THE leader of Argyll and Bute Council’s largest opposition group has expressed concern at the absence of the Rest and Be Thankful from the Scottish Government’s budget statement.
Councillor Peter Wallace (Conservative, Isles of Bute) also said that the budget was “a missed opportunity” to provide fair funding to local councils.
Finance secretary Shona Robison MSP announced the budget in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday, January 13. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar MSP said the following day that his party would not oppose it.
Argyll and Bute Council has repeatedly pushed for progress on the Rest and Be Thankful stretch of the A83.
Councillor Wallace was named as the Conservative group’s new leader on Argyll and Bute Council in October after Councillor Gary Mulvaney (Conservative, Helensburgh Central) stood down from the role.
Councillor Wallace said: “The budget is a missed opportunity by this SNP government to protect services by fairly funding local councils.
“The announcement will not offset years of underfunding to councils, who need fair, sustainable funding to protect essential local services.
“Cuts to the capital budget are also concerning, particularly when there was no mention today of the A83 Rest and be Thankful. This is a vital arterial route for Argyll and Bute, and we desperately need to see progress here.
“Shona Robison said she was ‘asking those with the most, the very wealthiest in our land, to contribute a little bit more’.
“What she failed to mention was that in this she included front line workers like nurses, teachers and police officers, who will now pay thousands more in tax than they would elsewhere in the UK.
“We need a government that supports our communities and our businesses and creates the opportunity for them to grow and thrive. Sadly that is not what was evident in today’s budget.”
The Local Democracy Reporting Service contacted the Scottish Government for a response to Councillor Wallace, and was referred to Ms Robison’s comments as published on the Scottish Government website.
She said: “This budget delivers for families across the country, for a stronger NHS, and for a more prosperous future.
“It will fund landmark policies to continue efforts to eradicate child poverty – investing in a brighter future for Scotland and the children growing up here.
“Almost £68 billion is being invested in 2026-27 and almost £200billion through the Scottish spending review and infrastructure investment pipeline, demonstrating the scale of our ambition for our nation.”
Council leader Jim Lynch (SNP, Oban South and the Isles) told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Our officials will have to work through the detail of the budget and our settlement to better understand exactly what it means for Argyll and Bute.”
