The Council's Budget - an update

As reported in tonight's Evening Telegraph, I have made clear that it is about time the City Council’s SNP administration took a report to committee outlining all the options it was considering to meet the Council’s budget shortfall – and to also indicate which were the options the administration proposed to take forward, and which it was rejecting. This follows on from a meeting of opposition group leaders at the City Council yesterday.

The so-called “Changing for the Future Board” is not an acceptable way forward as it is proposed it would meet in secret and would fail to include Trades Union representatives on it.

It is important that the SNP administration acts in a transparent way. The administration owes this to the council’s staff and the wider public. Thus far, the administration has talked much about secret Boards, but has not given any indication as to which cuts it is considering and what the options are.

The administration owes it to the council’s staff and the people of Dundee to remove uncertainty and to bring a report to the Council’s Policy and Resources Committee outlining all the options it is considering. This will allow both the administration and opposition members to scrutinise all the options and the administration can advise which proposals it intends to take forward.

Time is not on the council’s side if it is to make the savings for the next financial year – likely to be around £20 million for 2011/12 alone – in time. Much discussion and negotiation will be required and the sooner the uncertainty is removed and the SNP administration starts levelling with people, the better.

By bringing a report to the Policy & Resources Committee, the process can be seen to be open and transparent. It will also allow for representations to be made – for example, by the trades unions – by way of deputations. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is that uncertainty and silence on the detail is promptly replaced by open and transparent discussion of the options facing the City Council.

You can hear my comments on Wave 102 news today by clicking on 'play' above.