Council Leader in online Q&A

The administration’s spending plans will be put forward at the full Council meeting on Thursday, February 11. Councillor Parker is welcoming questions both about the budget, as well as any generally about the council’s services.

He explained: “I realise that our Facebook page and Twitter feed have a significant following and this provides a great opportunity to interact with residents and provide answers to any queries about aspects of council services as well as any queries on the council’s budget.”

The council has been asking members of the public to put forward their ideas on how SBC can do things differently over the last few months via its new online ‘Dialogue’ tool at https://scotborders.dialogue-app.com.

All ideas submitted have been put forward for consideration to the administration’s Budget Working Group (ABWG) which has been meeting regularly to agree the final proposals along with members of the council’s Management Team.

Councillor Parker added: “There is no doubt that we are faced with considerable challenges in relation to our budget. As a result of this, we have to look very carefully at a wide range of options available to us in order for us to put forward budget proposals which we feel protect front-line services as much as possible and continue to deliver quality services.

“Our eight priority areas continue to be our focus with significant investment in improving attainment and achievement for all school pupils; providing high quality support, care and protection to people of all ages in the Borders as well as investment in our environment.

“At the same time we aim to deliver services more efficiently, continue partnership working and spend wisely to help minimise future costs.”

Councillor Parker will be online between 6-7pm on Tuesday February 2 and will take questions through the Council’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/sbcouncil and Twitter feed @scotborders. Anyone who is not available during that time can submit a question in advance by posting it on the Facebook page or on Twitter using #bordersbudget.

33 ideas have been submitted so ffar to the budget challenge via the Council’s online dialogue tool. The tool will remain open throughout the year to allow members of the public to submit their ideas on a range of challenges facing the council.