Council response to Scottish Government Settlement
The Highland Council’s Budget Leader David Alston has accepted that the proposed grant settlement from the Scottish Government for 2011-12 and the package of measures negotiated with COSLA’s Leadership is the best outcome that can be achieved in very difficult circumstances.
The level of cutbacks in the single-year settlement (2.6%) is not as severe as was expected and the Council estimates that the budget gap that it will face in 2011/12 will be in the region of £20 million - £7 million less than anticipated.
Councillor Alston said: “It is disappointing that the settlement is for one year only and that there is no scope for the Council to minimise the pain of cuts by increasing the Council Tax. The penalty for not accepting the Scottish Government’s offer is a loss of grant of £18 million. To bridge that gap would require an 18% increase in the Council Tax.”
He said the Council has been preparing for significant public spending cuts for some considerable time. He added: “While the grant settlement is only for one year, we are planning on a longer term basis as we are in no doubt that public spending constraints will be with us for the foreseeable future. Our focus will be on maintaining frontline services and being more efficient in the way we deliver services.”
To qualify for the full level of grant the Council has to agree by 21 December:
In turn, the Scottish Government:
In recognition of the wider pressures on the health and social care system, has allocated £70 million for a new change fund in 2011-12. The fund, which will be held by NHS Boards and so be additional to the local government settlement amount of £11.548 billion, is intended to enable the redesign of services that support shifting the balance of care towards primary and community care. The spending of these resources will be overseen by a partnership governance arrangement on the basis of plans to be agreed locally between NHS Boards, local government and the third/independent sectors. The detailed governance arrangements and guidance for these plans is currently being developed in partnership.