Western Isles Council confirm a freeze on council tax rates for this year

Councillors in the Western Isles met yesterday (Tuesday) to set the authority’s budget as it looked to make savings of £2.3m in 2021/22 and £1.17m the following year.

The budget agreement means that Band D Council Tax for the Western Isles will remain at £1,193.49 for the coming year.

The Comhairle received a slight increase in its budget for core services from the Scottish Government earlier this month, but that equates, the authority has stated, to less than one per cent increase for the year, and including £372k to fund the freeze on council tax.

Funding from the Scottish Government for the Comhairle’s Capital budget remains unchanged from the current year at £6.5m, a figure described as “disappointing” by Comhairle Leader Cllr Roddie MacKay during yesterday’s (February 24) budget meetings.

In December, the Comhairle had agreed business plans for its services which, the authority states, will deliver the required savings for the next two years but, while the settlement with the Scottish Government means that no additional savings will need to be found, there were warning at yesterday’s budget meetings of potential threats to the Comhairle’s finances.

The threats outlined include the level of staff pay settlements, costs arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, the final cost of this winter’s road maintenance budget, which is currently showing a deficit in the region of £700k, and and additional funds needed by the Western Isles Integration Joint Board (IJB), which plans and delivers community health and social care in the Islands, which has a budget gap of £800k.

The Comhairle's budget has also been set ahead of the Scottish Government's budget being finalised on March 9, but a report on the budget process before councillors stated that while changes to the Scottish Government Budget might still occur "...it is considered that any changes are only likely to improve the local government settlement".

Before Tuesday night’s meeting of the Comhairle’s full council, which agrees the budget, the authority’s service committees had met across the day to agree budget proposal with regard to their respective areas of responsibility.

But last week, a number of councillors had lodged amendments to the budget proposals, with the SNP group of councillors, under the leadership of Cllr Gordon Murray, proposing a five-part amendment.

Their proposals included funding for the building of an all-weather sports pitch at Stornoway Primary School, securing a dental facility within Taighe Cridhe Uille Naobh in Daliburgh, the reinstating of the concessionary fares on the Sound of Barra and Sound of Harris ferries and support for the abattoirs in Uist and Barra, along with proposals for the funding of these developments.

The Alliance Group of councillors proposed an amendment to the budget that would see the e-Sgoil team vacate their current Francis Street base in Stornoway and move into the Comhairle’s HQ on Sandwick Road, with the Francis St building subsequently being sold, and to dispose of the Comhairle’s ‘surplus buildings’ to invest £100k in Stornoway abattoir.

Stornoway Councillor Rae Mackenzie also proposed that the winter maintenance budget, which covers road gritting, should receive £250k from the authority’s financial balances.

In its amendments, the SNP group, along with Barra councillor Donald Manford also responded to the recent announcement by the Scottish Government of additional funding for bridge maintenance that could see the Comhairle save some of the money committed to the replacement Bernera Bridge.

These amendments proposed that specified sums of monies saved should be allocated to roads maintenance, with a split of any funds being 60 per cent spent on roads in Lewis and Harris and 40 per cent for Uist and Barra.

However, as Tuesday’s committee meetings began and the process of agreeing budget proposals got underway, Comhairle Leader, Cllr Roddie MacKay brought forward a series of additional budget proposals covering many of the areas in the proposed budget amendments which were due to be debated at full council, including the all-weather pitch, concessionary fares, support for abattoirs and the use of any savings from the Bernera Bridge replacement for roads maintenance.

Cllr MacKay said to the committees that he felt that the best way to secure ‘action and progress’ on the the matters in the proposed amendments was at the committees.

He then put forward proposals that would see a report on the completion of the all-weather pitch at Stornoway Primary school coming to the next meeting of the Education, Sport and Children’s Services committee, a report to the Transport and Infrastructure Committee on the impact, costs and benefits of reintroducing concessionary fares on the Sound of Harris and Sound of Barra ferries, and a report to the Sustainable Development Committee on support for abattoirs across the islands.

The committees backed the Leader’s proposals, but during debate some councillors raised concerns that the process of bringing reports to committees did not have the same policy commitment as agreeing the amendments proposed at full council with their funding arrangements.

During the meeting of the Comhairle’s Education, Sport and Children’s Services Committee, Cllr MacKay gave reassurances to councillors that the reports on the all-weather pitch for Stornoway Primary School would be about 'implementation' and about getting 'spades into the ground' this year for the project.

At the subsequent meeting of the full council, the Alliance Group withdrew their amendments and councillors backed the Leader’s additional budget proposals for the all-weather pitch at Stornoway Primary School, the reintroduction of concessionary fares on the Sound of Barra and Harris ferries, support for abattoirs, and the possible relocation of the e-Sgoil team to Sandwick Road, along with the commitment of savings on Bernera Bridge replacement to roads maintenance.

Reports on these matters will now be prepared for consideration by the Comhairle's committees.

Proposals for a new dental chair in Daliburgh put forward by the SNP group were unsuccessful.