Liberal Democrats react to news of 'appalling' possible cuts to Dundee services

Dundee City Council's Liberal Democrat Group are greatly concerned about possible cuts to services which has been revealed in a report to the council's City Governance Committee.  LibDems describe these potential cuts as “huge and unacceptable”.

They have called on Scottish Government to step up and use the better than usual  Barnett Formula settlement from Westminster of around £3 billion over 2024/25 and 2025/26 to ensure that local government is given the necessary additional funding to avoid some of the cuts.

The report to City Governance Committee envisages - amongst other cuts - the possibility of :

•    Closing school swimming pools
•    Axing a number of school crossing patrollers
•    Cutting support to key city cultural and other local organisations
•    Axing city marketing completely
•    Cuts to children’s services of around £1.4 million
•    Closing the Ancrum Activities Centre and moving the services elsewhere
•    Cutting bin and recycling collections including general waste collections only every third week
•    Cuts to supported buses – ending any such support that has been cut by the SNP year on year – and the council’s support for Dundee flights to London

Leader of the LibDem Group Councillor Fraser Macpherson said:
“This is a menu of terrible choices but it is really the culmination of 17 years of SNP Scottish Government failure to properly support local government.  The block grant coming forward from Westminster is better than we have seen in recent years and it is now incumbent on the SNP Scottish Government to properly fund the local government settlement to ensure that in Dundee these dreadful possible cuts are avoided.”

“A key issue is going to be how well local government is funded to meet the cost of the National Insurance Employers’ Contribution increase which will cost Dundee City Council up to £7 million.  If this is properly funded in full, much of the pain of cuts will be lessened and personally, as I said to council officers, I would have held back consultation on the budget until this was clearer and the Scottish Government budget has been delivered in early December.” 
“At the moment the extent of cuts is not certain but what is in the paper going to committee is exceptionally worrying.” 

His group colleague West End Councillor Michael Crichton added :
“Some of the potential cuts such as cutting children’s services, closing school swimming pools, removing some school crossing patrollers and cutting devolved school budgets are frankly dreadful proposals.   If they come to pass it would be a demining indictment of years of SNP government both national and local.”
“The LibDem group is wholly against such damaging possible cuts and it is now for the Scottish Government to use its budget wisely to help save local services here in Dundee and across Scotland”