Renfrewshire’s vulnerable will be “frightened” for the future of lifeline services as work is ramped up to deliver savings in the face of a budget black hole, a politician has warned.

Senior health and social care partnership (HSCP) officials have been working on their approach to identifying cost-cutting measures amid a stark financial picture for the organisation.

A savings target of 10 per cent will be applied across all influenceable service areas as efforts are made to close a funding gap of around £11.8 million in 2025/26 and £34.9m in 2026/27.

That decision was taken at a meeting of the integration joint board (IJB) – the body responsible for oversight of the HSCP – on Wednesday. An engagement process was also approved.

Councillor Iain McMillan, member of the IJB, said “here we go again” as the issue was discussed – a nod to the controversial proposals that dominated the board’s agenda for much of the last year.

He added: “It’s a horrible position that we find ourselves in and I think if anybody’s listening in to this or reads any of the press statements, they will be scared out there.

“People will be frightened what’s going to happen to their services – people living in poverty, people who are vulnerable, people who are elderly, people who are in ill health – it’s a worrying time for them that their services are going to be cut.

“Let’s be honest, that’s what it is. In the good old days, they used to be called efficiency savings and the money you saved you could put into other services but now it’s just cuts.

“Some of the figures that are bandied about in this report in terms of funding gaps are truly frightening … We are where we are and it’s ourselves as IJB members that are going to have to make these difficult decisions and of course the staff that are going to have to deal with it on a day-to-day basis.”

He then said: “It’s going to be a tough five or six months for everybody, particularly the people who will be affected by these cuts.”

The HSCP’s engagement approach will consist of two phases, with the first engaging stakeholders to identify and inform initial ideas and the second engaging them on fully-developed proposals before they are presented to the IJB.

Chief officer Christine Laverty conceded there is an increasing demand for health and social care services and higher costs have “created a worrying financial landscape” in the sector across Scotland.

She added: “As chief officer of the HSCP I do have responsibility with the senior management team to advise the IJB on how it can deliver a balanced budget and the prospect of the IJB … not being able to deliver a balanced budget is very real.

“While the sustainable futures programme is very challenging, it is crucial that we do approach this in a planned way.

“Finally, I wanted to give my heartfelt commitment to provide the very best services we can with the resources that are available to us.”