SNP Comment on Aberdeenshire Council Budget

Commenting on the passing of today's 2015/16 revenue budget by Aberdeenshire Council, SNP Shadow Council Leader Hamish Vernal said:

"I welcome the £5m uplift in funding made available to Aberdeenshire Council this year thanks to changes in the local government distribution formula. I also welcome the continued commitment of the Council to meeting key Scottish Government priorities through the freeze in Council Tax and the commitment to enhanced early years provision in education.

"The Council Tax Freeze for the lifetime of the current Parliament has helped to keep money in the pockets of hard pressed families in difficult times. We need to do more to ensure that we are spending every pound as effectively as we can before we go looking to the taxpayers of Aberdeenshire for more.

"It's disappointing that the internal politics of the Alliance administration have meant that it wasn't possible to present a shared budget with the SNP on this occasion, despite the clear support which there was across the chamber for many SNP initiatives, particularly in terms of road safety, investment in social housing and reviewing the council's structures.

"We will continue to pursue these initiatives through other avenues, and pledge to work constructively with the administration in order to best deploy the increased Scottish Government resources which are being made available to help meet the challenge of maintaining teacher numbers."