Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. She is known for narrative songs about her personal life, which have received widespread media coverage. At age 14, Swift became the youngest artist signed by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house and, at 15, she signed her first record deal.
Her 2006 eponymous debut album was the longest-charting album of the 2000s in the US. Its third single, "Our Song", made her the youngest person to single-handedly write and perform a number-one song on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Swift's second album, Fearless, was released in 2008.
Buoyed by the pop crossover success of the singles "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me", it became the US' best-selling album of 2009 and was certified diamond in the US. The album won four Grammy Awards, and Swift became the youngest Album of the Year winner.
East Ayrshire Council faces 'worst case' £61m financial gap over next five years
dailyrecord.co.ukEast Ayrshire Council faces a financial gap of up to £61m over the next five years.That is the worst case scenario identified by the council’s finance team as it reported to the full council.However, the council will develop its financial strategy based on an average shortfall of £39m over the same period.The next financial year, 2023/24, is acknowledged to be ‘far higher’ than council services have previously faced.The tightening of resources was magnified by the pay settlement agreed with council staff recently.
That saw an additional recurring annual cost of £2.6m brought into the budget, a situation described as ‘unusual’.Julie Jamieson, East Ayrshire Council’s chief accountant, told councillors that external auditors had praised the council for its strong financial governance and management, adding that EAC was in a ‘solid’ position to deal with the inevitable challenges.She also acknowledged that the next few years would be ‘uncertain and unpredictable’ thanks to the impact of Covid, Brexit and the cost of living crisis.Earlier this year, the Scottish Government published its spending review, including a freeze on local government funding.This, stated a report to the full council, means a real terms reduction of seven per cent by 2026/27.Three scenarios identify 2024/25 as being the most challenging, with shortfalls of between £17m and £8m.The report states: “Identifying the funds to close the £2.6m in-year pay gap will be extremely important given that if sourced early then it will reduce the future years' funding gap. “However, if it is not sourced until later years then not only will it cause drag in the financial plans but it will require the use of balances to close the gap until such time as recurring funds
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