THE shape of council services is set to change dramatically in the next five years, it has been claimed.
Councillor Stewart Cree, convener of Moray Council, believes the public will have to get used to authorities reverting back to providing core services only.
While there is anger at some of the cuts - including libraries and the arts - already proposed by Moray in a bid to find £30 million of savings, the convener warned worse could be round the corner.
“The £30 million figure; we are only a quarter of the way now. I am really sorry but some of these things are going to pale into insignificance compared with cuts to come.”
“In five years time council services, not just Moray Council but right throughout the UK, will be very different. It will just be core services, the things that really affect the most vulnerable people.
“We have introduced a lot of ‘nice to have’ services in the last 20 years but go back to when I was growing up, these services didn’t exist. The library was a very small affair when I was growing up and it is great we have made it better and got computers in, but right now most folk are walking about with a computer in their pocket.
“We are very good at adopting things but reluctant to give them up when we have to.”
Read the full interview with the convener in The Northern Scot print version - out now.
