Issued: 18 December 2003
Angus To Miss Out On Chancellor’s Bonus
Angus looks set to miss out on a share of the Chancellor’s £47m bonus to the Scottish Executive.
Following the executive’s local government grant announcement, Angus Council Leader Rob Murray was scathing in his criticism of the Executive's decision not to pass on any of the additional resources allocated in the chancellor’s pre-budget statement last week.
Councillor Murray said: “Gordon Brown’s announcement gives the Scottish Executive an extra £47m to spend, yet not one penny of this looks like coming to Angus.
“What we are looking at for 2004/05 are just minor changes to last year’s finance settlement despite the fact that this year the Executive has an extra £47m in the kitty. If this money was being used fairly across Scotland Angus Council should have received a share of around £1m - the equivalent of £25 council tax.
“Perhaps the Executive intends to use this windfall to bail out high spending councils instead of sharing it out across Scotland.”
Councillor Murray pointed out that the announcement was bad news for local taxpayers. “Council taxpayers need to be aware that over 80% of council funding is provided by and therefore decided by the Scottish Executive.
“If there is not enough funding then the only way councils have of balancing the books is by cutting costs or pushing up council tax and other charges. This latest announcement just confirms our worst fears that in Angus we will have to look at such unwelcome measures again this year.”
Resources and Central Services convener Alex King criticised the Executive’s lack of transparency in making their announcements, saying: “It is disingenuous of the Executive to announce that Angus is to get an extra £9.3m (6.3%) in funding for next year without also saying that they have told us what 70% of it has to be spent on.
“£6.5m is for new initiatives and non-discretionary services that the Executive want the council to provide. The £2.8m we are left with is less than 1.9% of an increase on last year’s grant, which isn’t even enough to cover the increase in costs of core services.”
Councillor King likened the Executive’s teasing with the figures to a youngster being given £50 to spend by their parents only to be told that they need to spend £35 of it on a new pair of school shoes.
The convener concluded by saying: “The announcement says nothing about this council and most others being left to pick up the tab for government initiatives, such as the new Freedom of Information responsibilities and the ongoing burden of the landfill tax. It is misleading and unfair of the Executive to present their announcements in this way and it does nothing to help local people understand the real financial issues affecting their council.”