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Flawed process for housing expenditure |
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Friday, 03 March 2006 |
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At Thursday's Housing Committee it was reported that the 2006/7 capital budget will only be approved at the next committee on 13 April… AFTER the financial year has started. Given that building projects have a long lead in time, this seems far too late to make best use of the money. The timing appears to be driven by the Scottish Executive and Communities Scotland. To make matters worse, it has become routine for part of the budget to only be announced in the Autumn.
John Mason said, "This is 2006 yet the budgeting process is stuck in the dark ages. The basic plans should be in place for at least 3 years at a time so that the Council, housing associations, contractors, etc can all plan ahead properly. To carry out building projects on this kind of last minute basis does not make for good decision making. It is not best value. The Scottish Executive needs to get its act together."
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