World Cup holiday withdrawn

It was initially agreed to “honour” the bank holiday to mark Scotland’s return to the World Cup for the first time in nearly three decades.

Local authorities across Scotland were able to decide if they wished to grant the holiday which was previously scheduled for the day after Scotland’s opener against Haiti, which kicks off at 2am.

The decision to “call in” the original holiday decision was made largely due to cost concerns that were based on estimates from the King’s coronation in 2023.

North Ayrshire councillors Ronnie Stalker, Scott Gallacher, Ian Murdoch put forward the argument that it would cost more than £1m in lost productivity. They were backed by Cameron Inglis and Donald Reid.

The cross-party proposal was discussed at a meeting of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee which passed by a vote of five to two.

Depute leader Christina Larsen and Shaun Macaulay backed the original decision and the matter was referred back to a cabinet meeting where it was decided to scrap the holiday rather than bring the matter before a full council meeting.

Councillor Larsen said: “The cabinet have decided to accept the recommendation the Audit and Scrutiny Committee made.

“We want to highlight how much we very much appreciate our staff.

“The decision to accept the recommendation is absolutely no reflection on them.

“But with the voice of the Audit and Security Committee which has Labour, Independent and Conservative councillors all agreeing they did not want the public holiday to be granted, we did not feel it was appropriate to be played out at a full council meeting in a public forum.”

Other councils that have decided to approve the holiday include: Aberdeen, Dundee City, Glasgow City, South Lanarkshire, and Shetland Islands councils.