Council spending - have YOUR say

Symbister Hall - 1 November

Council told to encourage young people back to Shetland

Population growth was the focus of the Council’s fifth public meeting to discuss how to save £26 million from its budget over the next two years.

Around 30 people attended the session in the Symbister Hall, which began with a presentation on the authority’s finances, led by Councillors Caroline Miller and Betty Fullerton, Director of Development, Neil Grant and Head of Finance, Hazel Sutherland.

The Council’s ambition to increase Shetland’s population was queried by a person who asked if this is being concentrated toward encouraging more young people to live in the Isles. Director of Development, Neil Grant, confirmed this is case, explaining that the future health of Shetland’s economy is dependent on maintaining a sustainable working population.

The issue was also raised by a recent university graduate who explained that many students come home and have to settle for jobs that don’t make proper use of their skills. She suggested that Council opportunities could be offered on a voluntary basis, such as helping to organise future consultation meetings. This, she argued, could reduce the authority’s costs and help graduates develop their skills and experience. She also asked the Council to offer more graduate jobs in core areas of growth, which would help foster a more entrepreneurial culture and increase employment.

Education was a recurring issue, with the continued absence of a new Anderson High School and the related costs behind the project highlighted by one commenter. Another said that nursery provision must be recognised as ‘the most important’ part of a child’s development and should be excluded when thinking about cutting services. A second person asked if current arrangements for music tuition were making the best use of council money, and whether recent cuts to the rates paid to supply teachers were fair. Councillor Fullerton replied, saying the authority will revisit music tuition in a forthcoming review and the reduction of supply teachers’ pay was a national requirement.

Unnecessary wastage was mentioned by several people. One commenter suggested that significant sums of money would be saved if kitchens in schools and care homes used left-over food in recipes the follow day, instead of throwing it out. An ex-teacher added that in her experience there was a great difference between schools when it came to providing meals, with some offering a lavish menu of five choices, while others were more sensible by cooking only a few dishes.

Wasteful spending at the end of the financial year was raised by a commenter who spoke of a perception among the public that Council departments rush to rid themselves of unspent money to avoid future budget reductions. Head of Finance, Hazel Sutherland, said she would look into the issue, adding that managers across the council were being told to find further savings from existing budgets.

Other suggestions included spending to save by building fixed links; transferring the Council’s financial reserves to trusts in order to attract more Government funding; devolving planning decisions to community councils; better procurement, and working more closely with the NHS and voluntary sector.

Written by Jordan Ogg

Click here for a full transcript of the meeting

 

If you have a savings suggestion for the council please email: savings@shetland.gov.uk

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