A REPORT published this week has highlighted the continuing challenges Scottish Borders Council faces in its management of the region’s affairs.

Local government in Scotland: Challenges and performance 2019, produced by Audit Scotland, appraises the performance of each of the 32 local councils in Scotland.

The report reveals that since the 2013/14 financial year, SBC has had its Holyrood-issued budget slashed by 8.2 percent.

By comparison, Midlothian council has only had to contend with budget cuts of 4.4 percent within the same period.

The budget reductions are set against the Backdrop of population growth within the region – the Borders’ population grew by one percent over the period analysed in the Audit Scotland report.

The report suggests some of the key challenges facing SBC are the region’s rurality and an ageing population.

Previous inspections by Audit Scotland had raised concerns about the council’s ability “to meet the demand from older people” and to provide the necessary quality of care.

The younger demographics also pose a challenge for the cash-strapped council, with the report finding 24.4% of children in the Borders are living in poverty.

South Scotland MSP, Michelle Ballantyne, was quick to blame the SNP government for the situation.

She said: “Despite continuous increases in Barnett Consequentials from Westminster, the SNP Government has cut core funding for SBC over the past five years.

“The Scottish Government needs to take a new approach in order to ensure that local residents get a fairer funding settlement.”

Despite the many challenges facing SBC, the report was not entirely negative.

The Borders has one of the highest street cleanliness scores of any council in Scotland, despite spending only two-thirds of the national average spend on street cleaning.