The number of affordable homes approved over the year to the end June 2017 has increased by 30% on the previous year, bringing the total number of approvals over the year to 10,612. The government says the figures show good progress but the Scottish Greens will put forward their own plans to improve housing stock in a Holyrood debate later today. Continue reading Affordable homes boost but Greens offer radical alternative
GREEN REPORT: EXTENT OF HOUSEHOLDS HIT BY BENEFIT CAP REVEALED
The City of Edinburgh Council area has seen a rise of 302% in the number of households being affected by the UK government’s new benefit cap, new analysis by the Scottish Greens has revealed. Continue reading Greens reveal extent of benefit cap carnage
Alison Johnstone MSP, Health & Children spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, has responded to figures showing four times as many children under 13 were prescribed antidepressants last year as just seven years ago. The figures, obtained by BBC Scotland, show that last year 252 children aged 12 and under were given antidepressants while in 2009/10 it was 57. Continue reading More children on antidepressants: Greens comment
As tens of thousands of visitors descent on Edinburgh for the festival season, new analysis by Andy Wightman MSP shows that £10.6million of taxes are being avoided this year due to the boom in private homes being let out as holiday accommodation. Continue reading City losing out during festival boom, say Greens
Alison Johnstone, Health and Social Care spokesperson for the Scottish Greens and MSP for Lothian, said NHS Lothian’s overspend on care services of £1m a month highlights the need to raise more funds to meet the growing demand for social care services. Continue reading Lothian social care overspend shows need for funds, say Greens
The Scottish Greens will today (22 June) set out to amend the Child Poverty Bill as it comes before the Scottish Parliament’s social security committee. Continue reading Scottish Greens move to bolster Child Poverty Bill
Alison Johnstone MSP, Social Security spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, has urged the UK Government to urgently reconsider its cap on Child Tax Credits for more than two children. Continue reading Two child cap: Johnstone urges rethink
A report detailing the scale of the problem with ‘short-term lets’ in Scotland’s capital has been published by Green MSP Andy Wightman.
The publication by the Scottish Greens’ housing spokesperson shows there are more than 6200 properties available in Edinburgh for short term letting and that more than half of these are entire homes where the owner is not present.
A number of key issues with short term lets are also spelled out, including anti-social behaviour, loss of community, displacing available housing, the avoidance of non-domestic business rates and property security.
Lothian MSP, Andy Wightman MSP said: “I am calling for new powers to enable councils to plan and regulate the use of residential property for short term lets. Many constituents have contacted me in recent months to raise their concerns about the widespread growth of this sector in their communities. It is clear that we need to find a simple solution and one such way is through the introduction of new Use Class Orders in the planning system.
“To stimulate debate and greater awareness of the problem, I am delighted to be publishing the first in a series of briefing papers (below) on the topic.”
20170403 – Briefing Paper on Short Term Lets v.FINAL-1
Welfare cuts taking effect today (1 April) will remove money from some of the poorest Scots and undermine efforts to reduce child poverty, say the Scottish Greens. Continue reading Greens warn on April welfare changes
New councillors elected in May face major challenges and need to focus on improving long-term planning, says the Accounts Commission.
In its 2017 overview published today, the local government spending watchdog outlines a long-term decline in Scottish Government real terms funding which makes up around 60 per cent of council income.
At the same time, there continue to be increasing pressures on services, particularly in social care and education which together account for over 70 per cent of council spending.
The report says councils overall have maintained or improved their performance in the face of these challenges. However, public satisfaction is declining and complaints are increasing. Looking ahead, they need to better involve their communities in service design and deliver.
There are wide variations between councils. Some have grasped the nettle in finding new ways to provide services more efficiently. Others have been slower off the mark. Councils have made savings by cutting jobs but half of them still don’t have organisation-wide workforce plans.
Councils must learn more from each other and collaborate better to improve services and reduce costs.
Councillors elected in May must have the necessary training and tools to do an increasingly complex job determining local priorities, overseeing delivery of essential services and working in partnership with other public bodies to improve outcomes for communities and individuals.
Ronnie Hinds, deputy chair of the Accounts Commission, said: “New councillors will require time to settle in and develop skills to make strategic plans, consider options for service delivery and scrutinise how well this is happening in practice.
“But they have four years ahead of them, and they need to plan effectively for the longer term, work with their communities to decide key priorities and then make that plan happen.
“We hope our report is helpful to councillors and officers as they strive to maintain or improve services for the public with reduced resources.”
The report: nr_170307_local_government_performance
The Scottish Greens have commented on the report. Andy Wightman, the Scottish Greens’ local government spokesperson, said:
“Audit Scotland is right to highlight these challenges. The Scottish Greens are committed to strengthening local democracy in Scotland and that’s why we led a debate on the subject only a few months ago. We will also be publishing proposals later this week on a fiscal framework that details how the financial relationship between Holyrood and local government can be improved.
“The six Green MSPs, who were elected on a manifesto pledge to campaign to devolve decisions and budgets to a more local level, will continue to call for councils to have more powers to implement new structures for local democratic participation.”
