SNP/Independent Administration’s Hollow Promises Exposed
No Real Funding Until 2027 While £70 Million Sits Unclaimed
The SNP/Independent Highland Council administration’s much-vaunted Poverty and Equality Commission has been exposed as yet another expensive bureaucratic talking shop. There is no real funding available until April 2027. This situation leaves thousands of hard-pressed Highlanders out in the cold.
The Broken Promise
The commission was announced during the 2025/26 budget process. Councillors from the ruling administration stood up one after another. They had their prepared scripts. They were “so proud.” It would be “transformational.” It would “make a real difference” to people struggling with poverty across Highland.
The problem? It was immediately clear they didn’t understand the detail of their own flagship policy.
We Forced One U-Turn Already
The original proposal included thousands of pounds in expenses and payments for commission members. The Liberal Democrats challenged this wasteful spending, and the administration was forced to backtrack. We thought they’d learned their lesson about spending public money wisely.
We were wrong.
The Shocking Reality
Council Leader Raymond Bremner has now confirmed there will be no substantial funding available. Implementation of the commission’s recommendations will wait until the 2027/28 budget. This is a full two years away. The commission won’t even report until June 2026, meaning any action is pushed far into the future.
Meanwhile, the reality is stark:
- £70 million in unclaimed benefits sitting unused across Highland
- £6.9 million in unclaimed pension credits
- 3,000 pensioners missing out on money they’re entitled to
- Thousands of families facing expensive winter months without the support they desperately need
Staggering Incompetence
What makes this delay even more frustrating is that it was entirely avoidable. Highland Council already employs staff with enormous expertise in benefits advice and poverty issues. Local charities across our region have deep knowledge and established relationships with vulnerable people. Current and former councillors possess years of experience in community support.
With political will and proper leadership, real initiatives would have been implemented within weeks or months. Money would already be flowing to those 3,000 pensioners. Families should already be accessing the benefits they’re entitled to.
Instead, we have a talking shop that won’t talk about anything meaningful until 2027.
A Pattern of Incompetence
This isn’t an isolated incident. It’s part of a troubling pattern from an administration that prioritises headlines over delivery, announces policies without understanding them, and leaves our communities to pick up the pieces.
The SNP and Independent councillors who stood up to praise this policy should be embarrassed. They voted for something they clearly didn’t understand. They made promises to vulnerable people they had no plan to keep. And now they’re telling those same people to wait until 2027 for help.
Highlanders Deserve Better
Our communities deserve councillors who understand the policies they vote for. Who deliver on their promises. Who prioritise real action over bureaucratic process.
The Liberal Democrats will be bringing forward practical, funded initiatives at next year’s budget to actually help people now – not in 2027. We’ll continue to hold this administration to account for their failures.
Because while they’re content to wait until 2027, vulnerable Highlanders are struggling today. And that’s not acceptable.