Council / More warnings that ‘difficult decisions’ will be needed to tackle SIC’s ‘unsustainable’ spend
AS COUNCILLORS prepare for their next round of budget-setting, fresh calls have been made for the local authority’s “unsustainable” draw on reserves to be tackled.
As in previous years, elected members warned that “difficult decisions” may need to be made.
But at a meeting of Shetland Islands Council’s (SIC) audit committee on Tuesday morning there appeared to be a growing sense that more action and less talk is needed.
Depute leader Gary Robinson said there has been “no shortage” of suggestions in the past about how to reduce budgets, but the challenge is for elected members to go through with them.
“Hopefully this time that we might actually take some of the decisions that we’ve been offered in the past and declined,” he said.
Meanwhile Lerwick South member Cecil Smith encouraged councillors to meet with SIC officers ahead of setting the budget for the 2026/27 financial year, which begins in April.
He added that “there’s an election in May next year and there’s one the following year”, and if no action is taken now, “there will be nothing done”.
The discussion came following a presentation of audited accounts for 2024/25.
A report from Audit Scotland highlighted how the SIC continues to rely on reserves to balance its books, with a gap of nearly £21 million in 2025/26.
A recently updated medium-term financial plan also included a revised outlook which showed a projected cumulative budget gap of £134.3 million over the next four years. This was a worse figure than before, as last year it was projected at over £83 million.
The message from the council has been that costs are rising, as is demand on services, while recruitment challenges remain.
Shetland Central member Moraig Lyall said as time goes on there are more “uncomfortable” mentions of unsustainable spend.
“We can see that the situation is getting worse as the years go by,” she said, “and we can’t allow that to happen on our watch”.
Lerwick North and Bressay member Stephen Leask also highlighted the declining harbour income to the SIC, mainly through reduced tanker movements at the Port of Sullom Voe. “That is quite a risk for the future of the council,” he said.
He added that the SIC needs to get more control over its expenditure with “haste”.
Having first been elected to the council in 2007, the SIC’s financial position came as no surprise to Cecil Smith.
But he warned that “this can’t go on any longer”.
The elected member said when it comes to budget setting, he wants to see councillors sitting down with officers and discussing “how we want to go forward”.
Smith also said there is no point in officers coming forward with plans and “we throw it out – that’s just a waste of time”.
Shetland West member Liz Peterson however questioned how much decision-making powers councillors actually have when it comes to day-to-day business.
“I think we as members, we’re only able to make decisions on things that come before us at committee,” she said.
Peterson said the “savings that we need to make” are to do with the day-to-day running of the council, which she suggested is usually overseen by management.
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