Additional £1 million to improve roads in Dumfries and Galloway

Today’s Policy and Resources Committee agreed that an additional £1 million will be spent on improvements to Dumfries and Galloway’s roads. The money will come from unallocated capital balances.

Vice Chair of Policy and Resources, Councillor Brian Collins, was in the chair for the debate. He said, “Members of the committee are all keen that we try to spend more to improve our roads and would like to find even more that this £1 million. As a result our October committee will be looking at the remainder of the unallocated balances and will decide how they can be best used on the competing priorities, including roads.”

The Committee also approved a change to the criteria for the Village Hall Improvements Scheme and agreed to allocate funding to a range of hall improvements. Council officers agreed to look at a refresh of the scheme’s title so that it reflected the wide range of community facilities that could apply, including those in urban areas.

Councillors also put aside £723,000 from balances for our Council’s Corporate Change Fund that would be available to support change, savings and efficiencies in the Council. A report will go to the October Committee to look at how the change fund can best be used and whether this approach should continue in the future.

Councillor Hyslop said, “The Business Plans are vital in making sure that our services are delivering our Council’s priorities, becoming more efficient and improving services. Councillors can monitor our Council’s progress effectively when we see evidence of performance. This is why performance indicators and the evidence behind them are important. We must also ensure that our staff have confidence in the new appraisal system and have the chance to discuss their future development on a regular basis.”