ARGYLL and Bute Council could face an economic uphill struggle similar to the financial effects of “a full-scale war” after the Covid-19 crisis, a councillor has warned.
Councillor Alastair Redman, the authority’s policy lead for economic growth, also predicted that additional funding may be needed for some time to come once the pandemic has subsided.
A report for the council’s business continuity committee (BCC) – set up to deal temporarily with key items of business while almost all other council committees are suspended – also showed that the likely additional costs of the pandemic to the council outweigh projected savings by nearly £4 million.
Those extra costs – including a predicted fall in income from council tax collection, school meals, commercial refuse collection and pier and harbours – are currently expected to add up to more than £4.6m.
Savings in school meals, staff travel and some other costs are predicted to come to £772,000.
All figures are up to the end of June.
The figures were considered by the nine members of the BCC – which is conducting the council’s most essential business during the Covid-19 pandemic – at a virtual meeting on Thursday, May 14.
Councillor Redman is not a member of the BCC, but was one of a number of councillors who tuned in via Skype despite not being on the committee.
He said: “Are there any areas where, as a result of Covid-19, the council has actually saved money?
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“It has been said by my constituents that some services are not running.
"The general public are perhaps less aware of the costs, but is there anywhere that savings are being made?”
Laurence Slavin, the council’s chief internal auditor, directed Councillor Redman to the appendix of the report which detailed the additional costs and savings.
He said: “You will see that we have split the information between costs and savings, but the cost figure is a lot larger than the savings figure.
“There will be savings in that we do not have to buy material for school meals, but we don’t make as much income from these meals.”
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Councillor Redman then said: “The argument is not just for additional funding from central government to mitigate the impact of Covid-19.
“There will also be a need for economic reconstruction as there was after a full-scale war.
“The impact would require huge funding from central government and potentially we would need funding for some time to come.”
Kirsty Flanagan, the council’s head of strategic finance, responded: “Hopefully for the next BCC meeting [which is due to take place in June] there will be an update.
"Work for economic recovery is being looked at.”
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