“Council services support all our lives every day in different ways. Everything we do matters and makes a contribution to life in Argyll and Bute, which is what makes setting the council’s budget so challenging.”
Councillor Jim Lynch, Leader of Argyll and Bute Council set out the challenge as the council prepares to set its budget next week:
“We face a budget gap of nearly £11 million in 2025/26. This is estimated to increase to nearly £57 million over the next four years. That’s a staggering amount. Especially as the council’s already delivered tens of millions of pounds of savings in recent years. How can we keep services that people need and want going? How can we deliver most benefit from the budget the council has? Those will be key points for consideration when we set the budget next week.”
The Council meets on Thursday 27 February to set the budget.
Councillor Ross Moreland, Policy Lead for Financial Services said:
“The Council works hard to attract millions of pounds from government and other national funding streams to make possible things that the council budget alone could not deliver. Decisions made today highlight that, with funding agreed to support various projects across Argyll and Bute. This kind of additional income however comes with criteria for what it’s used for and doesn’t unfortunately reduce the budget gap for day-to-day services, like running schools, collecting bins or funding social care.”
At yesterday’s meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee, councillors agreed project funding from various sources including the UK Prosperity Fund, Crown Estates and Community Regeneration Partnership Funding.
