Falkirk councillors told financial forecast remains bleak

If members of Falkirk Council’s Scrutiny committee were hoping for some good news after years of rising costs against an almost static income, chief finance officer Amanda Templeman was unable to offer it.

She was reporting to councillors some of the key message from the Accounts Commission’s briefing paper, which gives a national picture of council budgets.

While not every local authority faces exactly the same challenges, the briefing shows an overall gap in council funding of more than £647 million, as all councils struggle to keep up with factors such as inflation, annual pay settlements and rising demand for services.

The commission also highlighted just how reliant councils are on government funding, with around 80 per cent of all income coming from Holyrood.

That means that while further council tax rises remain likely they will not have a huge impact on the council’s overall income.

One of the key messages from the Accounts Commission is that consultation with communities will have to improve in all Scottish local authorities as they explain why services are being cut while council tax continues to rise.

Ms Templeman said that Falkirk is already looking at ways to improve its budget consultations for next year.

The council uses an online survey called Participate+, which people can sign up to take part in and this continue to be promoted.

Last year, officers also ran several face to face budget consultations although Ms Templeman admitted that these had not been well attended.

This year, the council’s Community Learning and Development team will work with existing community groups to get feedback, while they are also looking at ways to engage younger people through schools.

Ms Templeman said: “We are always looking at ways we can do it better.”

The Accounts Commission has also told councils that it is vital to look closely at the impact any decisions might have on various groups and clearly articulate what that impact might be.

In this year’s meeting to set Falkirk Council’s budget, councillors made clear that there had not been enough consultation with groups who would be affected by suggested cuts, so they opted to increase council tax rather than cut services.

Ms Templeman said the council needs to improve communication when feedback from consultations is used to change proposals as well as “if we haven’t changed something why we haven’t changed something”.

Overall, it remains likely that councils will face difficult financial decisions for the foreseeable future.

Falkirk continues to work closely with local authority umbrella group COSLA to lobby for more funding and emphasise the vital services councils provide.

But chief executive Kenneth Lawrie told councillors that while lobbying will continue, other sectors including the NHS and Police are also looking for more funding, and the reality is that “there is simply not enough money to go around”.

Ms Templeman said: “Realistically, the way it gets better is for the economy to grow, for there to be more tax receipts and more money available for public funding.

“That’s the reason that the health of ‘UKplc’ is really important to us because it has a direct impact.

“Hopefully we will see that shift in the economy but until that point we have to plan as best we can.”

Despite “significant decisions”, including this year’s large rise in council tax and other cuts to services, Mr Lawrie told members that the council is still facing “a really significant gap”.

He said nationally it is now likely that councils will start working together to provide services and some discussions are already underway.

And he warned that in the longer term, it would also mean “more radical forms of transformation and change” and also looking closely at what “really is statutory”.