Reported on 10 Noverber 2022 at the cabinet meeting.

ERC are now at a £1.1m over spend on their current budget.

22/11/2020

Posted ERC facebook page -

www.facebook.com/eastrenfrewshirecouncil/


East Renfrewshire Council
22 h ·
One way to reduce the potential £30m budget gap is by further increasing Council Tax.

Our savings options briefing outlines how larger increases in Council Tax would help protect some of the at risk services.

Take a look at the savings and have your say:

orlo.uk/YHSgJ


You can also read the lively comments debate here -

www.facebook.com/eastrenfrewshirecouncil/

6/12/2022

Posted ERC facebook page -

www.facebook.com/eastrenfrewshirecouncil/

East Renfrewshire Council
56 m
We're into the final week of our budget engagement process.

If you've still not completed the survey, then take 10 minutes to do it now.

It's important we have as many views as possible before the survey closes on Friday 9 December.

Complete it here:

orlo.uk/0mRS8

9/12/2022

Published Barrhead News on line

www.barrheadnews.com/news/

Plans to cut £30m from budgets slammed by Barrhead residents
5 hrs ago

By Norman Silvester
Reporter

Barrhead residents have slammed plans to cut public services by more than £30 million.

East Renfrewshire Council revealed details last month of drastic savings needed to meet the shortfall in their finances.

Now members of the town’s community council are to write to the local authority to detail their objections.

In particular, they are opposed to plans to have refuse collections - including grey, blue and green bins - every four weeks rather than three.

Brown bin collections - which include food and garden waste - will be every fortnight rather than weekly - with an increase in the annual charge of £20.

Local representatives are also opposed to plans to close the recycling site at Carlibar Road, in Barrhead.

Rosemarie McInally, chair of Barrhead Community Council, said that members who attended a meeting last Thursday were particularly horrified by the proposed cuts in refuse services.

She fears that the move to close the recycling centre will lead to an increase in fly tipping and rubbish dumping.

Rosemarie said: “If these cuts goes ahead, then it will be a total nightmare for the people of Barrhead.

“They will now have to go to the recycling centre in Newton Mearns to dump the rubbish - which is miles away - at a time when we are being encouraged to use our cars less.

“Given the money that East Renfrewshire Council has squandered over the years, we shouldn’t need to be having the cuts.

“Three weekly refuse collections are bad enough but a four week cycle would be a disaster.

“As always with these cuts, the people that can least afford them will be the hardest hit.”

East Renfrewshire Council have admitted that the savings will have a major impact on front line devices, with as many as 550 jobs at risk over the next three years.

There could also be increases in burial charges - already among the highest in Scotland - while the price of school meals could go up by 20 pence a time.

The cuts are due to a reduction in government money which funds the vast majority of frontline services.

Only 18 percent comes from council tax.

Around £20m of the planned £30m savings could come from cuts in schools and nurseries.

There are plans for a reduction in the school week at primaries from 25 hours to 22.5 and police campus officers could be axed.

There would also less funding to help less able pupils and those with special needs and a reduction in library staff, janitors, caterers and cleaners. School cross patrols could also be cut back.

Further savings are planned by reducing money spent on repairing potholes and gritting roads.

An East Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “It is expected we will have a £30m budget gap over the next three years and a range of difficult decisions will need to be made, including considering cutting services and jobs.

“Savings proposals put forward at this stage are options, and councillors will not set the budget until March.”

14/12/2022

Published Barrhead News On Line

www.barrheadnews.com/news/

Budget: East Renfrewshire council leader demands fair deal
54 mins ago

By Gillian McPherson
Reporter

The leader of East Renfrewshire Council has called for a “fair deal” from the Scottish Government ahead of tomorrow’s budget announcement.

Owen O’Donnell has expressed concern that a “budget of wrong choices” is in the pipeline, which will have a damaging impact on people across East Renfrewshire.

After the Scottish Budget is unveiled, Deputy First Minister John Swinney will confirm what money will be given to local councils to pay for services such as schools, roads and garbage collections.

East Renfrewshire Council will meet tonight to consider a motion from the Labour minority administration outlining the scale of cuts to its own budget, the cumulative impact of year-on-year cuts and the need for a “fairer” settlement.

This comes after directors of finance at all 32 councils across Scotland wrote to Mr Swinney in an unprecedented letter to state that services may be stopped over a £1billion funding crisis and that there is not a “path” for councils to set a balanced budget next year without more support.

Councillor O’Donnell told the Barrhead News: “As council leader, I am calling on the Scottish Government to deliver a fair deal for East Renfrewshire.

On December 15, we as a council are expecting the SNP government to announce a budget riddled with dire implications for our communities.

“The cuts that have been imposed on East Renfrewshire by a distant government in Edinburgh total more than £80million since 2015.

In the next three years, our communities could lose out on a further £30m as the Scottish Government continue to strip money out of local government.

“We strongly support Cosla’s call for the Scottish Government to get round a table with local authorities to listen to how detrimental a budget of cuts will be for the long-term welfare of our local communities.

“The SNP will claim they have produced a budget of hard choices but, if they don’t increase funding to sustain our vital local services, it will ultimately be a budget of wrong choices that fails to grasp the severity of the situation.

“We can’t and won’t stand still when we’re told that a budget of real terms cuts is the best they can offer us.”

Councillor O’Donnell said he is calling for more funding because “local services and facilities need more just to stand still.”

He added: “After year on year of cuts to our budget, being asked to do more with less, it really is time for the SNP Scottish Government to fund our communities properly.

Labour will fight tooth and nail for a fair deal for East Renfrewshire.”

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “The Scottish Government recognises the crucial role councils and their employees play in our communities across Scotland and the challenging financial circumstances they face.

“That’s why, despite the Scottish Government’s settlements from the UK Government suffering a decade of austerity with average real terms cuts of over 5% equating to a loss of £18 billion, local authority revenue funding in Scotland is £2.2 billion or 22.9% higher in cash terms in the current financial year than it was in 2013-14.

"Future spending decisions will be outlined as part of the 2023-24 Scottish Budget on December 15.

“The Scottish Government would welcome the opportunity to work with local authorities, including East Renfrewshire, as we continue to make the case for the UK Government to do more to ease the economic pressure on families, business and our public finances during the worst cost crisis since devolution.”

17/12/2022

Published Barrhead News On Line

East Renfrewshire: Council offices to close over festive period
26 mins ago

By Drew Sandelands
Local Democracy Reporter

The local authority currently has a surplus of office accommodation, due to changing working habits as a result of the Covid pandemic, and is carrying out a review of its buildings.

It has identified a “one-off” opportunity to save money which will have a “limited impact” on services, a report to councillors stated.

Members of the council’s cabinet agreed to close the Eastwood headquarters, in Rouken Glen Road, and offices at Spiersbridge Way, Thornliebank, between December 23 and January 4.

A council official said: “Ordinarily, we haven’t closed these two buildings but, during the festive period, it does see a large number of staff taking annual leave, which can leave the buildings substantially under occupied.

“In addition, footfall from customers is limited as many local people choose not to access council buildings for services during this period.

“These offices, if not closed, still require to be cleaned and heated and require a staff presence for the purposes of security and opening them.”

he offices will close at 2pm on December 23, with the official stating the impact on the public would be “limited,” while the move will reduce heating and lighting costs.

Savings could also be made on costs for staffing and cleaning.

He added: “Staff that didn’t wish to take annual leave that work in these two buildings could either work from home if appropriate or base themselves either at the Barrhead office, which would remain open, or the Eastwood health and care centre, which will be open.”

Lorraine McMillan, the council’s chief executive, said: “What we are asking staff, if it’s not suitable to work from home, they can go into the Barrhead building and use that. We’re just really closing the buildings rather than reducing the service levels.”


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Significantly, No actual figure for the amount of money to be saved has been given !

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