An end of year message from the Council Leader

In her end of year message, Aberdeenshire Council Leader Cllr Gillian Owen said: “In the last few weeks and months, the Council administration and I have spent a lot of time with services and with finance colleagues, as we keep navigating challenging financial times in the public sector. 
 
“We recently asked our staff to move to an 'essential spend' footing, and the teams have been applying that scrutiny to their work in-year. It is reassuring to see some signs that that work is paying off and we are starting to claw back our challenging position a little. 
 
“Make no mistake – it isn’t over. We are not out of the woods and we still have significant areas to address in our budget, not least in Health and Social Care. Our work is making a difference but this is a vast ship to turn around and we will need to keep making savings and stopping in-year activity to balance the books. 
 
“To communities feeling the effect of this new approach, thank you. Thank you for your understanding around pieces of work we can no longer afford to do. And thank you for coming together to support those bits of work, where they can be delivered locally. 
 
“Following the announcement from the Scottish Government level of our financial settlement for next year, we were sent the detail of what we can expect for 2025/26. It looks, on first reading, like the overall settlement for Aberdeenshire Council is a positive one, and we are likely to receive a little more than we were expecting. 

"However the detail is important. It is recognised that every year the settlement comes with a very strict set of criteria, money which is ring-fenced to be spent in certain areas or on certain pieces of work. And it is not until we fully understand those protected areas that we will know if the results of the settlement are in our favour or not. 
 
“It is important to me to publicly thank services and colleagues for their hard work, and thank communities for their understanding of our challenging position. Whilst the way we deliver services will need to change, I take comfort knowing we can work together to find solutions.
 
“I hope you have a peaceful festive season and a prosperous 2025.”