North Lanarkshire leader warns of 'impossible' budget choices

dailyrecord.co.uk:

North Lanarkshire Council’s leader says the authority is “faced with impossible choices” as it prepares to set its annual budget – and that: “Some services [may be] at breaking point.”Jim Logue has now invited the area’s MSPs to a special briefing on Friday to outline the authority’s financial position as councillors get ready to find £30m of savings to balance the books for the 12 months ahead.Members will set the authority’s budget for 2023-2024 on February 23, and face making cuts totalling £67m over the next three years.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 Councillor Logue said this week: “We need to make some very difficult decisions about services and how they function in the future when the council sets its budget.“The reality is that we are required to deliver more services than we did 10 years ago, yet this council’s budget has been cut by more than £228m in the last decade.“We are faced with impossible choices and it’s essential that MSPs are fully aware of the detailed challenges we face so that they can properly represent their constituents.”He will be joined at the parliamentarians’ briefing by chief executive Des Murray along with North Lanarkshire’s chief officer for finance, where they will “highlight the challenges facing the council” to North Lanarkshire’s five constituency and