Tag: the facts

City Council: Clarification on Council Housing allocation following media misinformation

Last week, an article in the media and subsequent posts on social media channels, inaccurately reported details about how we prioritise and allocate council housing.

It is important that we address misinformation and set out the facts.

Status of those applying for council housing

  • We cannot house asylum seekers. This is a matter managed by the Home Office, not the Council. 
  • People who have been assessed and granted ‘Leave to Remain’ status by the Home Office have legal rights to services including access to housing and other public services. They are afforded the same process, support and respect as every other applicant.
  • It is entirely false to say people in this position have been prioritised for housing. 
  • We provide advice and assistance to any individual or household who declares themself homeless and this can, but does not always, include the provision of accommodation.

How we prioritise council housing

  • To address the housing emergency in Edinburgh and to reduce the number of people staying in unsuitable temporary accommodation, we temporarily paused the letting of council homes and accelerated our work to bring empty council housing back into use.
  • This has allowed us to prioritise temporary housing for people assessed as legally homeless and to reduce the number of people staying in unsuitable accommodation in accordance with Scottish and UK housing legislation. This does not mean that people in this position have a permanent council house.

Dentists to spell out the facts in private care investigation

The British Dental Association has stressed it will work to ensure the Competition and Markets Authority understand the complex realities of delivering private dentistry.

While launching off the back of requests from the UK Chancellor, the investigation will operate on a four-nation basis.

Official data indicates over 6m adults in England simply prefer private dentistry to NHS care. Thousands of dentists meet this patient need, providing treatment options in mixed NHS-private practices, as well as offering cosmetic dental procedures that are not available on the NHS.

BDA analysis of the dental market indicates that the majority of spending within NHS practices is on private work.

Typical NHS contract holders in England are now delivering items of NHS care at a loss and are reliant on a cross subsidy of over £400 million a year from private activity to break even.

The UK Government has yet to show any sign it is willing to plug the funding gap. Across all four UK nations this funding gap is inevitably putting some pressure on private pricing.

The BDA has criticised the UK Government for falsely claiming it will put money back into voters’ pockets through this investigation.  

It maintains that while high quality and cost-effective private care remains a preferred option for millions, and Government has a responsibility to properly fund NHS care to prevent people being forced into private treatment.

BDA Chair Eddie Crouch said: “The UK Government is attempting to use this inquiry to pretend it is improving access and putting money back into voters’ pockets without spending a penny. 

“We intend to spell out the facts. We will help to show the CMA how private dentistry works. 

“These are services delivering high-quality, cost-effective care that millions of families really value.  

“Those left without options, who have felt forced to go private, are there entirely because of choices made by Government’s across the UK.”