Building Briefs – March 19th

• Aberdeenshire Council sets budget for 2020/21

This follows a meeting in February where councillors set council tax for the year ahead, separating out the two meetings due to the timing of the December general election and the subsequent delayed announcement of the local government financial settlement.

Council leader, Councillor Jim Gifford said that the rise in Council Tax would be used to support borrowing of £55 million for the repair and replacement of key aspects of the roads and bridges network. A further £4.2m has been allocated to health and social care services, whilst education have been largely protected from any cuts.

Councillors debated a number of reports including the medium-term financial strategy, which sets out the combined impact on services and financial planning of all the resources available to the council. This includes the revenue budget, the capital plan, reserves, carbon budget and Housing Revenue Account.

Councillor Gifford focused on the budget that the council will use to deliver local services which is in excess of £1 billion each year with the combined funding for revenue, capital, reserves and housing.

In responding to COVID-19, he set out a package of initiatives to support business and local communities.

This includes £138,000 to administer rates relief to business as agreed by the Scottish Government; the removal of all savings for economic development (£160,000) for continued advice and support to business and a £200,000 community resilience fund to support voluntary and community groups over the coming months as they respond locally to the needs of their communities.

• Russells recognised as the best of the best

Russell Roof Tiles has been recognised as a leading manufacturer in the UK, after being handpicked to appear in the 2020 Parliamentary Review. 

The Parliamentary Review is a prestigious independent publication, featuring insight commentary from Government officials, ministers and sector leaders for more than 20 years. Each annual issue showcases up to 15 private and public sector organisations, representing just one leading business from each sector.

Featured businesses, which have all demonstrated outstanding contribution to their sector, are invited to share and promote best practice, with the strategic goal of raising standards. The magazine is distributed to more than 500,000 top Directors, CEOs and those in positions of leadership.

Employing 150 staff at three sites in Burton and Lochmaben, Russell Roof Tiles manufactures nearly one million roofing products per week and was specially selected to provide industry insight and knowledge. The firm is currently the first and only roof tile manufacturer to provide expert commentary in The Parliamentary Review.

By placing policy discussion into the hands of large and small organisations across the country, The Parliamentary Review moves away from the “Westminster bubble” to get to the heart of the issues that matter most to businesses. Jointly chaired by Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, the Review’s non-partisan approach facilitates policy development driven by those who are most affected by it.