Highland Council budget leaders have scrapped a number of controversial cost-cutting measures.
Plans to cut funding for service’s such as the Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) and Women’s Aid have been dropped – while the north’s ranger service and street cleaning will face small cut-backs than first feared.
The council are also hoping to make fewer job losses than initially planned.
However, the authority still needs to make £26million worth of savings.
The independent administration’s full budget plans are due to be published next week.
Highland Council budget leader Bill Fernie said: “We have however done our best to mitigate the impact whilst recognising how our decisions will affect communities, partners and staff.
“Our refined package of proposals enable us to balance the budget with as few cuts and job losses as possible. We are allowed to raise council tax by 3% and this together with the Scottish Government’s increase in tax to the higher bands, will bring in over £8million in additional revenue.
“Through recruitment restrictions and a planned management of vacancies over the coming year, efficiencies which can be made through redesign, increasing income revenue and rationalisation of management structures, we have been able to reduce the amount of savings which had been originally proposed for some services.”
Mr Fernie confirmed cuts to voluntary groups assisting children’s services have been reduced.
A reduction of 10% to CAB agreed in 2014 will not be brought forward in order to create a new system to make the service more efficient.
Inverness branch manager Alasdair Christie said the service was “relieved and delighted” by the change which would have affected eight branches across the north.
Proposed cuts to music tuition have also been reduced – while the rangers service, which in line to be scrapped completely will see their budget drop instead.
Senior councillors will also have their allowances reduced.
Mr Fernie added: “Taking £26 million out of the budget will certainly have an impact, but we have done our very best to mitigate this for vulnerable people in our communities.”
Councillor Maxine Smith, leader of the SNP opposition group, said: “I am pleased to see the administration have listened to the opposition’s pleas to remove some of the harsh cuts they were proposing to foist upon the most vulnerable groups in Highland.
“This is welcome news, as it wasn’t known three years ago how the cruel welfare changes and cuts coming from the UK Government would impact on Highland people, but now it is becoming clear that we need organisations, such as the CAB to assist people when they find their financial situation is untenable, especially with the dramatic slicing of the universal credit imposed by Westminster.”