鈥淣ational government provides critical funding to support life in our communities. Councils do the work to turn that funding into the services that people rely on every day. So it鈥檚 in everyone鈥檚 interests that councils are funded fairly.鈥
With the budget outlook on the agenda when the Policy and Resources Committee meets next week, Councillor Ross Moreland, Policy Lead for Finance Services highlighted the vital importance of national funding for local councils:
鈥淪chools, roads, social care, leisure, transport, waste services, planning, community and business support 鈥 I could go on about the huge range of vital-for-living services that councils deliver.
To support life locally, and across Scotland as a whole, the Scottish Government needs councils to do the work of delivering services. To do that work, we need Scottish Government funding.
As it stands, we are facing one of the biggest funding gaps of recent years. Given how tightly stretched budgets are already, budget gaps for councils will mean service gaps for communities 鈥 we can only do what we can afford to do.
We will continue to work with other councils to show that it鈥檚 in everyone鈥檚 interests that councils are funded fairly.鈥
Reports to next week鈥檚 Policy and Resources Committee will show that 九秀直播 and Bute is facing a budget gap for council services of an estimated 拢14.9 million next year alone, rising to 拢52 million overall by 2029/30.
Councillor Moreland continued:
鈥淲e can only make savings from a small proportion, about 26%, of the council鈥檚 overall budget. Inflation, utility costs and budget directed for specific purposes by the Scottish Government - uncontrollable costs like these take up most of the council鈥檚 budget. This makes balancing the council鈥檚 budget even more difficult. It means that more and more we have to focus on what we have a duty to deliver and consider how much more we can continue to do beyond that.鈥
The Scottish Government is the main source of council funding. The Council expects to find out towards the end of the year how much this funding settlement will be for 九秀直播 and Bute, and will set its budget in February 2025.