At Wednesday’s meeting of Moray Council, a Notice of Motion was brought forwards by SNP councillors asking the Council to adopt a policy of no compulsory redundancies – a position which is Labour Party policy.

However, the Conservative Chair of Moray Council ruled that the motion was ‘incompetent’, resulting in the wording being changed in order to water-down the policy.

This was criticised by Councillor Ben Williams (Fochabers-Lhanbryde), who stated his disappointment in the meeting. 

Meanwhile, Councillor Sandy Keith (Elgin North) pointed out that the reason that compulsory redundancies were being discussed was owing to a lack of funding from the Scottish Government, saying:

“The motion talks of a ‘tight fiscal environment’; what this really should be saying is that the financial situation is potentially catastrophic for Moray –  and that is on the Scottish Government”.

Councillor Keith proposed an amendment, asking the Leader of the Council to write to Moray’s MSP and list MSPs for the Highlands & Islands in order to seek their support. However, this was rejected by officers at this time.