Change of tune mooted by Stirling councillors over budget cuts in wake of Big Noise funding

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Unpopular Stirling Council budget cuts, including nursery hour cuts and allotment charge rises, could be reversed if the Scottish Government agrees to fully fund Big Noise projects in Stirling.First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that the Scottish Government would come up with £1.5million after SNP-led councils in Dundee and Aberdeen cut 100 per cent of the funding they provided for the projects in their area.The cash would also help the projects in Raploch and Fallin after Stirling Council cut their contribution by 10 per cent in the latest budget.However, the council’s Labour administration says, had they known the Scottish Government was going to fork out, they could have similarly gone for a whole funding cut, freeing up £392,000 and avoiding a host of other budget cuts.Now council leader Chris Kane has said that, given it would be unfair to do otherwise, the authority will expect confirmation that the whole sum will be provided.He said: “Had we known the Scottish Government were prepared to fund Big Noise projects, we would have taken the opportunity to use this £392,000 to offset difficult decisions in other areas.”At a special meeting of the council on Thursday, Labour presented a motion to reverse the cuts - which would have required two thirds of the council to vote to suspend standing orders on a six- month rule on revisiting decision.However all SNP councillors, and independent councillor Alasdair Macpherson, voted against it, saying it was premature to do so without confirmation of the exact sum the Scottish Government would be providing and how it would be routed.Following a fractious debate, councillors then unanimously agreed to pursue further details about the funding and then reconvene in around two