Cllr Paul Steele, Leader of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and Malcolm Burr, Chief Executive of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar met with Joe FitzPatrick MSP, Minister for Local Government Empowerment and Planning on Wednesday 21 February.
The Minister advised at the meeting that the Comhairle would receive some extra funding from Scottish Government in addition to the initial budget settlement. The meeting and announcement of additional funding came following the setting of the Comhairle’s budget on Tuesday 20 February.
Cllr Paul Steele, said:
“The Comhairle warmly welcomes ongoing engagement with Scottish Government to improve this year’s Budget and will continue to make the case for further investment into the Western Isles. Last week’s discussions were constructive and the decision to make additional revenue available to the Comhairle is a positive and very welcome step in the right direction. At this stage the additional revenue stands at a recurring amount of roughly £400k, conditional on the detail of the UK Spring Budget. The exact amount of islands-specific funding is not clear at this stage.
“While positive and beneficial the timing of this discussion is not ideal. To set a budget amidst real-term funding cuts and rising costs is already challenging but to do so without a full picture of the financial settlement adds an unnecessary additional obstacle. Moving forward I would call on Scottish Government to take the democratic process and budget setting timetables of Local Authorities fully into account which would avoid a repeat of this situation.”