North Lanarkshire Council’s Leader has warned tough decisions will still have to be made despite a funding increase from the Scottish Government.
Holyrood recently confirmed a £56.3 million funding increase for North Lanarkshire as part of the Scottish budget for 2025-26.
But despite the real-terms funding increase, Council Leader Jim Logue warned the council will still have to find £13.39 million to bridge the budget gap.
Councillor Logue said: “While we are seeing an increase in our block grant thanks to the record investment from the new UK Labour Government, the additional money being passed down from the SNP Scottish Government is still cutting residents short.
“The SNP were handed a 3.4 per cent boost but this has not been fully passed down to North Lanarkshire which means more difficult decisions will have to be made.
“After a decade of SNP austerity inflicted on our communities, it’s time for the SNP Government to act and fully pass down the real terms increase they have received from the UK Government.
“They have the money, they have the powers. It’s time to use them.
“North Lanarkshire Council Finance Officers have advised elected members that currently there is a revenue budget gap of £13.390m for 2025/26 and that all political groups in the council need to bring forward a legally balanced budget to address this gap.”
The Scottish Budget itself still needs to be voted through by Holyrood – and Motherwell and Wishaw SNP MSP Clare Adamson has appealed to opposition politicians to back the budget.
She said: “We need investment in public services and that is what the SNP is delivering.
“The Scottish Government is committing £869.7 million to North Lanarkshire; that is an uplift of more than £56 million for 2025-26.
“Local authorities are charged with providing crucial community services and that is why the Scottish Government is proposing a real-terms funding increase.
“SNP investment will help improve schools, social care, roads, waste collection, and other vital local services in Motherwell and Wishaw.
“I’m particularly delighted to see that the total investment for North Lanarkshire in Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme, combined with the Learning Estate Investment Programme for 2025-26, has reached £6.1 million.
“This includes Clyde Valley High School in Wishaw as part of the Schools for the Future Programme.
“This budget commits to bold and transformative investment but the Scottish Parliament must vote for it.
“MSPs in North Lanarkshire and across Scotland need to vote for this investment in our public services and deliver for our constituents.”
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