Residents not getting value for money from Edinburgh Council, says Briggs

The recent Edinburgh Peoples Survey showed that just 35% of participants felt the Council provided value for money, down from 46% in 2016.

In 2017/18 council tax in the capital, for an average household, increased by £58 from £1,217 to £1,275 the second highest increase out of all Scottish councils.

In Edinburgh the average council tax for 2017/18 was £169 higher than the national average.

Edinburgh Council also received the second lowest General Revenue Grant per person from the Scottish Government, after Aberdeen, as well as having the fifth highest average council tax of any local authority.

The report also showed that 65% of participants are satisfied with the way the Council is managing the city, lower than in 2017 (69%), and trending downward since 2013 (74%).

Satisfaction with maintenance of roads, pavements/footpaths, street cleaning, rubbish collection and recycling have dropped in 2018 and show a downward trend over the last seven years.

Residents feel that vandalism and graffiti, antisocial behaviour and dog fouling in their neighbourhood have become more common. Satisfaction with the way these issues are dealt with has decreased.

Miles Briggs, Scottish Conservative Lothian MSP, said: “Across Scotland councils have been put under extra pressure due to SNP cuts to council budgets, but nowhere more so than in Edinburgh.

“Residents in Edinburgh pay higher council tax than most of Scotland and receive the lowest spend per head of population in Scotland.

“It is no surprise that only a third of residents in Edinburgh feel that they are getting value for money, with increased council taxes and decreased levels of service.

“Our social care sector is under unprecedented pressure and the SNPs continued cuts to the capital show a real lack of awareness about local issues.

“People in Edinburgh pay more and get less and are being let down by this SNP government year after year.”

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davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer