A penny for your thoughts

Former Edinburgh District Council Housing and Finance convener JIMMY BURNETT was among the hundreds who took to take part in a demonstration outside the Scottish Parliament to protest at cuts to council budgets yesterday.

He supports Labour’s case for a 1p tax rise – and argues that we must pay more to support crucial public services:

I fully support a one penny tax rise. With the proposed rebate system, those earning £20,000 or less, would pay no additional tax. Those earning £30,000 would pay around £16.00 a month. Those earning £150,000, would pay an additional £28.00 a week, £112.00 extra per month. Continue reading A penny for your thoughts

Education, education, education …

Improving excellence and equity in Scottish education for all is at the heart of the Education Bill, says Scottish Government

The Scottish Government’s Education (Scotland) Bill, which is due to be debated in Parliament today, contains provisions placing a duty on local authorities and Ministers to prioritise activity aimed at closing the attainment gap.

The bill also legislates for the introduction of the National Improvement Framework, recently launched by the First Minister, to support efforts in raising attainment through improving information available to ensure pupils get the right support they need.

Other provisions targeted on enhancing children’s rights, Gaelic education, teacher registration and the creation of a Chief Education Officer post in councils are also included.

Speaking ahead of the Stage 3 debate on the Bill, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Angela Constance said: “The Scottish Government is working with local authorities, parents and others to ensure our education system delivers both excellence and equity for every child. All of the measures of this Bill have a role to play in helping to achieve that aspiration.

“We have already taken a series of steps that show how seriously we are taking this, such as the launch of the £100 million Scotland Attainment Challenge, and I am pleased to see our Bill reach its final stage in Parliament.

“Our National Improvement Framework will build on a strong record of achievement, with the aim of ensuring we have the right information about children’s progress right across Scotland. The Framework will look at a range of existing and new evidence which will tell us how we are progressing and where support is required for improvement purposes. Parents will have access to more information about their children’s education and progress than ever before, on what they are doing well and where they might need extra help.

“One source of data will be a new standardised assessment, focusing on reading, writing and numeracy. We have no interest in a return to high stakes testing. This new system will help to reduce the burden of assessment, building on best practice and replacing the wide variety of approaches taken by local authorities with a new streamlined, consistent approach. Crucially, the assessments will inform teacher judgment, not replace it.”

Education looks set to be the key battleground in the forthcoming Holyrood elections. Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale will promise to protect the education budget in real terms over the next five years if Labour is in government after the May election.

GMB: Revenue must be raised to blunt impact of ‘draconian’ cuts

‘Local tax to fund local services should be a vital part of local democracy’ – Alex McLuckie, GMB Scotland

John Swinney is wrong to make light of the impact of ‘draconian’ cuts to budgets for Scotland’s councils, says a leading trade union. Continue reading GMB: Revenue must be raised to blunt impact of ‘draconian’ cuts

Brock calls for support to scrap ‘appalling’ rape clause

Edinburgh North and Leith MP Deirdre Brock is calling upon constituents to sign a petition which seeks to scrap the UK Government’s rape clause. Continue reading Brock calls for support to scrap ‘appalling’ rape clause

Andrew Burns: don’t blame us!

City council leader says the Scottish government must act to change ‘broken’ local government funding system

Edinburgh’s 58 councillors will vote through cuts of £85 million at tomorrow’s budget meeting. Billed as the deepest cuts in living memory, thousands of jobs will be lost and key services will be slashed. Who’s responsible for Edinburgh’s budget crisis? Council leader ANDREW BURNS says local government funding is to blame and he’s urging the Scottish Government to ‘let go’. Continue reading Andrew Burns: don’t blame us!

Council budget: time for a ‘grown-up debate’

Edinburgh Greens propose small council tax rise to improve council services and combat cuts

Green councillors in Edinburgh are proposing a small council tax rise to raise £10m to invest in services. They believe that combatting cuts in schools, social care and vulnerable children services should be the capital’s priority.

Green councillors in Edinburgh are proposing a 4.3% council tax rise for next year: equivalent to an extra 97p a week for the average Band D property.

The council tax rise, which is backed by 63% of respondents to the council’s budget consultation, would still leave the council having to make significant efficiencies and savings, but, according to the Greens, it would head off the worst cuts.

The £10m package includes

– Retaining a properly-funded school music service
– Blocking cuts to special schools and disadvantaged children
– Keeping budgets for social care for frail older people
– Supporting community centres, libraries and leisure centres.

The additional money would also allow the Council to recruit and keep more care workers to bridge a gap of 5,000 unmet care hours a week. And it would see a substantial investment in long term repair and maintenance of schools.

The proposals are outlined in a blog published today by Green Finance spokesperson Councillor Gavin Corbett, ahead of the council budget meeting this Thursday (21 January).

Cllr Corbett said: “This year’s budget round is by far the toughest since devolution in 1999, with the city council looking down the barrel of £85m worth of cuts. That includes cuts to schools, libraries, swimming pools, social care and community centres.

“That is why almost two-thirds of people responding to the council’s budget consultation backed a council tax rise. I agree with them and I am proposing 97p extra a week to reverse all of the worst cuts and also help tackle to mounting crisis in social care.

“So I believe the city council owes to it to the people of Edinburgh to have a proper grown-up debate about the right balance between new income and spending. To shrink away from that debate, to meekly accept whatever cuts central governments dole out is to infantilise the capital city, to impoverish vital services and to simply store up yet greater problems for the future.

“Let’s have that grown-up debate.”

Edinburgh currently has five Green councillors on a council that is dominated by Labour (21) and the SNP (17) so it would be a major surprise (i.e. there’s next to no chance) if the Green proposals were to be adopted.

When city councillors set Edinburgh’s budget on Thursday it’s expected that the Labour-SNP Capital Coalition will vote through budget cuts of £85 million. Up to 2000 jobs will be lost in what public services trade union Unison describes as ‘the worst cuts in living memory’.

You can find the Edinburgh Greens blog on the budget at
http://www.edinburghgreens.org.uk/site/councillors/budget-2016/

David Cameron: “a crucial year in this great turnaround decade”

Prime Minister’s New Year message: ‘no new year’s resolutions for us, just an ongoing resolve to deliver what we promised’ Continue reading David Cameron: “a crucial year in this great turnaround decade”

First Minister’s New Year message

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has used her 2016 New Year message to hail Scotland’s ‘can-do’ culture and set out enterprise and innovative public services as priorities for the year ahead. Continue reading First Minister’s New Year message

First Minister takes trade union fight to Westminster

‘Imposing Trade Union Bill on Scotland is unacceptable’ – FM.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will take the fight to stop the Trade Union Bill coming into force in Scotland to Downing Street today. In her meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron the First Minister will set out the clear opposition for the bill north of the border.

The First Minister will also make clear that Scotland must not lose out from changes to the way the Scottish budget is calculated after new tax and spend powers are devolved. Continue reading First Minister takes trade union fight to Westminster

Letters: Something better change

Dear Editor

For too long the working population has been told that decision-making on investment is the province of the wealthy and very well off, and it is they who create the nation’s wealth. The arrogance and stupidity of such a claim shows the value they place on the working population’s contribution to that wealth.

Listed below are a few respective contributions:

Investors: It takes minimum effort and little time of one day to move money around through financial markets seeking a higher rate of profit.

Workers: If employed full-time, spend the best part of one whole day working and getting to and from work.

Investors: Their investment is usually short-term, then switching to maximise profit.

Workers: Their investment is life-long commitment to work.

Investors: Having the power of decision-making to hire and fire and even closing down places of work, showing no responsibility for workers or country.

Workers: Have lifetime commitment to home and provision for the family in all respects.

Investors: Employ tax lawyers to seek ways of reducing amounts due; alternatively hide their money in offshore tax havens avoiding tax altogether.

Workers: Income tax is taken from their wage packets, VAT on products and services.

Further, the political representatives of the wealthy have continued to starve local councils of funds to maintain community life, forcing savage cuts to all services. They now have the audacity to tell local councils to sell public assets of all kinds, buildings and land. This is where investors will step in to make a killing out of the people who created and paid for their public services, buildings and land, maintenance of parks, gardens, sports areas and open spaces.

Can all this be justified? The answer can only be NO, the way things are done must change, because if not there will be no end to the endless cycle of unemployment, hardship and unhappiness.

A. Delahoy, Silverknowes Gardens