THE financial crisis facing Aberdeen City Council deepened last night as calls intensified for its leaders to quit following revelations that the authority was facing £50 million in budget cuts – almost double the previous estimates.

A confidential report, leaked in advance of tomorrow's meeting of the council's urgent business committee, has disclosed that the savings which must be made in the current financial year total £49.7 million – the equivalent of 15 per cent of th e authority's annual budget.

The report claims that only £10.2 million of savings are guaranteed to be delivered, with uncertainty surrounding £26.8 million and the remaining £12.7 million regarded as unachievable.

And it reveals the measures being considered to help balance the books include a freeze on recruitment, the transfer of funds from other accounts, a moratorium on capital projects and bringing in officials from North Lanarkshire Council to review the social work budget.

Opposition councillors claimed the council was now facing bankruptcy and called on Kate Dean, the Liberal Democrat leader of the authority, and Kevin Stewart, the SNP deputy leader, to resign, claiming their positions were untenable.

Willie Young, secretary of the council's Labour group, said: "They told us the savings would be £27 million but it is now £49.7 million because they didn't add in more than £20 million in other savings. Why were we not told this before?

"What other council in Scotland has ever been faced with problems like this? And it is down to the administration's mismanagement. It is time Kate Dean and Kevin Stewart went. Their positions have become untenable."

He added: "We could be facing bankruptcy and our big fear is that if Councillor Dean doesn't vacate the leader's chair, auditors are going to be forced to come in and run this council."

Frank Doran the Labour MP for Aberdeen North, claimed: "The extraordinary revelation is one more shock in a year which has seen a catalogue of disclosures which embarrass the city and show a level of incompetence and ineptitude in the present administration."

Anne Begg, the Labour MP for Aberdeen South, added: "This new figure represents swingeing cuts and will seriously affect frontline services."

Tommy Campbell, the regional organiser of the T&G Unite union, said: "It's disgraceful. It's pure financial madness."

A spokesman for the city council insisted there was "nothing new" in the figures contained in the committee report.

He said: "Aberdeen City Council has always been entirely transparent about the savings. The total level of savings needed was included in the reports to the February budget meeting and in the budget booklet published subsequently.

He added: "The city council is working to meet the challenge of delivering these budget savings, with help from chief executives, finance directors and senior councillors from other local authorities."


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