Falkirk Council slow in “grasping the nettle” of major challenges ahead

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Falkirk Council has been slow in “grasping the nettle” of major challenges ahead, according to Scotland’s local government spending watchdog.

In a report out today, the Accounts Commission said it is disappointed with the amount of progress at Falkirk since last August. 

At that time it voiced significant concerns over the council's approach to making £46m of savings over three years to protect the delivery and improvement of service priorities.

That figure has now grown to £61m.

Douglas Sinclair, Accounts Commission chairman, said: "All councils need to get to grips with looming budget shortfalls over the next three years but Falkirk has been slow to realise the scale of what is required and make effective plans for it.

"It must now grasp this nettle and meet the challenges it faces through strong leadership both from councillors and its management team.”

The report said while there has been “much activity” in the council in responding to the Commission’s previous findings, improvement has been limited in addressing the underlying need for better coordinated and more radical change.

It said Falkirk urgently needs to identify and agree its key priorities supported by a more robust approach to financial planning and improvement showing how substantial change can be achieved.

However, the report also said it was encouraged by better working between councillors and scrutiny had also improved although this could be “more open and transparent”.

The Commission has asked for another update on Falkirk Council by the end of next year.

Councillor Craig Martin, leader of Falkirk Council, said: “The report has stated where progress is being made across a number of areas, however, we recognise more can be done to improve.

 “Falkirk Council is fully aware of its responsibilities and many of the improvements required are already being worked on.

“Last year the Accounts Commission said they had concerns about our ability to achieve the savings necessary to set a balanced budget for 2016/17.

“Despite having to find an unprecedented saving of £25 million on our budget, members stepped up to the mark and took the difficult decisions to make sure we set a balanced budget. It now looks like we need to plan for further savings of £25 million in 2017/18 and members are currently considering options on how this will be achieved.

“We are proud to say that Falkirk Council has a reputation across local government for being financial prudent. This reputation has been built over many years and I believe our financial performance stands scrutiny against anyone else.”

Martin also stated the audit came seven months after the previous report was completed, “so while progress has been made in some areas, additional time is needed to see through all of the recommendations”.

Falkirk Council is controlled by a Labour/Conservative/Independent coalition administration.