Council tax in South Lanarkshire is likely to remain the lowest in mainland Scotland as the new budget was revealed.
The council’s leader hailed the financial package, saying it took account of pressures on household budgets but would also “protect and strengthen our communities”.
The budget makes more than £7 million available for new investments, including a programme of pavement repairs and tackling fly-tipping.
Other priorities include early intervention to promote the wellbeing of vulnerable children and young people, grants for community-led projects, and cash to support and value the work of the area’s fantastic volunteers.
The budget – which was created by the Cross Party Budget Group formed of SNP, Liberal Democrat, Conservative and Independent councillors – received overall approval from elected members.
The Labour group dropped out of talks after four meetings but produced its own budget proposal.
Council officers presented a budget which indicated that a 3.5 per cent increase of council tax would be required to bridge funding gaps. This increase was countered by the cross-party group, which proposed only a 2.5 per cent increase, meaning council tax in South Lanarkshire would remain the lowest in mainland Scotland.
Some recommendations from officers were accepted by the group and were adopted into the budget. Changes were made to the original paper, including the council tax increase and the capacity for investments made available by £7.042m.
Council leader John Ross put forward the amended budget, stating that it “represents the best use of council finances on how to deliver the best to citizens".
The proposed balanced budget outlines funds for new initiatives and investment projects which were agreed by the cross party working group, with consideration from the public consultation which helped shape plans.
Firstly, an investment of £500,000 over a two-year period will be put into prioritising volunteers and to develop volunteering strategies to ensure all volunteers are valued.
A further £800,000 will be injected into community-led services to allow local community groups to act on innovative ideas. As well as this, a community development worker will be appointed for a two-year period to work alongside community groups.
There will also be an investment of £60,000 for a community wish list scheme which will allow communities to express wishes and local businesses will help to support them. The council leader called this an “excellent way of establishing a better connection between local communities and local businesses”.
A further £300,000 will be invested into cardio fitness and rehabilitation equipment across a variety of South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture fitness gyms to attract new members and promote a physically active lifestyle benefiting both physical and mental health outcomes.
There will be a £800,000 injection into a children and young persons change fund to provide additional capacity for interventions at the early years stages, to ensure children can benefit fully from education. This will also provide support for children with parental substance misuse, mental health, address adverse childhood events and reduce referrals to social work.
The new budget aims to tackle waste management and fly-tipping as £628,000 will be invested to address four specific challenges which were identified – food waste in rural communities, recycling in tenement properties and fly tipping in both rural and urban areas. The one-off payment will be spread across a two year period.
Finally, a sum of £2.5m will be allocated to improving pavements and footpaths across South Lanarkshire with the goal to make towns and villages safe for pedestrians and to support healthy lifestyles through physical activity.
The remainder of the £7.024m which was allocated for investments will be dedicated to keeping council tax at a 2.5 per cent increase – £1.4m will be added to this. The aim of this is to reduce further financial hardship to households in South Lanarkshire.
Additional funding from two capital programmes were also presented, showing an investment of £82.284m into general services and a further £52.230m through the housing capital programme.
Areas for capital investment include libraries, roads throughout South Lanarkshire, community alarm system, schools and active travel. Improvements in central heating and enhanced window insulation for council tenants to reduce bills was also outlined.
The work of the cross party group was praised by members who represent different political groups.
Councillor John Ross said: “The council’s budget comes at a particularly difficult time for so many people in our society. Everyone has been struggling with Covid-19 for two years.
“Now, just as we are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, many of our residents find themselves faced with further hardships caused by increases in the cost of living. So, I am glad we have been able to reduce the increase in council tax from the 3.5 per cent previously suggested to 2.5 per cent.
“I predict this will be among the lowest council tax increases in Scotland this year, and that South Lanarkshire will still have the lowest council tax on mainland Scotland.”
He also praised council officers for their work in drafting the original budget.
Representing the Independent group, co-chair of the Cross Party Budget Group, Margaret Cooper for Avondale and Stonehouse also welcomed the collaboration.
She said: “As co-chair of the cross party working group, a role that I have now undertaken three years in a row, once again it was hard work but very meaningful and rewarding as I worked alongside political leaders who were intent on achieving the best outcomes for South Lanarkshire constituents.
“John Ross is to be congratulated on being among the first at the table to negotiate on priorities, as we all did, to assist us on reaching agreement. I think that creating and maintaining a working group has been a significant achievement for our council. It has allowed us to come together to build a consensus budget to put residents first by working out how best to protect the services that they rely on day in and day out.
“It is a huge credit to the four groups who did participate who rose to the occasion.”
Conservative representative councillor Alex Allison for Clydesdale East, echoed praise for the council officers and the outcomes of the budget that was formed.
He said: “I must also concur with a lot of what the leader was saying about the officers to take this down from a starting position of I think was around 50 million to nearly balanced before the members got involved. They should really be highlighted for the excellent work that they did.
“We have the lowest council tax on mainland Scotland. That is because of year on year on year of good budgeting by officers on identifying how to run the business.
“None of us would have proposed this budget in the working group if we were left on our own, but I don’t think that’s a negative, I think it’s a positive because all of us have represented our constituents and been able to come together and produce a balanced budget.
“Bills are rising, and the fact that we have been able to hold the council tax to 2.5 per cent when inflation is nearer 5 was very important to us and we’re pleased that it has been able to be in this budget statement.”
Hamilton West and Earnock councillor Mark McGeever for the Liberal Democrat group, said: “It is always a challenge for political parties and groups to find such common ground over something as significant as the annual budget. We do have very held differences over policies and how to deliver for our communities but we also know that we have a responsibility to put the needs of our people first over politics.”
The Labour group put forward a proposed budget which would invest in frontline services, waste management, the cost of living and would see council tax being reduced to 2.2 per cent.
Councillor Joe Fagan, the leader of the Labour Group said: “This weak SNP Budget lets down every community crying out for investment. SNP and Tory councillors have voted against decisive action on the cost of living crisis and shown how out of touch they are with the people they are supposed to represent.
“This Budget fails the fairness test – it does not help enough with living costs. It fails the frontline test – it does not deliver the cash boost local services need. It fails the transparency test – it does nothing to improve scrutiny of how budget decisions are made.
“This Budget is all the proof we need that after five wasted years of drift and decline, the SNP council are completely out of ideas.”
A total of 44 councillors voted in favour of the proposals put forward by the cross-party budget group, with 17 voting for Labour’s budget.
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