Highland council leader Margaret Davidson warned last night that people needed to “get real” on the issue of fresh budget cuts.
Emerging from talks at the local authorities’ organisation Cosla, she reaffirmed that the council was preparing for a “worst case scenario” from this Thursday’s grant settlement statement.
The Scottish Government insists that it has treated councils fairly despite cuts to the Scottish budget from the Westminster government and that Highland will continue to receive a fair share of available funding.
Finance Secretary Derek Mackay has promised a Scottish draft budget to “support our economy, tackle inequality and provide high quality public services for all.”
Councillor Davidson said council services had been “cut to the bone after years of real terms reduction in funding,” making £135million of savings since 2010-11.
“If we don’t get a flat cash settlement, we’re facing a potential £26million hole in our budget which will result in having to reduce or stop providing some services and functions,” she said.
“Nothing will be decided until February. However, people need to get real. Cuts on this scale can simply not be made without significant reductions to some services.”
