Issued: 4 December 2002
Local Government Finance Settlement 2003/04 Announced By Scottish Executive
Council leader Rob Murray welcomed the funding for government initiatives, such as free personal and nursing care, but warned Angus residents that the increase in grant was not nearly as generous as it seemed.
Councillor Murray said: "The Scottish Executive has conceded that this settlement will be 'challenging' for local authorities. This is something of an understatement as in reality a substantial portion of the increase is earmarked for initiatives that councils have to deliver for government.
"Angus Council has received an increase of £11.9 million (8.78%) for 2003/04 but this includes substantial resources for these Scottish Executive initiatives, with free personal and nursing care by far the biggest. Actual details of how the total grant increase can be used have not yet been provided and until we've got a much more detailed breakdown it's impossible to assess the real impact of this announcement on our core services.
"However as a significant portion of the grant is once again outwith our control early indications are that cuts will still be needed, just to meet the annual costs of inflation and pay awards."
Finance Convener Alex King stressed the importance of this issue saying, "The amount of extra grant which the council has discretion over is very limited. 80% of our funding is provided by central government so any shortfall gives the council major problems in delivering core services."
Councillor King pointed out that the grant award wasn't enough to meet the nationally agreed pay award for 2003/04 and criticised the Executive's standpoint saying: "The government is willing to divert resources towards its own new initiatives but consistently under-funds nationally agreed pay increases. Local councils therefore have no choice but to cut services or increase council tax to meet this shortfall."