Fight goes on to save vital local services
The fight to save local services goes on with a series of action group meetings and demonstrations planned over the next few weeks.
First up is an ‘Action Meeting’ next Monday evening at the Prentice Centre in Granton Mains.
This will be followed by lobbies and demonstrations at council and NHS Lothian board meetings to advance the case for continued funding, and deputations to committee meetings are also being considered.
A decision made by Edinburgh’s integration Joint Board (EIJB) last month saw voluntary sector projects hit hard by Health and Social Care grant cuts.
The funding pot was heavily over-subscribed, with applications totalling more than £30 million far out-stripping available funding of just £14.2 million.
With insufficient funds to meet demands it was inevitable that there would be heavy casualties. North Edinburgh was hit particularly hard, with well-known and long established organisations seeing their funding slashed or funding applications rejected altogether.
While the EIJB has defended the Health & Social Care grants allocation process as ‘robust’, the North Edinburgh projects have vowed to fight on, campaigning for twelve months funding to allow adequate time to seek other sources of funding and to better plan service provision in the wake of the cuts.
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