The council set its 2014/15 budget at a meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee on Thursday afternoon. The outcome of the meeting was another freeze in the level of council tax householders have to pay. The SNP administration proposed a number of savings which resulted in a lengthy debate. The most controversial of these was the transfer of early years practitioners from primary schools to nursery schools. I supported an unsuccessful amendment by the Labour Group opposing this change as I agreed with the individuals who addressed the committee as part of a deputation that this was a short sighted move and would have a detrimental impact on some of the vulnerable children the early years practitioners work with.
My amendment was a response to the representations I had received about the impact the administration’s 3% cut in funding to third sector organisations would have on their ability to provide frontline services. I identified a number of savings that could be made to the budget that would allow a ring fenced contingency fund of £150,000 to be created for supporting any of the organisations that were unable to re-profile their service delivery or find efficiencies, without jeopardising the viability of the organisation.
The savings I put forward included things like food and refreshment for the councillors’ lounge, the budget for alcohol purchases and general office expenses in support functions, none of which would have had an impact on any of the services delivered by the council. Unfortunately my amendment was defeated by 16 votes to 12.
