All school crossing patrollers in Perthshire could be scrapped amid moves to cut £4.5 million from the council budget.
Supply teacher spending, swimming lessons and winter gritting programmes could also be slashed – with council chiefs admitting education and safety may be compromised should any of the suggestions be implemented.
They are among a raft of options on the table for councillors to save money in their 2022/23 budget – though the final call lies with elected members.
Chief executive Thomas Glen says the local authority faces making “difficult decisions” due to rising inflation and demand on services.
12 key ways Perthshire council services could be cut
Council officials have set out the proposals, how much they would save and the potential impact for service users and staff.
Some of the proposals have been on the table before, and rejected, but are once again being put forward for consideration.
Here we look at some of the suggestions in more detail.
1. Scrap all remaining school crossing patrollers
Saving: £179,000
The council says it can justify the move because “it is the parents’ responsibility to get their children to and from school safely”.
It insists council staff “will continue to work with parents in respect of safe school travel planning”.
The impact would be on “mainly older employees in low-paid posts within Tayside Contracts”, but it says there is a “reputational risk to the council” in making the move.
2. Remove primary swimming lessons
Saving: £60,000.
The local authority says it is “not a statutory requirement to provide swimming lessons to pupils”.
However, it also highlights how families on low incomes may not be able to afford to take their children swimming, and that if imposed, youngsters in rural areas “will benefit from less time out of the classroom as transport times can be significant”.
There could also be an impact on Live Active Leisure staff.
3. Scrap school supply contingency budget for teachers
Saving: £152,000
There have already been cuts to this area, with the budget slashed from more than £1.1m in 2013/14 to just £152,000 now.
It would mean that schools would not be given funding to support overspends in their supply budgets, meaning these would need to be managed individually by each school.
The council warns that “if insufficient supply budget is available classes may have to be sent home and possibly schools closed”.
It also says there “may be an impact on educational progress”.
4. Reduce primary teacher numbers
Saving: £344,000.
The council says this move could be made in response to a projected fall in the pupil rolls, and that it would be able to maintain the “primary staffing standard” in schools.
It would mean a reduction of six teacher positions from a total of 601.
5. Increase charges within education and children’s services
Saving: £45,000.
A 5% rise would affect out-of-school clubs, school lets and campus lets.
Council chiefs admit it may disadvantage lower income families and affect uptake, which may in turn hit income.
6. Reduce community greenspace maintenance
Saving: £35,000.
This would involve an 8% drop in maintenance activities in public parks and open spaces, and a 10% reduction for playparks.
The council’s proposal states: “Inspections would still take place but fewer routine repairs and replacements of consumable items would occur so longer down time for equipment, which could lead to a gradual decline in play area quality leading to increased complaints and increasing failure to meet strategy standards.”
It warns it could eventually lead to the closure of some play areas.
7. Cut summer grounds maintenance
Saving: £95,000.
Vegetation cutting, grass cutting, planting and watering could all be scrapped during the peak summer season.
The council currently employs 11 agency staff for a 15-week period to carry out these tasks.
But officials warn it could lead to a rise in complaints and “impact on residents’ and visitors’ perceptions of our green spaces”.
8. Close public toilets
Saving: £35,000.
The council is proposing the closure of public toilets in Blairgowrie, and only operating the toilets in Dunkeld from April until September.
The old Blairgowrie facilities may be transferred for community use.
It would mean a reduction in three full-time staff rolls.
9. Winter maintenance – limit hours
Saving: £40,000.
This would result in the removal of all out-of-normal hours treatment to the footpath network, with the exception of Perth city centre, meaning pavements would only be treated during working hours Monday to Friday.
It would mean routes currently gritted by 7.30am would not be gritted prior to school or work, as the operation would only start at 8am.
The local authority says it could mean a rise in the accident and casualty rate, and there would be reduced resilience in times of severe weather.
10. Winter maintenance – reduce coverage
Saving: £322,000.
Another proposal from the council would see network coverage for winter maintenance cut by 20% – or nearly 200km of roads.
This would see many routes currently treated as category two or three no longer receiving any treatment.
The council again highlights the potential for more accidents and public complaints as a result.
11. Change gritting schedules
Saving: £75,000.
The amount of time spent gritting category one routes would rise to three hours.
However, this would mean fewer vehicles would be able to treat category two roads, impacting on some school transport routes.
The council says this, in conjunction with the above proposal to cut coverage, would mean the number of gritters/ploughs being deployed dropping to 23, with “reduced resilience in times of severe weather and no breakdown cover”.
12. Cut modern apprenticeships
Saving: £150,000.
The council would reduce modern apprenticeships spending by a third, meaning 12 to 16 fewer opportunities being made available each year.
It states: “The reduction would require our workforce planning proposals in some hard-to-fill areas to be fundamentally reviewed and will limit choices.”
It also says this “could limit opportunities for young people from a more disadvantaged background to start a career”.
What else is in the budget?
Councillors previously agreed to a provisional council tax rise for 2022/23 of 4.25%, though it will be down to elected members to decide next week what level of rise to impose.
Elsewhere, the council has unveiled a revised capital budget for the years ahead – which includes a rise of £23.5m in the combined spending on Perth High
School, Blairgowrie Recreation Centre, the primary school at Bertha Park,
the schools audio visual programme and priority flood protection
schemes.
There is also a recommended £90m investment in the PH20 project, which would provide a replacement for Perth Leisure Pool and Dewars Centre with a major new leisure facility.
What has been said so far?
Chief executive Mr Glen said: “Like all councils in Scotland, we are facing difficult decisions regarding our budget this year.
“Rising inflation means many services and projects are costing more to deliver. In addition, demand for services and the changing needs of our residents is adding further pressure to the council budget.
“I am pleased that the budget report also outlines an organisational wide transformation and change programme that will help address the significant financial, economic, social and environmental challenges that the council and local communities are facing.
To redirect our limited resources to these priority areas, officers have had to identify a number of options to make budget reductions in other service areas
Chief executive Thomas Glen
“These officer proposals underline investment in our economic wellbeing strategy, ambitious climate change priorities agreed by the council and ongoing support to our ambitious capital programme.
“To redirect our limited resources to these priority areas, officers have had to identify a number of options to make budget reductions in other service areas.
“These include areas such as internal administration costs, winter maintenance and community greenspace, while seeking to minimise impact on our communities and in particular the most vulnerable individuals.”
Strathtay Councillor and local SNP leader Grant Laing was eager to confirm that none of the proposed cuts are guaranteed to happen.
He said: “This is a scenario that has been put out by the council to make a balanced budget but local elected members who will be held to account by the electorate in May will decide what is important and what is not important – and they will still have to come up with a balanced budget.
“Nothing is set in stone until next Wednesday.”
Other councillors we have spoken to – Chris Ahern (Conservatives), Bob Brawn (Conservatives), Stewart Donaldson (SNP) and Richard Watters (SNP) – have declined to comment until the budget is set.
What happens next?
Councillors will meet virtually next Wednesday (February 23) from 9.30am to discuss budget proposals and agree on spending plans for 2022/23.
Although the ideas for cuts have come from council officials, the final decisions will lie with elected members – who will either have to impose the cuts suggested or find other ways to save or raise cash.
The position is made more complex by the fact that the council is run by a minority Conservative administration.
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