By Claire Warrender

CAMPAIGNERS AGAINST Fife Council’s plans to increase the cost of home care provision have failed to win an 11th hour change of heart.

The proposal to raise charges from £4 per week to as much as £11 per hour depending on income was yesterday voted through as part of the SNP/Liberal Democrat administration’s budget for the next three years.

However, opposition councillors and members of the pressure group Campaign Against Charges (CAC) did secure one concession with the announcement that the introduction of a £7 charge per shopping delivery will be means- tested, meaning 70% of those who receive the service will now not have to pay for it.

The £1 per week charge for community alarms will still be implemented.

The increase in home care charges was the only major sticking point between the administration and the opposition groups during what was an otherwise good natured meeting with a surprising amount of agreement and very little of the traditional mud-slinging.

Presenting a total budget of £981 million, administration leader Peter Grant said it came against a backdrop of significant change in the way the Scottish Government delivers policy.

“We are in the process of transformation in the way Fife Council delivers its services,” he said.

“This budget puts Fife Council firmly back on the road to financial recovery and it allows us to make sure that in the future any unexpected events can be provided for.”

As predicted, council tax has been frozen for the next three years thanks to an enhanced settlement from Holyrood ahead of the planned introduction of a local income tax.

Householders will still see their bills increase, however, due to a rise in water charges, which is outwith local authority control.

Council house rents will rise by 2.8%, or £1.32 per week for a standard house, allowing the council to invest an additional £5 million in its housing stock.

There will also be job cuts—140 full-time equivalent posts across all council services, including management posts in education and social work.

The budget has allowed for £18 million in additional investment in social work, £4 million of which will be used to help the vulnerable.

An extra £8 million will go to the police budget, £3 million will help improve Fife’s crumbling roads infrastructure, and education will receive an extra £9.6 million, some to reduce class sizes.

But savings proposals for education include cutting nine classroom assistant jobs over the next three years, reducing lunchtime supervision in primary schools and withdrawing the super- vision of pupils boarding school buses.

Other general savings could be met by reducing the grass cutting service across the region, cutting the number of youth worker posts, ceasing the free dog waste bag scheme and closing some public toilets.

Some services will also cost more, including a 6% rise in the cost of burials and cremations.

Opposition councillors called for a rethink on some of the proposals, with Labour member Kay Morrison saying classroom assistants played a crucial role in schools. But the administration said the budget met the eight priorities the council agreed in October.

Recommending it be approved, Councillor Grant said, “This budget will be for the greater benefit of the vast majority in Fife.

“It will protect financially those who need to be protected and it puts Fife Council on a much more stable footing.”

The budget was passed by 42 votes to 32.