The upcoming budget for South Lanarkshire Council was set today against the backdrop of unprecedented financial challenges.
Councillors at the full council meeting voted on the financial budget for 2023/24 which includes new investments as well as Council Tax increases.
It was warned that this year’s budget would present some challenges due to the council identifying an overall budget gap of £8.818 million. The new budget addresses this and offers solutions to bridge the gap.
Both the Labour Group and the SNP Group presented alternative budgets at the meeting, and 34 councillors voted for proposals put forward by the Labour group compared to 27 councillors voting for the SNP’s option.
The Labour group’s proposals will see Council Tax rise by 5.5 per cent, which is around half of inflation. Other increases to services have also been approved as well as new investments.
Council Leader Joe Fagan (East Kilbride Central North), said: “We have delivered the best possible outcome and I am proud that we have been able to continue to protect vital frontline services and also find innovative ways to invest to help our communities.
“But we need to be under no illusions. It has been a real battle to do this in a climate in which the Scottish Government continues to undervalue and underfund local government. This is undeniable – the Accounts Commission puts the cut to our funding at nearly 10 per cent over the last decade.
“This year’s inadequate grant settlement was particularly shameful, given that every pound that we have available to spend on local services is being devalued by rampant inflation. Food, fuel bills and construction costs are all massively up, and that has a crippling effect on our finances.
“I know our local residents are facing many similar pressures on their household bills, and that is why we have done everything we can to help those who are most vulnerable during the cost-of-living crisis. We will continue to do that in the years ahead, and we will also continue to fight relentlessly for fair funding for council services.”
Outlined within the new budget, Council Tax will rise by 5.5 per cent, but it is expected that this rate will be the lowest on mainland Scotland.
The Council Tax increase will generate around £8 million for the council which helps bridge the funding gap and means that some cuts outlined by officials can be avoided.
There also will be an increase in charges for cremations which will save the council £0.200 million.
An increase of planning and building fees has also been approved, which will generate £0.072 million for the council.
The cost of paid-for secondary meals will also rise to £2.10, and this is expected to save £0.178 million.
The Labour group rejected original plans from council officers to include cutbacks on free school meals for P4 and P5, a new charge for garden and waste collection, a £2 charge for parking at local landmarks and reductions in holiday school programmes.
From savings made in the budget, the council will be able to put £3.5 million to create a Frontline First Fund which will be available to spend over a period of three years.
The Frontline First Fund will be spent over a period of three years and will be used to support activities in Facilities, Waste and Grounds and Roads, Transportation and Fleet Services. It is hoped that the additional funding will allow fly-tipping and graffiti crews to be established and to keep South Lanarkshire clean and tidy.
Plans also will see school clothing grants extended to three- and four-year-olds in early year establishments. A fund of £1.35 million will be set aside to offer the grant over the next five years.
There will also be an investment to create a Leisure and Culture Transformation fund which will help to modernise the leisure and culture centres across the area.
As well as this, a transition fund of up to £1.5 million will be funded to South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture to help with the budget challenges it is facing.
And £200,000 will be used to reinstate the Community Led Activities Fund that was redirected to support the Warm Welcome Initiative.
Speaking of the proposals, Councillor Fagan, said: “The administration’s position is stronger, it is credible, it confronts the challenges of the future, it does not duck them and it invests wisely in South Lanarkshire and that’s why I ask the council to back our budget, let’s get things done.”
The budget proposed by council leader Joe Fagan was endorsed by Liberal Democrat councillor Robert Brown (Rutherglen South) who seconded it.
He said: “I want to second the budget motion by the leader of the administration. It’s firmly based on the partnership of the administration between the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Independent group. But I do want to recognise what Joe and colleagues across the chamber have done exceptionally and realistically in the manner of the budget.”
Provost Margaret Cooper (Avondale and Stonehouse) stepped back from her role and spoke from her role as Leader of the Independent group when she spoke about the budget.
She said: “I don’t need to tell any of you that the budget being considered by the council today has been drawn up against a backdrop of the most difficult financial circumstances any of us have ever faced, the fiscal environment that we are meeting in to agree our financial plans for 2023/24 is, in a word, horrendous.
“This was my fourth year as chair of the council’s cross party working group, and I can confirm that I am definitely exhausted yet again. This was the hardest year yet. On a more positive note, there was general agreement within the group which gave us a good start to work together towards the best possible solution.
“The budget before us today is imperfect, none of us came into local politics to put up Council Tax or increase other charges, we certainly never wanted to be forced to consider going backwards in terms of the fantastic range and quality of services we have built up over the years. But as I said before, that is the position we find ourselves in due to a combination of inadequate government funding and the wider economic problems facing the country as a whole. Our shared goal was to do everything we could to protect the key frontline services people rely on, let’s be under no illusion the situation is unlikely to change any time soon so we face more tough decisions in the years to come.
“So colleagues once again thank you all for your efforts to help us get to the position where we can present our balanced budget. It is imperfect in parts of it and parts of it are hard for us to stomach but I believe it is the best possible outcome for the council and for our residents and constituents.”
Although a majority of councillors voted in favour of the Labour Group’s proposals, the SNP group rejected it and produced an alternative.
The SNP proposed many things including a 3.5 per cent increase in Council Tax, investments in the community, free breakfast provision for secondary schools, introducing a financial wellbeing support fund to support people with the cost of living crisis, improving pavements and footpaths in the area as well as investing in community halls.
Proposer of the SNP budget and leader of the South Lanarkshire group, John Ross ( Hamilton South) said: “The budget that we have produced today has been declared balanced, it is achievable if only people were bold enough to take it into consideration. So as far as I’m concerned we think it is the best choice of funding going forward for the next year, I commend it to the council.”
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