HIGHLAND Council’s power-sharing Liberal Democrats have been branded “misguided and alarmist” after predicting there could be a £100million shortfall in the region’s finances over the next four years.
Disputing its accuracy, opposition SNP group leader John Finnie described the forecast as “potentially offensive and certainly ill-timed”.
He said: “There was a debate last Thursday in the council chamber on the council’s response to the economic downturn.
“How helpful it would have been if (budget leader) David Alston had shared his views then, rather than waiting to grandstand with his prophecies of doom.
“We could have put him right on his misguided and much-repeated pronouncements. Yes, there’s grief and the grief is going to have to be shared, but the manner in which the administration dispenses news of significant employment matters leaves a lot to be desired.
“The reality is that our workforce has already been heavily hit with the issue of job evaluation, with thousands appealing. ”
Mr Finnie denied that the SNP group’s decision to walk out on the previous power-sharing coalition in June last year was due to inside knowledge about future Scottish Government grants.
“We left a costed budget and, from memory, reserves of £18million,” he said.
The administration is currently made up of a coalition of Independents, Lib Dems and Labour.
Mr Finnie blamed Westminster for the UK’s financial plight, claiming Labour and the Tories were “trying to outdo each other on potential economies they are going to make”, and warned that the consequences for the Scottish Government settlement would be “significant”.
Scotland’s local authorities are two years into the government’s “concordat” aimed at securing a four-year council tax freeze. Those who breach it risk potentially hefty penalties.
Mr Alston accused the SNP group of preferring “to sit on the sidelines, blame the administration and avoid responsibility for difficult decisions”.
He said: “(Scottish Finance Minister) John Swinney is being open and honest about the problems, but I do not think that is matched by many of his colleagues in the Highlands.”
Mr Alston warned in an interview in yesterday’s P&J that schools could be closed or merged, hundreds of jobs could go and that charges for many council services may need to rise in the next few years.