Falkirk Council: All parties call for more cash to tackle budget crisis

Falkirk is facing a budget gap of well over £60 million and members of Falkirk Council heard this week that even stringent controls on spending will not be enough.

The council met the day before Deputy First Minister John Swinney announced the Scottish Government’s budget, which meant a detailed update could not be given as the grant from Holyrood is by the far the biggest factor in the council’s finances. Chief finance officer Amanda Templeman told councillors that the situation is volatile but the latest figures suggest the council will have a budget gap of £67 million over the next four years, half of which must be found this year.

The council leader, Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn said that showed the very challenging position the council is in and said: “I’m still not convinced that every one around this table recognises the seriousness of that situation.”

She said that the budget gap facing the council was compounded by Covid, Brexit and the cost of living crisis but also a “lack of willingness in the past of a Labour-led administration not wanting to take hard decisions”.

She said: “We are now in the position where we have to take difficult decisions, not because we want to but because we have to in order to preserve key services to ensure that we can support our most vulnerable citizens.”

While she agreed to support a Labour amendment committing the council to supporting Cosla’s campaign, she said it was also important to lobby the UK Government for more funding and to be realistic about how likely it was they would get more cash.

But opposition councillors say the Scottish Government is to blame for massively underfunding Scottish councils. The Labour group leader, Councillor Anne Hannah, said: “The Cosla campaign has recognised that it’s the Scottish Government spending plans, as they stand, that will result in reductions in council services and loss of jobs. It’s not Covid, it’s not Brexit, it’s not the cost of living crisis and it’s not a previous Labour administration.”

Her colleague Councillor Jack Redmond told the meeting that the Scottish government’s budget has risen from £35 billion in 2014 to £56.4 billion today, a increase of 61 per cent. Despite this, he added, the funding the Scottish government gives to Falkirk Council has risen from £275 million in 2014 to £308 million this year, an increase of just 12 per cent.

He said: “The reality is that we are now in a position where absolutely nothing and no one in Falkirk council is safe! Whether that be our waste services, social workers, teachers, or the many external bodies we support like CVS Falkirk, all of whom are doing some amazing work for our communities under extremely challenging circumstances.”

The Conservative’s James Bundy said his group supported the call from Cosla but added that the budget gap would require “pragmatism from everyone”.

He said: “When we face a budget gap of £67 million it means very difficult decisions that we don’t want to make will have to be made. It requires pragmatism from everyone – maybe pushing things that we hold dearly aside and working for the best outcome for out communities.”