Council must do more to deliver savings

Falkirk Council must do more to deliver £46m of savings over the next three years, according to Scotland’s public sector spending watchdog.

The Accounts Commission said the local authority generally delivers a good standard of council services, particularly in education, but it has relied “too heavily” in the past on small-scale savings projects, reducing services and increasing charges.

The commission continued by saying it has “significant” concerns that this approach is inadequate to ensure service standards are maintained and improved.

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Douglas Sinclair, chairman of the Accounts Commission, said: "Falkirk Council needs to do a great deal to provide assurance that it can deal with the financial challenges ahead.

"It must commit to a more ambitious financial plan that clearly sets out its priorities and how spending reductions will impact on services, and the people who use them.

“There needs to be better leadership to achieve this, and councillors must fully engage with the new scrutiny arrangements, which will be essential when difficult decisions inevitably need to be made."

The commission’s report said difficult working relationships and political tensions between councillors have led to a lack of proper scrutiny over the past two years.

However, while new arrangements are now in place, the council needs to show that they are working effectively.

Councillor Craig Martin, leader of Falkirk Council said: “The council will consider the report shortly and prepare an improvement plan which will take us forward and address the issues raised by the Accounts Commission.

“However, the financial challenges facing the council cannot be under estimated. Members need to work together to explore all possible ways in which our budget can be balanced.

“We are fully confident that we can work across the board to ensure that we address the challenges highlighted by auditors most of which are common to all council’s in Scotland.”

Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, leader of the opposition, said the audit took place late last year and reflects a point in time. 

He added: “Members are focussed on working together to ensure the best services we can for the community of the Falkirk Council area, given the scale of challenge the Council faces.”

The report will be presented formally to a meeting of Falkirk Council in October, with auditors scheduled to return in 2016 to review progress.