Issued: 8 December 2004
Finance Settlement
Angus Council leader Rob Murray expressed disappointment with the three-year local government finance settlement announced today (Wednesday 8 December).
"The Minister says he has given councils more flexibility. Where? With such a tight settlement he's left councils with no room for manoeuvre. Once again a huge percentage of the so-called increases is earmarked for government initiatives - where is the flexibility in that?
"It seems the executive has decided that as it provides most of the ingredients of the local authority cake it can eat it too.
"We're hearing a lot about Efficient Government and like all councils Angus aims to provide good value services which people want. But what scope do we have to look at the development of these vital local services if the settlement doesn't even cover the increase in cost of providing our core services. It will take more than efficiency savings to resolve that, never mind deal with the costly implications of new legislation such as the Freedom of Information Act.
"We will now have to look very closely at the predicted £52 increase in council tax for next year. But as of much concern are the government's targets for the following years. These are completely unrealistic - with such a mean settlement another hike in council tax is almost inevitable. We will be pressing the Scottish Executive to follow the example of England and Wales and use the monies announced by the chancellor last week to relieve the burden placed on Scotland's council tax payers."