Government cuts SIC grant

THE SCOTTISH government is to cut £1 million off Shetland Islands Council’s annual block grant next year.

It also plans to reduce its grant by a further £1 million each year until 2015 to reflect the amount of money it is receiving from Westminster, which is imposing severe public spending restraint.

Next year the SIC will receive £92.4 million, downs from £93.4 million this year. In 2013/14 the proposed grant will be £91.5 million and in the following year it reaches £90.5 million.

The cuts were expected and are unlikely to shake the council’s current drive to reduce spending by £26 million over the next two years.

The SIC is also likely to agree to the Scottish government’s condition that it prioritises certain conditions, such as a council tax freeze, as it has done for the past five years.

SIC convener Sandy Cluness said the cuts would make things more difficult for the council.

Western Isles Council faces a similar cut of £1 million a year over the next three years, however Orkney Islands Council is being offered a better deal, with a promise to gradually increase the level of grant after an initial cut of around £800,000.

The full figures can be found here.