People of our area alongside many communities have had a very tough time under this disgraceful Tory led government.
It has been no accident but deliberate policy.
The manipulation of the fuel prices causing absolute confusion.
But not for the fuel suppliers, No!! In particular the shareholders of the fuel suppliers who are making hundreds of millions of pounds in profit at the same time.
In contrast the Tories are ‘promising’ another 10% rise in the cost of living this year!
The lesson is there for us: it’s time the people slung out the Tories like they did in Honiton recently.
As the cost of living crisis worsens, on Sunday 26th June and Sunday 3rd July Greenpeace volunteers spoke to people on Middle Meadow Walk and on Portobello Promenade about the connection between rising energy bills, Putin’s war, and the climate crisis.
They invited the public to write down how much their energy bills have already increased, and stick these messages onto a life-size cardboard cut-out of Chancellor Rishi Sunak. Volunteers found that most people’s bills had at least doubled and many were fearful of further increases.
Jessie from Portobello wrote that her rising bills meant she hadn’t been able to put her heating on and was worried about what she would do in the Autumn, while another local wrote ‘my bills are not sustainable. Invest in greener energy!’
These messages, along with hundreds of others from across the UK, will be delivered directly to the Government so that Ministers can see how much people are really having to pay to heat their homes and cook food.
Anke, a Greenpeace volunteer from Bruntsfield, said: “‘I was shocked to hear how many more local people are worrying about being pushed into fuel poverty when bills rise again in the autumn.
“Greenpeace Edinburgh volunteers are calling on the Chancellor to deliver an Emergency Energy Package that stops fuelling rising energy bills, the climate crisis and Putin’s war, and on our local MPs to keep the pressure on the Government until they do the right thing.”
On 1st April energy bills went up by an average of £700, pushing 2.5 million UK households into fuel poverty. According to data published by Energy Action Scotland, as of last December, 24% of all households in Scotland live in fuel poverty.
In October bills will rise again, potentially reaching up to an estimated £2600 per year, which could put 1 in 3 households in fuel poverty, according to National Energy Action. Life is only going to get harder for people in Edinburgh.
Although the Government has recently declared a windfall tax on oil and gas producers, this will only provide temporary relief and does nothing to address the causes of the climate or cost of living crises.
Greenpeace Edinburgh is calling for a tax rate of 70%, which could bring in an extra £13.4bn per year. £7.9bn of this tax should go towards the six million households experiencing fuel poverty. This would leave just over £5 billion to invest in the nationwide roll out of heat pumps, insulation and other energy efficiency measures as well as increasing investment in renewable energy infrastructure.
Anke continued: “This Government has failed to get a grip on the climate and cost of living crises. We’ll keep facing these problems for years to come while oil and gas giants pump out planet-trashing emissions and enjoy sky high profits.
“Join us in calling on the Chancellor to make them pay up”.
One Parent Familes Scotland asked single parents accessing their services about the main issues affecting their lives and what needs to be done to tackle them.
How will the rising cost of living affect the Scottish Budget in 2023-24? Will the Scottish Government’s proposals for reforming the public service deliver the efficiencies expected?
The committee is seeking views from organisations and the public to inform its pre-budget scrutiny work, prior to the Scottish Government publishing its 2023/24 budget later this year.
Committee Convener Kenneth Gibson MSP said: “The next Scottish Budget will be challenging as the current cost-of-living crisis impacts on Scotland.
The Committee is therefore keen to hear from organisations and individuals how the Scottish Government’s Budget in 2023-24 should respond to this crisis.
“We also want to hear views on how the government’s proposed reform of the public service will support its future spending plans.”
Mr Gibson concluded: “Using the government’s resource spending review announced in May, we will focus our pre-budget scrutiny on the proposals for reforming the public service, the impact of the cost of living crisis on the Scottish Budget, and how spending priorities might affect the delivery of national outcomes.”
More than eight million households across the whole of the UK will get a cash payment from July to ease cost of living pressures, Work and Pensions Secretary Thérèse Coffey set out detailed plans yesterday.
Millions will receive the first of two cost of living instalments totalling £650 from 14 July 2022, part of the £1,200 support package this year
Initial automatic instalment will be £326, with the rest to follow in a second instalment in the autumn
Comes as part of £37 billion government package to help families with cost of living pressures
The first instalment of the £650 for qualifying low income households in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will land in bank accounts from 14 July 2022, continuing to the end of the month.
The move will see millions of households initially £326 better off as the government delivers significant interventions to support groups who are most vulnerable to rising costs. In total, millions of households will receive at least £1,200 from the government this year to help cover rising costs.
Work and Pensions Secretary, Thérèse Coffey said: “With millions of the lowest-income households soon seeing the first of two cash instalments land into their bank accounts, we are taking action to directly help families with the cost of living.
“This one-off payment totalling £650 is part of our £37 billion cost of living support package that will put an extra £1,200 into the pockets of those most in need.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak added: “We have a responsibility to protect those who are paying the highest price for rising inflation, and we are stepping up to help.
“In July over 8 million people will get their first £326 payment to help with rising prices, as part of a package worth at least £1,200 for vulnerable families. I said we would stand by people when they needed help, and we are.”
The second instalment of £324 will be sent to qualifying low income households in the Autumn. The payments are designed to be deliberately slightly unequal to minimise fraud risks from those who may seek to exploit this system.
The eligibility date for the second instalment will be announced soon.
Low-income households are benefiting from government support in a variety of different ways this year as global inflationary pressures, exacerbated by the unjust war in Ukraine, have caused prices to rise for several essentials.
The government understands that many people are worried about the impact these rising prices will have on their household finances, which is why £37 billion of support is being provided to boost budgets and mitigate the worst of these pressures.
Support includes the direct payment of £650 for over 8 million households on benefits, a separate £300 payment for pensioners, and a £150 payment for disabled people, which can be paid on top of the £650 payment.
This is on top of £400 for all households to help with energy bills, and an extra £150 for properties in Council Tax bands A-D, meaning millions of the lowest-income households will receive at least £1,200 in support this year.
This is all in addition to changes to the Universal Credit taper rate and work allowances worth £1,000 a year on average for 1.7 million working claimants, a rise in the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour, and a tax cut for around 30 million workers through a rise in National Insurance contribution thresholds.
The government has also expanded support for the Household Support Fund – which helps people with food and energy bills – with an extra £421 million, on top of £79 million for devolved nations; the total value of this support now stands at £1.5 billion. Fuel duty was also cut by 5p per litre for 12 months in March 2022, and alcohol duty has been frozen for 2022/23.
You can read more about the UK Government’s cost of living support and what is available here.
Edinburgh Pentlands MSP Gordon Macdonald has welcomed the planned introduction of the new Low Income Winter Heating Assistance benefit to help households both across the Edinburgh Pentlands constituency and the wider city pay their energy bills.
The support is being introduced by the SNP Scottish Government and will guarantee an annual payment of £50 to around 400,000 low income households from February 2023.
It replaces the UK government’s Cold Weather payments which were only triggered during a ‘cold spell’ of seven consecutive days below zero degrees, whilst the new payment from the Scottish Government will provide a reliable, stable guaranteed payment in winter, no matter the weather.
It will be the thirteenth social security payment introduced by the SNP Scottish Government and will be only available in Scotland.
Commenting, Gordon Macdonald said: “The SNP Scottish Government is providing a guaranteed payment of £50 to low-income households across Edinburgh to help pay their energy bills every winter, starting in February 2023.
“Once again the SNP Scottish Government is stepping up to support households within its limited budget, and despite the majority of powers lying with the Tories at Westminster.
“The Scottish Government’s annual £20m investment will mean households will get an automatic payment. The UK Cold Weather payments only reached 11,000 households in 2021/22.
“As the Scottish Government continues to step up and provide support to households across Scotland, it does so with one hand tied behind its back by the UK Tory government.
“That is why it is only with the full powers of independence can we start to build a fairer, more equal country.”
Public sector workers seem set on a collision course with local and national government over inadequate wage rises …
The General Secretary Designate of teachers union the EIS yesterday urged all of Scotland’s teachers to get active in the campaign to secure a 10% pay rise.
Ms Bradley addressed delegates on the final day of the EIS Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Dundee Caird Hall, and just ahead of a rally in support of the EIS ‘Pay Attention’ Campaign in the Civic Square outside the conference venue.
Addressing the AGM, Ms Bradley said, “The obvious and pressing priority is our Pay Attention campaign. We’ve staked our claim, nailed our colours to the mast … now we need to win.
“Listening to our speakers on the issue of pay over the last few days, I know we’ve got what it takes to win this. To win it because it’s simply unacceptable that teachers and other public sector workers would be expected to bear the burden of yet another crisis that’s been created by the economic vandalism of the Tory government and a Cabinet of millionaires …utterly morally bankrupt and more intent on callous racketeering and profiteering than they are on caring about people and supporting recovery.”
“We can’t allow COSLA to peddle the myth of the One Workforce agenda. Or the Scottish Government to quietly sit there on the side-lines being let off the hook by a raft of egalitarian-sounding rhetoric that’s in truth about pay suppression for teachers and by dint of that the rest of the public sector. We know One Workforce is utter fallacy and I have a sense that the other public sector unions know it as well.”
“If we’re to win a pay rise that protects teachers’ incomes from the worst of the cost of living increases, from every corner of the union, we need to keep building what will be a formidable display of our union strength. We’ve started building this – the press statements, the campaign materials, the branch meetings, the petition, the social media activity, and the demo outside this building later this morning.”
“With full-blown organising, comms and political campaigning… synchronicity of actions with local associations, we’ll be ballot ready, strike ready by October and with a strong industrial action strategy mapped out so that we’re strike ready and strike able.
“From the speeches and applause that we’ve heard this AGM about pay and the other inter-related injustices it sounds like you’re well up for taking this on …and so am I!”
COSLA STATEMENT ON PAY NEGOTIATIONS
COSLA is deeply disappointed that the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance have refused the request of all Council Leaders to engage in discussions regarding the current settlement for Local Government and its significant impact on our ongoing pay negotiations.
The implications of the Scottish Government’s spending plans for the rest of the parliament are deeply concerning for communities across Scotland and have further increased the already strong likelihood of industrial action in the coming months.
Scottish Government continues to fail to respect the fundamental role Local Government and its workforce has in addressing their own priorities of tackling child poverty, climate change and a stronger economy.
The ‘Resource Spending Review’, published on 31 May, shows that Local Government’s core funding for the next 3 years will remain static at time when inflation and energy costs are soaring.
This “flat-cash” scenario gives no scope to recognising the essential work of our staff, whose expectations, quite rightly, are being influenced by Scottish Government’s decisions in relation to other parts of the public sector. A suggestion that increases in welfare payments will mitigate the cost of living crisis do not recognise that our staff should not have to depend on such payments to make ends meet.
As things stand, the only option available to Councils is yet fewer jobs and cuts to services that are essential to communities everywhere.
COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson Gail Macgregor said: “COSLA, every year, argues for fair funding for Local Government to maintain the essential services our communities rely on.
“No increase in our core funding damages these services and limits the options we have in successfully concluding pay negotiations. Refusal to engage in discussion will only see this continue and our communities will see and feel the difference.”
The Fraser of Allander Institute has recognised the impact on councils: “The local government budget will decline by 7% in real terms between 2022/23 and 2026/27 … the real terms erosion of the funding allocations of local authorities represents the continuation of a longer trend.”
UNISON, Scotland’s largest local government union, will be balloting its members in a dispute over pay. The union is planning targeted strike action – this means select groups of workers will be balloted.
UNISON is campaigning for a pay rise for ALL local government workers.
The groups that will be balloted for strike action are members employed working in schools, who provide services to the running and operation of the school, and all members working in early years and in waste and recycling services. The union is recommending that vote ‘YES’ in favour of strike action.
The ballot will run from 10 June and will close on 26 July. It is vital that all ballots are posted back in good time to ensure we receive them by closing date.
Why are we balloting?
Having consistently worked above and beyond to keep our key services going over the past two years of the pandemic, and with the cost of living spiralling, COSLA’s offer of a 2 per cent pay increase for local government workers is nothing short of an insult.
While politicians have raced to praise your efforts their warm words have not been matched by action.
Earlier this year we ran an online consultation to see what you and other local government members thought of the employers’ 2022 pay offer. It was no surprise that the overwhelming majority of you voted to reject the offer and indicated your willingness to take action to achieve a better deal.
Nothing has changed since then and we now need you to vote YES to take strike action to remind your employers exactly how you feel.
This offer is derisory. It is less than the Scottish Public Sector Pay policy, falls far short of our pay claim and is significantly below current levels of inflation. It will exacerbate the gap between those on the lowest and those on the highest rates of pay.
And it is in sharp contrast to the 5.2% increase that councillors themselves have just received from 1st April 2022.
GMB Scotland has attacked “failure at all levels of government” as an industrial action ballot across local government gets underway this morning (Monday 6 June) against the threats of a 2 per cent pay offer and swingeing cuts to local jobs and services.
Nearly 10,000 GMB members in waste and cleansing and schools and early years services will be asked if they back strikes in the face of a pay offer from employer body COSLA amounting to less than £10 a week for staff earning under £25,000 a year.
Joint trade unions in local government wrote to the First Minister and the Finance Secretary last week seeking urgent talks and warned about the consequences for council workers of significantly below inflation pay with the cost of living at a forty-year high.
The ballot, which runs throughout the summer until Tuesday 26 July, also takes place amid dire forecasts for local government budgets following the Scottish Government’s spending review plans.
GMB Scotland Senior Organiser Keir Greenaway warned: “Council workers and the vital services they deliver are firmly in the sights of Kate Forbes’s cuts agenda, and if left unchallenged the lowest paid will pay the highest price in the biggest cost-of-living crisis for 40 years.
“This is what years of failure at all levels of government looks like – a decade of failed austerity, the passing on of cuts to communities, and a meek acceptance of the consequences locally. It’s a far cry from the doorstep applause of virtue-signalling political leaders just two years ago.
“It shows everyone there are no political superheroes and if you want wages that confront soaring inflation then you need to organise and fight for it.
“That’s exactly what our members are doing and unless an improved pay offer is tabled then industrial action looks inevitable.”
RMT launch 3 days of national strike action across the railway network
Over 50,000 railway workers will walkout as part of 3 days of national strike action later this month, in the biggest dispute on the network since 1989.
The union will shut down the country’s railway network on 21st, 23rd and 25th June, due to the inability of the rail employers to come to a negotiated settlement with RMT.
Network Rail and the train operating companies have subjected their staff to multiyear pay freezes and plan to cut thousands of jobs which will make the railways unsafe.
Despite intense talks with the rail bosses, RMT has not been able to secure a pay proposal nor a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies.
In a separate dispute over pensions and job losses, London Underground RMT members will take strike action on June 21st.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Railway workers have been treated appallingly and despite our best efforts in negotiations, the rail industry with the support of the government has failed to take their concerns seriously.
“We have a cost-of-living crisis, and it is unacceptable for railway workers to either lose their jobs or face another year of a pay freeze when inflation is at 11.1pc and rising.
“Our union will now embark on a sustained campaign of industrial action which will shut down the railway system.
“Rail companies are making at least £500m a year in profits, whilst fat cat rail bosses have been paid millions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This unfairness is fuelling our members anger and their determination to win a fair settlement.
“RMT is open to meaningful negotiations with rail bosses and ministers, but they will need to come up with new proposals to prevent months of disruption on our railways.”
A snap poll from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and Opinium showed the cost of living was the top issue for 75% of the Scottish electorate when casting their ballot in May.
This was followed by 60% citing the NHS as their primary concern, with public services (21%), housing (15%), Brexit (20%) and the environment (19%) all taking voter preference over the constitution (14%).
The news was cited as a ‘wake-up call’ from the Scottish Trades Union Congress leader Roz Foyer, who will host a specific cost of living crisis summit on June 17th with the Poverty Alliance.
Ms Foyer said: “These elections should be a wake-up call to all levels of government – local, Scottish and UK – that workers throughout the country need urgent and sustained help in the face of this brutal attack on their living standards.
“By far and away, with 75% of the electorate in Scotland citing the cost of living crisis as their top concern, with health, housing and the environment their taking preference over the constitution, all incoming councillors must make this their most urgent priority.
“Our local government manifesto made clear we need sustained investment from the Scottish Government to local authorities throughout the country, helping to deliver a real terms pay increase for our public sector workers. This is in addition to delivering on rent freezes, settling equal pay disputes and introducing universal free school meals throughout the country.
“This is the type of real terms action we need from councillors and government throughout Scotland. Our movement, with affiliates currently balloting for industrial action across the country, are not standing idle whilst workers face this material threat to their living conditions.”
Two renowned East Lothian businesses are working together to offer more people in the local community who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis an opportunity to enjoy a fun day out.
Musselburgh Racecourse is partnering with S.Luca to offer racegoers a discounted meal when they purchase a concession ticket at the racecourse over the next three months.
Anyone who purchases a concession ticket will be able to present this at the Musselburgh branch of S. Luca to get a 10% off their meal. S. Luca is also offering a free ice cream for all kids who attend the races over this Jubilee weekend.
Concession tickets will be reduced to £15 over both days of the Jubilee weekend, saving £15 on Saturday and £10.00 on Sunday. This discount will continue over the next three months except for Ladies Day in August. All Saturday 4th June concession racegoers will receive a complimentary concession ticket to Sunday 5th June.
Bill Farnsworth, General Manager at Musselburgh Racecourse, said: “In a bid to help the local community during this difficult period, we were keen to partner with our friends at S.Luca to provide an offer over the summer that would help as many people locally get access to a fun day out.
“We hope this offer over the next three months allows more people, particularly those who have been hit the hardest to come along and enjoy their day at the races with a delicious meal at the end of it.”
Jane McGhie at S.Luca, added: “We’re delighted to be working with Musselburgh Racecourse to offer discount to those who are going along to the races this summer. We want to do everything we can to keep costs down for people at a time when prices are high across the most basic amenities.”
The concession ticket (£15 on all days except for Ladies Day) offer will continue for three months (finish end of August) and can only be purchased at the gate on race day with a form of valid ID.
HOUSEHOLDS ACROSS EDINBURGH TO BE SUPPORTED BY £23 BILLION
As communities across Edinburgh recover from the pandemic and face a Tory made cost of living crisis, yesterday the SNP Government’s spending review outlined record social security spending to help households facing increasing pressures. The Scottish Government allocated around £23 billion for social security over the course of the parliament.
The focus on supporting households under increasing pressure reflects the SNP’s commitment to create a fairer Scotland by tackling child poverty, reducing inequalities and supporting financial wellbeing in Edinburgh, and builds on current efforts to help families and mitigate Westminster welfare cuts.
The Resource Spending Review outlined over £23 billion worth of payments, with a total of almost £1.8 billion for the ‘game changing’ Scottish Child Payment alone. By 2026-27 the budget for Social Security Assistance will have increased by £6.3 billion.
This is despite the Scottish Budget for this year being cut in real terms by 5.2 per cent by the Tory UK government and the SNP government already spending almost £770 million on cost of living support, including several measures for families in Edinburgh not available elsewhere in the UK, such as:
Doubling the ‘game changing’ Scottish Child Payment to £20 per child per week with plans to increase it to £25 and extend it to under 16s by the end of the year – reaching a possible 450,00 young people.
Investing £86m to mitigate the Tory Government bedroom tax and benefit cap and support 90,00 people in their tenancies
Uprating eight Scottish social security payments by 6 per cent
A brand new Low-Income Winter Heating benefit that guarantees a £50 annual payment to over 400,000 low income households in winter 22/23
The Carers Allowance Supplement which will support around 90,000 carers with an additional £450 a year
Providing everyone in primaries one to five and over 140,000 eligible children and young people access to a free school lunch
Making free bus travel available for nearly half of Scotland’s population through concessionary travel
Additionally, the Scottish Government is making investment in areas like energy efficiency to bring down costs and the spending review set out how the SNP will build on these over the coming years.
SNP MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Gordon MacDonald, said: ““I am very glad to see this record investment in social security by the SNP Government, putting such a strong focus on tackling child poverty and helping households both across the Edinburgh Pentlands constituency and the wider city who are facing severe pressures right now which seems likely to only increase for the next while.
“Many families across Edinburgh are already benefitting from support like the Scottish Child payment, a £150 council tax reduction, the Scottish Welfare Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments which mitigate Westminster’s cruel bedroom tax.
“These are policies that build on the SNP’s current efforts. They will make a real difference to people’s lives and build on long standing measures that we benefit from every day – such as free prescriptions, free university tuition, free personal care, and 1,140 hours of free early learning and childcare which will continue to be maintained.
“When times are tough, Governments have to make tough decisions and I’m grateful the SNP government continue to focus on what matters most to people but, it is acting with one hand tied behind its back as Westminster continues to inflict its cruel austerity agenda at a time when people need support the most.
“Once again, it is clear that only with the full powers of independence, that we can stop spending a fixed budget on protecting households against Tory cuts and start to properly build a fairer, more equal Scotland.”
‘We face a very difficult financial position over the new few years’
Prioritising public spending is essential to grow a stronger economy as Scotland recovers from the pandemic and faces up to the cost of living crisis, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has said.
Speaking ahead of the publication of the Resource Spending Review, Ms Forbes said more focused government and public sector funds would achieve ambitions to tackle child poverty, reach net zero and deliver sustainable services for the future.
The Spending Review will give broad parameters for spending for the next four years and set out a series of government reforms.
Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said: “These are challenging times, and we need to be canny with our spending, but I’m confident that if we work together we can get through this cost of living crisis and still achieve our ambitions.
“That means tackling child poverty, driving our economic recovery from COVID and achieving net zero, while building a stronger public sector that is sustainable for the future.
“We face a very difficult financial position over the next few years with funding increases below inflation levels and the challenge of recovering from the pandemic without the financial tools available to every other government in the world. That means while the spending review is not a budget, it will include difficult decisions, to ensure we can really focus on supporting households and services at this time.
“The Resource Spending Review will detail the funding available over the coming years to achieve these goals, and it will be published alongside the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) which gives economic context to the challenges and opportunities which lie ahead.”
Ms Forbes will outline the Resource Spending Review to Parliament when it is published tomorrow (May 31).
The Scottish Government says it is doing ‘everything within its powers and fixed budgets to ensure people, communities and businesses are supported as far as possible’, including investing almost £770 million this year in cost of living support and doubling the Scottish Child Payment to £20 per week.
Earlier this year it increased eight Scottish benefits by 6%, the rate of inflation at the time, and introduced a range of benefits not available elsewhere in the UK.
Expanding free school meals and providing £150 council tax payments to low income families are included in further actions to put money back into people’s pockets at a time when they need it most.
