We launched our whole budget today. We have sent it around 3000 groups and individuals to both let them know what we are about and to ask for their views and I did press work to follow it up.We may be in opposition but we still have a vision for the City that reflects our values and our priorities. We left the present administration an award-winning city of low unemployment, a strong economy, clean streets, successful schools, and with a great record of investment in green spaces, roads, arts, creativity, and services for the vulnerable, the young and the old.
Our alternative budget for Edinburgh would keep that record strong and sustainable. Budgets are about choices. These would be some of our choices.
By cutting waste and reducing bureaucracy at the centre, along with careful use of the resources available, the Edinburgh Labour Budget would provide support for
Our schools, investing in our young people by:
- Preserve school based budgets, not cutting them as the LibDem/SNP administration already have
- Creating ‘School Based Trusts’ to build 5 new schools
- Increasing the money available for school building maintenance
- Increasing support for School and Pupil Councils to £100,000 , not cutting it like the LibDems/SNP
- Continued support for the Youngedinburgh programme
The vulnerable, being there for our citizens in their hour of need by:
- Investing £3m of new money for home helps and other individual care packages
- Restoring the £750,000 of cuts in home care made by the LibDem/SNP administration
- Increasing spending on young people with learning difficulties by £750,000
- Restoring cuts to the voluntary sector grants budget
- Protecting Community Learning and Development from the LibDem/SNP proposed £833,000 of cuts
Our economy, building on the 50,000 jobs we helped create in 10 years by:
- Creating a single ‘Edinburgh Bureau’ for inward investment and marketing
- Creating a ‘Princes Street Trust’ to re–invigorate shopping and bring homes into the many un-used upper floors on Princes Street
- Investing a further £20m in roads and pavements
- Investing in more affordable homes
- Restoring cuts made to supported bus services
- Investing in cycling in the city
- Investing additional money in the International Festival
- Investing in the Kings Theatre
- Refurbishing Glenogle baths
- Investing an additional £19.5m in National and Regional sports facilities and the Royal Commonwealth Pool
And much more beside… we have the vision, the political will, and we have the experience. We know what needs to be done, and how it can be done, to keep Scotland’s Capital strong and safe, caring and creative.
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2 comments:
Like reading the blog Ewan.
You keep talking about "investing" in this, "creating" that and "restoring cuts" planned for particular areas...
One question though - where is the money coming from for all of this?
Your alternative budget is laudable - but its something the SNP have been doing in opposition for years. Your sums don't have to add up in opposition, but they do when you are in power. And that is something which you are painfully aware of.
Best,
Andy
Andy
nice to hear from you. Good questions. Its really all about choices. We know what has been allocated for Edinburgh and so we've made choices based on that number. We have also suggested savings in for example, management structures, some areas of procurement and reducing spending in other central areas (comms. travel etc).
The full details will be available on Thursday.
The sums do add up and they did so when we were in power also. We left the present administration £52m in the bank and ways of dealing with projected overspends, (which is what they faced and not teh same as having spent the money and not had any left) as we had done for the last 23 years. But they chose to do things their way and that's why they are now seen as an administration who who cut whatever the cost
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