Budget Scrutiny

Yes, it's our Directorate's turn to have its part of next (financial) year's budget proposals come before Scrutiny, later today.

This is always something of a non-event, as the sheer size of the budget shortfall (because of central Government's gerrymandering of local authority funding every year) means that it is never possible for our Cabinet to put even a nearly finished budget proposal out to the Scrutiny Committees -- it is always a "work in progress".

This would not be the case if we had a proper settlement and by this stage were effectively finished, short of a few fine-tuning tweaks and last-minute updates, which would be minor. That would be my preferred scenario, as I believe that Scrutiny has a part to play in budgetary development -- but only when it is allowed to do so.

With settlement announcements coming later every year (although at least they have tended to be near what was predicted in advance by the council's senior finance officers) and the latest unfunded wheezes yet to be properly costed, such a desirable and helpful situation never occurs, and is becoming less likely with every passing year.

This is a real shame: I for one want to make Scrutiny worthwhile (and I have a considerable track record in this quest -- far more than any Opposition Member, for a start!) and this is one area where this system could be made to be of genuine benefit.

Not that I am a fan of the Cabinet-and-Scrutiny system that was inflicted upon us -- I still believe that it is fatally flawed in concept and in application -- but I do remember my obligations to the people "out there", far more to any ideology or even political party, so I'll fight hard to make it work regardless, perhaps simply in spite of those who forced it upon us.

So, this coming evening I shall do my best, with inadequate material, and we shall also have the Finance Portfolio Holder there to grill on this and other aspects of his portfolio. I shall be bringing this and other matters to be answered.