Residents will not be consulted directly on this year’s council budget, despite worries over significant tax increases and service cuts.
South Ayrshire Council have refused to be drawn on council tax increases and potential service cuts despite the announcement of extra funding from the Scottish Government.
A short ‘consultation’ video has been posted on the council’s website stating how the council is funded and the restrictions of ring-fenced funding on its spending.
It goes on to explain that consultation will be focused on ‘medium to long term’ issues.
The lack of consultation comes just weeks before the council is required to make what Council Leader Peter Henderson has admitted are ‘difficult decisions’ over the coming budget.
Council elections also take place in just over three months.
Councillor Henderson said the council was still considering how its share of an additional £120m promised by the Scottish Government would affect possible council tax increases and cuts to services.
A council spokesperson said: “Rather than focussing on the 2022-23 Budget alone, our planned consultation will centre around our medium to longer term spending plans.”
Opposition leader, Conservative Councillor Martin Dowey said: “It is disappointing that the SNP and Labour administration is not engaging with the public.
“Of course, we know why. Councils have been starved of money and they can only decide on how to spend 38 percent of the money coming in.”
Last year a video and survey were published, with eight questions on the council’s budget plans. It ran for six weeks, closing on January 15, 2021.
This compared to a comprehensive survey and analysis produced in the first year of the current administration in 2017/18. It ran for four weeks until February 11, 2018 and received 2,793 responses, compared to 611 in 2021.
They 2017/18 consultation included a 92 page report and analysis of responses to a 68 question survey on a number of specific services and issues.
There were significantly more responses to the 2018 survey than the 2021 survey, with the earlier survey offering a variety of ways to take part, including a free text number, hard copies, email, website comments and responses from organisations. Sample comments were included with the report.
It has also been revealed that talks are continuing to determine the impact of last week’s announcement by the Scottish Government of £120m non-recurring funding for local government for 2022/23.
Councillor Henderson said that the money was welcomed and that ‘discussions are ongoing regarding the effect the additional funding will have on the various budget factors such as savings and Council Tax increases however it only goes part of the way to addressing the real terms budget pressures being faced by Local Government’.
“The non-recurring nature of the funding will mean that pressures will increase again in 2023/24 by a further £120m if this one-off funding for 2022/23 is not baselined within the Local Government settlement.”
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