Edinburgh confirms council tax rise of 8%

Edinburgh councillors have agreed budget which will see council tax rise by 8% and increases in charges for many services, but promising new funding for road safety and no cuts to transition teachers.

It comes after 11th-hour negotiations led to a deal between the Labour administration and the Conservative and Liberal Democrat groups.

Presenting the budget, Labour councillor Mandy Watt said: “This administration has put forward a balanced budget that prioritises areas that residents say they care about, while staying true to the council’s core commitment of tackling poverty and climate change.”

Scotland

Councils confirm tax hikes of up to 10%

A nationwide freeze ends in April meaning local authorities can increase the levy by however much they like.

Labour priorities, such as new funding for schools and an investment in temporary accommodation, survived in the compromise budget.

Liberal Democrats meanwhile got £1.6m in new funding for road safety, and blocked cuts to transition teachers and pupil support assistants.

And Conservatives won £1m in funding for reforms to the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board, which delivers health and social care funding.

Further, they secured £0.5m for funding the council’s data analytics team, £0.5m for council enforcement and £0.5m for new funding to support educational attainment.

A notable omission from the budget was substantial new funding for holiday hubs, a respite scheme for the families of pupils with additional support needs.

Deputations earlier in the day had focused on the scheme, with one parent raising the fact that the yearly time available for each student has shrunk from six weeks to two since 2018.

Edinburgh Council’s embattled former leader Cammy Day voted for the compromise budget lodged by the administration.

Meanwhile, Ross McKenzie, an independent councillor who was once in the Labour group, voted for the Green budget.

The group’s budget motion received ten votes in total.

Alex Staniforth, the group’s finance spokesperson, said: “The Green budget this year suggested radical new ways of investing in social housing, saw increased spending on climate and poverty initiatives, and proposed actions to make the city safer for everyone.

“But unfortunately Edinburgh’s Labour administration have once again bowed to their unofficial coalition partners in the Liberal Democrat and Conservative parties, and passed a timid budget devoid of ideas.

“This is a missed opportunity for the people of Edinburgh who – facing a much-needed council tax increase – will expect to see positive changes to the city in return.

“Green proposals to improve accessibility, to build more public toilets, and to secure the future of Gorgie Farm, could all have been accepted if the Labour administration was not so focused on what is best for their own positions rather than the wellbeing of the people they were elected to help.”

Liberal Democrats meanwhile celebrated the budget’s inclusion of their priorities on road safety. The group’s transport spokesperson, councillor Sanne Dijkstra-Downie said: “Edinburgh Council has simply not been doing enough on road safety. We have a long list of pedestrian crossings still to be delivered.

“There is a host of traffic calming measures sitting on a priority list but with no idea of when, or indeed if they will be put in place. The council simply has to do better.

“That’s why the key LibDem priority in this year’s budget was to secure a record sum for road safety. We desperately need new funding to get on top of the backlog of road safety projects across the city, especially those around schools.

“We’re delighted our plan got cross party support and was passed by the Council. Every councillor of every party should be pleased that a record £5.7m will now be allocated this year. The priority now must be to turn this extra funding into delivery on the ground.”