Council budget ‘stays true to core priorities for Edinburgh’
- Budget agreed for 2021/22 despite ongoing pressures of Covid response (around £85 million to date)
- Budget shaped by – and addresses – key priorities of poverty, sustainability and wellbeing
- Council Tax to be frozen in 2021/22
- One-year rent freeze for Council house tenants following a joint motion by Conservative, Green and Liberal Democrat groups
- Further revisions to the budget may be made depending on Scottish Government and UK Government budget decisions in March
Councillors in Edinburgh have agreed a new business plan and budget framework to drive the Capital’s recovery from the pandemic in the coming years while tackling key priorities of eradicating poverty, cutting carbon emissions and working for a fairer, more inclusive city where every resident feels valued and empowered.
Despite the ongoing financial pressures brought about by the impact of Covid19 on Council services and communities across the city, a balanced £1 billion-plus budget has also been set for the next financial year (2021/22), with Council Tax frozen at 2020/21 levels to help protect household budgets.
In addition, rents for Council house tenants have been frozen for a year (2021/22) following a joint motion by the Conservative, Green and Liberal Democrat groups.
Financial flexibilities already agreed with the Scottish Government have contributed to the balanced budget position for 2021/22, with an acknowledgement that more fundamental service reform, improvement and prioritisation will be required in future years.
At yesterday’s annual Budget Meeting, elected members also approved a three-year Business Plan setting out how the Council would respond to the need for change, titled Our Future Council, Our Future City.
The Business Plan brings together the Council’s core priorities and seeks to shape a sustainable, fair and thriving future for Edinburgh post-pandemic.
The Business Plan and the priorities it sets shapes the four-year budget framework (2022/23 – 2025/26) also approved yesterday, which sets out the need for broader reforms to reprioritise and potentially redesign services to achieve more than £100 million of savings over the coming years.
Finance and Resources Convener Councillor Rob Munn said: When we set a three-year balanced budget in February 2020, we had no inkling of the economic and social turmoil the pandemic was about to unleash across the globe.
“As a city and as individuals, this past year has tested us like no other time in recent memory – and the challenges are ongoing. It’s testament to the dedication, commitment and resilience of all our staff, our services and our city that we’ve been able to agree a new business plan and balanced budget for 2021/22 today.
“Helping Edinburgh and our citizens to recover and rebuild after the strains of Covid19 is critical and, as they’ve done throughout, staff in Council services continue to work tirelessly to look after the city and our communities.
“Guided by our business plan priorities of ending poverty, becoming a net zero city and making sure wellbeing and equalities are enhanced for all we’ve agreed a comprehensive package of additional investments as part of our £1 billion-plus 2021/22 budget, channelling extra funding to where it’s most needed and will have the most meaningful impact.
“We want to pay tribute to the outstanding efforts of our residents in helping Edinburgh weather the Covid storm. We have seen communities come together through the hardest of times and they have shown all of what is best about our city. Without the solidarity and resilience of the people of Edinburgh, the financial, social and life cost to our Capital would have been far higher.”
Vice Finance and Resources Convener Councillor Joan Griffiths said: “Everyone’s lives have been up-ended by the Coronavirus pandemic. Jobs have been cut, businesses hit, children’s education disrupted, families separated and, tragically, many, many lives have been lost.
“It’s essential then that we do whatever we can to help our most vulnerable citizens and those who’ve been hardest hit financially, while at the same time making progress with our key ambitions towards a fairer, greener and better-connected Edinburgh.
“Make no mistake, tough times lie ahead and we’re going to have to think creatively and courageously in the years ahead to meet the substantial savings required.
“As we’ve learned during this crisis, however, difficult times can sometimes be a catalyst for lasting, positive change and we’re determined to drive forward our commitments on poverty, cutting carbon emissions and equal opportunities for everyone to access jobs, training and good places to live.
“Our three-year Business Plan responds to this need for change so that our strategies and approach achieve their ambition of making Edinburgh the best possible place to call home.”
The outcome of the Scottish Government’s Local Government Financial Settlement this year has contributed an extra £9 million* to the Council’s budget.
Investment proposals put forward by the SNP/Labour Coalition for the additional £9 million were agreed as follows:
- £0.170m to freeze fees and charges of school meals, care at home services, garden aid and library reservation charges and fines;
- £0.400m in 2021/22 to expand support and advice to help people at risk of homelessness and support those experiencing homelessness into secure tenancies;
- £1.050m to manage crisis needs, increase funding for direct payments in light of COVID, support food security in the City, embed advice across schools and GP surgeries and expand programmes like Discover!, all to help put millions of pounds extra in the pockets of families who need it the most;
- £0.500m to support our climate obligations and further decarbonisation of the Council’s estate;
- £0.300m to support delivery measures for the sustainability plan which will be published in the summer;
- £0.500 million to enhance our parks, playparks, food growing and urban forests, with £4m of related capital investment
- £0.250m into setting up a short-term let licensing and enforcement system to move quickly in dealing with the problem;
- £2.000m extra to accelerate the 1-to-1 digital strategy to help all our school pupils get the equipment they need for their studies;
- £0.110m to strengthen and support our role as corporate parents by expanding the support team;
- £0.175m to support expansion of Edinburgh Guarantee in light of the impact COVID has had on jobs;
- £0.500m investment to take forward Smart City initiatives; and
- £0.052m to extend the role of the Gaelic Development Officer for one year beyond the end of Scottish Government funding.
Further to this, £2.743m has been allocated to the Council’s unallocated reserves as a contingency against future risks.
While the city council expresses satisfaction at setting a balanced budget, there’s no getting away from the fact that Edinburgh is facing another year of swingeing cuts to service provision.
Earlier this week local government umbrella body COSLA spoke out once again about the consequnces of further cuts.
COSLA warned that communities across Scotland will face unavoidable and damaging consequences if Local Government does not receive a fair funding settlement in this year’s Budget
COSLA said that the trend of recent settlements for Local Government needs to change because on top of existing pressures, the COVID pandemic has placed unprecedented strain on the finances of Scotland’s Councils this year.
The organisation has produced a comprehensive 14-page briefing document, ‘Respect Our Communities: Protect Our Funding’, which covers three areas:
- the costs of COVID-19 to Local Government and the need for these to be met,
- flexibility on how the budget allocated to Councils is spent and
- an increased budget allocation to address the reduction in funding to Councils over recent settlements.
Speaking as she launched the document on Tuesday, COSLA Resources Spokesperson, Councillor Gail Macgregor, said: “This year, across every community in Scotland, Local Government’s essential role has been magnified and once again we have delivered for our communities.
“Nobody in Scotland has been unaffected by this pandemic and the financial impacts of COVID-19 are severe. Individuals, families and businesses have all felt the effects and continue to look to Councils for support every day.
“Sustaining this lifeline support is placing extreme pressure on already strained budgets and without fair funding for Local Government this year, the consequences for the most vulnerable in our communities would be unacceptable.
“That is why we need fair funding for 2021/22 that respects our communities. Without this, there will be further cuts to services, reductions in spending locally, increases in the inequalities exposed by the pandemic and a much slower recovery.”
Echoing these concerns, COSLA President, Councillor Alison Evison, said: “Local Government’s role on behalf of our communities cannot be underestimated anymore. The COVID pandemic has shown exactly how much the public rely on us as leaders and as providers of vital services.
“The reality is that in recent budgets, the Scottish Government has chosen not to provide enough funding for the essential services that communities rely on day in day out.
“On top of this, this year we have had to contend with COVID-19 which has seen the inequality in our society grow.
“Our ability to recover from this and continue to deliver for Scotland’s communities depends on a change of emphasis from Scottish Government that provides fair funding for Council services.
“If we are to truly recover from this pandemic then Local Authorities must receive a fair settlement.”