The week ahead...

Monday
I have a lunch time meeting with the divisional Police commander and will be attending the evening budget consultation meeting at Port Glasgow Community Campus.
Tuesday
I have a late morning meeting with officers and in the afternoon I am attending the Kilmacolm Primary School nativity show. In the evening I have a surgery in Kilmacolm Community Centre.
Wednesday
In the morning I have a meeting of the Council's Members' Budget Working Group. In the afternoon I will be attending the Craigmarloch School Christmas Show followed by my weekly meetings with the Chief Executive and Labour Group. In the evening I hope to attend the budget consolation meeting in Wemyss Bay Primary School.
Thursday
In the morning I am through in Edinburgh for a COSLA meeting with the Scottish Government. In the late afternoon I am meeting with Greenock Arts Guild and in the evening I will be attending a budget consolation meeting in Kilmacolm.
Friday
I am in Edinburgh for the COSLA Convention meeting.

The week ahead...

Monday
In the early evening I will be attending the inaugural meeting of the Council's cross-party budget working group followed by a meeting of the Kelburn Action Group.
Tuesday
In the morning I will be attending the Cooperative Councils' Innovation Network Conference in Glasgow. In the afternoon I will be attending the Council's Pride of Inverclyde Awards at Port Glasgow Community Campus. In the evening I will be attending the Port Glasgow Senior Citizens' Christmas Dinner in the Town Hall.
Wednesday
In the afternoon I have my weekly meetings with the Chief Executive and Labour Group. In the evening I will be attending the Port Glasgow Christmas Lights Switch On followed by the Inverclyde Schools' Christmas Concert.
Thursday
In the afternoon I have meetings of the Environment & Regeneration Committee and full Council followed by the Greenock Christmas Lights Switch On and the first of the Council's budget consultation meetings in Notre Dame High School.
Friday
I have an interview with Inverclyde Radio in the late morning and an afternoon briefing for members of parliament on the Council's budget challenges. I will then be attending the Christmas Lights Switch Ons in Quarrier's Village and Kilmacolm.
Saturday
I will be attending the Labour Party's Scottish Executive Committee in Perth.

The week ahead...

Monday
In the morning I have a meeting of the Clyde Valley City Deal Cabinet in Glasgow. At lunch time I have the Inverclyde Council pre-agenda. In the evening I will be chairing a meeting of the Clune Park Task Group and then attending a meeting of Port Glasgow West Community Council.
Tuesday
In late morning I have my weekly meeting with the Chief Executive. In the evening I have a surgery in St Francis' Primary School followed by a meeting of Kilmacolm Community Council.
Wednesday
In the afternoon I have the Inverclyde Alliance Board pre-agenda and a meeting of the Labour Group. In the evening I will be attending the AGM of Boglestone Community Association.
Thursday
No Council commitments at this time.
Friday
Attending a River Clyde Homes Board planning event.
Saturday
In the morning I have day 2 of the RCH event followed by the Scottish Labour Councillors' Conference.

Congratulations to Gordon...

Congratulations to my Labour colleague Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council, on winning the Local Politician of the Year Award on Thursday night.

While it was an honour to have been nominated along with Gordon and the other Clyde Valley Council Leaders, Gordon rightly received his own nomination for his lead role in delivering a fantastic Commonwealth Games for Glasgow, as well as being the driving force behind our City Deal success.

I was sitting with Gordon on Thursday night when he received his award. It was good to see my fellow Portonian honoured.  

Urgent debate needed on how we fund local services...

Councils across Scotland have been hitting the headlines recently as they set out the scale of the budget challenges they face in the next few years. As readers of the Tele know, Inverclyde is facing the same challenges.

While we are in a relatively good position compared to many councils, in that we can set a budget for the next financial year 2015/16 without making damaging cuts to services, the following two years will be far more challenging unless both the UK and Scottish Governments adopt different policies in relation to public spending and taxation.

The initial reaction to the savings options released by Council officers has shown how unpopular a number of them are likely to be if the Council implements them.

The criticisms levelled at the Council on social media are no surprise, given that many come from people with a particular political agenda. Irrespective of the result of the recent referendum we would be facing the same, possibly greater, challenges.

I have been struck however by the number of people who are openly questioning the ongoing Council Tax freeze and now understanding the direct link between this and the impending cuts in services.

I’m sure that some readers would be surprised to know that the Council Tax in Inverclyde was last increased in April 2006. It was actually cut by a small amount in April 2007 by the then Lib Dem led Council. For the past seven financial years the Council Tax has been frozen and it will be frozen again next year as a condition of the Council’s funding settlement from the Scottish Government.

Assuming that without the freeze the Council Tax would have been increased each year by 3%, a household in the lowest Council Tax banded property is now £184 a year better off. A household in the highest band is £551 a year better off.

While everyone will welcome that their Council Tax has not increased it is clear that those in the most expensive properties have benefited most.

These figures are before we take into account the fact that the Council Tax Reduction Scheme currently pays out £6.7m a year in financial support to 12,180 of Inverclyde’s 38,653 households to help them meet the costs of the Council Tax.

Over 7,000, or 18%, of households in Inverclyde get a 100% reduction on their Council Tax bills, most of these being households in the lowest band of properties.

So in fact if you have qualified for 100% support due to your financial circumstances over the last 7 years you have had no benefit at all from the Council Tax freeze.

 In 2007 the then minority SNP Government pledged to abolish the Council Tax and replace it with a local income tax set and controlled by the Scottish Parliament rather than local Councils. They never introduced a bill into Parliament as they could not get other parties to support their proposal.

Seven years on we have a majority SNP Government and still there has been no progress on a replacement for the Council Tax, so it looks like it will be with us for at the least the next few years.

As I stated in a previous column, a 5% increase in the Council Tax would generate an additional £1.6m a year for the Council, which would go some way to avoiding a number of the worst cuts we face. Those on the lowest incomes would be protected in part or in full from this increase through the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

Much of the debate during the recent independence referendum centred on funding for public services, and in particular the NHS.

The financial challenges faced by Councils means we urgently need a similar debate about what level of local public services we want and how much we are prepared to pay for them.

The week ahead...

Monday
In the evening I will be attending a meeting of St Francis Primary School Parent Council.
Tuesday
In the morning I am speaking at a CVS Inverclyde Conference. In the afternoon I have my weekly meeting with the Chief Executive and a meeting of the Council's Policy & Resources Committee. In the  evening I will be attending a meeting of St Stephen's High School Parent Council.
Wednesday
For most of the day I will be attending the Scotland's Towns Conference in Paisley. In the late afternoon I have a meeting of the Labour Group.
Thursday
In the evening I will be attending the Scottish Politician of the Year Awards where I have been nominated for the Local Politician of the Year Award along with the leaders of the other seven Clyde Valley Councils in recognition of securing the 'City Deal' agreement for Glasgow and the Clyde Valley with the UK and Scottish Governments and the accompanying £1bn of funding.
Friday
I am at the COSLA Leaders meeting in Edinburgh for most of the day.

The week ahead...

Monday
In the morning I am meeting with Anas Sarwar, Labour's interim Scottish Leader, along with other Labour Group Leaders to discuss a number of current issues. In the evening I have a surgery in Clune Park Resource Centre.
Tuesday
I am attending a conference in my role as a Board Member of River Clyde Homes.
Wednesday
Day 2 of the conference. In the late afternoon I will be attending the weekly Labour Group meeting.
Thursday
In the evening I will be attending a meeting of Slaemuir Tenants' and Residents' Association.
Friday
In the afternoon I will be through in Edinburgh at COSLA for a meeting.

Explaining the Council's projected budget deficit...

Yesterday's Greenock Telegraph carried a story on potential job losses at Inverclyde Council  due to the projected budget deficit we face in the next three years. I have repeated below my Tele column from 8 October, which explains how officers have arrived at their figures. Hopefully this gives a bit of context to the Tele story.

"In my last column I spoke about the considerable financial challenges facing the Council, which the Tele’s headline last Thursday described as a “£15.3million budget black hole”.

While the projected funding gap over the next 3 years is of this order it is important to look behind the headline at how our officers have arrived at the figure quoted by the Tele.

The Council has already set an indicative budget for the next financial year 2015/16, which currently shows a surplus of £1.9m. Over the following two years officers are estimating a combined deficit of £17.2m, leading to a net deficit of £15.3m over the three year period.

They anticipate that in financial years 2016/17 and 2017/18 the Scottish Government will cut our grant by a total of £6.7m. Officers have also assumed a modest pay rise of 2% per year for employees at a cost of £4.2m and non-pay inflation of £2.6m (increases in utility charges, property costs, etc.). The grant we receive from the Scottish Government does not make any allowance for pay rises and general inflation.

Changes to public sector pensions add another £2.4m to our savings target. We are looking to continue major investment in the Council’s infrastructure, particularly roads and footways, which will cost £0.8m in borrowing costs. The final £0.5m to bring us to the £17.2m figure is due to anticipated budget pressures, such as the requirement to meet the needs of our growing elderly population.

No increase in the Council Tax has been assumed at this stage. A 5% increase in Council Tax would raise an extra £1.6m per year.

This is obviously a bleak outlook and if we do have to make £15.3m of savings there will be significant impacts on Council services and staff and in turn on you as the consumers of these services.

We will of course be lobbying the Scottish Government to try to secure a higher level of grant funding and the flexibility to increase the Council Tax. The Government itself will have greater flexibility as the Westminster Parliament has already granted it a number of new tax and borrowing powers. 

We will need to have an honest discussion with our workforce about the affordability of even a modest rise in pay due the constraints we face. This will not be easy given the pay restraint workers have had to endure for a number of years now.

And we will need to consider if we can continue to invest in our capital infrastructure if the price is savage cuts to frontline services.

It is important we hear the views of you, the community, before we make any decisions on savings.

The Council will be undertaking the most wide-ranging public budget consultation that we have ever conducted. There will be a range of ways for you to express your views.  

I would urge residents to take part in the budget consultation, which is planned to begin in November. It is important you have your say and examine the detail of any proposals officers put forward.

I can assure you that the feedback we receive from the community will inform the difficult decisions that elected members will ultimately have to make."

Proposal to implement new UK Living Wage rate...

I have today submitted a motion to the Council's Policy & Resources Committee calling for the new UK Living Wage rate of £7.85 per hour to be implemented with effect from 3 November 2014 following an announcement of the new higher rate by the Living Wage Foundation on that date.

The Council, in common with the other 31 Councils in Scotland, currently pays the previous national rate of £7.65 per hour. It is likely that the new rate will be implemented from 1 April 2015 as part of national pay negotiations but the Labour Administration would like to see Inverclyde Council implement the higher rate now rather than wait until April.

This move will benefit around 740 of the Council's employees in a range of areas, including cleaning and catering employees, school crossing patrol officers, cctv operators and clerical staff. Someone in a full-time post of 37 hours would see their pay increase by £385 a year with part-time staff benefiting pro-rata.

The cost of the proposal would be £45,000 in the current financial year and £110,000 in future years.

The Labour Administration will also be supporting moves at a national level to make the UK Living Wage rate the starting rate on Councils pay scales.

We hope there will be cross-party support for our proposal.

The week ahead...

Monday
In the afternoon I am attending a briefing on a major planning application followed by a meeting with officers. In the evening I am attending a community engagement event at the Port Glasgow Community Campus.
Tuesday
In the afternoon I have three meetings: the Policy & Resources pre-agenda; a presentation on attainment; and the Education & Communities Committee.
Wednesday
I have a morning meeting with the DWP followed by the launch of a new community service in Port Glasgow. In the afternoon I have my weekly meetings with the Chief Executive and the Labour Group. I hope to attend the Newark Parent Council in the evening but may not make it if the Labour Group runs on.
Thursday
I will be attending an all member budget briefing in the late afternoon.
Friday
No Council commitments at this time. In the evening I will be attending Greenock & Inverclyde Constituency Labour Party's nomination meeting for the Scottish Labour leadership contests.
Saturday
I will be attending a meeting of the Labour Party's Scottish Executive Committee.
Sunday
I will be representing the Council at Remembrance Sunday services in Gourock.

The week ahead...

Monday
I have a morning meeting with officers followed by a visit to the WHOOPI event in Greenock Town Hall. In the evening I will be attending meetings of the Kelburn Action Group and Port Glasgow West Community Council.
Tuesday
I have a lunch time meeting with officers. In the evening I have a surgery in Kilmacolm followed by meetings of Park Farm TARA and Kilmacolm Community Council.
Wednesday
In the afternoon I have my weekly meetings with the Chief Executive and Labour Group.
Thursday
In the morning I am attending a presentation at Newark Primary School on Rights Respecting Schools. In the afternoon I have several meetings including the Environment & Regeneration Committee.
Friday
I am through in Edinburgh at COSLA for most of the day.

My latest Greenock Telegraph column...

The Council’s new decriminalised parking scheme finally went live on Monday 6 October and it is fair to say that the public reaction, not unexpectedly, has been mixed.

It is worth recalling that the Council introduced this scheme following the problems caused by the unilateral decision of Police Scotland to withdraw its traffic wardens from Inverclyde in July 2011 to save money. It soon became evident that due to the lack of parking enforcement a minority of motorists felt they could park where they wanted and for as long as they wanted.

The Council therefore took the reluctant decision to develop proposals for a decriminalised parking scheme for approval by the Scottish Government.  Professional consultants with experience of similar schemes across the UK were engaged to design the scheme for central Greenock.

Following extensive public consultation and a review of the proposals by an independent expert the final scheme was approved by the Scottish Government and the Council.

The aim of the parking scheme is not, as some would have you believe, to make money. Any money raised through parking charges and penalties will go towards the costs of running the scheme. The Council will not make a profit from it.

The objectives of the scheme are to make Greenock Town Centre work better for local residents and businesses and to make our streets safer for motorists and pedestrians.

While a great deal of thought went into designing the scheme even the professionals were not able to anticipate in advance how motorists would react to the introduction of new parking restrictions and charges, and to the enforcement of existing traffic regulations that had not been consistently enforced for over three years.

It is probably true to say that in some respects the new scheme has been too successful in that more motorists have moved out of the inner town centre than was necessary. While it is still early days it is clear that changes are required to the scheme to ensure that visitors to the town centre have enough time to shop and that there is sufficient turnover of spaces so that other visitors are not dissuaded from coming into the town.

It is also important that we ensure that public car parks are used effectively. While we want to have sufficient spaces for shoppers it is equally important that car parks don’t lie half full with all day parkers clogging up streets on the periphery of the town centre.

As a listening Council we have pledged that we will review the operation of the scheme within 12 months. Where we identify specific issues that need to be addressed more quickly however, we will take action.

Officers will be bringing an update report to the Environment & Regeneration Committee on 30 October, which will give elected members the opportunity to consider changes to the scheme. 

On Saturday morning I attended a service in Greenock’s Westburn Church to celebrate the life of Jill Jones, Head Teacher of Kilmacolm Primary School.

Jill was an inspirational and highly respected teacher and Head Teacher and a great friend to many. She will be sorely missed by everyone within the school community and the wider education community in Inverclyde.

 My deepest condolences go to her loved ones.

The week ahead...

Monday
I have a morning meeting with a local business.
Tuesday
In the evening I have meetings of the River Clyde Homes Board and Audit & Finance Committee.
Wednesday
In the afternoon I have my weekly meetings with the Chief Executive and Labour Group.
Thursday
In the afternoon I will be attending a meeting of the Community Health & Care Partnership Sub-Committee. In the evening I will be attending the Slaemuir Tenants' & Residents' Association.
Friday
No Council commitments at this stage.

The week ahead...

Monday
I will be chairing a meeting of the Inverclyde Alliance Board in the afternoon. In the evening I will be attending a meeting of the Woodhall Task Group.
Tuesday
My only commitment at this time is an evening surgery in Boglestone Community Centre.
Wednesday
In the afternoon I have my weekly meetings with the Chief Executive and Labour Group. In the evening I will be attending the annual Garden Fest Awards.
Thursday
A busy afternoon with meetings of the Strategic Leadership Forum, Local Police & Fire Scrutiny Sub-Committee and the full Council. In the evening I will be attending a dinner for former employees of the Council.
Friday
In the morning I have a meeting at River Clyde Homes in my capacity as chair of the Audit & Finance Committee. In the afternoon I am speaking at a 'Mental Health Awareness Day' event.

Welcome for new heating systems for Park Farm homes...

I am delighted by the news that River Clyde Homes has teamed up with Carillion to deliver a gas supply to 83 tenanted homes in the Park Farm area of my ward paving the way for the installation of new modern and efficient gas heating systems. Home owners in the area will also have the opportunity to connect to the gas main so they can install their own gas heating systems.

Tenants' representatives and local councillors like myself have been lobbying for this for a number of years and it is pleasing that RCH management have found a cost effective way to deliver what tenants have been asking for.

I look forward to this initiative being rolled out to other areas of Inverclyde currently without a gas mains supply.

The week ahead...

Monday
I have the Inverclyde Council pre-agenda in the morning. In the evening I will be chairing a meeting of the Clune Park Task Group.
Tuesday
I have a Members' budget briefing and a special meeting of the Policy & Resources Committee in the afternoon.
Wednesday
In the morning I have a meeting of the Clyde Valley Community Planning Partnership City Deal Cabinet. In the afternoon I have my weekly meetings with the Chief Executive and the Labour Group.
Thursday
No Council commitments at this time.
Friday
In the afternoon I am meeting with the Leader of the SNP Group following his request for a meeting. Not sure exactly what it is about. Rumours are circulating that they are looking for a coalition with Labour but I doubt if that is the case as it would not go down with many Yes supporters in Inverclyde.

My latest Greenock Telegraph column...

The people have spoken but it seems that not everyone wants to respect their decision.

The recriminations and reverberations of Thursday’s historic vote are likely to be with us for some time.

Much of the hostility and blame for the defeat of the Yes campaign is being directed at the Labour Party. I was told by an SNP activist immediately following the count on Friday morning that my political career was over and that the Labour Party was finished in this area.

Personally I don’t understand why so many people were surprised that the British Labour Party decided to campaign against the break-up of Britain. The clue is in the name.

As I said in my last column, the advances made by working people in this country in the past 100 years – such as universal suffrage, the welfare state, the national health service, workers’ rights, equal pay and the national minimum wage – were achieved by working people in every part of these small islands coming together in solidarity through the Labour and Trade Union movement.

For us the principle of solidarity and the opportunity to pool and share resources are the basis for building a fairer and more just society not separation and division.

If my political career is indeed over then at least I will have the comfort of knowing that I stood up for what I believe in.

Now that the campaign itself is over I have the opportunity to focus once again on the financial challenges facing the Council, which are considerable.

We are holding a special meeting of the Policy & Resources Committee on 30 September to discuss our budget strategy for the next 3 years. Irrespective of the outcome of the referendum we would have faced huge challenges.

The continuing pressure on the public finances at a UK level, the impact of our falling population on the amount of funding we receive from the Scottish Government, the ongoing Council Tax freeze and our growing elderly population all combine to create a perfect storm. Some very tough and unpopular decisions will be required.

There is however one chink of light.

Whether they voted Yes or voted No, the majority of the Scottish people clearly believe that the Scottish Parliament should have far greater control over the amount of money it can raise through taxation.

New powers have already been approved and enacted by the Westminster Parliament and more have been promised.

The challenge to the Scottish Parliament is whether or not it will actually use these powers to protect public services and to tackle poverty and deprivation given that it has failed to use the 3p in the pound tax power we the people voted for in 1997.

The Parliament should also be challenged to end its fixation with controlling local government finances and allow Councils greater freedom to raise their own revenue without the threat of punitive sanctions from the Scottish Government.

The further devolution of power should not stop at Holyrood.