Council leader and Hamilton's MSP go head-to-head in row over school bus cuts

dailyrecord.co.uk:

South Lanarkshire Council's leader and Hamilton's MSP have gone head-to-head in a row over school bus cuts. Joe Fagan has branded Christina McKelvie as “South Lanarkshire’s Queen of Cuts” who “does not know” how funding arrangements between the Scottish Government and local authorities work.Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse MSP McKelvie had said that Fagan was “deeply dishonest” after he blamed a lack of government funding for the cuts.

The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now. Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android The row broke out after South Lanarkshire Council voted to increase the distance at which children are eligible for secondary school buses from two miles to three miles.Fagan had blamed the move on a lack of funding from the Scottish Government in a meeting last week.

He has previously asked for more money from Holyrood to stop the cuts from going ahead.McKelvie then pointed the finger at him as £6.4 million of Government funding was discussed in the same meeting, with £1.2m going into reserves to replenish the council covering the local government pay award.But Fagan said the money was passed to the council after an agreement to spend it on specific things from the Scottish Government.

He added that McKelvie’s “blundering intervention... raises real questions about the financial literacy of those in government.”McKelvie said: