Fife budget: Captal investment and cuts finalised

Fife’s Labour Administration proposals, which won 40-32, will maintain money for several major projects across the Kingdom in the next ten years, but some projects have been sacrificed.

The approved plans have set aside money for the Anstruther Care Village project and they will set aside £13.1 million for new pool and leisure facilities in Inverkeithing and West Fife. Money for flooding prevention schemes will also be maintained as well as investment on road maintenance and vehicle fleet replacement.

Labour also allocated £34 million over the next ten years to provide all P6-S6 students in Fife with 1:1 digital devices in schools.

However, due to ongoing inflation and high interest rates Council Leader David Ross’ Labour group has had to make some sacrifices.

The ten year Capital Programme – the Kingdom’s long term plan for assets like buildings, equipment, and transport infrastructure – is under serious pressure right now, and councillors have been forced to cut approximately £200 million from the plan over the next ten years.

The major improvements on Standing Stane Road are one of the sacrifices that Labour has chosen to make.

“We will not be shelving any plans to look again at safety measures on the road,” Cllr Ross previously said. “This is a priority and I want to reassure people that this work will be done as soon as possible.”

However, the major programme of improvements has been shelved.

Funding for Fife’s destination play parks projects has also been cut. Money will also be taken away from the Council’s Pathway to Netzero plan and from Dunfermline’s Carnegie Hall.

“We’re going to put £10 million in for basic refurbishment but the estimated cost was £18 million for a complete job and we can’t do that,” Cllr Ross said.

Plans to replace the Glenwood and Glenrothes High Schools will also be abandoned in favour of £16 million worth of refurbishments.

“We applied for money at Glenwood and Glenrothes for a replacement school, but that was turned down by the Government,” Cllr Ross said. “Now we need to put money into refurbishing them. There won’t be a replacement school as was our aspiration.”

Although Cllr Ross said this was “disappointing”, he believed it was the right choice.

SNP proposals similarly proposed £16 million for both schools but remained “committed” to their full replacement in the next ten years.

According to Labour Councillor Altany Craik (Glenrothes West and Kinglassie), Labour’s Capital Plan also had £5.8 million more invested into sport and leisure while SNP plans cut funding for East Sands facilities.

Cllr Craik also accused the SNP proposals of being £5 million light on road repairs in the next three years.

“The Administration’s Capital Plan has £92.3 million [invested in roads]; the SNP plan only has £87 million over ten years of the plan – on top of no extra road maintenance funds in the revenue budget either,” he said.

SNP Councillor David Alexander (Leven, Kennoway and Largo) argued that his group’s plan had less investment because SNP councillors were “not prepared to see £2 million cut education” through efficiency savings or by “raising council tax unnecessarily” as part of the general revenue budget.

However, the “clear blue water” between the two proposals came down to the investment in Fife’s 1:1 digital device scheme for students.

Labour allocated £34 million to providing all P6-S6 students in Fife with a 1:1 digital device for learning over the next ten years while SNP proposals wanted to see a smaller £6.8 million investment in 1:1 devices for the S3-S6 cohort.

After much debate, the budget proposals were put to a vote. With support from Conservative and Lib-Dem councillors, the Labour proposals were approved 40-32.