THE leader of Fife Council has tabled budget proposals that would give an extra £17 million for health and social care in the Kingdom.
Councillor David Ross, head of the minority Labour administration, will present their financial plans for the year ahead at Fife House in Glenrothes on Thursday.
The money for the Fife Health and Social Care Partnership would be in addition to a proposed £2m one-off investment to help plug the hole in their currently overspent budget.
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In truth, the council administration doesn’t seem to have much choice in allocating the additional £17m – that’s a minimum uplift requirement from the Scottish Government.
However, the proposed £2m investment is discretionary and would be used to help out with the partnership’s projected £4.1 million budget gap this year.
It is jointly funded by Fife Council and NHS Fife and, without help, it will need to dig deep into its £5m reserves to balance the books.
The proposed transfer of £2.1m from the council would be on a one-off basis and ease the pressure on the partnership reserves.
The council's general revenue fund budget for 2024-27 will be set by councillors at the meeting on Thursday.
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