Highand Council passes 'budget for change'
This year’s Highland Council budget has been approved with the local authority aiming to not just balance the books, but also initiate major service delivery reforms.
The council had to plug an almost £30 million funding gap but still has around £570 million with which to invest in local services and communities.
Major policies were passed, including a three per cent rise in council tax and a rise in the costs of funerals, cremations, commercial refuse collections and bulky uplifts, while fees for emptying brown bins will go up by £5 per year.
Leisure and culture provider High Life Highland (HLH) emerged with a £1 or less rise in the cost of membership, negotiated by the SNP, which took £205,000 off the original £610,000 proposed cut.
But in a major shift, the financial measures were targeted to reform services – particularly education – and in the process save millions of pounds by improving performance while many of the proposals are also dependent on further consultations with the staff and the public.
Cuts include funding for additional support needs – when a child needs more or different support to get the most from school – in what is a major overhaul of the service.
Chief executive Donna Manson said: “I call it a budget for change. Education transformation is all about getting better outcomes. We will work through that in the next three years. I am committed to doing that, but the key to it will be regular monitoring.”
Administration leader Margaret Davidson said many budget policies were dependent on consultations, meaning that if they were poorly received, the council would “have to change, change tack, pause and rethink”.
Budget leader Alister Mackinnon said: “It is a positive budget – a budget for change and for jobs. Unlike some other local authorities in Scotland, we are not making any compulsory redundancies.
“We need to effect the change because of the rurality that we have got and the challenges we face regarding services. We now have a leader who is ambitious, who is energetic, and who knows services.”
