DUMFRIES and Galloway Council slashed more debt than any other local authority in Scotland last year — but used up swathes of its financial reserves.
An overview of local government finances in Scotland released this week revealed that between 2018/19 and 2019/20, the council reduced its net debt by eight per cent, making it Scotland’s eighth least indebted local authority.
However, over the same period around £6 million of general fund reserves were mobilised — the second largest amount used by any Scottish council.
Furthermore, the average annual movement in the council’s general fund over the last three years was revealed as being below 0 per cent.
Investment returns, which the report said have been “adversely affected by Covid-19”, were among the lowest in Scotland at -8 per cent.
The research, published this week by the Accounts Commission, explained that the Integration Joint Board (IJB) of Dumfries and Galloway and South Lanarkshire, which manages health and social care in the regions, used up “a significant element of specific reserves, including Primary Care Transformation and Mental Health programmes of work”.
The Borderlands Growth Deal, set to invest £394.5 million in Dumfries and Galloway and fellow bordering counties, has faced disruption due to Covid-19, the report revealed. The Commission said the pandemic has “delayed some of the progress in establishing governance structures and formal sign off of the Borderlands’ Collaboration Agreement”.
Elma Murray, of the Accounts Commission, said: “Councils and Integration Joint Boards play a vital role in supporting Scotland’s communities. Even before Covid-19 the pressures and demands on council services had intensified. At the same time reductions in local government funding over the past seven years have been greater than in other areas of the Scottish Government budget.”
She added that Covid-19 has “fundamentally affected” local government services, describing the the ensuing financial impact of the on public services as “extreme”.
