Stirling residents could suffer over Clacks Council refusal to cough up healthcare cash

Stirling Council may need to pitch in close to £2m to keep the IJB afloat.

By Alex Watson

April 30 2025, 1:32pm

Stirling and Clackmannanshire's IJB is a health and social care partnership between councils and NHS Forth Valley. Image: TreasureGalore/Shutterstock

Stirling Council could end up funding health and social care services for Clackmannanshire residents, negatively impacting Stirling locals.

A funding crisis within Stirling and Clackmannanshire’s Integration Joint Board (IJB) has created a stand-off between the two local authorities.

The partnership, which also involves NHS Forth Valley, is projected to overspend by £7.892 million during the 2025-26 financial year.

But, last month, Clackmannanshire Council said it would not pay anything more towards this deficit.

Stirling Council must now decide whether or not it should pitch in an extra £1.973m to keep the IJB afloat.

This amount would be on top of the £3.247m already promised as part of Stirling Council’s 2025-26 budget.

Stirling Council could end up contributing almost £2m extra to the IJB partnership after Clacks Council refused to pitch in. Image: Isla Glen/DC Thomson

Stirling Council in difficult position

Clacks Council’s decision to deviate from the standard approach to funding the IJB may have serious implications.

Residents in both Stirling and Clackmannanshire could lose out on health and social care services if the money is not found.

And if Stirling Council steps in to plug the £1.973m shortfall, it will be paying for people living outwith its own council area to access the services they need.

A Stirling Council document laying out the situation said: “There is a risk that any recovery plan that the IJB develops to meet any remaining financial gap could be applied across Clackmannanshire and Stirling services, resulting in the services Stirling citizens receive being negatively impacted, despite Stirling Council having made decisions to provide additional funding to cover the shortfall to the IJB budget.”

IBJ ‘financially precarious’

The financial stability of the IJB is described by Stirling Council as “precarious”, and is considered to be an ongoing problem.

Its overspend for 2024-25 added up to more than £10m.

Clacks Council agreed to contribute £1.327m towards this deficit, though the amount was smaller than expected.

Health and social care services could be affected if the IJB’s finances are not stabilised. Image: PeopleImages .com/Shutterstock

It was also stipulated that the amount was effectively a loan, to be repaid to the council in 2026-27, which is not normal practice within an IJB set-up.

NHS Forth Valley contributed £5.5m towards the partnership in 2024-25, and £4m for 2025-26.

Stirling Council has a legal duty to ensure the IJB is working properly, and will meet on Thursday, May 1, to make a decision on the extra £1.973m contribution.

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