City of Edinburgh Council – Page 12 – The NEN

Edinburgh’s school cooks are top of the class

The City of Edinburgh Council has become the first council in Scotland to achieve the Soil Association’s Bronze Food for Life Catering Mark award for all its schools.

The award-winning menus feature even more freshly prepared meals, made with seasonal and local produce as well as only farm-assured meat and free range eggs.

The three organisations that cater for Edinburgh’s schools – the Council’s in-house catering service, Amey and Chartwells – have been working with Soil Association Scotland for several months to ensure that all school menus across the city meet the bronze standards. This ensures dishes contain no harmful additives and that at least 75% of dishes are freshly prepared.

school meal menu

The bronze award comes at an important time for school food in Edinburgh, with free school meals for P1 – P3 pupils having just been launched and school meal uptake higher than for many years.

Councillor Paul Godzik, Education Convener, said: “It’s so important for our young people to learn about how food relates to issues such as health, the economy and our environment.

“Schools in Edinburgh are already working hard to achieve this and the Food for Life Catering Mark award helps demonstrate the vital role cooks can play in helping pupils understand the importance of good food.

“The bronze award is a fantastic achievement, and I think it’s important to note that this has been delivered in conjunction with the service delivering a free school meal to P1-3s. Not only are we delivering free school meal to our youngest pupils, but a better school meal to all our pupils.”

Councillor Lesley Hinds, Environment Convener, added: “Achieving the Bronze Food for Life Catering Mark award for Edinburgh’s school food is an important way for us to reassure parents and pupils that school food providers in the city care deeply about the quality of the service they offer.

“I think there truly is no better option for lunch than a nutritionally-balanced school meal, and our cooks can be proud of serving fresh, tasty food to young people across the city.”

Soil Association Scotland’s Director, Laura Stewart said: “Achieving the Food for Life Catering Mark award across all Edinburgh schools has been a challenge for everybody involved, but what an achievement it is.

“How fantastic to think that every morning, in schools across the capital, hundreds of cooks are freshly preparing tens of thousands of meals using quality produce, helping to ensure that Edinburgh’s young people can benefit from fresh, tasty and nutritious food at school.”

Health and social care integration plans unveiled

Edinburgh’s health and social care chiefs have unveiled details of how they will strengthen ties and improve people’s well-being through the integration of services.

Both organisations must integrate the planning and delivery of certain services through legislation set out by the Scottish Government relating to all Scottish local authorities.

Integrating adult health and social care services will allow the City of Edinburgh Council and NHS Lothian to:

Train and support staff to work together to meet people’s needs;
Improve health and reduce inequalities;
Give communities an active role in designing and delivering services;
Use shared resources in the most cost-effective way.

A Draft Integration Scheme will set out how the agencies will work together to deliver services through what will be known as a new organisation, the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board. A Shadow Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership Board has been operating since 2012.

A report recommending that the draft is approved to go forward for consultation will be considered by members of the Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee on 20 January.

A targeted and extensive consultation plan on the draft with relevant organisations and the public will run until 20 February, with the results set to be submitted to the Scottish Government for approval by 31 March.

Councillor Ricky Henderson, Health and Social Care Convener for the Council, said: “These are exciting plans and are the start of a new phase of development for health and social care in Edinburgh. I am confident that they will lead to an improved and more targeted service for everyone who needs it.

“It’s important to recognise that health and social care staff from the NHS and Council already work together very effectively to deliver integrated services, and the details will build on what is a very solid foundation.

“It’s vital that we engage with all the relevant groups so that everyone has the chance to have their say on how integration should work. They will be at the heart of the scheme’s decision making process and together we can shape a more streamlined service which will lead to improved health for citizens.”

Professor Alex McMahon, Director of Strategic Planning, Performance Reporting and Information, NHS Lothian, said: “We welcome and support these proposals on the integration of health and social care services for adults in Edinburgh.

“Having worked closely with our partners at the City of Edinburgh Council to develop this joint plan, this new approach will build on the integrated work and good relationships which already exist between health and social care colleagues and services.

“We look forward to continuing to work together on the development of these important proposals as we move forward.”

Edinburgh’s top dog to be honoured today

‘Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all’

Edinburgh is to honour the life of its most famous canine with a special event at Greyfriars Kirk today.

Greyfriars Bobby, the loyal terrier known for guarding his master’s grave for 14 years after his death, passed away 143 years ago and is buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard.

The city council is marking the date with a commemorative ceremony organised by the Library and Information Service. Among the participants will be Greyfriars Bobby lookalike Maggie the Cairn terrier, sporting a specially-designed coat and badge in honour of her double.

Also attending are members of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, who will speak about the fire which gutted Old Greyfriars in the mid-19th century, shortly before Bobby’s arrival.

As the one o’clock gun sounds, the time at which Bobby is said to have left his master’s grave each day for a free meal at a nearby café, pupils from George Heriot School will lay flowers on the grave. This will be followed by ‘Tribute to Greyfriars Bobby’, played on bagpipes by Jennifer Hutcheon.

Deidre Brock, Depute Lord Provost, who will host the event, said:”Greyfriars Bobby, whose memorial reads ‘Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all’, still inspires enormous affection and respect in people across the globe.

“Even now visitors flock to see his grave, his statue, and the many mementos of his life displayed in our Museum of Edinburgh, marvelling anew at the timeless story of the little dog who would not leave his master’s grave.”

After the death of Bobby’s owner John Gray, the then Lord Provost, Sir William Chambers, ensured the dog’s freedom by purchasing a license and dog collar, allowing him to roam the graveyard.

Capturing the hearts of passers-by every day, Bobby’s statue was erected a year after his death in 1872 by the Ladies Committee of the RSPCA, and has since become a landmark for the capital.

Such is the popularity of Bobby’s statue that the wee dog famously had to have a ‘nose job’ in 2013 – hundreds of thousands of citizens and tourists have rubbed Bobby’s nose for good luck over the years and his nose had to be renewed!

Today’s event, which is supported by local charity The Grassmarket Community Project, will also involve members of the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, who will be running a special Greyfriars Bobby-themed stand at the Central Library from 10am till 2pm.

Green light for 20mph limit

Councillors have passed plans for more than 80% of Edinburgh’s roads to have a 20mph (32kph) speed limit. The plans,designed to improve safety and encourage more people to walk or cycle, were approved by the council’s Transport and Environment committee earlier today.

While a consultation exercise found respondents broadly welcome the proposals it’s expected that the scheme will not meet with universal approval – particularly among Edinburgh’s hard-pressed motorists – and transport chiefs have been quick to debunk ‘myths’ about the 20mph programme (see below Top Ten 20mph Myths – Busted).

Provided the necessary Speed Limit Orders are secured, the new arrangements will come into effect on a phased basis from late 2015 onwards and feature a 20mph speed limit on residential and shopping streets with a network of 30mph and 40mph maintained for key arterial routes. A detailed implementation plan, including costings, will be considered by the Transport and Environment Committee in March.

The proposals are for a network of 20mph streets chiefly in residential and shopping areas, complemented by a network of 30 and 40mph roads on key arterial routes in the city suburbs to keep traffic moving.

The council argues that slower speeds will not significantly increase journey times and by easing traffic flow, may actually reduce some journey times.

Welcoming the approval of the map today, Transport Convener Councillor Lesley Hinds said: “I’m pleased that Committee has today given the green light for our 20mph plans. This initiative has been under development for nearly three years and we’ve carried out a huge amount of public consultation.

“The most recent and most extensive consultation last autumn found that 60% of respondents were supportive or strongly supportive of our proposals.

Vice Convener Adam McVey added: “We were also pleased to receive positive feedback from every community council that responded to the consultation, as well as a large number of organisations.

“Our next step is to develop an implementation programme to roll the new network out. A detailed report on this will come before the Transport and Environment Committee in March, which will give us a clearer picture of how the changes will be brought in.”

Stuart Hay, Head of Living Streets Scotland, said: “Edinburgh’s 20mph limit policy sets a positive example for cities across Scotland and the UK. Lower speeds on shopping and residential streets means a safer and more pleasant city for everyone with higher levels of walking and lower levels of accidents.

“Living Streets looks forward to working with the Council to promote the scheme and its benefits as it is rolled out.”

Councillor Hinds also took the opportunity to address some of the misconceptions about the plans which have been communicated to elected members by constituents and reported by local media.

She said: “There have been a number of claims flying about to do with the ins and outs of the 20mph rollout which are quite simply untrue and it’s vital that everyone has the full facts at their fingertips.

“For example, it’s not a ‘blanket rollout’ at all. Each street which is earmarked to become 20mph has been selected based on robust criteria agreed with key stakeholders, including bus companies and Police Scotland.

“Police Scotland will continue to enforce legal speed limits right across the Capital and anyone caught flouting the 20mph limit will face warnings or speeding fines.

“Key arterial routes are being maintained at 30mph or 40mph so that we can keep cross-city traffic flowing, even though some residents in these areas would have preferred a change to 20mph. It’s important that we get the balance right as much as we can, however inevitably not everyone will be able to get what they hoped for.”

TOP TEN 20MPH MYTHS – BUSTED

Myth 1: This is a ‘blanket’ roll-out

This is not a blanket implementation. The proposals are for a network of 20mph streets chiefly in residential and shopping areas, complemented by a network of 30 and 40mph roads on key arterial routes in the city suburbs. This will mean that impacts on journey times should be relatively modest In terms of main roads which are earmarked for a new 20mph limit, a high proportion of collisions happen on these roads. In particular, pedestrian and cyclist casualties tend to be concentrated on shopping streets and on other main roads in the city centre and inner suburbs.

These are also the roads that are used by the most people and that have the greatest mix of pedestrians, cyclists and motorised vehicles. A lower speed limit here can help improve safety and also improve the environment for all road users.

Criteria for selecting potential 20mph streets were agreed in outline by the Council’s Transport and Environment Committee and then fine-tuned by a sub-group of its Transport Forum, including representatives from a range of interested groups. We’ve made changes to the proposed map based on feedback from individuals, community groups and organisations like Lothian Buses to make sure we get the balance right.

The extensive consultation that we have carried out over several years shows a high level of public support for our proposals. During the recent consultation there was a lot of support for our approach, in particular for the degree to which it seeks to adopt a consistent approach to similar types of road.

Myth 2: Safety won’t be improved by lowering speed limits

There is considerable evidence in support of reducing speed limits in urban areas. A 2010 Department for Transport (DfT) publication which looked at the relationship between speed and risk of fatal injury found that the risk of fatal injury to pedestrians rose from under 1% at an impact speed of 20mph to 5.5%, or 1 in 20, at 30mph (1). Above 30mph risk increased very substantially, to over 30% at an impact speed of 40mph.

A different large scale study looking at the effect of speeds on overall accident numbers found a clear relationship. On the types of urban road likely to be considered for a 20mph limit the study found the accidents could be expected to fall by between 4% and 6% for each 1mph reduction in average speed. The greatest reductions were achievable on “busy main roads in towns with high levels of pedestrian activity” (2)

Other cities that have introduced 20mph speed limits have seen reductions in casualties. For example in Portsmouth it is estimated that 20mph limits have lowered road casualties by 8%, while in Warrington there has been a reduction in collisions of 25% in 20mph speed limit areas; Evidence from the South Edinburgh pilot area also points to a reduction in casualties (20% to January 2014).

References
1. http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/pgr-roadsafety-research-rsrr-theme5-researchreport16-pdf/rswp116.pdf(external link)

Taylor, M. C., Lynam, D. A. and Baruya, A. (2000) The effects of drivers’ speed on the frequency of road accidents.

Myth 3: Slower speeds will increase congestion

We do not anticipate an increase in congestion. In fact, research indicates that vehicles flow more smoothly through junctions at slower speeds.

Myth 4: Slower speeds will increase emissions and worsen air quality

Research indicates vehicles flow more smoothly through junctions at slower speeds. Additionally, as a result of reduced acceleration and braking, 20mph may help to reduce fuel consumption and associated emissions.

Some environmental benefit from the change is expected from helping to unlock the potential for walking or cycling short distances instead of driving.

Myth 5: 20mph speed limits won’t be enforced

The legal speed limits on any roads in the Capital are enforced by Police Scotland and this will be no different whether the street is 20, 30 or 40mph.

Police will direct their resources to particular problem areas, as they do currently, and drivers caught flouting the limit will face warnings or speeding fines. Additional measures such as Vehicle Activated Signs could also be installed in streets where particularly high numbers of contraventions are detected or reported.

Myth 6: 20mph limits in shopping streets will be bad for businesses

It is considered that businesses will benefit from the increased “liveability” which slower speeds will foster in their area, with more people attracted to spend time in shopping streets where they feel safer and the environment is generally more pleasant.

Opinion research carried out in the South Edinburgh 20mph pilot area found that residents felt the new speed limit had had a range of positive impacts, the most often mentioned being improved safety for children, for walking and for cycling.

20mph speed limits encourage more considerate driving, leading to safer streets for all road users, including motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. The lower speeds reduce the risk and severity of road collisions. Reducing traffic speed helps make people feel more confident about being on their local streets and helps children and elderly people to travel independently and safely.

Calmer road speeds also help to make walking and cycling more attractive options, contributing to less traffic congestion, better health, less noise, more social interaction and stronger communities.

Myth 7: The city will be covered in speed humps

The new limit will be introduced without traffic calming measures. However, if monitoring finds speeds remain significantly above 20mph on certain streets despite signage and public awareness of the limit, we will consider speed reducing measures on the roads concerned.

On residential streets this is likely to mean road humps, on main roads other methods would be deployed, for example road markings (e.g. cycle lanes) or central islands which tend to reduce speeds by reducing the apparent width of roads.

Myth 8: Journey times will be much longer

Research in other cities, surveys of current speeds, and results of the pilot project in Edinburgh, suggest that journey times will not significantly increase and by easing traffic flow, 20mph may actually reduce some journey times.

We would expect changes not exceeding around 25 seconds per mile, probably significantly lower (around 10 seconds per mile has been found in central parts of Bristol where a limit has now been introduced) . We will be carrying out more research on this matter in Edinburgh and will post the results on the Council’s website.

Myth 9: Signs alone don’t lower drivers’ speeds

National evidence has shown that sign‐only 20 mph speed limits can help to reduce average speeds and improve safety. Evidence from the pilot scheme in South Edinburgh showed similar results, with average speeds reduced by around 10% to just over 20mph, and with larger falls in speeds (around 14%) on the roads that had higher average speeds before the limit was introduced. Of 1000 people surveyed in the South Edinburgh pilot area, 79% supported the 20 mph limit,just 4% opposed it.

Myth 10: This is an attack on motorists

We are not stopping people from driving. Our aim is to balance the needs of drivers with the safety and environment of local residents. 20 mph creates a safer environment for everyone, including motorists.

Details of the cost, sign posting, and enforcement are due in a report in March. Work will begin later this year and it’s expected to be completed over three financial years.

Council makes BOLD case for ‘transformation and cost savings’

Restructure aims to deliver a ‘leaner, more agile council’

Detailed proposals have been unveiled to make Council services more efficient and customer focused, while addressing a budget gap of £67 million over the next three years.

As one of fastest growing local authority areas in Scotland, Edinburgh is facing an ever increasing demand for Council services, while the funds available to meet this demand are set to stay the same over the next few years.

The proposals follow a blueprint for the future organisation of the Council which was agreed in December 2014, subject to consultation. This report highlighted key areas where future cost savings and service improvements could be achieved. They included: improved neighbourhood and locality working; a more efficient corporate centre; improvements to the way the Council interacts with residents (Channel Shift); working with third sector partnerships and managing Council property effectively (property rationalisation).

The Council has an agreed pledge of no compulsory redundancies and it is envisaged that some reduction in roles will be addressed through natural turnover of staff.

The Council will also look to improve its approach to how staff are redeployed across different service areas, engaging and consulting with employees and Trades Unions as appropriate during this process.

Finance Convener, Councillor Alasdair Rankin (pictured above), said: “The Council needs to take significant steps to tackle the financial challenges it faces as demand for our services continues to increase. At the same time, we want to make services for residents more efficient and effective.

“We set the direction of travel last month when Council agreed proposals for a new organisational structure, enabling more effective decision making at neighbourhood level and improved partnership working with third sector organisations. We are now considering detailed proposals around this and how we plan to improve the way we interact with residents.

“We believe these priority areas for change will enable us to achieve service improvements as well as cost savings. Of course change on this scale brings challenges but we need to take decisive action now to meet our targets and create a stronger, leaner, more agile Council to better serve the people of Edinburgh.”

The latest proposals will be considered by the Finance and Resources Committee on Thursday 15 January. Further detail on proposals around Council property and workforce controls will be provided in the Spring.

Edinburgh TUC urges city council to demand extra powers

Edinburgh Trade Union Council has urged the City of Edinburgh Council to demand extra powers and additional finance from the Scottish Government. Responding to the city’s budget consultation, Edinburgh TUC secretary Des Loughney said city politicians of all parties should lead and promote a campaign to retain good quality public services.

Statement from Edinburgh Trade Union Council about proposed draft Council Budget 2015/2016

Council Income 2015/2016
The Council states that its income from Council Tax will be £209m and the income from the Scottish Government and rates will be £731m. The income from the latter sources is
£12m less than the previous year. There has been no allowance from these sources for an increase due to inflationary costs. Such an allowance would be around £50m. Although we have been told that the Scottish Government would compensate local authorities for the Council Tax freeze there is no evidence that this is the case in 2015/2016.

The total savings/cuts that the Council is proposing to make is £22m. If the Scottish Government permitted the Council to increase the Council Tax by 5% and if it increased
rates similarly then the £22m reduction would not be necessary. It is therefore well within the powers of the Scottish Parliament to fund/allow local authorities to avoid these cuts.

Looking further ahead the Scottish Parliament could pass legislation to allow local authorities to generate funds which would not be paid by citizens of the City. One of the
ways would be a hotel bedroom tax which is already operated by some European cities. At a level of £2 to £5 per night per adult the tax would be easy to collect and generate significant amounts. The income could be used specifically to support tourist services. This would, however, release resources for other services. It is our understanding, from what experts state, that a tax at the level specified would have no impact on the number of tourists coming to Edinburgh,

Another possible tax is the so called supermarket tax. Supermarkets make considerable profits from the purchases of the people of Edinburgh. These profits do not presently
remain in the city. We think that it is only right and just that in the age of austerity that Scottish local authorities have the power to impose a levy on local supermarket profits and
that this money is earmarked to tackle poverty and inequality in the city.

Comment: the cuts are unnecessary – the money can easily be found if there was the political will of the Scottish Government. The Council must lobby the Scottish Government to provide more money or to allow the Council to generate more money.

The Council must not be fobbed off by the Scottish Government saying that the problem is solely due to Westminster cuts. This is not true. We believe that there would be political support from the public for more money if the context was properly explained.

Additional Income 2015/2016

We believe that the Council’s description of its income and expenditure neglects describing the additional income that is necessary for the Council to honour its policy commitments
regarding poverty and inequality.

In the area of Social Care the Council requires £7.445m
more than it is budgeting for in order to provide recipients with the Social Care they require, at the current quality of service. If the Council was to tackle in-work poverty of
those voluntary and private sector workers who provide Social Care it would need an additional £15m. This would ensure that all people providing Social Care were employed on basic local authority terms and conditions.

Comment: the Council should maintain its policy of reducing poverty and inequality. It should tackle in-work poverty.

Expenditure 2015/2016

The Council’s description of possible savings/ cuts did not provide an impact assessment which the public, never mind trade unions, required to make a proper judgement. There is
no useful information on loss of jobs, loss of wages, loss of job security, impact on in work poverty, impact on the Council’s general anti poverty strategy, and impact on equality or
impact on quality of services.

The Council does not describe, for example, the increase in expenditure that is required to meet increasing demand for social care services. Money needs to be made available for
an increasing volume of demand but also, as recommended by the Care Commission and SSSC, to employ staff on reasonable terms and conditions. Some sources have estimated that the Council may need over £15m to do this in 2015/2016 but this is not mentioned or commented on.

An overall assessment of the savings proposed seems to suggest that the ‘third sector’ will be required to save £4m directly through cuts in grants although other savings may be
required indirectly. £4m is equivalent to about 200 full time jobs but it is impossible to say how many real jobs are under threat or whether savings will be achieved by wage freezes
or cuts in other terms and conditions. There will not necessarily be forced closures of whole organisations.

The biggest element in the savings/cuts package is ‘workforce savings’ referring to the Council’s own staff. This seems to total some £6.6m. The main element of this is cutting
sickness absence. From a trade union point of view we think it is glib to state that sickness absence can be cut without a cost to staff morale, to having a disability friendly workplace
or a workplace where you can work until you retire. After cutting sickness absence for years the City Council as an employer now mean making working life very difficult for
those who are disabled or relatively old (that is 50+).

Comment: If the Council expected us to make a considered comments on their draft budget they needed to supply us with a lot more information including a detailed impact assessment in relation to Council anti poverty and equality policies.

The purpose of an equality impact assessment has been defined as:

‘Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) is a systematic and evidence based process which verifies that the Council’s policies and practices are equality proof and not discriminatory.’

We suspect that some of the savings/cuts proposed in the Council’s draft budget will have a negative and discriminatory effect on older people, women and disabled people.

Our overall recommendation and plea to the Council is that its Budget Meeting on 12/2/15 consider a motion to the Scottish Government demanding extra powers and additional finance to render unfair and counter-productive cuts and savings unnecessary.

The Council must call on all Edinburgh MSPs and MPs to support its motion regardless of political party. The Council should convene a civic conference and ask a range of community organisations to back its demand for extra resources.

The Council should lead a campaign to make sure we keep the services we need for a decent quality of life. The Council should actively promote good public services whether provided directly by the Council or indirectly by subcontracting.

Des Loughney
Secretary, Edinburgh TUC

Have your say on school streets schemes

A public consultation is now live as part of a new pilot school streets initiative in Edinburgh.

A total of 31 schools expressed an interest in taking part in the pilot, which is designed to improve the environment around schools and encourage safer and healthier ways for pupils to travel to and from school.

While Cramond Primary in the Almond Ward expressed an interest in taking part, no schools from Forth or Inverleith will be involved in the pilot.

The Local Transport Strategy 2014-19 contains a commitment to pilot school streets at up to five schools.

However, given the volume of interest from schools across the city, a list of ten pilot schemes covering 11 schools was drawn up and was agreed by councillors in October.

These locations have been experiencing on going road safety issues caused by too many drivers bringing their vehicles too close to the school gates.

The pilot schemes will prohibit traffic on streets outside or around school entrances at specific times of day.

The benefits of implementing school streets are:

• Increase in walking and cycling and active lifestyles for pupils and parents/carers
• Reduction in traffic speed, congestion and pollution around the school gates
• Responding to demand from parents and residents.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, Transport Convener, said: “There’s a huge appetite out there for this initiative and our next task is to finalise the details of how the schemes might work. We’re looking for as much feedback as possible from people in each of the 11 school communities, including local residents.

“Please have your say in our online consultation or pop along to one of the many drop-in sessions we’ve got planned early in the New Year.”

An online consultation is now live and will run until Friday 27 February 2015.

A series of drop-in information events will also be held in each of the schools during January and February.

School Streets Drop-in Sessions Diary

January 2015
8th – Clermiston Primary School, 3-6pm
13th – Buckstone Primary School, 3-7pm
14th – Duddingston Primary School, 3-6pm
15th – Sciennes Primary School, 3.30-7pm
20th – Abbeyhill Primary School, 3-6pm
21st – Cramond Primary School, 3-6.30pm
27th – St Peter’s RC Primary School, 4-6.30pm
28th – Towerbank Primary School, 3-6pm.

February 2015
3rd – Bonaly Primary School, 4.30-7pm
4th – St John’s RC Primary School, 3-6pm
25th – Colinton Primary School, 3-6.30pm

Budget: Council ‘needs to think again’

‘Thinking needs to be done, not only in this city but across Scotland. This is the important missing element in this consultation.’

Granton and District Community Council has urged the city council to think again over proposed budget cuts. The community council’s response to the budget proposals follows a local consultation conducted by community councillors last week.

Community council secretary Dave Macnab said: “We have submitted this response to the city council on behalf of those who attended our local consultation exercise. When the people within our area found out scale of the cuts – for they are cuts, calling them savings is double speak – they were appalled.

We are calling on all councillors and in particular those who represent us in Forth to oppose the cuts. The council needs to think again.”

GDCC_December_Budget_response

Granton & District CC’s budget response reads:

Dear Sir/Madam,

City of Edinburgh Council – Budget Consultation

Background

1.1 As part of the Council ‘Budget Challenge’ consultation 2015/16 the Council outlines that it faces a budget challenge which ultimately means that “we need to save £67 million over the next three years”. The main thrust of the consultation as far as we can see has been the encouragement of the citizens of Edinburgh to go ‘on line’ and ‘take the budget challenge’ which is an on line platform that encourages people to decide what services they want to cut.

1.2 Granton and District Community Council were not convinced that having an on line consultation exercise was sufficient to get the views of all of the people of Edinburgh given the scale of the cuts that are being proposed. Whilst we acknowledge that there were a series of ‘drop in’ events for people across the city, the focus of these was on showing people how to view and work the budget ‘game’.

This means that people who do not have regular access to IT – often older residents and those who do not have access to IT – will miss out on the opportunity to have their say. It is our view that the scale of the proposed budget cuts will have a disproportionate and negative impact on these very people – often the poorest in our communities. As a consequence we decided to undertake our own consultation exercise.

Granton and District Community Council – Consultation

2.1 We organised a drop in day for Tuesday 9 December at Royston & Wardieburn Community Centre – we were in the centre from 9.30 – 6.30 pm.

2.2 To promote the event we distributed 2000 leaflets across our community council area that highlighted the purpose of the event etc.

2.3 We also placed posters across our community to advertise the event. We also made full use of social media – including our web site and twitter account.

2.4 We drew up a list of some of the key proposals (that the council had identified in the consultation document) that we considered would have severe and negative impact within our area and asked people to comment on these – via post-its, voting stickers, and by talking to us. We noted down what they said as well as have them write down their concerns. Not everyone used the ‘voting stickers’.

Outcome of the Consultation

3.1 Despite the terrible weather conditions we had 52 people who spoke to us. Every person we spoke to were “astonished”, “amazed”, “had no idea” of the scale of the cuts.

Clearly the on line budget consultation has not resulted in the people within our community having any idea of the scale or specifics of the cuts proposed and the impact on what this means in real terms. This was our fear and so it has been realised. The real impact needs to be clearly articulated by the Council before any decisions are made.

3.2 The qualitative data is outlined in Appendix 1

Consultation Conclusions and Recommendations

4.1 It is clear that the council does not have enough income to deliver the services for the people it serves. Yet nowhere do we see that there has been any thinking done to increase income. The focus is on cutting services. We believe this is a one dimensional approach.

4.2 We do not believe that sufficient impact assessment evidence has been produced to provide a clear socio-economic evaluation on most proposals.

4.3 We therefore call on the council to approach the Scottish Government with a view to obtaining additional grant funding to cover the services for the people of Edinburgh. If the Scottish Government cannot provide this – then they in turn should be advised to approach the UK Government for emergency funding.

4.4 We believe this city is facing a funding crisis and moving money from one area to another is divisive and will not solve the fundamental issue which is insufficient income. Given the changing demographics and growth in overall population as the race to ever further house building continues, the pressure on the city infrastructure and public services is at breaking point. The squeeze on council finances will continue and people will continue to suffer. Therefore a more fundamental approach to local authority funding is needed and this thinking needs to be done, not only in this city but across Scotland. This is the important missing element in this consultation.

4.5 We think it worth reminding the council and our elected representatives of a report of the Communities and Neighbourhood Committee of 24^th November that highlighted the levels of poverty and inequality across this city:

Some 22% of all households in the city live on incomes below the poverty threshold, slightly above the Scottish average
24% of all Edinburgh households lived in fuel poverty in 2012. This equates to some 53,600 households in the city.

4.6 There is an irony in that one of council actions to help deal with poverty and inequality as outlined in this report stated:

“Ways to improve neighbourhoods are crucial and include place making and building community capacity. Examples are given of community learning and development to help with basic skills and to support community organisations, advice work to help poor households retain stable accommodation, improving the insulation of homes to reduce fuel poverty, and community safety actions to make residents feel safer by reducing anti-social behaviour.

Whilst one of the council budget cut proposals is:

“Carry out a full service review of CLD reducing the level of staffing at all grades, realigning staff against emerging neighbourhood models of work, prioritising service…..there may be some reduction in community based programme…..”

Clearly these two things are contradictory.

4.7 We consider that the only way that our city will meet people’s aspirations in terms of reducing poverty and inequality is by way of a fairer, more progressive tax system. When you take account of direct and indirect taxes, those on low incomes in the UK are being hit hard, while billions of pounds each year is lost through tax avoidance and evasion (by the richest). Progressive tax reforms would help to address inequality at root as well as redistributing economic power.

4.8 There has been under-investment in public sector, in technology, in infrastructure, in education for years. It is enlightening to quote the words from Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Joseph Stiglitz who served as Chairman of the Economic Advisors under President Bill Clinton and Chief Economist at the World Bank:

“One should remember austerity has almost never worked. This is an idea that’s been tried over and over again; back in 1929 Herbert Hoover tried it, succeeded in converting the stock market crash into the Great Depression – there were some other factors too. The IMF has tried this experiment; in East Asia I saw it in the years that I was at the World Bank; they tried it in Latin America; each time it succeeded in converting downturns into recessions, recessions into depressions”.

Whilst we recognise that these wider economic issues are not within the remit of the city council we make this statement as part of a wider debate that we consider needs to take place in Scotland and is the economic and social context in which the current cuts are being proposed.

4.9 We call on the council not to implement the current proposals. Everyone that we spoke to said no. There was a strong view that the council have not thought hard or innovatively enough and do need to take a stronger step in supporting the people in rejecting the current economic paradigm and seek a new approach that supports the aspirations of the people of this city. We reject the budget proposals as currently outlined and call on our elected representatives within Forth and beyond to reject them.

Granton and District Community Council
http://grantonanddistrictcommunitycouncil.com/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GrantonDistCC

City clubbers urged to ‘speak up, speak out’ over abuse

A public protection campaign against abuse is to target city night-clubbers on what is said to be the worst night of the year for violent behaviour.

Leaflets highlighting the multi-agency Speak Up Speak Out campaign will be handed out in clubs tonight (19 December). The last Friday before Christmas typically sees a rise in violence, including domestic abuse.

Speak up Speak Out was launched in August 2013 by the City of Edinburgh Council, NHS Lothian and Police Scotland to encourage those who are affected by abuse to come forward and find out about the wide range of support that is available to them.

The Council is also supporting Police Scotland’s annual festive domestic abuse campaign, which was launched this week.

Domestic abuse can be carried out by partners or ex-partners and can be physical, sexual, psychological or emotional.

Councillor Ricky Henderson, Convener of Health, Social Care and Housing, said: “We want to make sure that everyone has a good time this festive season and I urge revellers enjoying the last weekend before Christmas to think about their behaviour and how it can affect their loved ones.

“Nobody should have to suffer domestic abuse, whatever form it takes. We are reaching out to the people who are affected by domestic abuse, or anyone who has concerns about others who are being harmed in this way, urging them to Speak Up and Speak Out.

“Agencies will continue to work together on this ongoing campaign over the next year to make sure that families affected by abuse will be protected from harm.”

Superintendent Liz McAinsh said: “Tackling domestic abuse is a priority for Police Scotland and in Edinburgh officers will continue to pursue those responsible for crimes of this nature.

“We are also committed to providing victims of domestic abuse with all the necessary assistance and support they require.”

Extensive work by the Council is ongoing to ensure that children and adults who have been affected by domestic abuse feel safe, have access to appropriate support and advice networks and feel confident in reporting issues.

Recent developments include a clear pathway from initial reporting to the police, to support for the victim, including a comprehensive risk assessment and the provision of multi-agency services. Edinburgh has also seen a welcome roll-out of the pilot domestic abuse court to the whole city.

One of the key messages of Speak Up Speak Out is that anyone can suffer from abuse, regardless of their age, gender or the colour of their skin. It can happen anywhere and be caused by friends, relatives, colleagues or strangers. By encouraging people to be open about their concerns and talk to care professionals, it is hoped that more adults and children can be protected from harm.

We’re no’ playin’ your game!

Community groups unite to oppose council cuts

Community groups, local organisations and concerned individuals have united to protest against imminent council cuts. The say the council’s budget proposals will hit the poorest people hardest and have written to local councillors urging them to support the fight against slashing local services.

Last week’s hastily convened meeting at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre was organised by Women’s International Group and was attended by more than twenty local people – community councillors, management committee members, health service workers and local staff were all there. No councillors were present at the meeting.

WIG’s Anna Hutchison explained that the Women’s International Group had attended a Budget Challenge meeting and were unhappy about the way the consultation exercise was conducted – no-one attended to explain what was being proposed or to answer questions, and the Challenge was being presented as a fait accompli – ‘these are your only options’.

The group also felt it was wrong that local people were being asked to take part in a process to cut services that would pit one area or service off against another, so decided to call a public meeting to gauge the views of the wider community.

“It’s not for us to do the councillors’ work for them”, she said. “We elect councillors to set budgets and run the city. We expect them to listen to us and to protect our precious local services.”

The Council faces a considerable budget challenge. Between 2015 and 2018, the Council’s annual budget will remain around £950 million but the council expects the cost of providing services to be £1.01 billion.

The council says it must make savings of £67 million over the next three years ‘to make sure we can provide the services that are important to the people of Edinburgh’.

Granton and District community councillor Dave Macnab told the meeting: “I’ve been struck by the fact that this budget consultation is almost like a game of Monopoly – except this time you are dealing with real people and real services. This is no game and I think people are sleepwalking into this process. What these abstract proposals mean in reality is cuts on an unimaginable scale”.

He went on: “I am quite disturbed – officials seem to be accepting that this is the way it must be. I would ask: what happens if we say ‘NO’?”

West Granton West Pilton community councillor Willie Black said that recent problems of antisocial behaviour in the area could be traced directly to poverty and unemployment – and that austerity measures, slashed budgets and cuts in local services would make an already bad situation much worse.

He also questioned the council’s figures, suggesting that the scale of cuts is much deeper – not £67 million but £142 million over the next three years.

Willie Black said it was vital that communities combined to fight the cuts being imposed upon them – ‘cuts that are being inflicted on us through no fault of our own, and yet the poor are the people who get the blame’. He said: “Alliances are being formed – we’ve got to put all our energies into a collective effort to challenge these cuts.

“And we’ve got to ask the councillors: in the war against the poor, where do you stand?”

The meeting was then thrown open for debate and discussion. Among the points raised during a passionate and enthusiastic session:

It is unclear what the £67 m in the Council’s budget leaflet represents. It looks like the savings to be made over 3 years is significantly higher than £67m – this needs to be clarified.
There are a number of headings in the Council’s budget paper termed ‘Other’. These sections involve huge sums of money but there is no explanation as to what this relates to. This needs to be broken down so that we can see what it includes.
The savings identified are very confusing – it isn’t clear what they relate to – this should be explained better in a way that lay people can understand
It is impossible to make an informed decision based on this information
The language used excludes people – it is gobbledygook!
The language used attempts to disguise the fact that ‘savings’ are actually cuts – people need to be aware of this.
The Council are asking the citizens of Edinburgh to approve their cuts – this is not
It is disgusting that elected members are not here – they always have excuses for not turning up to important local meetings. Councillors are elected to represent their constituents – we vote for them to do a job on our behalf and they get paid to do it.
Communities are being expected to identify which services they want to cut – this is unacceptable
The consultation is a sham – the decisions have already been made. The same thing happened with the consultation on the closure of Royston Primary School – they didn’t listen to the community then. The facts they presented to local people were proved to be complete nonsense. Can we trust them on the figures we have been presented with this time round?
Councillors and senior officials never put their hands up and admit their mistakes (ie the trams, Royston Primary School, Craigroyston High School)
Community councillors are sent huge amounts of information from the Council – it is impossible to read through it all and often to understand because of the language used. This makes it very difficult for community councillors to present this information in a meaningful way to the wider community
The Council has already sub-contracted services out to private firms (someone received a letter re their single person discount – it was sent from a firm in Derbyshire). This is privatisation by the back door
It is accepted that the Council needs more cash to fund local services and that the council tax freeze isn’t helping the situation. The Council tax needs to be changed to make it more progressive so that the better off pay more.
We are constantly told that events like the Festival and the Hogmanay celebrations are a good investment as they bring extra cash into the city but we never actually see the figures and we don’t see the benefits in our communities. This income should be audited and it should be set aside for local services. There needs to be better transparency in the Council’s financial systems.
Education should be a priority – libraries and community centres are often a starting point for learning – they provide safe spaces in the community for children, young people and adults
Libraries and community centres are fantastic local facilities and provide a great service to all the community.
CLD workers are an important resource in local communities.
If jobs go it won’t be the folk who are high up the tree who go
There have been many examples of serious mismanagement at the Council – the trams project is only The Council are now considering extending the tram line to Leith and paying for another feasibility study. This is a complete waste of public money. Edinburgh has become a laughing-stock around the world because of this fiasco.
Many local organisations refused to display the leaflet publicising this meeting because they said it was political. Some workers are worried that the Council will cut their grants if they are seen to be publicising this kind of event. This position needs to be clarified by the Council.

Impact of cuts

Cuts in local services will result in more crime and anti-social behaviour – this is a false economy as it costs more money to deal with the consequences of crime.
Services for children and young people helps to keep them away from crime – it is more effective to prevent problems from happening in the first place. Cuts in funding to projects who work with hard to reach young people will be a disaster for young people and the wider community. Youth projects are trying to build trust and relationships with young people which can help to steer them away from crime.
Many kids haven’t had a chance in life. Services such as Panmuir House are the last chance saloon for kids who do get into trouble. Close it down and then what happens?
Cuts in services and closures will affect the health and well-being of local people – research shows that going to libraries and museums, taking part in groups and activities improves health – cuts in services will result in more illness and will put more pressure on the system
Cuts in jobs means public sector workers are being asked to take on more responsibilities – this puts people under stress and can lead to them going off sick. They then get pulled up by management and put under more pressure to return to work – this adds to the stress factor.
Workers in the public sector are scared to go off sick these days despite the fact that they have valid sick lines– there has been a change in management culture in public services in recent years (examples given about situation in the NHS)
The next generation in this community will end up even more disadvantaged because of the impact of the cuts
People are already struggling without more cuts to basic services. Many people do not have enough to survive on once the bills are paid. Benefit sanctions are being used to penalize people for minor things (being late for an interview). People are having to go without money and food and having to rely on food banks and support from local services.
High levels of unemployment and poverty in the past resulted in an increase in crime and anti-social behaviour. Many people moved out of the area and this had a negative affect on the people who were left. This is likely to happen again if we don’t have services in place to support people.

The meeting came up with a number of ideas about what the council could do to address budget difficulties:

Introduce a ‘tourist tax’ to bring cash into the city – this could be used to subsidise local services
Introduce a hotel levy during the Festival and the Christmas and New Year Celebrations
Raise the council tax – the Council has the power to do this. They will need to ensure that this does not penalize poorer people.
Reduce expenditure on things like taxi-fares, council lunches, official visits abroad and the like – this is unnecessary expenditure.
Find other ways of making savings that don’t involve cutting services or sacking workers who provide front line services
Dig out the last feasibility study on extending the tram line to Leith – this will save £1/2m.

The meeting agreed to write to local politicians and to forge links with other groups across the city. The North Edinburgh anti-cuts campaigners also plan to meet early in the New Year to discuss sending a deputation to the city council’s budget meeting in February.

If you want to have your say:

Take the budget challenge

But hurry – last day for submissions is tomorrow

Friday 19 December

Background reports:

Budget_proposals_2015_2016_updated_28.10.14

Item_7.3___2015_18_Revenue_and_Capital_Budget_Framework