Donald Forrest: Last News

Kettle and microwave use in council buildings could be monitored as part of a drive to slash soaring energy bills.

The Scottish Government has been warned that local services could grind to a halt without more help as local councils face a £1billion spending crisis.

Council bosses have agreed to guarantee financial backing for the local authority’s arm’s length leisure trust West Lothian Leisure as it battles back to strength from pandemic closure.

A year after leaving the EU, the real costs of Brexit are becoming clear to many West Lothian businesses.

Whichever party takes charge at West Lothian Council after next May’s elections is set to face a £40 million black hole for their five year term.

Sign up to the weekly West Lothian Courier newsletter for the latest West Lothian news and sport.West Lothian Leisure has secured Scottish Government funding in its struggle to stay in shape for the end of lockdown as it faces year end losses of £8m.Donald Forrest, head of finance at West Lothian Council, told a meeting of the Executive that the council had been given £457,000 to pass on to WLL as it battles to stay operational in the midst of the latest lockdown.The money has come from the government’s Lost Income Scheme.It is the latest cash injection to the organisation which runs the Xcite gyms and sports facilities across the county.WLL has also been able to reschedule debt repayments of £803,000 to the council this year, which will be

Sign up to the weekly West Lothian Courier newsletter for the latest West Lothian news and sport.A councillor has voiced concerns that West Lothian Council is in danger of becoming a “cash cow” for the crisis-hit Xcite leisure centres.Opposition SNP councillor, Frank Anderson, called for West Lothian Leisure to be “taken back in-house” after council officers said that a further £500,000 would need to be pumped into the arms-length operator of the county’s leisure centres.Councillor Anderson said: “If we give West Lothian Leisure half a million pounds, they are still going to be half a million short.