Capital Coalition poised to slash city services by more than £34 million
Campaigners from North Edinburgh Save Our Services and representatives from Edinburgh Tenants Federation will appeal to city councillors to draw back from making swingeing cuts to council services across the city when they speak at deputations to the City Council’s Budget meeting on Thursday. Continue reading Silent Slaughter: Community groups and Trade Unions urge council cuts rethink
ACTION MEETING
Tonight at The Prentice Centre, 6 – 8pm
All Welcome Continue reading North Edinburgh Save our Services: Action Meeting tonight
There’s still time to share your views on the City Council’s draft council change strategy and proposals for the 2019/20 budget. Continue reading Edinburgh’s budget: still time to have your say
Funding Cuts: When all else fails, order a report … or two
Campaigners representing local community organisations affected by impending cuts to Health and Social Care grants put their case for continued funding to the North West Localities Committee last week.
The projects were told that the Locality Committee is in no position to restore lost funding, however, and councillors committed only to call for reports into the EIJB’s grant funding process.
In particular, officers were tasked to look at activity (or lack of it) to support projects affected by discontinued funding since the decision was made in December. The reports will also analyse the funding spend to determine whether or not North West has been impacted more severely than other localities.
While it’s important that lessons are learned for the future, this action won’t help those projects who need support NOW, though: the Localities committee doesn’t meet again until 28th March – by which time projects will have had to issue redundancy notices to staff and, in some cases, look at closing projects down. Continue reading “You might as well build an abbattoir at the top of Pennywell Road: we’re being put to the sword”
The 2019-20 Scottish Budget provides Scotland with economic stability by making strategic long-term investments to strengthen and prepare the economy for the future, according to Finance Secretary Derek Mackay. However local government umbrella organisation COSLA says the budget will mean only more cuts to council services. Continue reading Budget: saving public services?
Monday 17th December
6pm – 8pm at Muirhouse Millennium Centre
Pilton Community Health Project could face closure unless alternative funding can be found. The respected local project – Scotland’s oldest community health organisation – was one of 35 who learned last week that they would receive no funding from the latest round of Health & Social Care grants. Continue reading Heartbreak as funding appeal rejected … but the fight goes on
West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre – 6.30pm
‘Poverty is a political choice. Austerity could easily have spared the poor, if the political will had existed to do so’ – Professor Philip Alston Continue reading “A state of denial”: UN Human Rights expert condemns UK Government
Another £3 million to be cut – but Council Tax set to rise again
“That’s the real effect of cuts. In local government, you cut the people, you cut a service.”
Council tax will go up and leisure services will be cut under the city city council’s budget proposals for the coming year. The SNP – Labour ‘Capital Coalition’ administration says no jobs will be lost, but service cuts are inevitable despite a better than expected Scottish Government settlement. Trade unions say council services are being ‘silently slaughtered’ and year on year cuts threaten the council’s ability to meet its statutory duties. Continue reading Silent Slaughter: Capital braced for more council cuts
