Energy price rises: Cost of living crisis hits Falkirk Council services

Although prices rises for gas and electricity had been factored in to February’s budget for this year, the scale of the increases means that Falkirk is now facing a £1.4 million overspend on energy alone.

However, members of Falkirk Council’s executive heard that this was just one of the pressures on council services as the costs for contractors and suppliers are also starting to soar.

The council could also be facing a bigger bill than anticipated for staffing costs. Falkirk had budgeted for an increase of 2.5 per cent in pay – but that has already been soundly rejected by trade unions and council waste workers are now on strike.

The Scottish Government has promised £140 million to help councils foot the bill of a wage increase but that would only cover a 3.5 per cent rise, leaving councils to meet the rest. The report to councillors stated that a 0.5 per cent increase in the pay award will cost the council around £1.5 million, though this figure includes teachers.

Another area that is particularly under pressure is children’s social work, partly due to a national shortage of foster carers.

“Fundamentally, it’s going to cost us a lot more to deliver the services we had planned than we had budgeted for,” chief finance officer Amanda Templeman told councillors.

“Going forward we are going to have to make sure there is rigorous financial scrutiny across the council with a focus on cost reduction and delivery of savings.”

While last year’s final spending was better than expected by £7 million, that would simply help to “cushion the impact” of what lay ahead, the council leader Cecil Meiklejohn said.

She told the meeting: “The current financial climate remains volatile and variable, making it very difficult for us, as a council, to plan.

“We are still seeing the impacts of Covid, the impacts of Brexit – which we are seeing more of – and the impacts of the Ukranian crisis and of Afghanistan.

“And, of course, we’re seeing the impacts of the cost of living crisis which, as a council, we’re not immune to. While our citizens are feeling the pinch and that is also magnified by council.”

Councillor Meiklejohn said that the cost of living crisis was of the “magnitude of Covid” but they had not seen the same level of response from national government in supporting those in greatest need.

“With such a variable financial climate there will be difficult decisions and we will have to look to stop doing some things to enable resources to be directed to help those who are most vulnerable.”

She suggested that formally as a council they write to the UK Government and said she wanted to send it from all political parties.

The draft letter has been approved by the Conservatives and Labour’s group leader Anne Hannah indicated that she too would support it, although each group will make amendments.

Councillor Hannah said: “We’re all well We need to put as much pressure as we can on both the Scottish Government and the UK Government to ensure that we get as much assistance as possible with the things that are their respective responsibilities.

“I have already put in a letter to the Scottish Government and I’m more than happy to collaborate on a letter to the UK Government.”