OUTGOING Inverclyde Council chief John Mundell says the local authority needs a ‘knight in shining armour’ to combat looming budget cuts of up to £40m in the next three years.

Mr Mundell, who will retire in September after 10 years at the helm, says the financial pressure facing the council is the worst he has ever seen in a local government career spanning more than four decades.

His dire warning was echoed by chief financial officer Alan Puckrin, above left, who took the unusual step of delivering a public presentation on the challenges facing Inverclyde.
He forecasts an ‘optimistic’ funding gap of £13m by 2020 and a ‘pessimistic’ sum that could be as much as £40m – a fifth of the entire local authority budget.

Mr Puckrin has also worked out a ‘mid range’ figure of £22.5m but could not rule out the possibility that the cash crisis may be even more dire than his worst-case scenario.

The sobering outlook was revealed at a full council meeting during which the chief executive laid bare the full extent of the looming problems.

Mr Mundell said: “The savings on top of what we have already had to endure are very draconian.

“This is the worst I have ever seen.

“I don’t know personally how the council is going to bridge the gap unless a knight in shining armour comes across the hill.

“It’s so severe.”

Bosses say budget cuts from the Scottish Government and Westminster, the nine-year council tax freeze and increasing staff costs are behind the financial black hole facing the local authority.

Last year the council’s Holyrood block grant was slashed by around £6m.

By 2018 Mr Mundell says £46m will have been wiped from the council budget in just 10 years with up to 800 job losses from the workforce of 5,200 which he inherited.

The local authority chief hinted that leisure subsidies, such as free swimming for children and OAPs and other grants, could now be under threat because they are ‘not sustainable’, adding that the future looks ‘very, very bleak’.

It was also mentioned on a number of occasions that the council could have to start charging for services.

But some councillors fear the financial crisis could have much more serious implications - and potentially spell the end of the council.

Labour’s Martin Brennan told the meeting: “We are seeing the slow death of local government in Scotland and that will have a direct effect on the people of Inverclyde and in particular the vulnerable people of Inverclyde.

“It’s not clear either that the future of Inverclyde Council is certain.”

The grim outlook was echoed by financial expert Mr Puckrin, who addressed councillors and members of the public before taking questions from elected members.

He stressed that his figures are purely forecasts because the council budget ultimately depends on a raft of external factors such as how much money Scotland will receive from Westminster and the amount SNP ministers will then pass onto local government – as well as the impact of changes to council tax and cost pressures associated with Scottish Government policies over early years education, attainment and health and social care.

But Mr Puckrin said: “We are obviously just about to enter some turbulent times, uncertain times.

“We need to start planning now to make the levels of savings (by 2020).”