Falkirk Council urged to 'grasp the nettle' and tackle budget shortfall
That's from Scotland's local authority spending watchdog
Scotland's local authority spending watchdog has said it is disappointed'' with Falkirk Council's progress in tackling its budget shortfall.
The Accounts Commission said the council must stop relying on small-scale savings and grasp the nettle'' as it addresses its financial challenges.
The commission first raised concerns over Falkirk's approach last August.
At that time the council faced making savings of ÂŁ46 million over three years, but a follow-up report revealed the figure has grown to ÂŁ61 million.
The increase in 2016/17 is largely due to a reduction in the anticipated levels of funding from the Scottish Government, which reduced by ÂŁ6.52 million, from ÂŁ279.06 million to ÂŁ272.54 million.
The council now needs to make savings in excess of ÂŁ36 million over the next two years to 2018/19, the commission said.
Its report said there has been limited progress in addressing the underlying need for better co-ordinated and more radical change''.
It noted better working between councillors, while scrutiny has also improved - although it said this could be more open and transparent.
Douglas Sinclair, chair of the Accounts Commission, said: All councils need to get to grips with looming budget shortfalls over the next three years but Falkirk has been slow to realise the scale of what is required and make effective plans for it.
It must now grasp this nettle and meet the challenges it faces through strong leadership both from councillors and its management team.''
The Commission has asked for another update on Falkirk Council by the end of next year.
Falkirk Council leader Craig Martin said: The report has stated where progress is being made across a number of areas, however we recognise more can be done to improve.
Falkirk Council is fully aware of its responsibilities and many of the improvements required are already being worked on.
Last year the Accounts Commission said they had concerns about our ability to achieve the savings necessary to set a balanced budget for 2016/17.
Despite having to find an unprecedented saving of ÂŁ25 million on our budget, members stepped up to the mark and took the difficult decisions to make sure we set a balanced budget. It now looks like we need to plan for further savings of ÂŁ25 million in 2017/18 and members are currently considering options on how this will be achieved.''
He added: Like many other local authorities across the country, we are facing the most challenging times - but we are pushing ahead with changes that will make a significant difference to how we operate and how we deliver services to our communities.''
SNP councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, leader of the opposition at the authority, said: The inspection was thorough and the findings were clear - there is more to be done. We are determined to work constructively to ensure this happens and to deliver the best outcomes for our communities.''