Report to the People
Balancing the Books
This being the first of the month, most of us probably spent the weekend taking part in that most ancient of ancient rituals – the balancing of the family finances.
And it’s a complicated business. We might have money in the bank, but we know it’s not ours to spend as it suits us. We need to set aside regular expenses like our council tax, umpteen standing orders, food money etc. etc. We also need a few pounds in case something unexpected comes up – our roof springs a leak or our car breaks down. We may, though, save money we expected to spend thanks to a tax rebate or a low gas bill.
Although the sums of money are larger, this is pretty much the way public finance works. Government allocates its various departments the sum it calculates they need to deliver their services. From this are deducted normal running expenses, such as wages, and special one-off costs, like refurbishing premises. On the other hand, developments such as improved efficiency may save money which was originally planned to be spent.
This, of course, means that some parts of Government can end the year with money left over. And again, although it’s not a problem many of us need to worry about too often, the government does just what we would – spends it on the things which are important to us.
So, when Finance Minister, Andy Kerr, went to the Scottish Parliament last week to set out where he was investing the extra cash the Executive had saved over the past year, it was the Parliamentary equivalent of buying a new pair of shoes or a 3 wood. The only real difference was that he was spending £173 million.
Some of this will go on the Parliament’s priorities such as law and order and lifelong learning. The rest will help local councils sort out some of their top local issues.
Inverclyde Council, therefore, will decide how to spend the extra £1.645 million it receives to achieve two main objectives – improving our local environment and supporting local young people. This could mean putting more money into, for example, traffic calming, CCTV in parks, community safety, or tackling graffiti, dog mess and abandoned cars. Cut price leisure access for 15-26 year olds is another possibility, as is more money for local resources such as libraries.
OK, the Government might not spend its spare cash on as exciting things as you or I would. But the return it gets on its investment certainly lasts longer than three courses in the Star of Bengal.
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