Dundee City Council Budget 2025/26 - Liberal Democrat proposals

Yesterday, Dundee City Council set its revenue budget for 2025/26. 

There were three proposals - LibDem, SNP and Labour. The Liberal Democrat proposal was for the lowest increase in Council Tax of 4.94% but the SNP administration won the vote (15-5 against us) and their proposal for an 8% increase was passed.

Cllr Fraser Macpherson, Liberal Democrat Council Group Leader, said :

“Many of the possible cuts proposals in the council’s recent budget consultation were totally unacceptable and our starting point was to listen to the feedback from Dundee residents in their concerns about many of the proposals. We totally rejected any possible cuts to the education service. 

“We rejected shutting schools’ swimming pools, cutting school budgets or removing school crossing patrollers. We also avoided proposed increases to school meals charges. Unfortunately, SNP and Labour proposals cut devolved school budgets - a very unfortunate decision.

“We also rejected removing community funding – indeed we also found additional funding to support Dundee’s food network, whose teams across the city undertake vital work in helping those citizens in most need, maintaining the funding level at £500 000 for 2025/26.

“We also rejected any cuts to community and cultural groups across Dundee and we also ruled out any cuts to community safety wardens or welfare support including discretionary housing payments for those most in need.”

The Liberal Democrat proposals would have seen a more modest council tax increase than Dundee SNP and Dundee Labour. Many other councils also have increases of much more than 5% – for example, Edinburgh is raising its council tax by 8%, Fife Council by 8.2% and North Lanarkshire and Scottish Borders by 10%.

Councillor Craig Duncan, Liberal Democrat councillor for Broughty Ferry added :

“In our proposals, we are also able to have some growth – we said retain Broughty Ferry Castle museum staying open all year.     While Labour and the SNP also agreed to keep the museum open, their proposals has the museum only open in the summer months.

"We also found funding to reduce car parking SNP and Labour charges increases in the West End, Hilltown and Broughty Ferry.

“We also rejected the proposal to move from fortnightly general waste bin collections to every three weeks.

"The LibDems have been very vocal about cuts to the council’s environment services under the SNP and we think cutting general waste bin collections would be a disaster.    We also proposed more street cleaning posts and also had proposals to increase forestry, animal control, community wardens and countryside ranger posts.”

The Liberal Democrat proposals would have also seen Caird Park Golf Course remain open but neither Labour or the SNP supported this so sadly the golf course will now close.

Strathmartine councillor Daniel Coleman whose ward includes Caird Park added :

“We strongly opposed the SNP decision to close Caird Park Golf Course and tried to reverse the closure.

“The council has had some approaches from commercial organisations to partner with the council and Leisure and Culture Dundee to keep the golf course open into the long-term.

"To enable these discussions to progress, we were proposing funding the golf course in 2025/26, rather than see it closing in the next few weeks.”

Councillor Coleman added that LibDem proposals would have seen additional funding for roads resurfacing of £1 million and £500 000 for pavements improvements.

West End Councillor Michael Crichton highlighted proposals in the Liberal Democrat budget plans to reverse SNP cuts to some supported bus services.

Councillor Crichton said :

“Our proposals would have restored some supported bus services like the 204 in the West End and Lochee, the 206 in Broughty Ferry and the sheltered shopping service, axed last year by the SNP. This was a cruel cut affecting elderly citizens disproportionately.

“We would have also reduced not increase the garden waste charge and also reduce the bulky uplifts charge which the SNP and Labour have increased.”

The Liberal Democrat budget proposals, in addition to a council tax increase of under 5%, also achieved savings to ensure a balanced budget.

These included reducing purchases of furniture, car allowances, travel and promotion and marketing in some departments.

The LibDems would have removed the second civic vehicle, reduced hospitality budgets and axed alcohol purchases and also accept officer proposals to review existing unfilled staff vacancies.

Councillor Macpherson concluded :

“The SNP has run Dundee City Council for 16 years and we have seen under its watch continual cuts to services – 16 years of the SNP has been a disaster for Dundee services and we tried in our budget proposals this year to try to reduce any detrimental impact on council services.

“The budgetary situation has been also severely impacted by Labour’s increase in employer national insurance increase which has added over £6 million to council costs over the next year.

“The Liberal Democrat budget proposals we feel gave the right balance between minimising the council tax increase without deep, disastrous cuts to services.”

A cleaner city : Liberal Democrats’ big offer for Dundee council budget

Dundee City Council’s Liberal Democrat councillors have released their full budget proposals ahead of Thursday’s council budget meeting and have proposed re-hiring every single street cleaning post in Dundee axed by the SNP since 2015.    That’s some 39 posts, the SNP having cut the number of full time equivalent street cleaning jobs from 115 in 2015 to just 76 today.

Group Leader and West End Councillor Fraser Macpherson said, “We continue to get many complaints from constituents about street cleaning in the city which is simply not as good as it used to be.   The street sweeping staff left do a really good job but there’s just not enough of them now.    It has been a picture of decline in the staffing resource year after year under the SNP.

“Not only has the SNP cut 39 posts, there’s an additional 16 vacancies that have not been filled.    So with just 60 street cleaners in post at the moment, staffing levels currently in post are little more than half the staff that were in place in 2015. 

“Environment management generally has lost significant staffing since 2015 and in our view has borne a disproportionate share of the cuts.   For example, leaving aside cleaning the streetscape, the council’s Director of Neighbourhood Services has confirmed to us that grounds maintenance staff who maintain Dundee’s parks and open spaces has declined by 27 full time equivalent posts since 2015.

“We want a cleaner city – not litter lying, overflowing Eurobins, litter bins and dog bins and to achieve this we need to help existing staff with the load they already have by adding more street cleaning staff so we have found the funding necessary to reinstate every single street cleaning post lost over the past 8 years.    We’ll also create new posts in forestry and animal control and add to the community safety warden and countryside ranger staff resource.”

To pay for this, the Liberal Democrats have identified a large range of small savings right across the council in areas like equipment and furniture, car allowances, travel and subsistence and also hospitality.    This would include scrapping the second civic vehicle and removing alcohol purchases.   It would also mean greater recharges for providing services to third parties.   The Liberal Democrats also aim to propose a lower council tax increase than the SNP’s proposed 4.75% increase.

Broughty Ferry councillor Craig Duncan added, “We are also proposing an additional £2 million next year for roads resurfacing, £1 million on pavements resurfacing to properly tackle the state of many footpaths and road surfaces that we get so many complaints about.

“We are also proposing to save local supported bus services including the 206 service in my own Broughty Ferry area that are proposed for the axe by the SNP.  We want to save this service as well as others in the West End/Lochee, Kirkton/Lawside/The Glens and Mill O’Mains/Mid Craigie and cuts to Service 10.   

“We are also proposing to save the sheltered shoppers’ bus and the ‘Out & About’ bus service that the SNP intends to end.   We feel this will be detrimental to the elderly folk who rely on these services and would be an unkind and inappropriate thing to remove these vital services for older people.”

West End councillor Michael Crichton added, “We are also proposing improvements to the City Centre and District Shopping areas with a £1 million for shopfront upgrades and other exterior improvements such as improved lighting, painting, stonework repairs and repositioning façade signage in the City Centre targeted on Murraygate and Reform Street to complement the existing scheme recently agreed for Union Street.

“A further £1 million will be shared across the five district shopping areas – Stobswell, Hilltown, Broughty Ferry, Perth Road and Lochee – to undertake further environmental improvements there.    

“We also want to double the frequency of bus shelter cleaning back to monthly as it used to be before the SNP halved it last year.    We are determined to see real environmental improvements in our shopping areas, particularly in the city centre.

“We’ll also reduce parking charges in areas like Hilltown and Broughty Ferry and abolish the West End car parking charges altogether.”

Strathmartine councillor Daniel Coleman said, “The Liberal Democrat Group will try stop the SNP proposal to hike the brown bin charge yet again – to £45 from 2024 – and would seek to cut it to £35 to support the recycling effort in Dundee.

“We also aim to oppose the SNP’s increase in the bulky uplifts charge and would aim to cut the SNP proposed charge by £9 per collection.

“We are also strongly against the SNP’s proposal to cut 10% off local community regeneration funding.   Not only will we oppose this SNP cut but our budget alternative aims to give each local area an extra £10 000 each specifically for localised cost of living support.

“There are areas where we will support parts of the SNP budget – for example, their areas of additional expenditure like supporting Dundee’s food network.

“We would also continue to provide support to Sistema’s Big Noise Douglas that the SNP says it will no longer support.”

Councillor Macpherson concluded : 

“Liberal Democrat budget proposals also allow for growth in key areas like supporting local communities, roads and pavements improvements, shopping area improvements and keeping our streets cleaner.

We have listened carefully to the issues our constituents are raising and feel our proposals are fair and deliverable.”

Liberal Democrats slam Dundee SNP budget proposals - "the city needs better"

The Liberal Democrat Group on Dundee City Council has responded to the SNP administration budget proposals by saying it has ‘very significant’ concerns at many of the SNP cuts and it will be moving an alternative set of budget proposals at Thursday’s crunch budget meeting.

Group Leader Councillor Fraser Macpherson said, “Dundee SNP continually drones on about it ‘being ambitious for the city’ but even even the most cursory look at their budget proposals casts serious doubts on that claim – millions of pounds of cuts and a huge council tax increase to boot.

“Its own SNP government shares much of the blame as it has handed down to all councils one of the worst local government finance settlements in many years and the bottom line is that under the SNP you will be paying much more and getting much less in the way of services.

“The Liberal Democrat group is finalising alterative proposals and will be moving an alternative set of proposals at Thursday’s budget meeting.”

Depute group leader and Broughty Ferry Councillor Craig Duncan added, “The SNP again intends to axe local supported bus services including the 206 service in my own Broughty Ferry area.

“We will certainly oppose this cut and the other bus services that will include axing services in the West End/Lochee, Kirkton/Lawside/The Glens and Mill O’Mains/Mid Craigie. The SNP will also axe the support the council currently makes to ensure Service 10 has evening and Sunday services right across Dundee.

“If we are to further encourage people to use public transport this is exactly the wrong thing to be doing and so very short sighted.”

Strathmartine councillor Daniel Coleman said, “The SNP also intends to axe £50 000 of community regeneration funding support right across Dundee, something we feel is a completely wrong thing to do. This funding is for local communities and helps anti-poverty, social inclusion and cost of living issues.

“These cuts we cannot support – it is completely the wrong thing to be doing at this time.”

West End councillor Michael Crichton added, “Our overall impression is of an SNP budget that expects Dundonians to pay much more for a whole lot less.

“The council has been handed a dreadful grant settlement by the SNP government and the SNP council administration’s choices have simply made matters worse”

The full Dundee Liberal Democrat Group budget proposals will be released early next week after discussions with council officers on the proposals are concluded.

City Council Revenue Budget 2016/17

Yesterday, I submitted my amendments to the Dundee City Council budget meeting, aimed at tackling some of the worst effects of the SNP’s austerity cuts.

Had I won the vote, my amendment would have scrapped the proposed large increases in car parking charges across the city, garden maintenance charges for elderly and disabled people would not have imposed this year and frozen until a fair charging system based on ability to pay is put in place, and there would have been a less severe cut in roads maintenance and street lighting than the SNP is imposing.

My additional expenditure to stop car park charges and cuts in garden maintenance for the elderly and disabled and roads and street lighting maintenance would have been paid for by modest cuts in non-controversial areas such as equipment, furniture, contract care hire, catering and hospitality – these reductions being spread right across the council to lessen the impact in each department.

I was not fooling myself that it is in any way possible to stop the worst effects of the SNP austerity cuts.  The bottom line is that John Swinney has taken an axe to local government this year and Dundee faces terrible cuts of £23 million this year.   However, I think my budget amendment did help in a number of vital areas.    It is not in the city’s economic interests to see car parking hiked this year.   Nor should elderly and disabled people on low incomes be charged for garden maintenance as the SNP is doing.   I also tried to stop the worst of the roads maintenance and street lighting cuts.

Although I lost the vote, I was at least the only opposition councillor to propose an alternative budget.   Labour - with ten councillors - failed to propose any alternative budget whatsoever.

The administration did at least agree to a working group I had proposed to look at garden maintenance charges being based on ability to pay.

However, the overall budget outcome is bad news for Dundee's local services without any shadow of a doubt.

City Council committees

Earlier tonight, the City Council's first main committee meetings on 2016 took place and Policy and Resources Committee was dominated by a report on the local government financial settlement for the forthcoming financial year.

The report from council officers correctly points out :

The outcome of the Westminster Spending Review was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 25 November 2015. The Scottish Budget totals show a cash increase of £1 billion (3.3%) between 2015/16 and 2019/20, largely due to the Barnett consequentials of changes to other Whitehall departmental budgets. When adjusted for projected inflation, however, this represents a real terms reduction of 4.1%. For 2016/17, the year-on-year cash increase is £0.5 billion (1.7%), which represents a standstill budget in real terms.

However, despite being given "a standstill budget in real terms" in terms of the Scottish Block from Westminster, John Swinney, the Scottish Government Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and the Economy is wielding the axe to local government, with a cut of £350 million, which results in Dundee City Council facing cuts of some £23 million in the next year.

I have been a member of the council for nearly 15 years and this financial settlement is by far the worst I have ever seen.   The claims of Scottish Government Ministers to be "anti-austerity" can now be seen for the wholly empty rhetoric it is and I do not under-estimate the scale of the financial disaster Scottish Government is imposing upon vital local services.

Tonight, I moved the following amendment at committee - unfortunately the council administration voted it down, despite the fact that I purposely wrote it in a manner designed to be consensual and non-confrontational :

Policy and Resources Committee :   11th January 2016  :   Item 3 (a)

Amendment by Councillor Fraser Macpherson 

Add an additional recommendation :

2.8 Instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and the Economy expressing the council’s deep concern at the inadequate level of revenue and capital funding allocations for 2016, indicating the council’s disquiet that the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and the Economy is proposing that local government bears a disproportionate share of government funding reductions in 2016/17 and requesting that the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and the Economy reviews the position with a view to increasing local government revenue and capital funding allocations for 2016/17.

Council Budget meeting

Earlier today, I participated in the City Council's Annual Budget Setting meeting at which I was the only opposition councillor to propose an amendment (and - I would argue - improvement) to the Capital Budget.   I also proposed an amendment to the Revenue Budget.

The budget papers can be accessed here.   My revenue budget amendment was as follows:

Approves the budget savings totalling £3,310,000 as shown in the Administration Group's motion with the following amendments:

       Savings to be Deleted

Education: Restructure of Young Mum’s Unit (Menzieshill High School)         £    44,000

Environment: Major Service Redesign and Rationalisation of Ground

Maintenance and Street Cleansing Operations *                                             £  157,000

Environment: Review of Bowling Green Provision                                        £    30,000

*Major Service Redesign and Rationalisation of Ground Maintenance and Street Cleansing Operations – this proposes no introduction in 2015/16 only, but further proposes establishment of an all-party working group, including officers, to determine possible proposals for 2016/17 onwards. Such a working group to be established by March 2015 and report by August 2015.

Savings to be Added

Various Savings                                                                                        £ 231,000

The purpose of my amendment was to avoid a detrimental change to the Young Mum's Unit - the SNP administration proposed removal of the Principal Teacher's post;  to stop cuts in the city's street cleaning service and grounds maintenance and to avoid the closure of Victoria Park and Baxter Park Bowling Greens.

It was unsurprising that the SNP administration was not for listening and pushed these cuts through but the position of the Labour Group was, frankly, astonishing.   Having "borrowed" savings I had identified and trying to pass them off as their own in their own amendment, Labour then failed to support my amendment.  

The only conclusion one can draw from that is that Dundee Labour is comfortable with the SNP's West End and Baxter Park Bowling Green closures and the cuts in street cleaning, as Labour did not attempt to reverse these SNP cuts in their own amendment.

SNP and Labour also failed to support my Capital Budget amendment (in fact, in a Capital Budget of £195 million over the next three years, Labour had no amendment at all of their own).   

My amendment was as follows :

This would have increased roads resurfacing in Dundee by £550 000 over the next three years and provided for a budget for new bus shelters where they are required.    

An opportunity lost I feel.

Save Victoria Park Bowling Green

I have today issued a last minute appeal in advance of this Thursday’s City Council Budget Meeting to save the Victoria Park Bowling Green in the West End but also the Baxter Park Bowling Green, both facing the axe by the SNP council administration.

The council claims that these bowling greens could be better used so they intend to axe them but the council itself has failed to properly promote the greens and their availability for local people to use.   If the council had been more proactive in advertising these bowling greens, they would been better used.

In the West End, we are lucky to have excellent private bowling clubs like Hillcrest and Balgay, but for people unable to afford an annual subscription or residents just wanting an occasional game without a recurring subscription, council bowling greens provide that facility.   The bowling green at Victoria Park has a lovely setting and it would be a crying shame to see it dismantled.    

I have submitted a budget amendment that council officers agree is legally competent and this would save both Victoria Park Bowling Green and the one at Baxter Park.    I call upon all the West End councillors to support efforts to save Victoria Park Bowling Green.  

My budget amendment also stops the SNP’s proposed reduction in street cleaning services and the highly controversial SNP proposals to restructure the Young Mum’s Unit at Menzieshill High School.

The bowling greens can and must be saved and I hope common sense with prevail at the budget meeting on Thursday.

City Council Revenue Budget 2015/16

As reported in both the Evening Telegraph and the Courier, I have submitted draft proposals to council officers that would seek to remove some of the worst of the budget cuts the Dundee SNP administration proposes to make.

These SNP cuts include a reduction in street cleaning services, the closure of the Victoria Park bowling green and Baxter Park bowling green, closing the DUN.C.A.N. anti-crime project and the highly controversial SNP proposals to restructure the Young Mum’s Unit at Menzieshill High School.

I am keen to see the worst of the SNP cuts being rejected and have looked to find alternative savings that would ensure the highly successful DUN.C.A.N. anti-crime project does not close, street cleaning is not cut back, bowling greens are not closed and the Young Mum’s Unit does not suffer detrimental cuts.

I have asked council finance officers to look at the legality and competency of my alternative savings which would not impact detrimentally on vital services and I thereafter aim to present these at the budget meeting on 12th February.

Proposal to save Early Year Practitioner Posts in Dundee Primary Schools

I am pleased to say that I have identified alternative savings that can be made to Dundee City Council’s proposed revenue budget that would to save Early Year Practitioner Posts in Dundee Primary Schools.     

My alternative budget savings proposal has been approved by Chief Officers as financially and legally competent and I am now calling for all parties on the council to work together to save these posts that he says provide vital work in Dundee’s primary schools.

The SNP administration has proposed moving these staff to nursery schools in order that the salary costs can be funded from Dundee’s share of the funding Scottish Government is making available to fund extra nursery hours.

The extra hours in nurseries is a good thing and, indeed, my party leader Willie Rennie MSP has been campaigning for this over a long period of time, but it is hugely disappointing that the SNP council administration in Dundee is aiming to provide these hours by taking away a much-valued and needed resource for Primary One children.    Why do they think it is acceptable that Primary One pupils in Dundee should lose out?

My proposals will allow for the continuation of Early Years Practitioners in Primary Schools and the increased nursery hours and I urge all parties on the council to work together to achieve that.     It can be paid for by taking quite modest savings over a variety of areas including hospitality budgets, some furniture and equipment budgets reductions in subscriptions, a reduction in waste funds, advertising, catering and printing.

I hope there will be cross-party agreement to accept my proposal for the benefit of the young people in the city’s primary schools.

City Council Budget 2013-14 : An opportunity missed

At yesterday's City Council Budget meeting :

* On the Capital Budget, I proposed not going ahead with yet more new council offices and instead proposed that it be spent on improving Dundee's roads and on further improving the city's primary schools.   Although I had the support of the Conservative, Independent and Labour members, the SNP administration voted this down.  I regret that, in voting through millions on new council offices over schools and better roads, this speaks volumes about the priorities of the SNP administration.

* On the Revenue Budget, I proposed scrapping the SNP education cuts that will result in increased class sizes in S1 and S2 English and Mathematics classes in five of our nine secondary schools.   My rather modest proposals (in terms of a £337m budget) to pay for this would have had no effect whatsoever on service provision but were opposed by the SNP and Labour failed to support them.    The SNP also opposed my proposal to give Fairer Scotland Funding to the West End Ward and the Ferry Ward and, again, Labour failed to support this.

There is a serious point to be made about Fairer Scotland funding.   The council allocates it in an arbitrary way - six wards benefit (with no weighting by size or poverty levels);  two wards get nothing, as if no social exclusion at all exists anywhere in the West End or Broughty Ferry.   Labour and SNP seem to fail to appreciate this point and are failing to stand up for the people of the West End and Broughty Ferry.

I have suggested to the SNP administration that allocating this funding by % of lowest income households per ward is the fair way to allocate these funds in the future.   The ball is now firmly in the SNP administration's court.

I will continue to campaign for fair funding for the West End, just as I have always done over the 12 years I have represented the West End on the City Council.

Improving the council's capital and revenue budgets

I have submitted my proposals to improve the Dundee City Council Revenue Budget the SNP administration put forward.   These are:

EDUCATION

Do not increase statutory level in S1

in Mathematics and English in any schools                             £197k

CITY DEVELOPMENT

Supported Services Unregistered

Continue Friendly Bus service                                                £60k

TOTAL                                                                                    £257k

This would be fully funded from a number of sources including :

CORPORATE SERVICES

Cut Advertising and Contract Car Hire Budget

                                                

ENVIRONMENT

Do not proceed with Fortnightly Bin Collections so less funding required for Scottish Waste Aware Group and Zero Waste Fund initiatives

                                                

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Reduce Exhibition Events Activities, printing and stationery and other Supplies Services     

I welcome the change of heart by the SNP that will now see the Friendly Bus shopping service saved.   My own alternative budget proposals would also have seen the service saved and it is good to see a  bit of cross-party agreement for a change for the benefit of elderly people who rely on this vital bus service.

My own proposals however also tackle another vital issue - the SNP proposal to increase class sizes in S1 in Mathematics and English in five of Dundee’s nine secondary schools being scrapped and lower pupil/teacher ratios being maintained.   I hope the SNP will think again on that.   

I have a funded proposal that would avoid increasing these class sizes that the Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Services agree is a competent proposal.    Surely the SNP administration will want to avoid unnecessarily increasing these class sizes?

I have also proposed improvements to the City Council Capital Budget that would see the Environment Department’s planned new headquarters scrapped in favour of more investment in schools and more investment in road repairs and resurfacing.     

I would welcome the views of constituents - budget@frasermacpherson.org.uk.

SNP Council administration making all the wrong choices

As I indicated yesterday in an interview on Radio Tay News, I have criticised Dundee City Council's SNP ruling group for making all the wrong choices in terms of the cuts they are proposing in the City Council’s 2013/14 revenue budget.

I am particularly incensed that the SNP propose to axe the Friendly Bus sheltered shopping service that is a vital lifeline for elderly people in the West End and across the city.    The SNP axing of the Friendly Bus reminds me of an earlier failed SNP policy of axing visiting PE and music instructors in our primary schools that they forced through last year.    

In both cases, the overall saving is minimal in terms of the overall revenue budget, but the detrimental effect upon communities is large.    

Perhaps if the SNP had saved more during the current year they would have more room for manoeuvre now.  Their recent decision to have two new civic cars against opposition advice is a prime example of SNP waste.   When Lord Provost Bob Duncan parks himself on the leather seats of his new luxury civic car, perhaps he can reflect on the fact that Dundee sheltered tenants and other pensioners will no longer have their bus service to help them go shopping.

Last year, I proposed to council transportation officers that they should register the Friendly Bus service with the Traffic Commissioners.   As a registered service it would have provided an income stream through the concessionary travel scheme that would have helped keep the Friendly Bus sheltered shopping service as a financially viable service.    The SNP administration has simply let a vital bus service for older citizens go to the wall.    The SNP claim they will look at a service alternative.   I will not hold my breath.

I do support one SNP cut – that of councillors having a reduced mileage rate on their expenses.    I do not claim any expenses and never reclaim any mileage I do on council business.   Perhaps instead of self-congratulating themselves on proposing a reduced mileage rate of 25p per mile for councillors, SNP councillors should follow the example of making no mileage claim at all.

Dundee City Council Budget : An opportunity lost

At yesterday's City Council Budget meeting, the Liberal Democrat Group’s amendments to the City Council’s proposed revenue and capital budgets proposed :

* A cut of up to £6 in the Council Tax bills for residents - the Liberal Democrats were the only group to propose a cut in the Council Tax, to assist hard-pressed council taxpayers in challenging financial times.

* A large increase in capital funding for seven primary schools’ improvements (including Blackness and Ancrum Road).

* Removing the cost of one of the two civic cars, cutting out alcohol hospitality budgets and no councillor attendance at conferences.    

* Visiting music and PE specialists posts for primary schools and music instructors posts under threat from the SNP would be saved.  

* An Unadopted Roads Budget (like the unadopted pavements one as badly conditioned roads such as Shaftesbury Place are excluded from the footpaths budget).

* A new fund to allow parking improvements in areas like Pentland.

We were grateful for the support of other groups and one of the independent councillors but unfortunately the SNP proceeded with its cuts agenda, despite proposing a higher Council Tax than the Liberal Democrats.    This will, sadly, see the loss of the music and PE teaching posts.   I quoted from an SNP election leaflet at the meeting :

I agree with the sentiment above.   The unfortunate thing is that the SNP - who wrote it  - don't.   Actions speak so much louder than words.

Our budget priorities : Pupils before Council Offices

Cllr Helen Dick and I have now submitted to the City Council Liberal Democrat proposals to improve the council’s Revenue and Capital Budgets.   We will have amendments to both the revenue budget and the capital budget at the Budget Meeting next Thursday but will look carefully at the ideas coming from the other political groups.

In the revenue budget, by using unallocated and not legally committed money in the City Development budget, we propose saving the much-needed visiting specialists in Music and PE in the city’s primary schools and also reversing the proposed cut of music instructors contained in the SNP administration’s proposals.  The feedback we have had from constituents is that they see any proposal to cut music and PE instructors and specialists as highly detrimental to our schools and this should be stopped.

In the capital budget, we say “pupils before council offices” by cutting out over £5m of proposed expenditure on new depots and a headquarters for the council’s Environment Department and spending it instead on improvements in city primary schools.    Since I made clear that we felt that, after spending over £35 million on the new Dundee House and other sums on other council offices, the council should be redirecting its resources to schools rather than yet more money being spent on offices, I have been inundated with local people telling me they agree with this stance.

The Liberal Democrat Capital Budget proposals would also see the establishment of a £100 000 unadopted roads budget and a £100 000 budget to improve car parking in council estates.

Some years ago, the City Council had a working party to look at improving car parking in council estates and then one ‘pilot’ new car park in part of Douglas that has proved a success.  But it has done nothing further to make improvements in other areas.   There are many estates in the city that would benefit from improved car parking and I have highlighted the Pentland area.   There needs to be funding to move this forward.

On unadopted roads, there are a small number of really poor conditioned unadopted roads in the city.    The council already has an unadopted pavements programme but does nothing about unadopted roads – an example is the appallingly badly conditioned Shaftesbury Place in the West End Ward and there are other examples across the city.    In Shaftesbury Place, a resident broke his ankle falling into what I can only describe as a pitted road that resembles the surface of the moon.  £100 000 won’t solve the problem right across the city but it would make a start and recognise there’s a real issue here. 

Our schools deserve better than a Sixty Minute Makeover

I have today highlighted my concerns about aspects of the proposed Dundee City Council Capital Budget and urged that there be a cross-party discussion about ways to improve the proposals to benefit the city’s schools.

There’s much to welcome in the draft capital budget and in particular the proposal to build new primary schools in Menzieshill and Coldside is good news, especially given the state of some existing school buildings.    The total of £20m investment in these two areas will not only bring new primary schools but also community facilities and given the funding level for Menzieshill, presumably new nursery facilities may be possible there too.

However, it is over capital expenditure for other primary schools identified for improvement where I am critical of what is being proposed as the funding is simply inadequate and must be increased.     Seven other schools across Dundee have been identified, including Blackness and Ancrum Road Primary Schools that serve large parts of the West End Ward.  

The recognition of the need to improve facilities at these seven schools is welcome but the amount of funding at only £250 000 per school and that is simply not enough funding to make the sort of modernisation that these seven schools deserve.    It should be remembered that a new-build primary school costs in the order of £9-10 million.      These seven primary schools deserve more than a sixty minute makeover.

I have a specific proposal to make the improvements at Glebelands, Clepington, St Mary’s, Longhaugh, Dens Road, Ancrum Road and Blackness Primary Schools a whole lot better by allocating them £1 million each over the lifetime of the next Capital Plan – four times the proposed funding.

£1m per school is affordable if we consign to the bin another proposed set of expenditure on new headquarters and depots for the Environment Department.   The council has already spent around £35 million on Dundee House and more expenditure on other council offices.   It is about time to focus on our schools and, by abandoning ideas of further council department headquarters and by focussing on schools, we can increase expenditure on at Glebelands, Clepington, St Mary’s, Longhaugh, Dens Road, Ancrum Road and Blackness Primary Schools to £1 million for each school.  

No business case has been brought before a city council committee to make a case for more money being spent on council headquarters buildings.    It would be better spent on our schools.

More City Council cuts ahead

As recently reported in the Courier, around £3.4 million of further budget cuts are to be considered by the SNP-run administration on Dundee City Council.   

As I indicated in the Courier, I would take issue with the claim that the grant settlement is better than anticipated.   Anyone looking objectively at the actual settlements announced by the SNP government for each authority can see that Dundee has a cash terms cut when other councils have seen a cash terms increase.    The SNP government has badly let down Dundee in terms of its disappointing settlement for Dundee City Council.

The SNP continually blames Westminster for everything but the reality is that the SNP Finance Cabinet Secretary John Swinney has a budget that is in real terms billions higher than that available to the Scottish Government when the parliament was first established in 1999.    The suggestion that £3.4 million of further cuts is somehow “good news” is spin and an attempt at “news management” by the SNP administration.    Had the SNP Finance Secretary treated Dundee in a more equitable manner, we would not be looking at this level of cuts by the Dundee SNP administration.

What is now vital is that front-line services such as Education and Social Work do not fall victim to the further SNP cuts.   I will be working positively with other councillors in the run-up to the council budget being set on 9th February to minimise the effect of further budget reductions.

Budget 2011: Helping Alarm Clock Britain

Dear Fraser,

Today the coalition government has announced a budget that will return the UK to sustainable and balanced economic growth and which puts helping Alarm Clock Britain at its heart.

We are increasing the income tax threshold by £630 to £8105; lifting hundreds of thousands of low income earners out of paying income tax and putting £126 back in the pockets of low and middle income earners. This is in addition to the last budget that took nearly a million of the lowest income earners out of tax and made millions of hard working individuals £200 better off. We are making a real difference in people’s lives - from the front page of our manifesto to people’s back pockets.

Alarm Clock Britain will be further helped by the measures we have taken to give motorists a fairer deal. We are shifting taxation away from the pumps and onto the broader shoulders of the oil companies instead - with fuel duty being cut and taxation on oil companies rising.

At the same time we are making the wealthy pay their fair share with increased measures to tackle tax avoidance, higher charges for non-doms and a special tax on private jets. This budget also places green growth front and centre – the Green Investment Bank will begin operation next year with £3bn of capitalisation, delivering an additional £18bn of investment in green infrastructure by 2014-15.

We were left a toxic economic legacy by Labour with a record deficit and debt. Under Ed Balls Labour have no answers and solutions to the mess they left. The difficult decisions we have taken in government have rebuilt confidence in Britain’s ability to pay its way, kept interest rates lower than they would otherwise have been, and have provided the stability that business and individuals need to invest in the UK’s economy.

There are no easy decisions in this budget. But we are delivering a budget which will mean that that those who can pay more will; and those who are working hard to make ends meet will get a helping hand. This budget is progressive, green, liberal and what our country needs at this time.

Best wishes,

Nick Clegg MP

Deputy Prime Minister & Leader of the Liberal Democrats

Budget debate

At yesterday's City Council Policy & Resources Committee at which the City Council's budget was set, on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, I seconded a motion from Cllr George Regan on behalf of the Labour Group, that would have seen the SNP cuts-hit education budget increased by £376 000 over SNP proposals.  

This proposal would have seen a funding increase in schools' absence cover, SQA presentations funding, study support and continuing professional development for teaching staff compared to the SNP cuts agenda.  I have real concerns about the "devolution" of absence cover budgets (cut by the SNP) - there is now no central budget to help a school pay for supply teachers if its devolved budget runs out through staff illness. 

The proposal was unfortunately not supported by SNP councillors who appear, judging by their votes yesterday, more interested in sandwich lunches for councillors, alcohol purchases, councillors attending conferences and a civic car - as cutting these out would have helped pay for the additional education budget funding that the Labour Group proposed and the Liberal Democrats supported. 

The SNP administration on Dundee City Council is out of touch with public opinion - whether it is their thoroughly inadequate response to public concerns over the biomass plant proposal or their wrong calls on the council budget.

City Council Budget

I was on Wave 102 (click 'play' above to listen) and Radio Tay news today about the council budget, again making the point that there was merit in all-party discussions with our Head Teachers to reach the best possible solution for management arrangements in our schools.

Having discussed proposals from the Labour Group with Cllr Kevin Keenan, the Labour Group Leader, it is clear these have the potential to release up to £350 000 additional funding for education to help devolved school management - something my LibDem colleague Cllr Helen Dick and I will support.

Call for budget meeting to be postponed to allow all party discussions with Head Teachers

As reported in tonight's Evening Telegraph, I called this morning called for next Thursday’s City Council Policy & Resources Meeting at which the Council Tax is set to be postponed to allow proper and all-party discussions to take place over alternatives to SNP proposals to dramatically cut the number of Depute Head Teachers in Dundee schools.

Dundee Primary Head Teachers’ Association has put forward to the Director of Education a series of alternative proposals for consideration and I think these alternative proposals should be properly discussed in detail with the Head Teachers in an all-party setting to ensure we get the best possible outcome for our schools.

The Head Teachers’ proposals are contained in a paper dated 24th January and I have been making clear to the Director of Education that they should be shared with all 29 members of the City Council. I spoke with him again yesterday to be told these could not be shared as they were “the administration’s proposals”. I pointed out that these were actually proposals from the Council’s own staff and they must be shared with all elected members.

Belatedly, and I suspect reluctantly, they were finally given to all political groups just before 9am this morning. The deadline for putting in alternatives to the SNP’s cuts proposals was 5pm today and that leaves far too little time to reach a considered and proper outcome.

I would wish to see an outcome that preserves the staffing structure in our schools as far as possible without contraction of the school estate and it would be infinitely preferable to have all-party discussions with Head Teachers rather than the administration powering ahead with the SNP proposals to cut DHT posts.

I am very disappointed that it took until this morning to release these proposals to all elected members – this should have been done far earlier.   It is therefore incumbent on the Chief Executive to allow further discussions to ensure the views of the staff side are properly listened to.