Foysol Choudhury MSP has called on the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) to pause £29 million of proposed cuts to health and social care, warning that the measures would have devastating consequences for vulnerable people across the city.
The EIJB is set to decide on the cuts today. If approved, they could result in:
- More than 4,000 people losing community mental health support
- £2.2 million of Thrive Edinburgh contracts cancelled
- 82% of Collective Advocacy at CAPS disappearing by November
- Closure of services such as Pilton Community Health Project and Bipolar Edinburgh
Mr Choudhury said: “I recognise that the Board faces huge financial pressures. These are difficult decisions that no one wishes to make. However, the reality is that the EIJB has been forced into this impossible position because of chronic underfunding from the SNP Government.
“These cuts are not just about numbers on a balance sheet. They represent real people losing vital support, families, communities, and some of Edinburgh’s most vulnerable being left without the services they rely upon.
“I urge the Board to carefully consider the human impact, not just the balance sheet; and to pause these cuts. Edinburgh deserves sustainable funding, not short-term measures that will cause long-term harm. Services must remain available to users while new approaches are explored.”
The full EIJB report can be accessed here:
Yes. Look after people. Maintain roads and parks and libraries.
Stop rebuilding things that people like the way they are.
Stop building Student Accom which doesn’t yield Council Tax Revenue