Decision on South Lanarkshire Council budget cuts postponed

Nov 18 2009 by Douglas Dickie, Rutherglen Reformer

THE decision on efficiency savings within South Lanarkshire Council will be deferred for a second time this week.

Councillors are expected to agree to wait on finalising next years budget until the SNP Government can strike a deal to get their economic plans through Holyrood.

It had been anticipated that proposed savings would be discussed at an executive meeting today (November 18), but it is now expected that the finalised grant settlement figures for the council will not be known until the end of the month.

The decision has already been postponed once, at a meeting on October 7.

Under the savings proposals, Halfway Recreation Centre and King’s Park Library are facing closure.

In total, the council are proposing a whopping £111 million of cuts over the next four years.

The report on this week’s meeting says it will give the council a chance to adjust their savings plans should the final figure from the government “deviate from the figures that were originally forecast.”

Council leader Eddie McAvoy said he would start meeting with opposition parties this week to see if changes can be made to the budget.

It is understood that council chiefs will be asked to reconsider the plans to close Halfway Recreation Centre.

Councillor McAvoy said: “The SNP have got to get their budget through and at the moment they cannot do that.

“If there are concessions made it may effect us, I don’t think it will but if they have to make changes to gain the support of other parties then it may come from our pot.

“Our meetings with the other political groups will have started by the end of the week.”

On a visit to the Cambuslang Investment Park this week, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the SNP Government had handed local authorities a higher budget than last year, but she conceded that times were tough.

She said: “We are living in tight times and there are more financial constraints and that is going to lead to tough decisions for all the public sector.

“Efficiency savings do not come back to the Government, it is only right that councils make these decisions themselves.”

Councillor McAvoy has previously warned fellow councillors that they have to remain “realistic” about proposed cuts, and said any changes to the plans would mean cuts elsewhere.

He also slammed South Lanarkshire SNP Holyrood MSPs such as Rutherglen’s James Kelly, who opposed certain aspects of the proposal, saying they should oppose the SNP budget for local authorities if they feel local communities will suffer badly.

Mr Kelly, along with MP Tommy McAvoy, have said that the closure of the Halfway centre would be a “cut” rather than a saving, but councillor McAvoy said they simply have to find savings of up to £30 million for each of the next three years.

The next meeting of the executive committee will take place on Wednesday, December 16.