The council’s Policy and Resources Committee met yesterday
afternoon to set the council budget for 2015/16. The outcome was a further freeze
in the amount of council tax that has to be paid but there was disagreement among
the various council groups about where the savings should be made and there was
a lengthy debate about the deletion of a senior teacher post at the Young Mums’
Unit based at Menzieshill High School. From what I know of the unit, what I’ve
read about it and representations I have received it appeared to me that having
a dedicated senior teacher has been an integral part of the success of the unit.
I submitted a straightforward amendment to the SNP administration’s proposals
which asked that the existing staffing structure of the Young Mums’ Unit be
retained at a cost of £44,000; a very small sum of money when considering
the council’s £multi-million annual
spend. To achieve the required £44,000 I proposed the alternative savings as
mentioned in my earlier post which were : £5,000 for alcohol purchases; £4,200 food
and refreshments for councillors; £1,00 councillors attendance and conferences;
£33,000 hospitality budget- various departments; and an £800 reduction of other
supplies and services in the communities department.
It seems to me that at a
time when the council is looking to make savings it should ensure that all non-essential
spending is eliminated first and to my mind the council could easily do
without the foregoing items of expenditure. My amendment was defeated by 16 votes
to 3, the SNP group voted against it and the Labour Group abstained.
