Angus Council 2020/21 Budget Statement

Angus Council 2020/21 Budget Statement by Deputy Leader and Finance Convener, Cllr Angus Macmillan Douglas:

Angus Council will set its budget for 2020/21at its meeting on Thursday 27 February 2020.

It has been a challenging process, but one we have all met with the necessary determination, design and intent to support and enable our communities to seize the opportunities available to them and to lead better lives.

We have agreed a wide-ranging package of measures that will ensure Angus Council can work with our communities to make them stronger, more resilient and better enabled to shape all their futures.

At the same time as the Scottish Government’s budget has increased by up to 5%, the funding of Angus Council has been cut by 2.5% in real terms for 2020/21 - this takes inflation into account, as well as the ring-fencing of funds for Scottish Government projects at the expense of other important local priorities.

As a Council, we will have made savings of about £61.7 million in the five years between 2017 and 2022 – a staggering amount that equates to about 22% of our present revenue budget (£283 million). By comparison that is like telling an employee on £20,000 that they will now be earning £15,600 a year.

Our overall objectives remain steadfast and we are determined to continue to direct our available resources to these. We will challenge any and all unnecessary expenditure, work with our Officers to improve the effectiveness of the Council; and provide value for money for Angus residents.

I continue to be impressed by the way staff, working with our colleagues in the Administration, have managed to take 27% out of Council costs, while maintaining services and protecting our reserves, so we are resilient and able to respond to any need or opportunity.

It is a stunning achievement of which we should all be proud, but the ability to carry out such feats cannot be sustained indefinitely.

Angus Council’s leadership and staff are demonstrating exceptional professionalism and diligence - working hard to defend vital, frontline services while ensuring essential savings are achieved and making Angus a brilliant place in which to work, live and visit.

We should all be proud of their hard work and achievements.

There is no secret that this makes us a smaller Council, but one that is highly-prioritised, effective and equipped to empower our citizens and local community groups.

Our financial & change and workforce plans will deliver on The Angus Council Plan, which is driven by four strategic priorities, which are –

Angus is a go to place for business

Angus Council will continue to work hard for business, particularly as a partner in the Tay Cities Deal – by engaging with our local businesses to invest money provided by the Scottish and UK governments.

We will be investing £650k in apprenticeships and be welcoming inward investment throughout Angus, most immediately in offshore wind-farms - making use of the UK’s position as the leading investor in the world in offshore wind.

Angus Council will continue to encourage wireless providers of high speed broadband to expand on the 700 businesses and households that these firms now provide in rural Angus. We believe we are Scottish leaders in this rural and highland connectivity, which comes at little cost to the Council Tax payer.

We have increased the proportion of Council contracts that are serviced by local contractors to 37% (by even more when the work we commission through Tayside Contracts is taken into consideration). We aim to increase this percentage further over the next few years.

We want to maximise inclusion and reduce inequalities

We will enhance educational outcomes and children’s lifetime opportunities in ways that are compatible with equity and inclusion, including supporting their mental health and well-being. That involves us working with our looked-after and care-experienced children to ensure they get the support from us that they need.

In Angus, we will see investment in two new early learning centres, in Forfar and Carnoustie, as well as extensions to existing schools, to be ready for opening in August, so two to five-year-olds can be provided with 1140 hours per year of early learning.

Brand new Ladyloan and Muirfield Primary Schools have been officially declared open for learning in Arbroath. In recent days, we welcomed the children into their new Hayshead/St Thomas Campus – Abbey View which, due to the ambition and determination of this administration in partnership with our Arbroath communities, we combined for our first shared Angus campus, including St Thomas.

Our next main education project is the Monifeith school cluster. Additional Capital in this budget will be included to support our discussions with Scottish Futures Trust and the citizens of all schools within that cluster to fully consider the potential spend of £45m being brought forward as a partnership.

We want our communities to be strong, resilient and led by citizens

We want to encourage local leadership by the community in the community. Already, there are countless examples where our communities are taking on roles and activities that were previously done by the Council. It was inspiring to learn just how much is going on at a recent joint meeting of Community Councils

We have taken some hard decisions on recycling, ensuring that genuine recycling centres are available in all our towns but the result has been outstanding. Angus is now in third place among the top Scottish local authorities when it comes to the proportion of waste it has recycled. This is both excellent for the environment and also saves taxpayers money.

Angus Council is responsible for a large area of roads. The income from our parking charges – paid by residents and visitors alike - is allowing us to work with residents to increase road repairs, especially in the rural areas.

We want Angus Council to be efficient and effective

Our Change Programme has delivered about £40m of productivity improvements in three years. It is a stunning achievement and we are confident that huge progress has been and continues to be made. We have analysed individual services, introduced new technology and zero based budgeting.

We have a focus on demand management to ensure that the right service reaches the right resident, in the most useful and cost effective way and will work with our partners (other Councils, Tayside Contracts, Angus Alive, the IJB, the Police and the Fire service) to reduce duplication and achieve this in the years ahead.

The 2020/21 budget will continue to drive these objectives. The more we can improve the productivity of Angus Council, the better we are able to protect essential services for residents, in the face of Government funding cuts.

The more that Angus Council helps citizens and communities to help themselves, the more the Council can focus on those essential services that require Council delivery to those who need them most.

It is not solely about savings. We have already agreed a range of investments that include –

• £100,000 over two years in modern foundation and graduate apprenticeships at Angus Council, assisting succession planning and reducing costs.
• £180,000 over two years to employ two professionals to ensure Tayside, including Angus and Angus Council, reap the maximum benefits of the Tay Cities Deal – which has aims of bringing 15,000 jobs and £1.8bn into the region. For Angus that will mean new jobs, investment in tourism, broadband, enabling infrastructure, manufacturing and training – investment that will take place across Angus.
• £200,000 over two years in a Legal Officer and a Commercial Officer to promote the sale of surplus Angus Council property and further reduce the council’s estate.
• Invest £640,000 over three years in the Glen Clova Project – an initiative that supports mothers and children in particularly difficult circumstances, thus reducing demand upon child protection.
• £750,000 over two years on road improvements, specifically surface dressing. We are determined to focus available resources into maintaining Angus’ 1,814km of roads so our citizens can go about their daily lives.

This year, we will go further by adding additional projects that by design will do good and save money over the longer term. They include –

• £180,000 investment in the Holiday Food and Fun Project and other initiative to address child poverty – Since this initiative launched last year, Angus Council has provided over 120 holiday drop-in sessions; handed out more than 3,000 food bags; and provided over £36,000 in ‘food only’ vouchers - supporting more than 12,500 children to access food through the ‘Holiday Food and Fun’ programme.

• £500,000 in road maintenance and safety. This investment comes from income generated by residents and visitors paying to use Angus Council car parks. A backlog of repairs created by past funding cuts will be tackled and road safety measures, including reduced speed limits and dropped kerbsides, will be introduced to make our towns and villages safer.

• £100,000 will be invested in two Rapid Response Environmental Teams. The teams will allow the expansion of our bulky uplift service, litter and fly-tipping clearance, as well as verge cleaning. Their roles will also cover power washing and the provision and replacement of household waste bins. A new Environmental Compliance Officer will also be recruited to and their role will involve the enhancement of inquiries into fly-tipping and ensuring commercial waste compliance. Many, if not all of these are issues of concern for our communities and we share in their determination to tackle them.

• £470,000 on improving Angus Council’s efficiency and effectiveness. There is an opportunity to work with partners for the delivery of services in a more effective and cost-effective way, by ensuring the right service is provided to the right people at the right time. £470k will be set aside to spend over three years on a service delivery redesign project. It will see Angus Council work more closely still with our partners and focus on identifying ways to ensure more of our approximately £115 million annual procurement is spent with local contractors and we always provide value for money. At present, we have increased this proportion to approximately 37% and we want to go further.