LABOUR councillors in Falkirk have been accused of taking money away from community groups to help pay for the Orange Order to march through the town centre next month.
The Country Grand Lodge of the East of Scotland parade comes to the town on June 25. It is one of the biggest Orange marches in Scotland, with hundreds expected to take part and thousands more going along to line the streets and watch.
Falkirk’s ruling Labour-Tory administration agreed to take £1,145 out of the community grant fund to help the Order pay for traffic management costs.
The award was made after councillors had been told the total amount available in the Community Grant Fund had fallen from £110,000 to £94,000.
SNP councillors claim awards from the fund are not supposed to go to groups with a religious or political message. Costs had already been reduced for the Order after councillors agreed on a moratorium on the £725 fees for temporary traffic regulation orders for all public marches and galas.
That decision was taken after the council was seemingly caught unaware of Police Scotland’s expectation that organisers of events pay for the cost of traffic management.
Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins wrote to councils and the Orange Order in April, re-emphasising the force’s position on the traffic management of parades.
Labour councillors agreed to help the Order, agreeing with the march organisers' claim that the event would bring a financial boost to the town, with hotels and bars gaining extra trade.
SNP councillor David Alexander said: “This isn’t about the right to parade. It's about the proper use of a dwindling source of funding established to assist local groups put on events such as the Mariners Day in Camelon and the Bo’ness Fair, events which are inclusive. Alexander said the SNP group had no difficulty with the march organisers not paying the £725 fee, saying they supported the mora- torium, but claimed the additional funding was a “step too far”.
Craig Martin, the leader of the Labour Party in Falkirk said £1,145 for the Orange Order was a “small amount” to “offset some of their extra costs”.
He said: “Given that this is a new position adopted by Police Scotland we are suspending the fees payable for TRROs until we can get a report from officers on how this will work and how it is working across Scotland. We agreed to make a small grant to the organisers of this event to offset some of their extra costs.”
SNP councillors claim the authority’s officers admitted the award would be to the detriment of other local groups applying for money from the community fund.
The Orange Order did not respond to The National’s request for a comment.
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