Labour councillors call for ‘fearless opposition’ to council cuts

Labour have called for a campaign of ‘fearless opposition’ to Scottish Government cuts to council budgets after SNP and Independent groups refuse to accept pre-conditions for cross-party budget talks at South Lanarkshire Council.

South Lanarkshire Council HQ

South Lanarkshire Council HQ

The Independent councillor chairing budget talks and the SNP Council Leader have both ruled out accepting any preconditions to cross-party discussions on South Lanarkshire Council’s budget.

Labour’s three preconditions that must be met before the group will get round the table with other parties are:

  • That funding for Breakfast Clubs continues
  • That funding for Holiday Lunch Clubs continues
  • That early years and childcare provision continues from the time a child turns 3, rather than the statutory minimum of the following term.

Labour’s demands follow a request from local government umbrella body COSLA for a revenue budget settlement from the Scottish Government that rises to £12.1 billion across Scotland and replaces funding slashed in previous years.

Instead of just administering austerity, let’s mobilise South Lanarkshire in a campaign of fearless opposition to council budget cuts.

Councillor Joe Fagan

Councillor Joe Fagan

Councillor Joe Fagan is Leader of the Labour Group on South Lanarkshire Council

 

Leader of the Labour Opposition, Councillor Joe Fagan said:

Labour councillors have set perfectly reasonable pre-conditions that must be met before we can take part in cross-party budget talks. These are only the first of our red lines but these are lines that no progressive council can seriously cross.

The economic crisis that follows Covid will hit local families hard and it is unthinkable that, in this year of all years, the Council could take the axe to Breakfast Clubs or Holiday Lunch Clubs or our ‘Free at 3’ policy on childcare provision.

Instead of just administering austerity, let’s mobilise South Lanarkshire in a campaign of fearless opposition to council budget cuts. With a spending gap of £100 million to be met between now and 2027, it should be clear to everyone that things have to change.

We need a fair, restorative budget settlement from the Scottish Government to help us save people’s services.

After a decade of austerity, frontline workers and local services are being stretched to breaking point. The Council is considering draconian cuts to core services now because the SNP government in Edinburgh has consistently failed to protect council budgets and defend our communities. We can’t go on like this.

The message from Labour is clear: enough is enough.

 

Details of the proposed cuts can be found here.

 

13th January 2021

Posted by HLSLabour

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