Katharina Kasper, the Chair of the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB), told The Edinburgh Reporter that the board agreed a substantial savings programme for this financial year at its meeting on Tuesday.
Ms Kasper said: “We have agreed something which allows us to have a balanced budget, which is incredibly important for us at the start of the financial year.
“It was achieved by a number of savings proposals – 19 of them in total and all of these fall into different categories. Some are around “grip and control” in terms of how we spend our money. Some are around redesigning some of our services to make sure that they are more efficient. And what we are also doing is were also reviewing and “right-sizing” packages of care to make sure that people are supported to be as independent as they possibly can be, but at the same time they receive the care that they need.”
These are terms used in the papers for the EIJB meeting earlier this week, but without much explanation behind them.
The Edinburgh Reporter countered that it sounds unrealistic to say the EIJB will continue to provide the same care with almost £30 million less to spend. Ms Kasper replied: “That would be absolutely impossible. Such amounts cannot be taken out of a budget without there being some impact on service users.”
Asked who would then lose out Ms Kasper said that rather than thinking that people will lose out some people will get more support more quickly. She said: “Others will be getting – where it is safe for them to do so – potentially less support. But it’s a hugely complex problem and it is impossible to say there will be winners and losers.”
Chair of the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board Katharina Kasper admits there will be “some impact”from the £29 million of cuts to their budget agreed earlier this week
— The Edinburgh Reporter (@edinreporter.bsky.social) 28 March 2025 at 08:47
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As to the £4.5 million which was proposed as a cut to the Third Sector grants programme, the chair said that this programme is coming to an end in summer. She said: “We are looking at alternative ways of commissioning services from the third sector and they are very much a partner in all of this. For some organisations some funding will continue.”
Ms Kasper confirmed that the current grants programme will cease at 30 June this year.
On Friday the City of Edinburgh Council has stepped in to fill at least some of the gap which the EIJB will leave in its wake.
Cllr Tim Pogson the Vice-Chair remarked at the meeting that he thinks the budget setting process has improved markedly over the past few years.
Presenting the savings
Moira Pringle the EIJB Chief Finance Officer explained that the board has to balance its financial plan and warned that not agreeing any of the individual savings at the meeting would have a knock on effect. But she also said that officers realise these proposals are not without impact but the programme of cuts will have “minimal impact on the outcomes for the people of Edinburgh”.
Ms Pringle also said that it is expected that the board will continue to face financial challenges “for the foreseeable future”.
At Tuesday’s meeting the board agreed to make cuts to its budget of £29 million from its budget of £900 million.
The report before the members of the board explained that the savings programme is part of the overarching Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) which aims at taking “a more strategic approach to financial planning”. It is also part of the report that EIJB is – in common with other integration joint boards elsewhere in Scotland – facing a financial crisis, something noted by the Audit Commission which demanded “urgent reform”.
The EIJB said that budgets are being moved into areas of Edinburgh rather than citywide and financial accountability has been strengthened. The board has held seven budget working group meetings and a budget Q&A session before making the decision. After engagement with councillors and members of the Finance and Resources Committee the council allocated an additional £12.5 million earlier this year to help meet the financial gap which EIJB faces.
The savings agreed by the EIJB members were first of all split into two kinds – operational management actions £11.6m) and previously approved savings proposals (£9.8m) and new savings of £7.6 million. The report is embedded below and the various headers are expanded upon.
For example the Prescribing Efficiency Programme is looking to save £5 million by promoting the most cost-effective medicines for patients. Cllr Alys Mumford a member of the board asked about this part of the programme and for “clarity around the numbers”. She was keen to understand that the estimates in the report are accurate. Moira Pringle explained that this is calculated on a national resource allocation, and it was also explained that the pharmacy team have a “strong track record” in delivering savings.
In another cut, the report says that around £300,000 can be saved by keeping a stricter grip on the community equipment provided by the EIJB and the Health Partnership. The focus will be on increasing recycling rates and “enhanced governance”. The number of satellite stores around the city which deals with equipment hire may for example be reduced as part of the savings.
The report is reproduced below.
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
