Members of the public still have time to submit their views on Dundee City Council’s spending priorities for the next financial year.
The ongoing budget consultation closes at the end of January, having been extended in order to give more people the opportunity to influence the council’s priorities for 2021/22.
The budget is due to be set in March, and comes as the city responds to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be part of the process of recovery and renewal, while balancing the pressure on council budgets.
Willie Sawers, deputy convener of Dundee City Council’s policy and resources committee and spokesperson on finance, said: “It’s been a difficult year for all of us and as we move forward, we want to ensure we have as much public engagement as possible in what the council’s priorities are in the budget.
“We’ll soon be sitting down to plan the budget for the year ahead. It’s been a difficult year with COVID-19, which is obviously having a huge economic impact on the city and the council, so that makes it all the more important that the public have a view on how the council spends its money.
“We know that everyone has had a different experience throughout the pandemic and that will have undoubtedly affected individuals’ views on the council’s services as well. We want to reflect that in our budget-setting process, so this year, more than ever, it’s important that members of the public share their priorities with us.
“The council spends money on a vast range of services, ranging from children and on Education to care services for older people, housing, parks, bin collections, road maintenance and a whole host of other services. We want to know which of these services have become more important to individuals over the last year and how that should be reflected in next year’s budget.
“I’m grateful to the many people across the city who have already taken part in the consultation, and would certainly urge anyone who lives or works in the city, or uses the services provided by the council, to have their say too.”
It is expected that the Local Government Finance Settlement will be announced in late January and in February a report will be submitted to the council’s policy and resources committee detailing the grant settlement and what it means for the council’s budget. This report will also include the proposed procedure for setting the revenue budget and council tax for 2021/22 in March.
Cllr Sawers added: “There is a considerable amount of information to be factored in to drawing up the council’s budget and the feedback from the consultation process helps us to have a better handle on what people in Dundee are thinking, which in turn helps us to make more informed financial decisions.
“Council services are used by everyone who lives and works in Dundee and our decisions directly affect them, so it is vital that as many people as possible take part in the consultation.”
Dundee City Council’s budget consultation can be found at: http://bit.ly/budgetDCC
Dundee City Council
Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.
