Very good news for the longstanding football tradition in Campbeltown – Continue reading
Tag Archives: budget
The local pay rates debate
The issue of regional rather than national public sector pay rates – likely Continue reading
Opposition evaluations of three year council budget
With the May local authority elections on the near horizon, this was always going to be a goodie-bag budget Continue reading
2012-2015 budget: the Argyll First evaluation
Argyll First is of the opinion that this was an electioneering budget by the most unpopular administration ever to hold office in Argyll & Bute Council.
The Leader of the Council had received numerous requests from Councillor Philand prior to ‘budget day’ asking for a copy of the final budget proposals. Unfortunately this request was denied.
Ironically, at 10.15am it was brought to our attention that the Leader of the Council, accompanied by the Deputy Leader and Councillor Mulvaney, were pictured in the Helensburgh Advertiser highlighting some of the confirmed budget proposals. This is totally unacceptable.
At 11.00am we attended the Council Chamber where we sat for approximately 2 hours listening to the Leader and the Administration delivering three protracted repetitive speeches.
Having been previously denied prior knowledge of the final content, we requested an adjournment to allow us time to fully consider the final budget proposals. However this request was denied.
The only way we could obtain an adjournment was to support an amendment put forward by Councillor George Freeman and seconded by Councillor Robert McIntyre. The Provost thereafter agreed to an adjournment.
The main emphasis on the key points of the budget was in effect to borrow more money to support additional investment in roads and education.
All things considered, the budget that Councillor Walsh put forward was probably as good as we could expect at this time.
However, during the course of the debate, some members of the administration, in our opinion, tried every trick in the book to wind the opposition up in an attempt to get us to vote against the budget (for political purposes).
We were perceptive enough to see through this ploy.
We are determined to change the way in which the budget is presented to the council (the current cloak and dagger method has to go!).
Councillor Walsh was, in our opinion, astute enough to make most of the hard hitting cuts last year, thereby enabling him to put forward a more attractive pre-election budget .
We maintain that the budget process should be open and transparent and that all proposals (good or bad) should be put on the table for all councillors to scrutinise for an appropriate period of time before budget day.
This will be one of many proposals we intend to put forward to the new administration after May’s elections in an ongoing attempt to create true democracy within Argyll & Bute Council.
Argyll First 19th February 2012
2012-2015 budget: the non-aligned evaluation
Thirty minutes was all the Administration allowed for scrutiny of their budget. With its majority it might as well have been 30 seconds for there was never a doubt that the budget would be adopted unaltered whatever any opposition councillor said. However, it underlined how adverse this Administration is to proper scrutiny.
I took the view that having several alternative budgets was an absolute waste of officers’ time for, as the Council Leader acknowledged, large numbers of people have worked on the budget for the last six months.
I hoped that the collaborative approach of previous years would continue as the best way forward. The Council Leader refused all approaches to getting a consensual budget that could be supported unanimously.
Two things were obvious from this – it was going to be give-away election budget and it was going to be personal.
The established practice since I have been a councillor is for a reasonable adjournment in proceedings after the budget motion has been tabled, to allow for opposition scrutiny of any last minute changes.
The Administration departed from custom and practice and insisted that an instant amendment be tabled before any adjournment.
I had prepared a competent amendment to support my campaign for funding for the Helensburgh Leisure facility. In the event, that was incorporated into the amendment tabled by the Opposition Leader to ensure an adjournment for scrutiny. I was pleased that Administration councillors recanted on their previous untenable position that there was no funding available for this new facility for a decade.
It was difficult to oppose such largesse from the Administration. In an election year suggestions on prudence and longer term financial planning get short shrift.
There will be much publicity about the Council spending plans so I would bring attention to how this was all funded. The three sources that made this such an easy budget were:
- There was an extra £12.8m from the Scottish Government through Supporting People funding replacing funding previously given away by the Council Leader at COSLA. This was incorporated into the draft budget and accounts for the net revenue budget surplus of £4.454m.
- A reserve designed to offset rising payments in future years to existing schools and waste management PPP (Ed: a form of the notoriously expensive Public Private Partnership funding device) projects had accumulated £14.6m. The budget spent £12.5m of this and took ring-fencing off the rest. The best parallel to this action is that of companies in the 1980’s who spent accumulated pension reserves only to face financial difficulties or failures later as economic conditions changed.
- The sale of Council assets in Helensburgh, including the former Hermitage Academy site, the pier head site, Blairvadach House and other surplus properties and assets. In total these could conservatively realise around £20-£30m. There will be uproar in Helensburgh when it becomes apparent that the capital receipts from the sale of the town’s assets (some held in Common Good) are winging their way to Kilmory.
Overall, the budget was not prudent and saw a massive conversion of assets and revenue into capital spending.
It is important to recognise the ambition of the budget but also to realise the increased financial risks to the Council it brings.
I think it is generally recognised that this is a budget that will require significant modification post the election, despite the predictable protestations now.
Whoever forms the next Administration will face a difficult task to deliver all the election promises but it will require a more stable and sustainable solution than this short-term election fix.
James Robb, non-aligned opposition councillor
2012-2015 budget: the SNP evaluation
This budget was good for the people of Argyll and Bute today – but lacks foresight for tomorrow.
The towns will have huge capital spending – and per head of population there is much more Argyll and Bute Council funding to be spent in the south than the north. There are also appalling failures to take real concerns about long-term employment and investment.
However, overall and with huge reservations, the majority of SNP Councillors were able to support spending that will make an incredible difference to everyday life in the short term.
It must be noted that the budget was made possible thanks to the hard work of constituency councillors and the support of the Scottish Government. And brought to you by spending cash that was put aside to use to make all of our futures secure.
Draft proposals for the budget were disappointing, but over the last two weeks we have lobbied hard to make sure the council heard the priorities of the people of Argyll and Bute, and they listened.
These proposals stand us in good stead for taking over the administration in May as they are in line with some of the priorities in our manifesto.
Roads and education have always been our agenda and we are pleased that the administration finally agree with this, by making provisions for these vital assets of the authority. However most of the school’s on the Liberal Independent Tory closure list are not. As Councillor Morton said – ‘we wanted to invest in our town schools’. This leaves a huge gap in the budget for rural schools. Achaleven, in Oban, due to open back up in August, wasn’t even included on the list.
Councillor Walsh, in his long lists of well-deserved thank yous speech, forgot to mention that his biggest benefactor was the Scottish Government who will be giving the local authority many millions to deliver their budget.
n fact the only project he brought forward in Oban will be fully funded by the Scottish Government, as will, to a lesser extent, the budgets for projects in Campbeltown and Dunoon.
Many of the priorities and achievement in this administration have been made possible because of partnership working with the Scottish Government. The SNP group in Kilmory is working with our colleagues in The Scottish Parliament to ensure that things are getting done.
It is great news, that thanks to Holyrood, that we will get cash for our schools and funding for all those things that are vitally important to make us resilient in the coming months and years.
There is no doubt that the legacy of the SNP in this dying council is that schools are improved and remain open, savings that we insisted on five years ago have grown – just in time to be used on this the rainy days. For example without a Scottish Government bail out last year this authority would be, by their own admission, in trouble now.
We are delighted that roads, schools and youth employment which are key priorities for the Scottish Government have been addressed in the council’s budget.
However there are concerns that there may be a bit of ‘wizardry’ on the figures.
Spending a pot of savings on election sweeteners for Helensburgh will undoubtedly come back to haunt the next administration.
There are of course huge projects missing that will be identified in the SNP’s manifesto. Projects that are fundamental to the future infrastructure and sustainability of our people.
Year after year council leader Cllr Walsh brings a whole pile of promises forward on budget day and it is only through time we see the harsh realities of reckless promises.
We will now begin our scrutiny of every detail. it is only then that we will see what will have to be broken in order to deliver these plans. it is such a shame we have to work like this but sadly in the last few years major changes have been sneaked through. For example the loss of school cooks, graveyard staff, bus services, primary schools, care for people who are disabled, elderly, all coming forward without any real consultation.
Without any presentation this year by officers on the detail of the budget and absolutely no time given for debate, Councillor Walsh’s proposals had an easy ride though the Council but the consequences of where he has taken the funding from and lack of any foresight with making allowances for inflation could cost us all dear.
There is now a need for close scrutiny of how these proposals are implemented. However, in a council which runs away from any scrutiny or any value for money information this may be very difficult.
Councillor Robert Macintyre, SNP group leader
2012-2015 budget: Argyll and Bute Independent Councillors evaluation
Along with other opposition group leaders, I met with Councillor Dick Walsh and Councillor Ellen Morton on the Monday before the Council budget meeting to discuss their budget proposals. When they were asked if they would provide us with details of the budget that the ConDemAll administration was proposing in an attempt to try and produce a budget that all councillors could support, they refused.
During that meeting a number of issues were raised. I asked if funding was being allocated to the proposed new swimming pool and leisure facility in Helensburgh. Although they would not say, I was asked if I would cut funding from social work service, roads or education to pay for it.
I have been banging the table for some time now on this issue and had already told local administration members that it was totally unacceptable that they was not allocating funding from the Capital Programme to pay for this facility.
Although I am glad that they have listened to me, I am concerned that they have only allocated £7.5 million net for a project that requires over £10 million. It appears that they are only going to give us a second rate facility or they are still forcing us to sell local assets to bridge the funding gap. It is unfortunate that they are not being open by telling us what the total cost will be and where the remainder of the money is coming from.
Although I made it clear that I welcomed many of the proposals within the administration’s budget, I am seriously concerned that they are now robbing the NPDO Schools and Waste PPP smoothing fund of £12.5 million to pay for many of their proposals. This will mean that the revenue fund will now have to pay substantial costs to these funds for years to come. Unfortunately, this will equate to the potential loss of 130/140 jobs – as was confirmed by the Head of Strategic Finance.
It appears that this will be similar to the CHORD Project where the Council will have to pay £50 million over the next 25 years to fund this project with the Council Tax payer in the Helensburgh & Lomond Area having to subsidise other CHORD Projects in Rothesay, Dunoon and other Argyll & Bute towns. Again, it appears that Helensburgh & Lomond is being seen as the cash cow for the rest of Argyll & Bute.
Although everyone will welcome the fact that £200,000 is being allocated to a new Youth Employment Opportunities Fund for 2012/13, there are serious concerns that Waitrose appears to have been made aware of this fund a week or two before the Council was informed. Waitrose, who are hoping to persuade the Council to approve their major supermarket planning application this month, offered the Council £20,000 for youth unemployment a week before the Council was made aware of this fund.
It is clear that, with both eyes on the upcoming local authority elections in May, the ConDemAll administration put lots of goodies in their budget in the hope that the electorate will forget the disastrous school closure proposals and the way the administration handled the Supporting People funding over the past year.
It is also clear that funding was allocated to some of the administration councillor’s pet projects so as to ensure that they supported the budget proposals.
Although the opposition asked for an adjournment so that the budget proposals could be scrutinised, this was refused by the Convener, Councillor Billy Petrie, who said that he would only allow an adjournment if an amendment was placed on the table first. This was a clear change to the normal practice and was clearly decided so as to ensure that opposition councillors did not get the opportunity to scrutinise the ConDemAll administration’s budget proposals.
While I welcomed a number of the proposals within the administration’s budget, I also highlighted that I had concerns over some of the proposals such as the level of funding for roads, funding for various social work support services for the most vulnerable within our society and the limited funding for the proposed Helensburgh Swimming Pool and Leisure Facility.
As a result of these concerns, and the fact that the Council does not have to agree a budget for another four weeks, I tabled an amendment to the administration’s budget proposals asking that the Council continue consideration of the budget to another date so that the councillors could try and bring a budget forward that all councillors could support.
George Freeman, Argyll and Bute Independent Councillors
Councillor Dance part now blocked in Tuesday Waitrose decision
Argyll and Bute Council’s Planning and Protective Services Committee meets Continue reading
A very different budget: Argyll First announce awards from their voluntary pay cut fund
The Argyll First group of councillors – Donald Kelly from South Kintyre, John McAlpine from Tarbert and Dougie Philand from Mid Argyll – Continue reading
Councillors Robb and Philand giving Twitter nuggets on council budget
The Council Leader, while continuing to refuse to give elected members Continue reading