A special meeting of North Ayrshire Council will take place next week where councillors will learn of the significant financial challenges facing the council over the coming years.

A budget gap of £16 million is expected which will require us to deliver significant savings for 2025 to 2026.

Having already cut £84 million from its budget over the previous eight years, frontline services will almost certainly be affected. That means the views of our communities will be essential in helping to shape the future provision of council services.

Given the scale of the financial challenge, a series of areas have been identified for community engagement and where formal consultation will be required. These will be presented to councillors at a special meeting of full council to be held on Wednesday, October 9.

Next week’s meeting comes against a backdrop of an increasingly challenging financial climate for all levels of government across the UK. Recent figures show a collective local authority budget shortfall across the UK of £4.3billion in 2025 to 2026, while the Accounts Commission previously estimated a funding gap of £585million next year for Scottish councils.

Council Leader Marie Burns said: “It is important to stress that no decisions have yet been taken and nothing will be decided until all councillors meet next year to set the Budget.

“It’s no secret that all public sector organisations are facing difficult financial decisions – we are no different.

“We have a legal duty to set a balanced budget so it is likely that all councillors in North Ayrshire will face difficult decisions next year.

“Council officers have drawn up a series of areas in which we will engage with residents and seek their views. This will help inform future service provision and the setting of the council’s budget in February 2025.

“First and foremost in our minds throughout this process will be our commitment to protect and support our communities across North Ayrshire to the very best of our ability.”

Like other councils, the money North Ayrshire receives from Council Tax and grant funding isn’t keeping pace with the rising costs of the services we provide. At the same time, demand for our services continues to increase.

When the 2025 to 2026 budget is set early next year, we expect to have to address a £16million budget gap.

Among the areas where we are seeking the views of our communities include changes to the library service, Arran Outdoor Education Centre, the Countryside Rangers Service at Eglinton Park, and KA Leisure facilities and charges.

Also included in the forthcoming engagement will be:

• the frequency of collection for purple and blue bins
• consideration of an annual charge for collection of garden waste
• a review of charges for bulky waste collections

Views will also be sought on charging for car parking at council owned car parks.

A number of areas relating to schools and young people have been identified for community engagement, including the level of teaching resource and Pupil Support Assistants and Area Inclusion Workers as well as how the music service could operate in future. Views will be requested on the provision of Campus Police Officers, cleaning arrangements in schools and early years settings, school crossing patrollers, and the educational psychology service.

The engagement will also seek residents’ views on the potential introduction of a 100% Council Tax premium on second homes, changes to Empty Property Reliefs for non-domestic rates, charging a Tourist Visitor Levy and Council Tax levels, as well as the possibility of sharing services on a regional basis. In addition, views are sought on a review of Economic Development, Growth and Regeneration Services.

It is anticipated that engagement will get under way on Thursday, October 10, with details on how residents can participate to be shared next week.

The feedback received will help inform councillors when they meet to set the budget in February 2025.

Published: 04 October 2024