Finance Secretary John Swinney last night agreed to examine the possibility of changing strict accountancy rules to help a hard-up north-east council.
The move would enable Aberdeen City Council, which is facing £27million of budget cuts, to move money from its capital accounts, principally reserved for funding building projects, into its revenue account which are used to pay for services for vulnerable people.
The ambitious strategy is one of several that north-east politicians from all parties proposed to Mr Swinney at a meeting in the Scottish Parliament yesterday.
Other proposed measures include transferring services and enterprises for vulnerable people to charities and setting up a trust to run Linx Ice Arena, near the city’s beach.
Mr Swinney has also agreed to examine steps to help Doonies Farm, workshops for the blind and the possibility of allowing the £10million payments for staff’s equal pay to be funded from capital funds.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Nicol Stephen, MSP for Aberdeen South, argues that accountancy rules “could be changed” because the Westminster Government has given councils in England and Wales the freedom to do it to meet spending needs.
“Action is needed urgently and we have to push very hard to ensure that money can be moved from capital accounts into revenue accounts,” he said.
“John Swinney indicated he has already approached the Treasury about that issue and hopes for an early decision.”
Mr Swinney, who has agreed to review the funding formula which determines how much money councils are allocated, made it clear that while the SNP Government was prepared to help council bosses find solutions, it would not be handing over additional resources.
The MSP for Tayside North said: “What I have said to the council is we will look to ways in which the council may be able to redesign services and transform them into social enterprises.
“But the council has to live within its means and tackle the challenges that have built up over the years.”
The meeting, which involved nine constituency and regional list MSPs and council leader Kate Dean and her deputy Kevin Stewart, was described as “constructive”.
Mrs Dean, who is lobbying for a fairer funding settlement for the council because it receives one of the worst settlements in Scotland, agreed that the ability to freely move money around could be a short-term solution.
Aberdeen Central Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald said it was “moderately encouraging” that Mr Swinney did not rule out proposals.
“The fact we have had this meeting gives us some encouragement but how serious they are to help and how much they are prepared to do remains to be seen,” he added.
Mr Stephen said he was pleased that the meeting had taken place before an Accounts Commission inquiry is due to start next month.
He added that the time had come for the “blame game” to stop and for all political parties to work together in partnership with the government to try to resolve the crisis.