Tag: sta

Edinburgh’s plans for Visitor Levy housing spend approved

City councillors have agreed the first spend programme for funding raised by the Edinburgh Visitor Levy.

Members of the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee approved plans for the £5m Housing and Tourism Mitigation Fund, which could help deliver 472 affordable homes between 2026/27 and 2028/29, with more than 75% potentially available for social rent.

Making more social rent homes available would allow households currently using unsuitable temporary accommodation, such as bed and breakfasts, to access more appropriate settled accommodation. This would return B&Bs to their intended uses of shorter-term guests.

It is expected the Fund would support three new build developments – at Fountainbridge, Meadowbank and Coatfield Lane in Leith – with around 361 social rented homes and around 111 mid-market rent homes.

The investment is subject to approval from Council at the budget meeting on 26 February 2026. If it proceeds, the performance of the delivery programme will be reported to the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee on an annual basis.

Edinburgh’s Visitor Levy scheme was formally agreed in January 2025.

The levy applies to paid overnight accommodation booked after 1 October 2025, if the stay takes place from 24 July 2026 onwards. It is a 5% payment on the accommodation-only cost and applies to the first five nights’ stay.

The scheme is projected to raise up to £50 million a year to invest in developing, supporting and sustaining services for visitors to the city, and enhancing Edinburgh’s worldwide appeal as a place to visit and live.

Council Leader Jane Meagher said: “Many of those working in our city’s thriving visitor economy and cultural sectors are often unable to find affordable housing in the city, making it difficult for them to live close to where they work.

“In addition, the Council has declared a housing emergency, with more and more people presenting as homeless and not enough social homes available to meet this demand, and so too many residents have to use temporary accommodation, often in bed and breakfasts or hotels, taking vital capacity away from what should be tourist accommodation.

“That’s why it’s so important that this new funding is being committed towards a Housing and Tourism Mitigation Fund, which will be used alongside our existing investment programme for house building.

“This will ensure affordable homes are available for visitor economy workers in the city and means that bed and breakfast and hotel rooms can be used for their intended purpose – to welcome visitors to Edinburgh.

“This is the first fully agreed use of the Edinburgh Visitor Levy’s funds and will help deliver our objectives of developing, supporting and sustaining the quality public services and infrastructure that Scotland’s capital city must deliver for all visitors, residents and businesses.”

The money generated by the Visitor Levy scheme will be reinvested directly into initiatives that benefit residents and enhance visitor experiences.

In addition to housing, the investment streams include: city operations; destination and visitor management; culture, heritage and events; and a participatory budgeting programme, which will further allow residents and communities to have a say in how investment can be made to enhance the visitor experience in their area.

These investment streams are being developed by officers, and the Visitor Levy Advisory Forum will be consulted on all proposals. The proposals will be presented for final approval from relevant Council committees in January and February 2026.

Fiona Campbell MBE, Chief Executive, Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers and Vice Chair of Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) Policy Group said: “The ASSC fully supports the delivery of more affordable housing but this is not the right way to go about it.

!The levy was meant to support visitor infrastructure and services, not fund housing projects. Tourism businesses are once again being scapegoated for issues far beyond their making. 

“It is deeply regrettable that Edinburgh Council now lays itself open to further avoidable legal and reputational damage. Instead of brushing aside reasonable concerns, the Council should listen to industry partners who will ultimately be the ones administering their visitor levy scheme.

“We urge the Council to halt these plans immediately until the legal risk has been properly evaluated.”

Half of children and teens exposed to harmful online content

  • 47% of teens say they have seen content online they wish they hadn’t seen while in lockdown, and one in eight (13%) see harmful videos everyday
  • 14 year olds see the most harmful content, with a quarter saying they see inappropriate videos every day.
  • The BBFC website and free app contains ratings info and age ratings so parents can help their children make informed viewing choices.

New research by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has shown that children and teens are being exposed to harmful or upsetting content while in lockdown, often on a daily basis.

The research, carried out by YouGov, has revealed that in lockdown, nearly half (47%) of children and teens have seen content they’d rather avoid, leaving them feeling uncomfortable (29%), scared (23%) and confused (19%).

One in eight (13%) said they see harmful content daily while in lockdown, with 14 year olds exposed to the most. A quarter (24%) of 14 year olds say they see harmful content on a daily basis.

This comes as more than half (53%) parents say they haven’t spoken to their children about their increased time online during lockdown, with a third (29%) saying they didn’t think those chats would make a difference.

The BBFC is encouraging parents to talk to their children about what content they might be watching online during lockdown, as 60% of children say they have approached their parents to chat after seeing content that has upset or disturbed them while they’ve been online in lockdown.

Parents, and young people, can check out age ratings and ratings info to find out what content might contain on the BBFC website and app. The BBFC also has a wide range of educational resources to help parents homeschool their children during lockdown available on their website, and on their children’s website cbbfc.  

The research also shows that 82% of parents, and three quarters (73%) of children want to see trusted BBFC age ratings and ratings info displayed on user generated content platforms like YouTube, so they can avoid content that might upset or disturb them.

95% of parents said they want age ratings on user generated content platforms linked to parental filters. The BBFC is therefore calling on platforms to consider using BBFC age ratings for their content, and for uploaders of user generated content to age rate their content which could then be linked to parental filters.

David Austin, Chief Executive of the BBFC, said: “This research shows that during the lockdown parents can make a real difference to their children’s risks online if they talk about how to avoid potentially distressing and inappropriate content. 

“We’re supporting parents to help their children to navigate the online world safely, and both our website and children’s website cbbfc, contain a wealth of free educational resources including ones we have developed with the PHSE Association.

“But platforms have a role to play as well. What a difference it would make, for example, if YouTube had well known, trusted BBFC age ratings created by those uploading or watching the video, that parents and young people recognise from the cinema, DVD and Blu-ray and Netflix, linked to filters. Now more than ever we need to work together to protect children online by giving them the information they need to choose content well.”

This research supports the Government’s recognition of the need to help families stay safe online, with guidance recently issued containing the four-point plan including: reviewing security and safety settings; checking facts and guarding against disinformation; being vigilant against fraud and scams; and managing the amount of time spent online.