School music tuition faces cuts under £3.5m city council savings plan
Dundee's SNP administration has unveiled a £3.5 million package of savings to freeze the council tax for a sixth successive year.
- By Andrew Argo
- Published in the Courier : 13.01.12
- Published online : 13.01.12 @ 04.43pm
The tough financial target would be achieved in part by a recruitment freeze among central staff in education, slashing devolved management budgets to schools, reducing the number of specialist music instructors in primary schools and removing visiting specialist music and physical education teachers.
Labour group leader Kevin Keenan expressed concern about the cuts, and said he would take time to study them in fuller detail.
SNP finance spokesman Willie Sawers hailed the move, however, saying front-line services would be protected and more money spent on the most vulnerable people in the city.
The savings were detailed to Thursday's meeting of the council's Changing for the Future Board but full details were not being delivered to councillors until Friday.
The proposed savings of £3.576 million for 2012-13 are much small than the £14.6 million package approved last year, and Councillor Sawers said: ''Once again we have been able to do deliver a council tax freeze while protecting front-line services that people rely on.
''Within the overall budget we have increased the spending on social work services by £4.398 million in order to support the most vulnerable in our city.
''Throughout the last year we have been working very hard to drive through a programme of efficiencies across the council as agreed by the Changing for the Future Board. This has helped limit the savings we now have to find to balance the budget.''
Education, the biggest spending department, is set to suffer a cut of £524,000. Some £200,000 would be trimmed by not recruiting to fill vacancies among central staff unless necessary and filling any posts internally where appropriate, and restructuring information and communication technology personnel.
The Determined to Succeed budget would be cut by £200,000 by reducing the devolved budgets to schools and other education establishments.
Three full-time equivalent (FTE) music instructors' posts would be reduced from the primary sector to save £47,000, meaning tuition on musical instruments would not start until pupils reach P5 rather than P4.
Officers think this would still allow ensembles to operate and there is scope to move some of the instructors to secondary schools.
Continued...
06.17pm - 13.01.2012 Tom - Dundee, Scotland Report This
I don't really think that it's at all fair for Liberal Democrat Councillor Fraser Macpherson to criticise the funding from the Scottish Government when the Scottish Government itself has had its budget slashed by the Lib-Dem/Tory coalition in Westminster by over £3,000 million! Bring on independence
09.44am - 14.01.2012 The 3 R`s - Dundee, Angus Report This
A Major saving would be to trim DLO trades who sit in the staff canteen when short of work and still draw average wages, an external contractor would be better placed to deal with this situation. rather than lose professional teaching staff.
10.01am - 14.01.2012 Taxpayer - Dundee, Angus Report This
It will be interesting to find out the total amount of "savings" cut-backs have had to be made to keep council tax at the same level over the years, and if any breeches of promises made by the Scottish Government to impliment them.
10.02am - 14.01.2012 Joe McEllon - Dundee, Scotland Report This
Good to see councillor Keenan finally admitting the SNP council are smart and by extension more financially prudent than the previous council with their free spending taxpayer cash ways.
05.14am - 16.01.2012 Unhappy (tax paying) Parent - Dundee, UK Report This
This is ridiculous!!!! More cuts to education services so our kids have to suffer and miss out again. Why is it always the schools who suffer in order to help out the so called VULNERABLE people?
05.17pm - 16.01.2012 Sad parent and education employee - Dundee, Scotland Report This
Dundee children losing out again! When I was at school a whole thirty years ago, in the 80's when times were hard under the tories, we still had art, music, p.e, drama and even sewing specialists in primary schools. The teachers cannot teach all these skills to the high standards of the specialist
11.09pm - 16.01.2012 Allan Macd - Dundee, Scotland Report This
Yet another manifesto failure by the SNP. First Hyslop, now Russell preside over lamentable results, falling school attendance, falling teacher numbers, and rising class sizes, and as ever, it is someone else's fault.
12.14pm - 17.01.2012 Thornindaside - perth, scotland Report This
@Unhappy I think you'll find it's more likely that those traditionally deemed vunerable are having services reduced to the basics to give to other vunerable.Given the enlarged subject ranges taught that did n't happenin in my 4 children (1990-2009)days maybe the biggest shortage is having the time.
03.15pm - 17.01.2012 Cory Douglas Campbell - Maryfield, Scotland Report This
Sadly, Hope & Culture are the first things that get cut when the Tartan Torries get their hands on the purse strings. Our youth have now even less chance with these false economy cuts. Music soothes the savage beast so we should get ready to welcome the angry cultureless beasts back on our streets.
03.03pm - 18.01.2012 Thornindaside - perth, scotland Report This
@Corey were my childre's lives enriched by learning to play the recorder at school(my youngest told me recently he thought the reason I'd moaned was because he thought I was jealous he could play it better..er no it was awful)Schools have n't quite managed to disenfrachise parents playng their part
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