Management Adjustments strip out £3,861,542 over three years

At a meeting of West Dunbartonshire Council on Wednesday 20th, December Councillors received an update on the Council budget gap following the Scottish Government announcement on its Draft budget to the Scottish Parliament.

The report to council also included an appendix 3 showing some changes to the Management Adjustments since October.

This included both the additional budget pressures and the assumed reductions in services. As a result, the totals for each of the three years were:

• 2018/19 – £666,973
• 2019/20 – £703,728
• 2020/21 – £705,291

However, if we focus on the additional burdens such as increased cost of homelessness then the Management savings assumptions for each year is actually significantly more as the other data serves to mask the true extent of the actual cuts to the other services meaning that over the same reporting period of three years the totals cuts are:

• 2018/19 – £1,270,473
• 2019/20 – £1,295,178
• 2020/21 – £1,295,891

The adjusted Appendix 3 can be found here: 2018 Budget Changes – Reductions only

For comparison purposes, the original Appendix 3 is here: Item 11 – Copy of Budget Update Report Appendix 3

This demonstrates that over the three year period £3,861,542 less would be spent on these services.

The SNP claims to support a no-cuts budget is complete nonsense particularly when taking account of the fact that the Council budget assumptions also include:

• The SNP Council will increase Council Tax by 3% in each year 2018/19, 2019/20, and 2020/21.
• The SNP Council will increase Sales Fees and Charges by 4% in each year 2018/19, 2019/20, and 2020/21.
• The Council will make a saving of £800,000 in 2018/19 through shared services and a further £1.3m in 2019/20.
• That the SNP Council will achieve £2.732m of management adjustments will be made in 2018/19 with a further £501,000 in 2019/20 and a further £2.333m in 2020/21.
• That the SNP Council will generate income from “commercialisation” to the tune of £250,000 in 2018/19; another £500,000 in 2019/20 and a further £500,000 in 2020/21.
• The SNP will cut Health & Social Care budget by £1.560m in 2018/19; another £1.560m in 2019/20 and a further £1.560m in 2020/21.

Notes:

• Appendix 3 also includes the sum of £203,000 of cuts that the SNP took in recent committee meetings such as cuts to Care of Garden Scheme.
• The SNP Budget Working Group signs off all Council budget reports.
• The Leader of the Council, Deputy Leader, Provost and Convener and Deputy Convener of Corporate Services would have signed off the Council Report at the Pre-Agenda meetings with Council Officers. 

RICHARD LEONARD’S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

Christmas is a time of reflection but should also be a time of resolution, Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said today.

In his festive message, Mr Leonard also said he hoped for a world that works according to the principles of welfare and not warfare.

Scottish Labour leader, Richard Leonard, said: “I want to wish everyone a happy and peaceful Christmas.

“I hope that over the festive period those in work are able to have time off to enjoy time with loved ones; that the homeless have shelter and respite from the cold; and that those living below the poverty line and dependent on food banks are able to eat well.

“Those of us who are fortunate enough to celebrate Christmas with our loved ones should spare a thought for those who are not so lucky – the elderly in our care homes and hospitals, children who are separated from their parents, those who have suffered bereavement.

“We should think of those who cannot take time off, those who work in our emergency services over Christmas, those who devote their lives to public service, to taking care of us all, from hospitality workers to nurses, firefighters and all emergency workers, to the people keeping the lights on.

“And we should think of those refugees who have come to Scotland for sanctuary and to build a new life, and all those who are fighting to survive in too many countries riven with war or internal unrest.

Mr Leonard added: “Christmas is a time of reflection. We look on the year past and wonder what lessons we can learn. Which is why for me it’s also a time of resolve – to ensure that in the coming year Scottish Labour fights even harder for the real and radical changes that Scotland needs to eradicate poverty and to end the inequalities which blight so many lives.

“That is why, what I would like most of all for Christmas, is a reawakening of hope, and a new dawning that we make our own history so that we can build a world that works according to the principles of welfare and not warfare.”