Nothing off limits as Perth and Kinross Council braces for cuts
Council chiefs in Perth and Kinross have indicated that nothing will be off limits as the local authority seeks to make substantial savings.
- By Dave Lord
- Published in the Courier : 31.07.10
- Published online : 31.07.10 @ 09.01am
The Independent Budget Review (IBR) group set up by the Scottish Government to look at possible ways of dealing with billions of pounds worth of budget cuts suggested as many as one in 10 public sector jobs could be axed.
Just under 6000 people are employed by Perth and Kinross Council.
Council leader Ian Miller has admitted the standard and range of services provided by the authority are under threat, as are jobs, while compulsory redundancies have not been ruled out.
A budget review group of seven councillors, led by Mr Miller, has been set up to put all departments under the microscope.
Based on predictions by the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, all Scottish councils have agreed that a 12% reduction in government funding by 2013-14 is a reasonable basis on which to plan for the medium term.
In Perth and Kinross this would result in a savings target of around £38 million by 2013-14.
Mr Miller said, "The challenges we face are not new or unexpected, but the scale of them is unprecedented.
"At a time when we knew there would be additional pressure on our budgets we also face budget cuts, which mean a big drop in income."
More with less
He added, "This is mainly due to increasing demand for our services of around 2% per year, largely caused by the recession as well as a growing and ageing population.
"Essentially, we must do much more with much less."
Mr Miller hinted that residents should brace themselves for cuts.
He added that the "redesign" of services, exploring shared service options, reducing some services and exploration of partnership arrangements with other public and private partners would also be considered.
Increasing charges for some services is also understood to be a possibility.
Mr Miller insisted compulsory redundancies were "not inevitable", adding, "We always try to manage our staffing situation through redeployment and non-compulsory redundancies wherever possible.
"But we can't rule it out — we need to be clear about that."
02.22pm - 25.08.2010 Jim Callaghan - Blairgowrie, UK Report This
Surprised that Perth & Kinross are looking to "explore Shared Service options" when the team investigating this option are now disbanded! The money is there to be saved by joining up with other Councils - PKC just need to stop talking/deliberating and get on with saving money.
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