"Lord Provost and Colleagues:
As City Treasurer, it is my privilege to present the first budget of this Administration and the Council Plan for 2008 to 2011.
For the third year in a row, we are able to move a budget package that freezes Council Tax.
Lord Provost, this is good news for every household in Glasgow - from those in the highest valuation bands to pensioners and those on low incomes, who often face the greatest problems coping with rising bills.
And it is Glasgow’s freeze.
This year’s financial settlement was tight, with a poorer increase than last year and the average of the last four years.
The £22 million we received was enough to offset inflation - it didn’t pay for the Council Tax freeze.
The extra £7.8 million, while welcome, doesn’t even cover the extra money required by fire and police boards. That didn’t pay for the Council Tax freeze either.
Colleagues, this administration paid for the Council Tax freeze. We paid it from efficiencies achieved through strong leadership and good governance that we can now, again, pass on to the people of Glasgow.
The funds promised by Ministers do not deliver - this is a tax freeze made in Glasgow, for Glasgow.
However, our freeze in Council Tax does not have to mean a freeze on investment. It does not mean a freeze on ideas or vision.
Despite that very tight settlement, we will not only hold Council Tax at its current rate, but also deliver a programme that reforms and invests in services for the good of our communities.
We are committed to spending on our key priorities - education, a cleaner city and increasing participation in sports ahead of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
We will lead the way in making Glasgow a green city where environmental sustainability and economic sustainability go hand in hand.
We will deliver on the vision we share with the people of Glasgow - a diverse and prosperous 21st Century international city that benefits all.
Lord Provost, we are able to do that because effective and prudent stewardship of this Council has made Glasgow one of the most efficient authorities in Scotland.
Our aim, as always, is to make every single penny available to us work - and work hard - for our taxpayers.
That is why this budget contains proposals to generate £8 million through improved productivity in our Trading Operations.
It is why we propose to make savings of £3.5 million through improved working practices and £2 million via greater efficiency in procurement as part of a £19.5 million corporate service reform package.
Across the Council’s services, we will make best use of our talents and resources to push for even greater efficiency and productivity.
In Social Work, more efficient and effective use of support resources - such as smart technology - and improvements in care planning will generate savings worth millions.
Crucially, though, these measures will also help our most vulnerable citizens - maintaining them in their own homes for longer, personalising their care and giving them a greater level of independence than previously possible.
In making these targeted, sustainable savings, we will not only deliver services that are efficient, focussed and more responsive to citizens’ needs; but release the resources we need to safeguard and invest in other services.
The Council Plan spells out how we will better equip services to meet the people of Glasgow’s needs over the next three years - through investment, reform and strong, forward-thinking leadership.
This year, we will create - at a cost of £1 million - the first two of ten new Learning Centres that will enhance the Council’s capacity to meet the additional support needs of young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Lord Provost, Glasgow’s Education Service has a budget of half a billion pounds - the largest of any council service in Scotland and greater than the total spending power of most authorities.
It is also the fastest growing budget of this administration, as we continue to pursue our priorities in Early Years, Numeracy & Literacy and those ten new learning centres.
However, we must continually strive to be more efficient because if we only do what we have always done with the resources available, we will only get the same results.
Instead, we have clear plans for improving exam results year on year and providing more and convenient childcare services in the city.
We need to fund these strategic priorities and we should see plans such as the school travel change within this context.
I can confirm investment of £600,000 in a Skills Academy for young unemployed people.
The academy, to be based at the former St John’s Primary School, in Laurieston, will provide training for people to give them the chance of finding jobs in the construction industry to help with the continued regeneration of the city.
We will also continue Vocational Training to a value of £2.4 million.
This budget continues funding for Clean Glasgow, which is creating a cleaner, safer environment for all, and £500,000 on recycling as we continue to play our part in fighting climate change and demonstrate that Glasgow is a green city.
The Council has signed up to the climate change declaration and is committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 20% over five years through our Carbon Management Programme. This budget, colleagues, targets a £1 million reduction in fuel consumption.
We are also investing in our infrastructure - with a complete overhaul and enhancement of the city’s aging public toilets to create 10 new 24-hour facilities that will better meet the demands of 21st Century Glasgow. To return to the topic of efficiency, briefly, this step will not only modernise the service, but also save the Council £600,000.
I can promise £250,000 for grassroots sports development - to help initiate a cultural change in Glaswegians’ motivation to participate in sport and physical activity.
We are also ready to transform residential care services in the city with a major investment in new homes for the elderly - creating homes for life and ensuring the best possible care for older people now and for generations to come.
Before moving the motion Lord Provost, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my colleagues who take part in the budget process.
I would also like to thank Lynn Brown and all the officers in Finance, the Chief Executive and all Service Departments for their invaluable and professional work - and I hope colleagues will join me in doing so.
Lord Provost, the measures proposed by the administration today will peg Band D Council Tax at £1,213 for the third year running.
Colleagues will remember that, despite an unqualified audit, maintaining adequate reserves has been identified as a key risk for this Council.
For that reason, I include provision to contribute £5 million to general reserves, which is necessary if we are to restore our position and reach our audited target of £20 million by 2011.
Diminishing the city’s reserves to avoid necessary reform would not only be imprudent, but would place the Council, its services and those that rely on those services at unacceptable risk.
We do not know every challenge that lies ahead - and we would fail in our duty to the people of Glasgow if we gambled with these crucial reserves.
And, while the scale of investment already underway in our city - half a billion pounds - means our focus naturally falls on delivery at this time, I am proposing a capital investment programme of just over £1.3 million.
Lord Provost, I formally move the Revenue Budget for all Council Services as contained in the draft estimates before you - a Band D Council Tax of £1,213 for 2008/09.
I formally move approval of capital expenditure of £1.321 million in support of Service Investment.
Finally, I formally move the Glasgow City Council Plan for 2008-2011.
Resources to deliver the freeze have been delivered not by Ministers, but through this Council’s own efficiency and this vibrant City’s growth - with new homes and more jobs boosting our population and bringing new taxpayers to Glasgow.
It is an achievement that delivers value for the Council taxpayers of Glasgow and establishes a benchmark of stability for the rest of Scotland.
God bless … Glasgow.
Thank you."