services continues to grow, funding for councils from the Scottish Government has reduced by 7.6 per cent since 2013/14 and is forecast to reduce further.

Last February Moray Council agreed on its 2019/20 budget which featured £2million of savings through extensive cuts to services.

The Conservative Westminster Government will announce its budget in mid-February, informing the Scottish Government how much it will receive through the Barnett Formula for financial year 2020-21.

Once the Scottish Government has put forward its budget proposals, the 32 councils will know what their government grants are.

Local councillor George Alexander assumes the settlement will be the same as last year at best.

He said: "Moray Council must set the rate of Council Tax in early March at the latest so that the new bills can be issued before the end of the present financial year, so we will need to know before that whether the Scottish Government is applying the same restrictions to any increases.

"The councillors will do very well to get the final budget proposals approved before the end of March."

It is advised that local authorities should start the financial year with at least a sum equivalent to 2.5 per cent of the revenue budget as a reserve for emergencies.

Cllr Alexander explained: "At the moment we have just over £12million in reserves and the minimum advised for the Moray Council is £5million. That means we only have just over £7million available from reserves which could be used to help balance the budget for 2020-21.

"If that is a choice that councillors make, then that means there is nothing available to help balance the budget for 2021-22 from reserves, so that amount of savings would have to be found for that year."

He added: "We councillors are legally obliged to produce a balanced budget every year but this task has become increasingly difficult mainly due to decisions made at Westminster and Scottish Government level.

"If there is to be no improvement in local government financing from central governments then local councils will have to make changes to their way of working.

"Who knows, maybe councillors will have to reconsider whether Moray, with a population of less than 100,000 can afford to continue to subsidise five swimming pools and a leisure centre.

"Councillors may at last be forced to reconsider the cost to the taxpayer and to the quality of our education provision of having too many primary schools and eight secondary schools which struggle to provide a full curriculum."

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