Grampian Regional Council And Government Funding Cuts

EDM number 493 in 1994-95, proposed by Alex Salmond on 25/01/1995.

That this House notes the severe financial problems facing local authorities across Scotland as a result of the Secretary of State's grant aided expenditure assessment and aggregate external finance settlement; further notes that Grampian Regional Council is faced with a funding shortfall of ú31 million as a direct result of these Government policies; finds the honourable Member for Aberdeen South's recent criticism of the Council extraordinary, given that it is his own Government's attack on local authority funding which is threatening jobs and services in the Region; further notes that the Labour Party in Aberdeen has sided with the Tories in an attempt to play the town against the rural areas in the debate over asset sales; considers their attitude indefensible considering the properties sold by the Region were all purchased by the old Aberdeenshire authority; asks the Tory and Labour allies in Aberdeen to state whether they would prefer adding ú170 to council tax levels for Grampian or cutting vital frontline services and introducing compulsory redundancies as Labour-controlled authorities are threatening across Scotland; and attacks the Government for not financing the nationally negotiated pay deals which in themselves make up ú15 million of the ú31 million shortfall in the Grampian Region.

This motion has been signed by a total of 4 MPs.