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Spring 2015 welcome


Welcome to the latest edition of InView


Council Leader Councillor Stephen McCabe Budget delivers savings and investment


The Council agreed a two year budget. In this edition of InView, you will find


updates in the centre pages. Particular proposed budget savings in


the second year were subject to Inverclyde’s most extensive budget consultation. It also resulted in a new cross party


approach to examining the difficult decisions which lie ahead. For me, and I know for the other


members of the budget working group, working closely with the Council’s corporate management team and our trade union colleagues, making sure we listened to the feedback from our citizens and businesses and working for the wider good of Inverclyde were key principles in that budget review. There are only difficult decisions ahead


for Scottish Councils and for other public services. That’s why it is crucially important that


we recognise the value we deliver. In the Council’s budget for the next two


years we are spending over £190m on public services in our community in each year. That’s money invested in schools,


invested in roads and lighting, and invested in social work services. It’s money invested in services, which affect every corner of Inverclyde, that touch every community. Our school estate programme is still


Independent auditors have ruled Inverclyde Council performs well in delivering services, has good financial management arrangements and strong leadership. Their annual report to Councillors


states: “Overall, the Council performs well in delivering services and has good financial management arrangements in place. In particular, the Council has been able to build up significant reserves during a period of financial austerity. This has been achieved


the most ambitious in Scotland and is continuing apace. The refurbishments of Ardgowan and St John’s primaries will be completed and work is starting on the refurbishment of Kilmacolm primary with a new build for St Patrick’s Primary School. While the focus is rightly on areas


we need to save, there are still areas where we are expanding the service to meet the needs of the community. Funding has been earmarked for


new community facilities in Inverkip, Woodhall and Broomhill and for the refurbishment of Ravenscraig Sports Centre. Plans are in place to build two new children’s homes in Greenock and Port Glasgow to replace the outdated existing ones. We are also continuing to invest in


regeneration projects in Greenock, Gourock and Port Glasgow. Over the next two years we plan to spend over £16m on improving our roads, footways and street lighting and tackling the area’s flooding problems. These are challenging times for the


Council. But, with the overall budget spending in place, the additional areas of investment and hard work to protect essential services as much as we can from the worst of cuts, you can see we are still ambitious to make Inverclyde a better place for us all to live and work.


Audit praise for council finances £


through disciplined financial management, strong leadership by the senior management team in delivering the Council’s vision and corporate priorities to focus investment and savings decisions.


2015 UK Parliamentary General Election Key dates for voters


30 march Dissolution of Parliament 20 April 21 April 28 April 7 may 8 may


Deadline to register to vote


Deadline for applying for postal vote Deadline for applying for proxy vote


Election day - Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm The results announced


For further information, please contact: 020 7271 0500 To register to vote online visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote


Follow our tweets for the latest news, events and jobs at: www.twitter.com/ inverclyde


InView www.inverclyde.gov.uk


Call for employers to pay the living wage


The living wage has been increased for the Council’s lowest paid employees. And Council Leader, Councillor


Stephen McCabe has called on other Inverclyde employers to do likewise. Inverclyde was one of the first


councils in Scotland to introduce the Living Wage for employees and was first in the country to increase to the new national rate of £7.85 per hour. The wage rate, which affects


approximately 740 employees across the Council, was backdated to the date of the announcement of the new rate by the Living Wage Foundation – Monday 3 November 2014. The new rate of £7.85 per hour is an


above inflation increase of 2.6% on last year and 21% higher than the


National Minimum Wage. Inverclyde Council Leader Councillor


Stephen McCabe said: “The Living Wage pays a fair rate for low paid workers. The Living Wage goes above the National Minimum Wage and as the largest employer in Inverclyde we can lead the way in making sure that we show our support for our lowest paid workers and for the Living Wage itself. “I also hope that this sends


a message to other employers to adopt the Living Wage for their own employees.” The Living Wage rate is based on the


Joseph Rowntree Foundation minimum income standard research, which considers what income is needed to provide an adequate standard of living.


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