Edinburgh Labour publish their budget proposals

The council’s Budget Meeting takes place next Thursday 9 February 2012. We cannot yet produce a copy of the agenda for you as it is not yet on the Council website.

But in keeping with their actions at this time last year, the Edinburgh Labour Group has published its budget proposals ahead of all the other political groups. So while this document is titled an amendment, it is really a set of counter-proposals to whatever the LibDem/SNP administration, or the Tories or Greens produce over the next few days. When quizzed about it this morning at the full council meeting, the Council Leader, Jenny Dawe, would not say exactly when the administration budget would be published for the other groups to examine, instead saying that it would be published “as soon as possible.”

So what do the Labour Group have to say about how roughly £1bn should be spent in the year to come?

Well in spite of the backdrop of the Scottish Government cutting cash available to local government, the Labour Group want to ensure that all council workers and external contract workers receive the minimum wage of £7.20 per hour.

They mention the money spent (or in their view wasted) on the Alternative Business Model proposal, which amounts to £4.25m according to their calculations along with unquantified sums spent in-house. One of the recurring proposals in the Labour Budget is the introduction of a Cooperative Model which aims to set up a Cooperative Development Unit to run a variety of council services on a joint basis, which they think will provide best value.

Writing on the STV website, Councillor Ricky Henderson explained why they would like to use this model:-”Co-operative models are now being developed to good effect throughout the UK and the time is right to bring together citizens, tax payers, communities and workers to establish new methods of service delivery that empowers people to do what they think is best for their community, with Council support, rather than the Council adopting a “we know best” approach. To that end we will establish a Co-operative Development Unit that will develop and support co-operative models of service delivery.”

Labour have also found £826,000 which they believe needs to be reinstated to ensure that Voluntary Sector Grants are maintained at current levels, £740,000 for Edinburgh Leisure and £550,000 for library services to ensure Sunday opening.

In an effort to ensure that all school leavers are looked after and given a real future, they advocate spending £2million on Employability Services, £3.1m on schools maintenance and £1.2m to Neighbourhood Partnerships which they hope will allow real consultation on local issues.

And how do they propose making savings to ensure they have the money to do all of this? They want to manage absenteeism among employees, and they also intend restructuring Senior Management positions in the council. They also want the whole budget process reexamined to ensure it is the best way to set spending limits.

Finally they generally recommend a new cooperative approach to local government to preserve spending on frontline services.

So what do you think? Would this parcel of proposals work?

The full budget proposals are as follows:-

The City of Edinburgh Council

9^th February 2012

REVENUE BUDGET 2012- 2013

CAPITAL INVESTMENT PROGRAMME 2012- 2016

HOUSING REVENUE ACCOUNT AND CAPITAL PROGRAMME 2012- 2013

LABOUR GROUP AMENDMENT

1. AVAILABLE RESOURCES

Council agrees that the protection of front line services remains an important priority, and acknowledges that every effort should be made to rationalise back-office functions.

Council further agrees that economic regeneration is vital to ensuring Edinburgh’s prosperity and future prospects; and recognises the Council’s duty to lead on both issues.

Therefore Council notes:

• The current budget position as contained within today’s report/s.

• The imbalance in revenue resources over the next 3 years due to the allocation of funding from the Scottish Government.

• That future years will be extremely challenging based on current allocations / forecasts.

2. SERVICE PRIORITIES

Council now agrees:

• That the introduction of the Living Wage of £7.20 per hour for Council workers is necessary to ensure social and economic justice and will also support the local economy.

• To plan for the payment of the Living Wage to be a condition of future contracts with external suppliers.

• That in future the highest paid Council employee shall earn no more than 12 times the salary of the lowest paid Council worker.

• To establish a “PSC / Service Improvement Fund (Spend to Save)” of £11million to develop Council services and achieve efficiency savings; whilst noting that some £4.25million of abortive expenditure, plus extensive internal costs, has been sunk on the abandoned privatisation alternative.

• To establish a “Co-operative Development Unit” (CDU) with an initial fund of £250,000. This unit will be resourced by the redeployment of senior staff from elements of service restructuring; noting that this restructuring has been called for in the previous 4 Labour Group Budget Amendments.

• The CDU will work with Council departments, communities and partner organisations to develop sustainable co-operative models which will deliver excellent public services in a cost effective and cooperative manner. (i.e. childcare, renewable energy production, housing)

• That £3.44million funding in 2012/13 will go towards the ‘Change Funds for Health and Social Care and Early Years’, to support the wider alignment of budgets on a preventative basis, with provision of £6.88million by 2014/15.

• To reinstate £826,000 of Voluntary Sector funding to ensure that all Voluntary Sector Grants are maintained at current levels, throughout 2012/13.

• Funding of £740,000 to Edinburgh Leisure for specified works and services.

• To reinstate £550,000 to the Libraries Service, which would secure existing Sunday opening hours.

• To allocate £2million towards Employability Services in the city, ensuring that every school-leaver has a positive employment/education destination, and agrees to review the effectiveness and deliverability of these services in view of their importance to jobs and economic success.

• To call for an urgent report, within 2-cycles, on all potential solutions to provide long-term stability for the funding of these Employability Services/Programmes.

• That, recognising the need for ongoing schools maintenance, an additional ‘School Fabric Repairs’ fund of £3.1million is established.

• That an additional investment fund of £1.2million is allocated to Neighbourhood Partnerships (doubling their existing discretionary spend) and those local communities are thus fully consulted on the best use of these one-off resources for infrastructure or community improvements, and also local co-operative developments, such as:

1. roads and footways improvements (Right First Time [RFT])
2. expansion of ‘Real Time Information’ for local bus services
3. cycling infrastructure improvements
4. local Play facilities
5. local Sports Pavilions
6. local Community Centre facilities

3. PROPOSED SAVINGS

Council further agrees to the following areas of significant saving:

a.    Restructuring of Senior Management (Heads of Service) Posts

b.    Reduction in the Q.I.O. Teams

c.    Removal of various Council Publications

d.    Absenteeism management

4. CONTINUED INVESTMENT

Council notes this budget allows the following areas of continued investment:

a.    Nursery, Primary, Secondary and Special Schools

b.    Health and Social Care Services for the Old and Vulnerable

c.    Voluntary Sector, and third-party, grant support

d.    Sport and Physical Activity services

e.    Neighbourhood Services and local infrastructure

f.     Libraries

5. FUTURE BUDGET DEVELOPMENT

Council notes that the budget process is an internal exercise which culminates in the setting of the Council’s budget in mid-February each year. Spending plans are set for at least 12 months and sometimes up to 3 years.

Council agrees to establish a new Council Budget Committee to improve the scrutiny, and effectiveness, of the budget process. The proposed committee would be made up of Councillors and external groups representing wider civic society in the city. Such a dedicated budget committee could radically improve scrutiny and transparency of the budget setting process.

6. POLITICAL CHOICE

Council thus agrees to develop the concept of a ‘Co-operative Council’, positively promoting local decision-making, and rejecting the now, failed privatisation alternative.

Council thus acknowledges that this budget has focused on proposed areas of targeted savings to enable both continued investment in essential front line public service priorities, and the achievement of longer-term sustainable savings.

7. ADDITIONAL APPROVALS

Council notes the following:

1. Report no. CEC/86/11-12/PS and CEC/87/11-12/PS by the Director of Corporate Governance, setting out the overall resources available for revenue expenditure.
2. Report no. CEC/??? by the Director of Corporate Governance setting out the proposals for funding services from third parties in 2012/13.
3. Report no. CEC/88/11-12/PS and CEC/??? by the Director of Corporate Governance setting out the overall position on capital resources for the period 2012 – 2016.
4. A further report will be submitted to seek approval of revised charges for Council services, the outcomes of which are contained in Annex 1 to this amendment.

Council approves the following:

1. The revenue budget set out in the reports, subject to the adjustments set out in Annex 1 to this amendment.
2. The 2012 – 2016 capital budget as set out in reports CEC/88/11-12/PS and CEC/??? by the Director of Corporate Governance.
3. The Council Tax and Rating Resolutions as set out in Annex 2 to this amendment.
4. The recommendations contained in report CEC/??? by the Director of Services for Communities to increase rents by 7.9% in line with the agreed rent strategy in the HRA approved business plan.

            Signature of Proposer ……………………………………………………

            Signature of Seconder ……………………………………………………

Council to ask Justice Minister for rethink on abolition of prison visiting committees

Councillors decided today to approve a motion lodged by Councillor Joanne Mowat asking the Chief Executive to write to the Justice Secretary about his recent moves to abolish prison visiting committees. The members of prison visiting committees are approved by the council, so it was right that it should be discussed in this forum, even if it is a government matter.

“Council:

i. notes the recent decision of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice to abolish prison visiting committees thereby removing independent monitoring of Scottish penal institutions from the landscape;

ii. regrets this decision and will seek to join with others to campaign to retain independent monitoring of Scottish penal institutions;

iii. instructs the Chief Executive to write on behalf of the Council to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice outlining our concerns andasking for him to re-consider his decision.

Changes to Waste Collection in South & South West Edinburgh

Waste collection days are set to change for 7000 households and 200 trade waste customers in the South and South West neighbourhoods of Edinburgh.

As part of the Council’s Environment Service Improvement Plan, those areas which previously had a four-day week collection schedule will move to a five-day week, meaning some areas will now have a different collection day.

The changes, which will come into effect from Monday 6 February 2012, will affect green domestic waste bins only; there will be no change to the collection days for any other waste collection or recycling services.

A small number of trade waste customers will also be affected by the change.

Letters will be sent to all households highlighting their new collection day or residents can visit the website to find out if their street is affected. Trade waste customers will be informed by telephone and letter.

Those who receive extra help with their collection will continue to receive this on their new collection day and do not need to do anything else.

Councillor Robert Aldridge, Environment Leader, said: “The Council is determined to deliver a 21st Century, customer focused waste collection service which provides good value for the Council taxpayers in Edinburgh.

“This change is part of this process and if residents have any concerns or questions regarding the new service please contact Waste Services on 0131 529 3030 or emailwaste@edinburgh.gov.uk.”

LIVEBLOG – Council meeting 2 February 2012

The Council meets this morning for its first proper meeting of the year. The Agenda is a lengthy one, and we shall update you live here. The hashtag is #edincouncil so send us your tweets and they will be included in the timeline. Or you can add your comments below.

Just before the meeting began the deputation from Leith Waterworld met Green Councillor, Alison Johnstone outside the City Chambers. They have a petition of more than 6,000 signatures which they will hand over to the council this morning.

Council clamping down on off-licences

The City of Edinburgh Council is calling time on new off licences in a bid to help beat the nation’s drinking culture.

The Council wants to limit the number of off-licences in the capital, which is currently home to 412 stores – around one for every 1,000 residents.

The “radical” move is being considered as part of a drive to cut down on cheap booze in the city.

Deadline News has more…

Council to be asked about saving Waverley Market

One of the questions tabled for this Thursday’s council meeting relates to the property ‘owned’ by the council next to Waverley Station. This has been lodged by Green Party Councillor, Alison Johnstone, who represents the Meadows/Morningside ward. The councillor has a dual role, as she also represents Lothian Region as an MSP, perhaps one reason for the matter coming to her attention.

The Reporter spoke to Councillor Johnstone about the possibility of the site being transferred to its current owner, Sir David Murray’s property group, for something under £1. The position is that the lease of the common good land was bought by Murray’s company for a price tag of  over £35m, although the council does not receive anything by way of rent due to the kind of lease used.

Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian region, said:-

“The Scottish Government has re-introduced its Long Leases Bill, which fell in the last Session of Parliament when it ran out of time. In a nutshell, the Bill will see any lease of over 175 years with at least 100 years to run automatically convert into full ownership.

“One such lease is that of Edinburgh’s Waverley Market site – better known as the land with the Princes Mall currently on it. The land is owned by the City of Edinburgh Council and is leased for a penny a year to a multimillionaire. The lease runs for 206 years, expiring in 2188.

“No-one reading this will be around in 2188, but when times are as tough as they are now, the City Council should be protecting the city’s valuable assets for the future rather than allowing a prime site, worth tens of millions of pounds, to transfer into private hands for a few pence.

“I’ve asked the Council to agree to write to the parliamentary committee looking into this and ask for an exemption for the Waverley Market, as it belongs to the city and its’ people. My hope is that my motion will receive unanimous support.”

The question before the council is as follows:-

Labour still digging for details of ABM proposal

Last month the council convened a special meeting to discuss whether they would enter into any privatisation arrangements with the facilities management firm MITIE, as was widely anticipated. The council voted against privatisation of any kind. But, proving that ABM, or privatisation, is actually not yet quite over, Labour Group Leader, Councillor Andrew Burns, has lodged the following question for this Thursday’s meeting:-

“Can the Council Leader provide a full breakdown of the costs incurred (to include an overall total) by the Council in developing the Alternative Business Model (ABM) Programme, from inception in February 2009 through to cessation in January 2012?”

Speaking to The Reporter, Councillor Burns explained the reasoning behind the group’s question:-

“For over two years Council Officers were fully authorised by the SNP/Lib-Dem Administration, who run the Council, to pursue their privatisation programme which could have seen vital public services transferred to the private sector.

Whilst I welcomed the SNP’s last-minute change-of-heart, and their support for Labour’s consistent opposition to this outsourcing programme, it did come after nearly £4million of local tax-payers’ money had been sunk into pursuing this failed option.”

The agenda for this week’s council meeting includes several questions lodged by councillors. You can read the agenda below and we will be updating the proceedings live from the Council Chamber on Thursday morning from 10a.m.

Agenda_020212-2

Filed under City of Edinburgh Council, News · Tagged with ABM, Edinburgh, privatisation, The City of Edinburgh Council

Police Board appeal for volunteers

January 30, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment 

A call for volunteers to independently assess the welfare of people in police custody and advise on equality issues within the local community has been issued by the Lothian and Borders Police Board.

Applications are being taken for Custody Visitor posts and Lay Diversity Adviser posts from people of all walks of life who are interested in making a difference to their community.

Lay Diversity Advisers are independent members of the community who monitor and scrutinise police investigations of hate crime and influence police strategy and operations in relation to diversity and equality.

Custody Visitors are also independent members of the local community who visit police stations unannounced to observe, monitor and report on the welfare of people held in custody.

Both play a vital role in helping to uphold and encourage public confidence by scrutinising police activities – whether in their dealings with people in custody or with minority groups.

Councillor Iain Whyte, Convenor of the Lothian and Borders Police Board, said: “These roles are vital in helping the Police Board monitor, assess and improve both equality and custody welfare issues.  We need independent visitors to make sure everything is done in a correct and proper manner in the custody suites and to ensure the welfare of those in police custody.”

“These volunteers represent the wider public and help us make sure that the police live up to their duty of care to everyone in all our communities.”

Rakesh Joshi has been a Custody Visitor since April 2010 and visits police stations across the Lothian and Borders area to assess the conditions of detainees.

He said: “For the detainee, whether being held for the first time or more than once, it can be a very traumatic and difficult period. Having a ‘regular joe’ coming to talk to them can make them feel that little bit more at ease with their situation, making the custody experience more bearable for both detainee and more routine for custody staff.

“For myself I always feel I have made a difference after speaking to the detainee, leaving them thinking that they are being cared for by custody staff and also people outside the four walls of a custody suite. They are not just being brushed aside and forgotten about.”

An information event will be held on Tuesday 31 January at 7pm at the City Chambers, High Street, Edinburgh for those interested in becoming Lay Diversity Advisers. A further event for Custody Visitors will be held on Saturday 4 February at 10am at the City Chambers.

Lay Diversity Advisers Scheme

Applicants can register their interest by sending an email to policeboard@edinburgh.gov.uk, calling the Police Board on 0131 529 4240 or downloading an Application Pack.

The Application Form, Equalities Monitoring Form and Advertising Feedback Form can also be downloaded for completion electronically.

The closing date for applications is Wednesday 15 February 2012.

Custody Visiting Scheme

Applicants can register their interest by sending an email to policeboard@edinburgh.gov.uk or calling the Police Board on 0131 529 4121 or downloading an Application Pack.

The Application Form, Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form and Advertising Feedback Form can also be downloaded for completion electronically.

The closing date for applications is Wednesday 15 February 2012.

Filed under City of Edinburgh Council, News · Tagged with Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders Police Board, The City of Edinburgh Council, volunteers

Decision on Absence management referred to council

January 24, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment 

The Council’s Policy & Strategy Committee deferred the decision on the main item on their agenda this morning which was to approve a new way of managing staff absences. Instead, the matter has now been deferred to the remit of the full council who meet on 2 February 2012.

This potentially exposed the council to having no policy on staff absence for a period of three days, but they have now confirmed that the old policy will extend until a decision is made on a new way of dealing with absentees.

This is an important matter as the current level of absences among council staff costs over £1m. There has been a pilot scheme running since November and administered by an external absence management company, Firstcare. During the meeting it became clear that this is being run on a no win no fee basis, and that there will be no fee payable by the council unless FirstCare make a saving for the council of at least 10% of the cost of the absences. But it was also clear that the unions have some gripes about the appointment of Firstcare to run the pilot in the first place.

The report on Managing Attendance Procedure is a long one. The basics are that it intends improving the rate of absence among council employees, and allow a process for terminating employment if absence persists. This is coupled with the twin aims of saving money and also ensuring that the council continues to deliver its key services.

This whole matter has been discussed between the council and the unions for some time, and Councillor Wheeler said on two occasions during the meeting that he was disappointed that the unions waited till now to air their grievances. As mentioned above, part of the unions’ objections related to the way that the pilot scheme had been awarded. The deputation alleged that there was some dubiety over the procurement process, particularly as to whether there had been public advertisement and what the details of the successful bid were.  Agnes Petkevicius, speaking for UNISON, admitted that there is a scheduled meeting with the Chief Executive of the council arranged for 10 February to discuss this matter further.

Even though the Director of Corporate Governance, who was in attendance at the meeting, suggested an alternative wording to ensure that the whole process would be subject to managerial discretion, the committee still decided to leave the final word to the whole council on 2 February. The Director of Corporate Governance, Alistair MacLean, pointed out that the current Council policy on staff absence runs out on 30 January.

Agnes Petkevicius of UNISON said after the meeting:-”It was good that a debate took place, we will be seeking an early meeting with the Administration, seeking clarity on some of the questions asked and responses given as they differed from the information that was provided to us.

The trade unions recognise the importance of members being at work, we value public services – we deliver them, we recognise the impact on services and colleagues if someone is off but we also recognise that people are off for a variety of reasons which are unavoidable – it would be great if we never experienced any ill health – but it is about being supportive in working with people to ensure attendance at work. “

While this matter took up the first hour  this morning the council have published a press release about their new policy on using sustainable timber  which was approved on the nod by the committee.

One other matter which attracted some discussion was the request for permission for the Council Leader, Jenny Dawe, to attend and address MIPIM, which is the Property Development conference held in Cannes annually. The Green Group leader requested that the Council leader looks carefully at her travel arrangements to ensure that she uses the most environmentally friendly method of getting to Cannes from Edinburgh, suggesting that she uses the TGV rather than flying.  Despite opposition from the Labour Group who felt that as four members of staff were already going there was no need for the council leader to go too, the approval was given, and Councillor Dawe will go to the conference on behalf of the Council.

 

Filed under City of Edinburgh Council, News · Tagged with Edinburgh, The City of Edinburgh Council

New sustainable policy favoured by Edinburgh Council

January 24, 2012 by admin · 1 Comment 

The City of Edinburgh Council is top of the tree among Scottish local authorities after approving new sustainable procurement and timber policies.

 

Today the Council’s Policy and Strategy Committee agreed to sign up to a WWF pledge to ensure it only purchases timber and wood-derived products from sustainable and legal sources.

 

There are three levels of pledge – gold, silver and bronze – and the council is the first Scottish local authority to make the gold WWF pledge.

 

The detailed report for the new Sustainable Procurement Policy and new Sustainable Timber Policy details how the council will ensure it buys goods in a way that brings about social and economic benefits whilst minimising environmental damage.

 

The WWF initiative is asking local authorities across the country to make a commitment to only buy wood products, including paper, furniture, fencing and doors, which come from recycled and certified sources, such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

 

The council will set up a recording and monitoring system to ensure forest products procured meet the requirements of its new Sustainable Timber Policy.

 

WWF research shows that many local authorities are unaware that the source of the timber they use could be supporting the unsustainable and illegal timber trade. This threatens rainforests, and contributes to illegal logging resulting in habitat loss for species such as orangutans, and threatening the livelihood and well being of communities who rely on the forests in places such as Indonesia and the Congo Basin.

 

Councillor Robert Aldridge, Environment Leader, said: “We are determined that the City of Edinburgh Council meets the highest possible environmental standards.

“By adopting the WWF’s gold pledge, Edinburgh will be leading the way in Scotland, to safeguard sustainable forestry and combat illegal logging, and so protecting our environment for future generations.”

 

Dr Richard Dixon, Director of WWF Scotland, said: “By joining up to the pledge, the City of Edinburgh Council is helping to set the standard which all local authorities can follow. If local government, businesses or even consumers buy any wood or paper products that aren’t certified then they could, unwittingly, be helping fuel unsustainable and illegal logging activities across the globe.

 

“Buying FSC certified or equivalent products is the only way to be certain that the interests of the forests, the species that live in them, and the people that rely on them to make a living are being considered.”

Filed under City of Edinburgh Council, News · Tagged with Edinburgh, sustainable, The City of Edinburgh Council, timber, WWF

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