Strike action by teachers last year saved Fife Council £650,000 in unpaid wages.
The figure was revealed in the local authority’s revenue budget report for 2011-12, going before the education, social and communities scrutiny committee today.
Across council education, social and communities services there was an underspend of £750,000 against a budget £529.6 million.
Teachers walked out on November 30 in response to a dispute over changes to pensions. Schools across the region were closed after members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) voted in favour of industrial action.
The report is an overview of spending in education, children and families, social work and health and also housing, communities and local services.
Revenue budget figures for 2011-12 are still subject to audit.
Savings from industrial action helped offset overspends in areas including school transport costs £347,000 and a delay in achieving savings from changes to teachers’ terms and conditions that led to an overspend of £600,000.
The council managed to complete the year within budget, despite unexpected costs, including clearing up after severe gales hit the country. Emergency repairs amounted to nearly £1.3 million, contributing to an overspend of £4 million.
The report stated: ”In addition to the above, there were emergency repair costs of £1.286 million arising from the three severe storms during the course of the financial year.
”A further contributory factor was a higher than expected level of spend in relation to gas servicing and repairs, resulting in an adverse variance of £0.602 million.”
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Rent arrears also caused the council problems, with bad or doubtful debts amounting to an overspend of £962,000.
”In terms of former tenants’ arrears, the adjustment required to the bad debt provision account was higher than anticipated by around £0.360 million,” according to the report.
”This was due to an increase in the level of year-end arrears balances, but also to an unrealistic level of budget provision for this item.
”With regard to other bad debts (invoices to tenants/owner-occupiers for repairs and other charges), the adverse variance of £0.600 million was due to both a significant increase in the level of write-off and an increase in the level of bad debt provision required.”
Overspends in the ring-fenced housing revenue account were offset by a restriction in capital funded from current revenue.
Meanwhile, care for older people was overspent by £796,000, reflecting an increase in demand for care packages amounting to £510,000 of the total.
Nursing care was also overspent by £317,000.
”This has arisen mainly due to an increase in the number of service users assessed as requiring care and placed in a residential or nursing environment,” said the report.
At the start of the year, the council said it would have to make savings of £90 million by 2015 as a result of the public sector cuts.
The authority had hoped to save money by selling halls and community centres to communities however, this area was £519,000 overspent.
According to the report: ”The main reason for the overspend within halls and centres relates to previous delays in the implementation of the halls and centres review.
”The delay of planned closures, leading to the retention of more staff and buildings than budgeted, has contributed to this overspend.
”The implementation process of the halls and centres review is now being refreshed, and actions are being proposed and developed to reduce this systemic overspend.”