By 32 votes to 29 it is the Liberal Democrat budget which was passed in the City Chambers in Edinburgh on Thursday afternoon.

The 32 votes cast in favour of the opposition budget is made up of 12 Liberal Democrat councillors, 11 Labour councillors (Cllr Faccenda was called away from the Chamber urgently) and the 9 Conservative councillors. Labour’s own budget fell at the first round of voting so they voted for the Liberal Democrat motion as the least worst solution.

So how will the Labour administration run the council with another party’s budget?

Clearly there will have to be some negotiations over the next few days between at least the Labour group and the Liberal Democrats.

The Council Leader said he has had discussions with every party on the council except the SNP who “have failed to engage with us”.

He said he has a monthly discussion with group leaders on the council but the SNP did not turn up.

Here was the initial reaction from group leaders:

In a shock move it was the Liberal Democrat budget which was approved at the City Chambers on Thursday afternoon.

Following a complicated sequence of voting whereby three elected members from the Greens voted to ensure that the Labour administration motion fell at the first round of voting, it was the Liberal Democrat budget which was eventually supported by 32 votes to 29.

The Green group said they had voted in this manner to save the “Climate Team” which was not included in the administration’s draft budget, but which was included in the Liberal Democrat proposals.

What does this mean? There is a by-election in Corstorphine/Murrayfield where the Liberal Democrat leader has already told The Edinburgh Reporter they are sure to win, and with the resignation of Ross Mackenzie this afternoon from the Labour Group the administration has a slim one councillor majority.

Cllr Alys Mumford, Edinburgh Greens Co-Convenor and Finance spokesperson said: “Our priority throughout this process has been to secure the funding needed to tackle the climate and nature emergency. Our method for this was to engage, openly and honestly, with colleagues across the chamber, and to join with the SNP to present an ambitious, progressive budget.

Last night it became apparent that Labour’s administration had done another dirty deal with their coalition partners in the tories and lib dems – creating a slush fund and allowing them to carve it up between them.

Therefore we took the route available to us, and voted in the way which would ensure that there was a budget left on the table which contained vital climate spending. 

We’re grateful to our colleagues who held their noses and voted to the tories and the lib dems – at great personal cost – for the sake of meeting our climate commitments.”

The Liberal Democrat budget is set out below and will be the governing financial environment which will prevail for the next year.

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Prime Video is coming back to Scotland for a second instalment of supernatural series The Rig, made in Scotland and written by a Scot. 

Helicopters have taken the surviving crew of the Kinloch Bravo to a bold new location, where new dangers await them. 

The crew will have to deal with the emotional and physical fallout of the epic Series One finale and contend with swirling conspiracies, conflicts, and new threats from the dark depths of the world’s oceans it has unleashed.

Series Two of The Rig will continue exploring global themes about the past, present, and future of the planet, all while delivering epic thrills and gripping action for its compelling cast of characters.

Many of the cast will return for Series Two, including Iain Glen (Game of Thrones), Martin Compston (Line of Duty), Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek), Rochenda Sandall (Criminal: UK), Owen Teale (Game of Thrones), Mark Addy (Game of Thrones) Molly Vevers (The Spanish Princess), Abraham Popoola (Cruella), and Stuart McQuarrie (Des), alongside new faces who will join the team.

“The Rig’s popularity around the world is a testament to the fantastic ensemble cast and the vision of the creators—the crew behind the crew,” said Dan Grabiner, head of Originals UK & Northern Europe, Prime Video. “We can’t wait to welcome back Iain, Martin, and Emily, and see what writer and creator David Macpherson has in store for the Kinloch Bravo team next.

“We were thrilled by the audience response to Series One, and can’t wait to dive back in, continuing the journey of our characters with our hugely talented cast and creative team,” said Derek Wax, managing director of Wild Mercury. 

David Macpherson, writer and creator, said: “It was always my aim to build a story that starts in Scotland but speaks to a global audience about global themes.

“In Series Two, I’m looking forward to expanding the world of our show through the eyes of our excellent cast, as we deliver more shocks and thrills and delve deeper into both our characters’ and our show’s expanding original mythology.”

Production returns to FirstStage Studios in Edinburgh with filming due to start later this year. The new series will launch exclusively on Prime Video in over 240 countries and territories.

The executive producers are Derek Wax for Wild Mercury (a Banijay UK company), David Macpherson, and John Strickland. The producer is Suzanne Reid, and the co-producer is Matt Brown.

The Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone, QPM, announced his intention to resign in summer 2023 to the Scottish Police Authority meeting on Thursday.

He is the longest serving Chief Constable with Police Scotland.

This is the second time he has resigned from Police Scotland, having intimated his intention in 2017, only to take up the permanent position as Chief Constable the following year.

Justice Secretary Keith Brown has thanked the Chief Constable for his distinguished leadership of Police Scotland as he prepares to step down.

His decision to retire later this year follows a distinguished period leading the UK’s second biggest force and major policing operations. These included the policing of the Covid pandemic response, the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow and the memorial period throughout Scotland following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.

Justice Secretary Keith Brown said: “I would like to pay tribute and offer my thanks to Sir Iain for his long and distinguished service to Scottish policing. As Chief Constable of Scotland he has led the force through what history will show to be hugely significant events.

“The successful policing of COP26, when the world’s focus was on Glasgow, has been widely applauded as was Police Scotland’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. During that time, officers were praised for their measured and proportionate handling of an unprecedented crisis, and we have Sir Iain to thank for that strategic direction.

“Most recently the sensitive and effective policing operation put in place following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth provided a fitting tribute. Again, Sir Iain can be rightly proud of the strong and inspiring leadership he provided, which drove forward the whole Police Scotland response.

“Sir Iain leaves the second largest force in the UK in great shape as it prepares to mark its tenth anniversary – and that is a fitting and lasting legacy to his life of service.”

UNISON police staff branch secretary Michelle Brewster said: “It is not a surprise that Police Scotland’s chief constable Sir Iain Livingstone is retiring earlier than expected. Police services are facing unsustainable Scottish government cuts, which will set policing back years. I found Sir Iain Livingstone to be honest and genuine and he understood the vital role of police staff in fighting crime and keeping our communities safe.
 
“I would like to wish him all the best in his retirement and thank him for fostering a strong relationship with UNISON. We didn’t always agree but he was determined that we should all work for the good of the communities we serve. We expect the new police chief to follow in his footsteps and to sit down with a new First Minister to set policing on to a more positive way forward.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP said: “Sir Iain Livingstone deserves thanks for his service and dedication to leading Scotland’s police service. He was always approachable and I wish him well for the future. 

“The rate at which Chief Constables and police authority bosses have come and gone over the past decade points to much deeper issues. 

“Problems are hardwired into the structures of Scottish policing as a result of the SNP’s botched centralisation. Ministerial distraction has added to their burden. 

“The police are picking up the pieces of the mental health crisis because NHS services are overwhelmed. We need to recruit a legion of specialist mental health staff to work alongside the police to get people the expert help they need, enabling officers to focus on fighting crime instead of being social workers of last resort. 

“It is time to inject accountability and localism back into policing, transform mental health services, and scrap plans that would repeat the mistakes of centralisation in social care.”

Chief Constable Iain Livingstone, QPM, has announced his retirement from Police Scotland today at a meeting of the Scottish Police Authority.

The 56-year-old took over on an interim basis in 2017, stepped up to a permanent role the following year, and was knighted for his service only earlier this year.

It was in 2017 when he had formally announced his imminent retirement, he had to reconsider that decision quickly on the departure of previous Chief Constable Phil Gormley.

On accepting the permanent role in August 2018 he said then: “I am extremely proud and humbled to be appointed as Scotland’s next Chief Constable. It is a great responsibility and opportunity to lead a 22,000 strong team of dedicated and committed professionals, and to harness their ideas and potential in the service of the people of Scotland. Policing has been my life and the demands on it are developing faster today than at any time in my career. It is my job now to lead and drive change in policing to adapt to those challenges and to build on the values, ethos and traditions of policing in Scotland that first attracted me to this profession 26 years ago.”

In 2021 his tenure was extended to August 2025 but he has decided now is the time to step down.

He told the meeting of the Scottish Police Authority on Thursday morning: “I consider the stability which now exists will endure through and also enable a managed transition to a new chief constable over the coming months. I will work relentlessly to ensure this occurs.”

The Chief Constable who has more than 30 years of service under his belt is to step down in the summer.

The City of Edinburgh Council meets today to set its budget and decide how much everyone living in the city has to pay in council tax which is a part of its funding.

Other neighbouring councils have set an increase of up to almost six per cent. At a time when there are demands by all public service workers for a pay increase, it will be surprising if the council in Edinburgh can retain the increase at just three per cent as it has in the past, and certainly none of the proposals put forward do that.

There will be a whole morning of deputations to the council with these parties confirmed – they will be either presenting their deputation in person or it will be found here in writing –

1. 3.1  NHS Lothian/ Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists(written submission attached)
2. 3.2  EIS Edinburgh Local Association
3. 3.3  Edinburgh TUC
4. 3.4  UNISON
5. 3.5  Trinity Primary School Parent Council (written submission attached)
6. 3.6  Unite CEC Branch

The meeting may go on for quite some time after the deputations have been heard.

The Labour administration published their budget proposals on Wednesday afternoon.

Their paper is very long, but the basics are clear. According to the ruling political group The Scottish Government has underfunded Edinburgh for some years, and the administration proposes to put the council tax up by 5.75%.

Read more here.

The SNP and Green groups on the council got their heads together and have come up with one single budget option. Earlier in the week the SNP though they could introduce a graduated increase in council tax up to 20% on higher bands, but that is no longer on the cards

Read more here.

The Lib Dems also published their own version of what to spend money on and we analysed it here.

The Conservatives have their own views saying that it is the failure of council administrations and COSLA to convince The Scottish Government of the need for “adequate and equitable” funding. The last time the Tories were in power in Edinburgh was some years back, so this makes it a reasonably viable argument, except that every other party is blaming The Scottish Government, (except the SNP Group) and everyone except the Tories is blaming the UK Government for the lack of resources.

Read more here

Rod Stewart tickets on sale today for second show

Tickets for the Edinburgh Castle gig must have sold well as Sir Rod has agreed to a second date on 7 July.

Read more here.

Edinburgh Streetfood takes place this weekend

On Saturday the first year-round seven day a week street food market will open to the public. It is on Leith Street next to the Omni Centre and will be “bold and eclectic” with a 250 seater urban garden. For more information follow @edinburgh_streetfood on Instagram and visit edinburgh-street-food.co.uk.

Sight Scotland holding group meeting next week

Sight Scotland is delighted to announce the launch of its new Community Activity Groups. This new service will aim to reach and engage with more people affected by sight loss in the community, whilst providing a social platform to help combat isolation and loneliness.  

Sight Scotland’s new Community Activity team, which is headed up by Laura Steven in the East and Michael Deadman in the West, recently held an information session for this new service where it invited people affected by sight loss to come along and meet the new team and find out more about what will be on offer. Laura and Michael were especially keen to discuss with clients’ what kinds of groups and activities they want and need. The charity will be running its first Community Activity Group at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh on 27 February 2023. 

Colin Hilditch, Head of Community Services at Sight Scotland, explains “We are delighted to launch our new Activity Groups service. These groups will provide a social platform where members can come along and hopefully enjoy themselves and meet new friends. People with visual impairment can lose their confidence, self-esteem and ability to do many day-to-day activities. This can often result in isolation and loneliness. The launch of this new service gives us another way to engage with and help more people. It has huge potential to make a big difference to people’s lives.” 

The new Sight Scotland Community Activity team are hosting a free social gathering at The Gardener’s Cottage in the Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, on 27 February 2023 from 11am -12pm. This social event is for people with sight loss to come together in a supportive and safe environment to meet new and other visually impaired people in their community. 

For more information visit:https://sightscotland.org.uk/ or call our helpline on 0800 024 8973. 

How to subscribe to The Edinburgh Reporter newspaper

We invite you to support The Edinburgh Reporter by buying a subscription to The Edinburgh Reporter monthly newspaper.

Among others all branches of Farmer Autocare stock our newspapers as well as Birthlink on Lower Gilmore Place, and both Leith and Central Libraries. If you would like to stock our papers then please get in touch.

If you are able to subscribe, then it would help us to keep our online coverage free to access, and also ensure the future of our newspaper for this coming year. And if you do, then thank you very much indeed.

Buy a subscription here or click the image below.

Zack Phillips urged his Fife Flyers team-mates to put thoughts of the Viaplay Challenge Cup final next Wednesday to one side as they seek valuable Elite League points in a tough weekend double-header.

Play-off chasing Flyers, supported by Wolseley, travel to Surrey to face title contenders, Guildford Flames, on Saturday (18.00) and return to The Fife Ice Arena on Sunday (18.00) to meet Viaplay Elite League pace-setters, Belfast Giants.

The Northern Ireland combine are Fife’s opponents in the Viaplay Challenge Cup Final in Belfast on Wednesday, March 1 (19.00), and Phillips said that the squad have had some tough games recently, but Fife have still edged their way back into eighth position in the ten-strong league table and reach the cup final.

The bearded player (pictured courtesy of Fife Flyers and taken by Derek Young v Sheffield Steelers) said: “They are important points (this weekend) and we have showed we can compete with those top teams. We’ll give it our best shot at the weekend and we’ll see how it goes.”

Belfast on Sunday is another massive test and Phillips believes that playing their final opponents will give the squad an indication of where they are and the 30-year-old said: “We have played them a few times this year and we know they are a good team but we will try to show them that we can compete.”

Recent games have seen Fife play another of the title contenders, Sheffield Steelers, on three occasions and now they play two more of the big hitters and Phillips agreed it was good to keep playing high calibre opposition.

The Canadian said: “We played really well against Sheffield in the semi-final, second-leg of the Challenge Cup and confidence is high with the results we had against Sheffield at the weekend and, hopefully, we can carry that into this weekend and then on to Wednesday. “

Phillips is Fife’s top points gatherer this season and has played in 43 games, scoring 18 goals and assisting on 22 other strikes. He does not believe that all the pressure to score is heaped on him and said: “It is a team game and I have had a good year. I’ve been fortunate enough to play with good players and it is not all on me.”

He has maintained his form throughout and Phillips said the secret was that he has been playing the sport for a long time, and is playing with good players including Janne Kivilahti and Mikael Johansson who have helped him accumulate points.

Katie Lockwood has scored four goals in six games since joining Hibs from a Swedish club half-way through the season and she admits she could have had more.

The Huddersfield-supporting, English-born striker would love to bag another as the Easter Road club travel to Tynecastle to face arch rivals Hearts on Sunday (kick-off 13.10) in the Scottish Women’s Premier League.

The game is free because of support from Baillie Gifford and the Capital clubs are separated by only three points.

Victory for fifth-placed Hibs could see them elbow Hearts out of fourth position in the 12-strong table.

Lockwood (pictured courtesy of the Scottish Women’s Premier League and taken by Malcolm Mackenzie) admitted it was a big change switching from Sweden to here but said that she could not refuse the chance to come to Scotland after visiting the set-up at Easter Road.

She said: “It was a really good experience in Sweden and the league is top level over there. I played with some really good players and had a really good coach and it was a different lifestyle.

“I have taken some really good experience from it and they have helped me develop my game.”

Dean Gibson’s squad come into the Capital clash brim full of confidence after a 4-0 victory over East Fife in the fifth round of the women’s Scottish Cup.

That lifted the squad after a 4-0 defeat at Rangers in the league. Prior to that Hibs crushed Glasgow Girls 7-0, and beat Partick Thistle 4-0.

Lockwood looked forward to Sunday’s game with a large crowd expected and she said: “A few players will have some nerves and that can help you, especially if you have fans behind you when you are playing away.” 

Georgia Timms has made personal sacrifices to play play football for Hearts in Edinburgh but she declared: “I am absolutely loving it.”

The club, coaches and players all help to produce a welcoming environment after spells with Oxford United and Lewes in Sussex, but her move north means she is distanced from friends and family.

They are centred around the Cotswolds, a picturesque region in central-southwest England, set in rolling hills.

On Sunday, the 24-year-old (picture courtesy of the Scottish Women’s Premier League and taken by Malcolm Mackenzie) could play a key role as the Jambos aim to create a six-point gap over their Capital rivals, Hibs, in the Scottish Women’s Premier League table.

Currently, Hearts are fourth with 30 points from 18 fixtures while Hibs have climbed to fifth. They have 27 points from 18 games and could go above their city rivals with a win at Tynecastle on Sunday. Hearts have a goal difference of seven and Hibs are on nine.

The game kicks-off at 13.10 and is also for the Capital Cup, supported by Baillie Gifford, and entry is free. The previous clash in late November saw Hearts take the lead but Hibs clawed their way back and eventually won the silverware in a nerve-wracking, penalty shootout before more than 8,000 fans at Easter Road.

Hearts have won one and drawn two of their last five league games while Hibs have won three and lost two and Timms said: “We’ve had tough games recently.”

They have included a joust with league pace-setters Glasgow City (a 3-0 reverse), second-placed Celtic (a 2-1 defeat) and Rangers, who are third (a 0-0 draw), but Georgia said that the fixtures have pushed the club to find their best form.

She added: “We’ve striving to get something out of the top three and we managed to get a point out of Rangers. We have, however, showed we can compete with the top three.

“However, this season we want to get a win out of one of them.”

And spirits are high after a thumping 4-1 win over Partick Thistle, who are sixth in the 12-strong table, in their last game. That was in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup and Georgie said: “We have lacked goals at times this season so to get four was brilliant.

“Now it is Hibs on Sunday and we hope to get as many people in (to watch) as possible. We want to be inspiring young kids to play football but we are just looking at collecting three points which count towards the league.”     

First Minister reassures any Ukrainians who have come to live here that “Scotland is your home for as long as you need it to be”.

Friday will be the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has written an open letter to Ukrainians in Scotland and across the world.

The letter reads:

“It is with great sadness that the world will mark the first anniversary of Russia’s latest illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on Friday.

“On this day, we will all pause to reflect on the many impacts of the war on the people of Ukraine. In particular, we will mourn those who have lost their lives.

“Every day in Ukraine, lives are disrupted and in danger. There are almost daily reports of atrocities, including Russia’s barbaric missile attacks against civilians.

“Our hearts go out to all Ukrainians, including those who have settled here in Scotland and in other countries. I know how much you fear for the safety of loved ones back home, and yearn to return to your own country and way of life.

“All of us wish a speedy victory for Ukraine and a resolution which restores peace and ensures Ukrainian sovereignty, democracy, independence and territorial integrity. We also hope that those displaced by the war can return and be reunited with their families, friends, communities and country.

“I hope all of you, amidst your anxiety and suffering, have been heartened by the scale of the international humanitarian response since the invasion.

“Scotland has so far welcomed more than 23,000 Ukrainians into our communities, the majority of which arrived through our super sponsor scheme. The national response is unprecedented and we have worked closely with partners, local authorities and community groups to offer our Ukrainian friends a ‘Warm Scottish Welcome’.

“It is vital that we continue to support displaced people from Ukraine for as long as they need help. While I hope those of you who want to return to Ukraine can do so safely when you can, my message to those seeking sanctuary remains clear: Scotland is your home for as long as you need it to be.

“Slava Ukraini”

In what locals regard as a disappointing turn of events, the council hearing scheduled for the planning application at Eyre Place Lane will no longer proceed.

Instead – and apparently reflecting the fact that the council had not either heard or decided the application for purpose built student accommodation along with townhouses within the correct timescale – the developer has appealed to the Government Reporter through the Scottish Government Planning and Environmental Appeals Division who will hear the case instead.

These two applications have attracted 395 objections out of 421 comments, including an objection from the Cockburn Association, and the residents’ petition still attracts signatures. The main objection from local residents is that the site at 72-74 Eyre Place is totally unsuited to purpose built student accommodation (PBSA).

Read more about the residents actions in the last year against the student flats now likely to be imposed upon them here.

We asked the council for comment but were told they do not comment on live applications.

New Town and Broughton Community Council (NTBCC) had noted the appeals on the government’s DPEA website a few days ago and informed the residents.

An NTBCC spokesperson said: “It’s clearly very disappointing that these applications have bypassed (albeit through a legitimate route) the intended process.

“Whilst we won’t now know the stance that the Council’s Development Management Sub-committee (DMSC) would have taken, it’s perhaps likely as others have commented that it would have been refused and then subsequently appealed. However, it would have been helpful if the elected councillors on the DMSC had expressed their view, reflecting the significant concerns raised by residents and others.

“From the submitted appeal documents, it does seem that the planning agent, Scott Hobbs, had set a deadline for determination of 19 January and this was known by Council officials when the proposals were presented at the 11 January DMSC but I’m not aware that the committee were made aware of this when they agreed to continue the application to a hearing. If they had been, they may well have decided to determine the application without a hearing. 

“All in all, whilst accepting that there should be some protection for applicants to ensure that proposals are not unnecessarily delayed, the permitted period as set by current legislation for determining complex applications seems much too short. This is one of tens perhaps hundreds of current applications that are beyond their scheduled determination dates and could be appealed on the grounds of non-determination.”

Vince Meiklejohn who is spokesperson for the local residents said: “We were waiting to get the date for the council DMSC  hearing, and were pleased that the community would finally get their say on the student development.

“We had no official confirmation of the date but were told the hearing would be sometime in March..

“HOWEVER we now see that  the developer has appealed both applications to the Scottish Government  as the council has yet to make a decision.

“The community feel very let down.

“We have met every deadline, followed the guidance and it seems very unfair that we can’t make our case at the DMSC meeting.

This is, in my opinion, frankly a cynical exploitation of the rules by the developer made possible by the planning dept failing to meet their own deadlines.

“This in reality means that the 400 plus objectors and supporters are denied their democratic say.”

CA Europe Operating Company has appealed the applications for town houses and student housing at 72–4 Eyre Place direct to the Government Reporter. See the appeal papers here.

Midlothian & East Lothian Chamber of Commerce present their first Chamber Business Masterclass series and the aim is to offer a range of practical, expert-led, half-day workshops on sales and marketing.

The sessions are presented by experts in the industry and delegates will learn key attributes to support success in sales, brand identity, successful social media marketing and video marketing.

The two, half-day interactive sessions will also give delegates the opportunity to discuss their own sales and marketing strategy and learn from others how they identified their business opportunities and overcame the challenges.

The sales masterclass session is on March 21 (9.15am to 12.30pm) and the marketing masterclass is on March 23 (9.15am – 12.30pm) at the Midlothian & East Lothian Chamber office, at Mousldale House, 24D Milton Road East, Edinburgh EH15 2NJ. 

Tickets are £30 per session or £50 for both sessions.

The Conservative group have put forward their suggestions for the council’s budget in a paper published online. The group agrees that Edinburgh is underfunded, but disagree on the reason why.

Their reasoning is that it is a failure on the part of this and previous administrations along with COSLA to convince the Scottish Government of the need for “adequate and equitable” funding for the capital.They also criticise this and the previous SNP/Labour administrations for failing to act on the 2016 and 2020 Best Value audit findings.

The Conservatives are embarrassed by the state of the city’s roads and council housing, saying it is a direct result of neglect by the last administration.

A couple of things stand out:

The Tories REJECT the council ring fencing 10% of the transport budget for cycling.

And the group suggests the council resigns from COSLA saving £255,000 each year.

They would like to spend £200,000 on supporting bus services to Willowbrae/Lady Nairne Road ad Dumbiedykes, and £90.000 on “Enhanced City Centre Waste Operations” and £250,000 but £500,000 after that on tackling graffiti.

The headlines of their proposals are:

• An increase of 4% in Council Tax taking Band D to £1433.90
• Wants full review of speech and language therapy services to maximise benefits for those who get the therapy
• Criticising quality of council services, the group want to review all methods of service delivery (In the past Tories have always advocated outsourcing services)
• Criticises administration for imposing political restrictions and wants to empower council officers to develop a Value for Money programme
• Council agrees to make cross-party representations on the way Homelessness prevention is funded by The Scottish Government leaving additional costs to the council of £33.7 million to be found
• Additional £3.7 million for environmental initiatives like addressing graffiti, fly tipping and cleaning communal bins and a means tested special uplift service
• Higher rate for parking tickets of £100 with default of £50 is suggested which means additional income of £2.4 million to be ringfenced for roads
• Parking and parking permit charges only to increase by 5% and not 12% as they suggest the administration wants to do
• Wants to retain Lothian Buses in public ownership
• Rejects workplace parking levy (Payable in the first place by employers but possible for them to hand that liability to their staff – if there are more than a certain number of spaces. This levy raises tens of thousands in Nottingham but costs each individual around £1 a day.)
• Wants Scottish Government to pay for under 22s to travel free on the trams
• Suggests investment of £200,000 for bus services to Willowbrae/Lady Nairne and Dumbiedykes
• Prioritises the City of Edinburgh Music School (a previous administration suggested slashing their budget)
• Prioritises music tuition at schools
• Suggests expanding community programmes such as the Crags and Queensferry Sports Centres
• Suggest removing the council from COSLA at a saving of £255,000
• Criticises the previous administration for writing off £2.4 million in failing to deliver the Asset Management Strategy
• Wants to review staff organisation and ensure value for money by redeploying staff as appropriate
• Supports a proposal to replace the Council’s HR and payroll system
• Criticises the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership for failing to develop a strategy for financial planning with the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) and that both have failed to transform service delivery
• Criticises EIJB for failing to progress to a sustainable budget position and agrees to reprioritise £2.5 million of funding for the EIJB
• Proposals for an additional £16 million of capital investment
• Criticises the administration for the Tram to Newhaven extension which the Conservatives believe will lead to a future call of up to £93 million – £7 million in the next year and an annual allowance of £9.25 million in the following years.
• Rejects a orioisak ti reduce the budget for roads and footways on North Bridge
• Agrees £3 million for the King’s Theatre if match funding is available

The Conservative papers for the budget meeting on Thursday are here:

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Sir Rod Stewart will stay over for one more night in the capital this summer. Tickets for his first date have sold so well that a second date is now added to the tour.

He will perform his classics on 6 and 7 July 2023 on Edinburgh Castle Esplanade.

Rod said: “My favourite memories have been summer nights with a beer or two alongside the best fans in the world.

“I’m impatiently awaiting this summer playing at a variety of special venues – football, cricket and rugby stadiums, estates and castles! We’ll all be dancing under the stars.”

The singer has enjoyed much success. He was lauded as the finest singer of his generation; he’s written several songs that turned into modern standards; earned countless of the industry’s highest awards, among them, two inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the ASCAP Founders Award for songwriting, New York Times bestselling author, Grammy™ Living Legend, and in 2016 he officially became ‘Sir Rod Stewart’ when he was knighted by Prince William at Buckingham Palace, for his services to music and charity.

Partnering with Big Green Coach, the second Edinburgh show pre-sale tickets will be available from Thursday 23rd February 10am HERE and general tickets go on-sale Friday 24th February 10am. All other show dates are available now HERE

VIP Tickets can be purchased via the hospitality partner, Seat Unique, HERE.

Auld Reekie Roller Derby is a team based in Edinburgh, which trains in Leith.

The team is positioned number 14 in the European Championships ranking and they are now taking part in the 5 Nations championships which include England, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Our first game will be a home game hosted by Auld Reekie in Dalkeith Sports centre, with teams coming from Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham on 25 March 2023 from 12.30 untl 5.00pm. There is seating for around 200 people, cakes, stalls and a burrito food truck by Bonnie Burrito.

The team is promoting selling the tickets in advance as it is cheaper than at the door.

A spokesperson said: “Bring your keep cups for coffee and tea, bring cash to support the Edinburgh Food Project and to help us fund our travels and maintenance.”

TICKETS HERE

A minute’s silence was held in memory of former Midlothian councillor and campaigner for miners rights Alex Bennett ahead of a council meeting this week.

Tributes were paid by former colleagues who described Mr Bennett as an ‘inspiration’ to those who followed in his footsteps.

The ex Labour councillor, who served the people of Dalkeith between 2007 and 2017, died suddenly last month and his funeral was held at Mortonhall Crematorium, Edinburgh, on Monday.

Council leader Kelly Parry led tributes as elected members met for a full council meeting on Tuesday in Dalkeith.

She told the meeting : “I am one of the few councillors in the chamber today who had the pleasure of serving alongside Alex and my work as a councillor is all the better for his guidance and many eye rolls from him across the chamber.

“My very first cross party motion in this chamber was a motion for pardons for striking miners. Coming from a mining family myself it was an issue close to my heart and I am so proud of  the work we did together.

“Alex was an exceptional councillor for Midlothian and all of us should celebrate his work in this chamber for his community and all the work he did to help people. He is an inspiration to us all.”

Labour group leader Councillor Derek Milligan who stood alongside Mr Bennett in the council chambers and the mines, said his funeral had been packed with people wanting to pay their respects with many having to stand outside to join the service.

He said: “Alex was a real inspiration to  people, he was a person who really cared and came here caring.

“He always put people before profit and it was a pleasure to call Alex a friend, a colleague, and a comrade.”

Councillor Margot Russell said Mr Bennett worked ‘tirelessly’ for people in his community and the mining communities.

She said: “He will be sadly missed not just by his family but by mining communities across the UK. He was a people’s person and a people’s champion.”

And Councillor Stephen Curran said Mr Bennett who worked at Monktonhall Colliery and was the National Union of Miners representative, helped hundreds of people make claims for industrial injuries, in particular respiratory disease.

He said: “Not only did Alex help people with their applications and assist with advocates, he would attend tribunals and he would fight their cases with them.

“If it wasn’t for Alex I wouldn’t be sitting here as a councillor, he encouraged me to stand. He was not only a friend but a mentor.

“The one thing Alex said to me when I stood was put your constituents first. He leaves a huge hole in the community and I know his family are very proud of him.”

Mr Bennett leaves behind his wife Betty and children Lynn and Stuart.

by Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.

The Liberal Democrats published their own headlines earlier today on Twitter saying that they would table a full costed council budget to stop cuts to school budgets, address the state of the roads and pavements and invest in parks and improved city cleaning.

The council faces having a £76 million deficit but Group Leader Kevin Lang said on Twitter that the Scottish Government was cutting Edinburgh council’s budget by that amount, which we don’t think is exactly the same thing.

But in common with other parties, particularly the Labour group the LibDems say that funding from The Scottish Government is reducing and the climate in which spending will be set is a challenging one. The group recommends that using Best Value service reviews the council should examine its spending in future, which might save around £500,000, and that the council increases revenue through empty commercial property to bring these back into use.

The headline on the LibDem proposals is that they want to make compulsory redundancies among council staff resulting in a saving in a £1 billion or so budget of £600,000. The administration has undertaken not to make any compulsory redundancies, and that was also the policy of the last administration which was an SNP/Labour coalition.

The LibDems propose the following:

• increase council tax by 4.76%
• Allocate £3 million to the King’s Theatre
• Spend £2 million on prevention of flooding
• Spend £3 million on improvements to greenspaces
• Spend an additional £11 million on roads, paths and pavements
• save money by turning down heating in council offices from 19° to 18°
• Fund the Climate & Sustainability team with £279,000
• Spend an additional £3 million on gully cleaning, fly tipping, graffiti removal and street sweeping
• protect school budgets by spending £5.5 million on teachers and pupil support assistants
• review the Speech and Language Therapy budget of £370,000 and put savings into school budgets
• Raise £40,000 by charging property developers more for Road Occupation Charges

And in a tongue twisting amendment to the administration budget proposals, the group suggests: “Council agrees to allocate £4.65 million from the administration budget priorities fund for the purpose of avoiding the allocated funding reductions set out in proposal ECS6.”

The budget will be set by councillors at a meeting on Thursday in the City Chambers. All papers and ways to watch the meeting online are here.

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The Brunton in Musselburgh hosts a variety of live events in the next few days including The National Theatre Live series with a new production of Shakespeare’s Othello, on Thursday 23 February at 7pm. 

Roy Orbison & The Traveling Wilburys is packed with hits, big screen action and narrative. Friday 24 February at 7.30pm is the date. The Springsteen Sessions are on Saturday 25 February at 7.30pm. 

The movie Babylon (18), traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of decadence and depravity in early Hollywood on Wednesday 1 March at 7.30pm. 

Snooker Greats – Clash Of The Titans is on Thursday 2 March at 7.30pm sees seven-times world snooker champion Stephen Hendry take on rival Steve Davis, a six-time world champion. The host and referee is another snooker great, Dennis Taylor (pictured).

Meanwhile, stand-up comedian Janey Godley’s show, Not Dead Yet, is on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 March at 8pm and is sold out.

The Labour administration in Edinburgh have published their proposals for setting the budget at the City Chambers on Thursday.

The overarching theme is that this is a responsible budget protecting council services, but there are many mentions of underfunding from The Scottish Government. The Labour administration claims that Edinburgh continues to receive the lowest block grant of £1,786 per capita as opposed to £2,221 which is the Scottish average. They demand reform of the unfair council tax system saying that in the next financial year councils are facing “real budget cuts of £1 billion”.

Their conclusions are these, although we have put them first:

“Edinburgh Labour commit to reviewing the operation and delivery of our services, ensuring best value and sustainability whilst acknowledging the significant medium-term gap. Recognising the substantial pressures faced by Edinburgh as the lowest funded local authority in Scotland, both now and in the future, we will continue to demand that The Scottish Government gives Edinburgh the fair funding settlement our capital city deserves.”

The motion will be debated on Thursday by all parties and it has some headlines:

• Council Tax will go up by 5.75%
• £2.5 million will be spent on improved street cleaning waste collection and recycling – which includes annual investment of £300,000 in communal bins, free special uplift for those on low incomes £500,000, tackling fly tipping £200,000, dedicated team for approach roads and rural roads £400,000
• Additional £10 million on roads and pavements with an ongoing £1.5 million for repairs
• £3 million for the King’s Theatre
• £220,000 added to Education, Children and Families funding for their main grants programme
• £11.4 million increase on education creating 34 new teaching roles
• Parking tickets rise to £100

This is the text of the administration motion being presented to the budget meeting on Thursday:

The local government funding shortfall across Scotland in the coming year is unprecedented with councils facing decisions which will negatively impact the vital services which people rely on. For 2023-24 councils across Scotland will be faced with real budget cuts of over £1bn, imposed on us by the SNP/Green Scottish Government.

Across Scotland, these cuts will impact homelessness, schools, waste, roads and pavements, family support, public health, and social care. Without opposition from councils, the choices made by the Scottish Government will result in councils reducing or stopping services altogether and ultimately, reducing the number of jobs.

Edinburgh continues to receive the lowest per capita block grant – £1,786 compared to the Scottish average of £2,221 – and although at long last, councils may now make their own decisions regarding raising Council Tax, they lack the powers to adjust the increase by band or update the value of properties. Council Tax is a regressive, unfair tax and needs to be reformed.

Edinburgh needs more power to raise revenue relevant to the unique economy of our city. The considerable spend of tourists and festival visitors should contribute to our public services and work better for the people of Edinburgh. Legislating for a transient visitor levy must be given urgent priority by the Scottish Government.

We are committed to developing Community Wealth Building through our Business Plan to ensure our local economy benefits all of Edinburgh’s citizens.

We made a commitment to take action to end poverty in Edinburgh by 2030 and remain dedicated to achieving this aim. In consultation with the Edinburgh Poverty Commission, we continue our response to the cost of living crisis. Last year we distributed an additional £8m, of which £2m was funded by the Council, to help mitigate the impact on our citizens.

We will encourage an expansion in the number of living wage accredited employers in the city, which since the launch of the strategy the number of living wage employers has increased by 50% to 617 currently. We are confident 2023 will see a further increase in the number of sign-ups, building on the record number of employers which signed up last year.

Together with Edinburgh employers, public sector, third sector and Trades Union partners we will work with the Living Wage Foundation Scotland to continue to promote the use of living wage and fair work practices throughout the city economy. By tackling low pay and insecure work, we will make progress towards our ambitious goal to end poverty by 2030.

Edinburgh Labour are putting forward a responsible budget that aims to protect services, reducing inequalities, and secure jobs by investing in the Council workforce and insourcing for best value, through a radical review of our procurement process and reduced use of agency staff.

We will continue to source accommodation for citizens who become homeless, we’ll maintain our cultural venues and our libraries; our leisure centres will remain open; there will be no cuts to teacher numbers, and we will invest in basic services like waste collection and improve our pavements and roads.

We commit to securing sustainable Council jobs, whilst continuing our no compulsory redundancy policy because we will not compromise the Council’s ability to deliver the services that our citizens need.

We are proud to be a diverse and growing city and are committed to delivering our budget within the context of the climate emergency. We will consider any environmental impact in all our strategies and ensure climate goals are embedded across our services as we work towards our 2030 net zero target. We will continue our calls for support from the Scottish and UK Governments to help us achieve these aims.

As we mark the one year anniversary of the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, we are proud to have welcomed over 10,000 Ukrainian people through our Welcome Hub. We will continue to support them while the crisis is ongoing; but we will require further resources and effective partnership with the UK and Scottish Governments, particularly in our services already under pressure, such as education and housing.

Increased demand and diminished budgets

Real-terms cuts are being imposed on Edinburgh by an SNP/Green Scottish Government. Homelessness costs, together with other inflationary increases for energy costs, staff costs and property rates – which councils pay to the government – for schools, libraries and other essential buildings have increased the cost of running our city by over £70 million this year alone.

Across the Council, we have been working to meet this funding crisis by looking for possible ways that costs can be reduced whilst always considering the impact that cuts will have on the day-to- day lives of our citizens.

We have listened to the public and shall increase parking fines to £100 to deter inconsiderate and anti-social parking; and we’ll invest the net income raised in our programme of road and pavement repairs.

Education

We’ll increase spending on education by £11.4m in the coming year and we’re adding 34 new teaching roles, but we want to do more. The Council and our schools have worked together to pool resources and mitigate the budget demands created by rising school rolls and long overdue pay increases.

There are some proposed changes that will improve outcomes, whilst also reducing costs. For example:

• the pay and job security of Pupil Support Assistants are to be reviewed with the intention of improving them. Such initiatives, properly done, will address recruitment and retention challenges, whilst also reducing costs.

We are committed to protecting services which improve outcomes for all children:
• Our Transition Teachers will play an essential role in improving attendance and attainment

and we must keep them in our schools.

• We will continue to invest in Speech and Language Therapy; if there is under used resource then we must match it to any unmet need for this assistance.

We will continue to work with our third sector partners and the most recent Education, Children and Families Committee allocated £2.24m to extend our main grants programme through to 31 March 2024. We appreciate that “flat funding” means real term cuts for these organisations, so we are adding £220k for a cost of living uplift.

Our buildings management service, which keeps our public buildings safe and accessible, has already invested more than £100m in major upgrades to schools, leisure facilities and swim centres, and will remain a priority.

Culture, Communities and Wellbeing

We have not made cuts to our core culture and communities budget. We will continue our work to create safe, welcoming and empowered communities, ensuring people can access the support they need in the place they live and work.

Our museums, galleries, art centres and libraries remain open as before; we’re not charging entry fees and we’ll not be levying fines for overdue library books.

• We will continue to support users of our Taxi Card programme, which is available to Edinburgh residents with a severe permanent disability who can’t use ordinary buses or can only use buses with assistance.
• We won’t be reducing our customer service assistant roles because not all of our citizens are online.We are using venues, including libraries, as warm and welcoming spaces; we’re facilitating collaboration between community-based arts organisations; and we’ve delivered a £100k cultural diversity and inclusion fund.Edinburgh events and festivals are watched around the world, with growing numbers attending in person. Such has been their success, that we are already considering ways to ensure that residents feel involved rather than overwhelmed by them.Therefore, we want to support our cultural venues and recognise that the future of the much-loved King’s Theatre is important to many Edinburgh citizens. We will dedicate £3m of asset management capital towards reducing the £9m funding gap, which was caused by the impact of construction inflation on the pre-pandemic renovation plans, subject to confirmation of the project’s cost and match funding from other partners, including the UK and Scottish Governments.
• Transport and EnvironmentThe coming year will see us move from talking about improving sustainable transport in Edinburgh, to actually delivering the change we need.For example, in the coming months: We’ll begin assessing effectiveness of bus priority measures. We will work with residents and businesses to evaluate selective Vehicle Detection to enable bus
• priority at traffic signals, combined with an assessment of the cumulative benefits of increased bus lane operating hours, aligned with parking and loading restrictions. The aim will be to reduce bus journey times on the A70 corridor (Currie/Balerno to city centre).
• As well as investing in sustainable transport, we need to get the day-to-day basics right – the core services of our council impact directly on the lives of our citizens, wherever they live in the city.
• That’s why we are committing to an additional £10m next year of investment in our pavements and roads; with an ongoing £1.5m for pavement and road repairs. We’ll get best value for our city by expanding the Council’s own road works and repair teams.
• We’re cleaning up our city by putting £2.5m annually into improved street cleaning, waste collection and recycling. This includes annual investment in: Communal bins £300k; a free Special Uplift programme for people on low incomes £500k; tackling fly tipping and dumping beside communal bins £200k; a dedicated team for approach roads and rural roads £0.4m; and improved service resilience of £1.0m.We expect these new services to be coming onstream from Autumn this year and these investments will create up to 90 jobs with more in the pipeline as we continue the expansion of our own road works and repairs teams. Our work to develop a ’20-minute neighbourhood’ network where public transport and active travel are the best options for getting around will continue.
• Planning and Regulatory We know that to achieve our ambitions for a green and sustainable city we need robust enforcement of existing planning regulations; and that applications and licensing is a source of income for the city.The Planning Service is currently recruiting new staff, including 3 assistant planning officers to help address the increase in planning applications and enforcement cases resulting from the introduction of a short-term lettingEdinburgh’s Planning department will continue to provide a strong standard of service for the residents and businesses in our city.
• Homelessness Edinburgh is a growing city and we’re facing housing pressures like nowhere else in Scotland, with the lowest proportion of social housing in the country and biggest, most expensive, private rented sector.  The Scottish Government has rightly tightened rules around the standards of temporary accommodation and changed the eligibility rules but has failed to provide additional funds for us to deliver that.The Scottish Government must provide more funding for social and affordable homes, and we will also seek alternative methods of funding to progress our house building programme, given the failure of the Scottish Government to assist us with the homelessness crisis that is facing our city.Between 2020 and 2023 the cost of helping with homelessness has more than doubled, from £31 million per year to an expected £62 million in 2023. This represents a further unfunded shortfall in the coming year of £10.4m, equivalent to the entire 3.4% council tax raise recommended in the Chief Financial Officer’s report.
• Raising Revenue After years of Council Tax freezes and caps, the Scottish Government is now allowing councils to decide how much to increase the level of Council Tax. Opportunities to make council tax fairer or to implement a transient visitor levy have been cast aside by a government which has shown little interest in Edinburgh or in the services that citizens and businesses here rely on in their day-to- day lives. To provide for homelessness, to protect services and to secure jobs, there will be a further Council Tax increase of 2.35% relative to officers’ recommendations, giving a total increase this year of 5.75%. For a band D property this amounts to £6.61 per month and we strongly encourage, and will support where needed, residents on low incomes to apply for financial assistance.

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The City of Edinburgh Council meets on Thursday morning at 10am. The papers for the meeting and details of how to watch online are here.

Council rent in Midlothian will increase by 4.8 per cent from next month – raising the average weekly rent by £3.54.

A meeting of Midlothian councillors on Tuesday approved the new rent rates for its tenants after they failed to reach a consensus during a public consultation.

Council house residents were asked whether they wanted rent to go up by seven different amounts between 4.1 per cent and six per cent, but a report to councillors said while 28 per cent of tenants wanted the lowest rent, 25 per cent wanted the highest so the decision was taken to go down the middle.

In each case tenants were told how many new houses the local authority would be able to build with the increased rent income with no homes built at the lowest rise and 1,000 houses built with the highest increase.

There are currently 7,161 Midlothian council tenants, of whom 4,553 are in receipt of housing benefit and/or Universal Credit.

An increase of 4.8 per cent will allow an additional 300 homes to be built and keep the increase below the affordability limits set by council governing body COSLA of £5 a week.

Cllr Stuart McKenzie, SNP, told the meeting all tenants were aware of the pressures caused by inflation on the local authority.

He said: “We have tried to keep the rise under a fiver a week and we still think  the council housing stock offers cracking good value for the people of Midlothian.”

By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.

In a move which SNP and Green councillors were not able to make just after the election last May, there is a new coalition arrangement on the council.

The two groups have collaborated on one single budget proposal which will be put to the full council meeting on Thursday.

The papers for the meeting are here but the opposition budget proposals will be lodged later today in the form of an amendment or addendum. The SNP and Green proposals are embedded below.

The two opposition parties – 18 SNP councillors and 10 Green councillors – may need some support from other politicians at the City Chambers to get their proposals approved. (there are 62 votes to be cast on Thursday). But since no party holds a majority – including the Labour minority administration – there will have to be compromises made all over the chamber tomorrow.

The SNP and Greens say their joint budget will:

• prevent cuts to education and travel schemes such as Taxicard
• make more money from parking
• reduce funding for the Lord Provost’s office
• spend £1 million on climate and nature emergencies
• Allocate £4.5 million on the fund to save the King’s Theatre
• spend more on funding for services taking action on violence against women
• spend £500,000 on more, and more accessible, public toilets
• Allocate a further £200,000 through participatory budgeting like £eith Chooses
• Take action on damp and mould in housing with a £1 million fund
• Lease out Waverley Court the “under-used city centre office” mostly lying vacant after the pandemic

SNP Finance spokesperson Lesley Macinnes said: “The budget setting process is about priorities – political parties putting forward what they believe is important. There’s no denying that these are very difficult times for finances right across the public sector and for the people we serve. Working closely with our Green partners, we formulated innovative and radical measures that go a long way to making Council Tax much fairer. We believe that those able to pay a little bit more are asked to do so, to protect crucial frontline services for all of us.

“In the middle of the worst cost-of-living-crisis in a generation, this makes perfect sense. The alternative would be to go along with the swingeing cuts that officers have proposed, which would hammer education budgets, leaving the children and young people most in need of support being hit the hardest. Either that, or abdicate responsibility altogether, like Labour in Glasgow, and not even bother to do the hard thinking needed.

“Instead, we’ve worked hard, produced ideas that no one else has thought of, and produced a budget that is the progressive alternative to what Labour and their Conservative allies are bringing forward. We are disappointed that we have been advised that our Council Tax proposals, while valid, cannot be brought forward at this stage but we will continue to work with officers to see how we can make Council Tax fairer for residents. Voters will judge parties on what they prioritise and we in the SNP group are proud to put forward this budget with the Greens.”

Green Finance spokesperson Alys Mumford added: “The Edinburgh Greens are pleased to join with SNP colleagues to present an alternative joint budget which is innovative, ambitious, and which prioritises spending targeted at tackling the joint crises of the cost of living and the climate emergency.  

“Together we are proposing spending of over one million pounds to tackle climate change by reducing emissions, whilst also protecting the city from its most harmful effects in terms of flooding and other extreme measure. We are reversing the most egregious of the proposed cuts to education, to active travel, and to supporting disabled residents, and spending money on things to improve the lives of Edinburgh’s residents. More public toilets and lighting in our parks to make public space work for everyone, increases in participatory budgeting to put power in the hands of communities, and better funding for third sector organisations working for equality. 

“This budget proposal also recognises the fundamental challenge at the heart of local government finance – that is, chronic underfunding from governments at Holyrood and Westminster. That’s why we continue to call on our colleagues in Holyrood to increase funding and speed up the devolution of revenue raising powers to councils. But whilst this work is ongoing, we must think creatively about how we can use existing powers to their fullest extent, redistributing wealth from rich to poor and ensuring that we are supporting the most vulnerable in society. 

“We need bold leadership to bring about climate justice, an end to poverty, and an Edinburgh which works for everyone, and we are simply not seeing this leadership. While there will always remain policy differences between our parties, this joint SNP/Green budget shows that – if the shared priorities of social and climate justice remain at its heart – the people of Edinburgh can benefit from a radical and progressive budget for the city.”

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Moda Living, the new way of renting in Fountainbridge, has partnered up with VideoGP to look after their residents.

The service is operated in a partnership with Lloyds Pharmacy and is now available through Moda’s Health Concierge Service. This means that residents can book free virtual appointments and have any prescriptions delivered to their door direct.

This is also available at all other Moda Living communities in the UK. In the capital, McEwan Edinburgh (a nod to the site’s heritage as a brewery) the rent for apartments includes many add-ons such as 24 hour gym and studio access, roof terraces, green spaces and BBQ areas. There is high speed wifi and a regular programme of events in the common areas of the buildings. There is a space on one of the higher floors which can be hired by residents and where they can cook and entertain their own guests with a stunning backdrop looking towards the Castle.

In as little as 30 minutes, residents will be able to claim a usage code for the VideoGP service via their MyModa app, and speak to a GP on their mobile devices any time from 8am-8pm, wherever they are. Prescriptions can be delivered to the residents the next day, or collected the same day at their nearest LloydsPharmacy of choice, at no additional cost.

Oscar Brooks, Director at Moda Living said: “Building strong communities is at the centre of the Moda Living brand, and we’re continuously looking for new ways to help support the health and wellbeing of our residents. We are proud to be pioneering this new service with LloydsPharmacy for our residents across the UK, and hope the launch of the Health Concierge Service with VideoGP for free virtual GP appointments and on-demand prescriptions helps take the pressure of residents who may need these services the most.”

Dan Pierce, Strategic Business Development Manager at LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor said: “We’re delighted to announce our new partnership with Moda Living which will enable Moda residents to benefit from LloydsPharmacy’s VideoGP service, as part of their new health concierge service. We’re looking forward to supporting Moda Living in this exciting new step, to deliver access to healthcare 8am-8pm, wherever residents are located.”

Since the lockdown Moda has also partnered with MYNDUP, a mental health organisation that offers services such as therapy, counselling and wellness workshops on a digital platform. Moda residents and team members receive a 40% subsidy to all MYNDUP services. Additionally, all Moda onsite teams are mental health first aid trained to support residents, and a range of partnerships with household names including Barry’s UK and Fiit put leading fitness experts at its communities’ fingertips through memberships, live events and digital classes. 

https://modaliving.com

The New Town and Broughton Community Council commissioned a report into the installation of bin hubs in the World Heritage Site which finds that the hubs would have a “significant adverse impact”.

The community council asked conservation practice, Simpson & Brown, to conduct a Heritage Impact Assessment on the council’s plans to install communal bin hubs every 100 metres in every street in the city. Each hub is seven metres long with bins for all kinds of recycling and landfill.

The community council say that The City of Edinburgh Council refused to conduct its own heritage assessment (which they say is part of an Environmental Impact Assessment), and failed to take into account the views of residents or heritage organisations before deciding what to do.

The study’s key findings are:

The introduction of bin hubs would have a significant effect on the New Town and Old Town conservation areas, and on the Edinburgh World Heritage Site. 

There would be a negative effect on Edinburgh Key Views, which are required to be protected under Council planning policy. 

The mitigation currently proposed by the Council is not judged to be effective, as it focuses on superficial aspects of the hubs such as bin lid colour. 

There is a risk both to the character and appearance of the conservation areas, and to the outstanding universal value (OUV) of the World Heritage Site, if communal bin hubs were to be installed. 

The report also states that its findings contradicted the decision taken by the council that an impact assessment was not necessary. According to the guidance produced by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), wherever a significant effect is anticipated, an impact assessment should be carried out. (An Environmental Impact Assessment usually includes a Heritage Impact Assessment).

Surveys conducted in 2022 found that around 90% of residents affected by the plans were against the imposition of the communal bin hubs. A pilot scheme using green gull proof sacks is being tried at the moment to show that other alternatives are feasible and cheaper.

Carol Nimmo, the Chair of the NTBCC said: “This Heritage Impact Assessment provides essential and impartial evidence to the Council that the introduction of communal bin hubs across this city centre would have a significant impact on its cultural and heritage assets. It is putting its World Heritage status at risk and the Council should listen to its residents and rethink.”

Two former councillors who both resigned last May, Cllr Maureen Child and Karen Doran, who were both Labour councillors, were referred to the Standards Commission last year.

At an online hearing on Wednesday the panel found that both were in breach of the Councillor’s Code of Conduct and both had failed to act fairly.

There is little that can be done about councillors who have since resigned, but the panel chair, Patricia Stewart, was clear that they should both be “censured”.

The only other option is disqualification which was not appropriate in this case, but in any event the panel chair said that the “respondents’ conduct did not come close to warranting a disqualification”.

The Councillors’ Code of Conduct applied to the two longstanding councillors who were elected members at the time in question, and they were found to be in breach of the strict rules whereby councillors should declare interests, both financial and non-financial, in any matter on which they are taking part in discussion and making decisions. The rider to that is that any councillor should then not take part in any decision if, using the objective test, it seems wrong to do so.

The objective test set out in the code is “whether a member of the public, with knowledge of the relevant facts, would reasonably regard the interest as so significant that it is likely to prejudice your discussion or decision making in your role as a councillor”.

The panel noted there was no dispute that at a Transport and Environment Committee meeting in November 2021, both respondents took part in the discussion and vote on an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) to close Brunstane Road.

Despite the councillors disclosing a non-financial interest in the matter, they both then went on to take part in the meeting and in the decision. The result was that the council had to hold a further meeting a few weeks later to take the same decision, without Cllr Child or Doran taking any part in that meeting.

Cllr Maureen Child was a founder and member of the local residents’ society, and was also a local resident which she had declared.

Cllr Karen Doran had declared a non-financial interest as a local resident.

The Chair commented that the councillors had received advice from the committee clerk the previous day which they then ignored, that having declared such interests they should have recused themselves from making the decision. The chair did note that the two councillors had not been given clear advice during the meeting that they should withdraw, but that it was in any case a matter for each councillor to decide upon.

The chair said: “The panel noted that the requirement for councillors to withdraw from the room and not take part in the discussion and decision-making on any matter in which they have declared an interest, is a fundamental requirement of the code, as it gives the public confidence that decisions have been made in the public interest and not personal interest of any councillor or their friends or family.”

The investigating officer, Ian Bruce was unequivocal. He referred to a written statement provided by Karen Doran from which he deduced that her immediate neighbours were angry about the decision. In the statement Ms Doran said: “At no time did I lobby residents on the issue of Brunstane Road. I live near to the roads, but the closure does not affect my street although it could be argued the closure has a detrimental effect on my street.”

But Mr Bruce said that even if the former councillor voted against a decision which would affect her and her neighbours, he believed that she should not have taken part. He said: “A councillor with a clear interest in the outcome of a vote should not participate in it.”

And the council’s monitoring officer, the Chief Executive, Andrew Kerr, OBE, had also disclosed his view that the two councillors should not have been involved in the agenda item. While the CEO of the council had responded to the draft decision in December saying he had no further comment to make, the panel noted there was no response at that time from either of the former councillors.

The council has been asked for comment.

(Censure is a formal recording of the Standards Commission’s severe and public disapproval of the Respondent.)

The Hibernian family are in mourning today following the death of owner Ron Gordon on Tuesday.

Ronald J Gordon was born and raised in Peru, but was also proud of his Scottish heritage.

He studied at Markham College, the British school in Lima, and emigrated to the United States at the age of 15.

He completed his studies at Shore in Sydney, Australia and received a B.A. in International Relations with a minor in economics from Syracuse University.

Throughout his professional life he supported numerous community-based organisations.

He was the founder and majority shareholder of ZGS Communications, Inc., one of the leading independent broadcasting and media companies serving the Spanish-speaking community in the United States.

His strategic thinking, market insight and entrepreneurial outlook allowed ZGS to post steady and consistent growth for over 30 years.

The company became the largest independent affiliate group of the Telemundo Network, earning a reputation for operational excellence, creativity, integrity, and community engagement. ZGS was sold to Comcast/NBC Universal in 2017.

In April 2009, taking a leave from ZGS for three years, Ron was named President of the Telemundo Station Group at NBC Universal, responsible for the strategic direction and day to day management of the largest Spanish television stations in the country.

Over his many years in the media industry, he received numerous accolades including five Emmy Awards, two Telly Awards, and a White House Media Achievement Award.

He was founder and director of John Marshall Bank, one of the leading community banks serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

The bank posted steady profits and growth for over 10 years with assets of over $1.4 billion and today is considered one of the best managed and most innovative small business banks in the region.

He also on the board of trustees of WETA in Washington, D.C. one of the leading public television stations in the country.

Gordon served on the board of the Arlington Community Foundation, and actively supported  various critical service organisations serving people and communities in need.

In 2019 he formed Bydand Sports LLC to acquire the majority shares in Hibernian. Bydand is the motto of Clan Gordon, derived from “Bide and Fecht” meaning “stay and fight” as a tribute to his Scottish roots and his love for the game.

On taking over from Sir Tom Farmer and Rod Petrie, he vowed to build on their legacy and take the club forward.

Under Gordon’s watch, Hibs finished third in the cinch Premiership in the 2020/21 campaign and also reached the Scottish Cup final in the same season.

He successfully guided the club through the Covid-19 pandemic and oversaw change behind the scenes at Easter Road which included the high-profile departure of then chief executive Leeann Dempster, and significant investment in hospitality at Easter Road.

Managers Jack Ross and Shaun Maloney were appointed and fired during his stewardship, with the current head coach Lee Johnson earning his support during a recent turbulent spell.

The ownership of Hibs is now set to pass on to his family, with his son Ian currently employed as head of recruitment.

Ben Kensell, Chief Executive of Hibernian, said: “Everyone at the Club is deeply saddened at the news. Our thoughts are with Ron’s wife Kit, his sons Ian and Colin, and the rest of the Gordon family. Ron may have been our chairman and owner, but he was first and foremost a devoted family man with a close and loving family.

“We would ask that at this difficult time, the family’s privacy is respected as they mourn their loss.”

Ronald J Gordon August 1954 to February 2023.

On ScotHot’s 50th Anniversary 50 industry superstars are recognised.

A judging panel of industry leaders have revealed ScotHot’s 50 Rising Stars, of the country’s biggest talents.

And there are some from Edinburgh on the list:

• Stefanie Anderson, Bar Manager: Gleneagles Townhouse – Brilliant in Beverage
• Franck Bruyere, Operations and Sustainability Director: St James Quarter – Rising Up in Retail
• Jamie Crothall, Food & Beverage Director: Virgin Hotels, Edinburgh – Brilliant in Beverage
• Kieran Wight, Head Chef: Elior @ Murrayfield Stadium – Champion Chefs

A fortnight ahead of the event, ScotHot23 has unveiled its list of 50 Rising Stars – celebrating some of the most talented newcomers to Scotland’s food, drink, hospitality, retail and tourism industries.

Following an extensive shortlisting and judging process, with more than 200 applications considered, a ‘hot list’ of 50 Rising Stars has today been revealed by ScotHot, comprising Hospitality Heroes, Champion Chefs, Tourism Trendsetters, as well as those Rising Up in Retail and Brilliant in Beverage.

Individuals were encouraged to nominate their colleagues, friends, employees, and role models in each category, not limited by age but ten years’ experience or less within the industry was essential.

ScotHot takes place at the SEC Glasgow from 8-9 March 2023, and is the country’s leading showcase for the food, drink, hospitality, retail and tourism industries. It willwelcome around 7,000 visitors to the two-day event.

The presentation of the 50 Rising Stars, sponsored by Xpress Jobs and HIT Scotland, will take place at the Spotlight Stage at 4.30pm on Wednesday 8 March. Those on the list will be presented with their certificates and invited to attend the ‘STA and ScotHot Industry Social’ at Revolution in Glasgow that evening.

Head Judge David Cochrane, MBE, Chief Executive of HIT Scotland, said: “Reading all the submissions was uplifting – it certainly reveals a great statement on the health of the hospitality, retail and tourism sectors in Scotland. There was an abundance of talent, personality and enthusiasm in all of the 50 Rising Stars that was inspirational to all of the judges”

Toby Wand, Managing Director of 365 Events, the company responsible for ScotHot, said: “Seeing so many worthy individuals nominated for our 50 Rising Stars list was incredible, and it was a tough decision for us judges to pick our top 50.

“We would like to say a huge congratulations from all of us at ScotHot to those who made the 50 Rising Stars list – we are so looking forward to seeing you at the event in March and celebrating your achievements together.”

Now in its 50th year, ScotHot23 offers an unmissable opportunity for delegates to meet with suppliers, network with others to share ideas and inspiration, and learn about the latest trends from across the industry.

This year’s event will be supported by major partners including VisitScotland, Scotland Food & Drink, Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA), Scottish Licenced Trade Association (SLTA), Scottish Licensed Trade News (SLTN), HOSPA, The Scottish Chefs, The Staff Canteen, The Guild of Fine Food, The Caterer and Drink Think.

https://www.scothot.co.uk/

Full list here:

Sophie Aire, Business Support Manager – People: Stack and Still Limited – Hospitality Heroes

Lorna Allison, Marketing and Merchandising Manager: Brakes Scotland – Rising Up in Retail

Stefanie Anderson, Bar Manager: Gleneagles Townhouse – Brilliant in Beverage

William Bailey, Junior Sous/Pastry Chef: Meldrum House Country Hotel and Golf Course – Champion Chefs

Ross Boyd, Chef-de-Partie: Amuse by Kevin Dalgleish – Champion Chefs

Jack Bray, Mixologist: voco Grand Central Hotel IHG – Brilliant in Beverage

Franck Bruyere, Operations and Sustainability Director: St James Quarter – Rising Up in Retail

Martin Buchanan, Deputy General Manager: The Oak Tree Inn – Hospitality Heroes

Fraser Cameron, Senior Sous Chef: The Globe Inn /1610 restaurant – Champion Chefs

Debbie Cole, Wildlife guide: Dolphin Spirit – Tourism Trendsetters

Jason Coles, Skipper/Director: Wreckspeditions – Tourism Trendsetters

Jamie Crothall, Food & Beverage Director: Virgin Hotels, Edinburgh – Brilliant in Beverage

Leon Daly, Bar Supervisor: Douneside House – Brilliant in Beverage

Rory Fraser, Junior Sous Chef: Loch Melfort Hotel – Champion Chefs

Chris Geary, Managing Director: Raw Culture – Brilliant in Beverage

Guillermo Gonzalez Carmona, Front of House Manager: Ka Pao – Hospitality Heroes

Damian Kelly, General Manager: Airhouses – Hospitality Heroes

Grant Kidd, Head Chef: Ocho Inveraray – Champion Chefs

Fraser Macdonald, Visitor Services Supervisor: Preston Mill & Phantassie Doocot – National Trust for Scotland – Tourism Trendsetters

Bruce MacRury, Restaurant Manager: Rusacks St Andrews – Hospitality Heroes

Zreen Mansha, Founder & CEO: Travel Scotland® – Tourism Trendsetters

Primrose Masunda, Housekeeping Manager: The Fife Arms Hotel, Braemar – Hospitality Heroes

Rebecca McRitchie, Assistant Head Housekeeper: The Pierhouse Hotel – Hospitality Heroes

David Morgan, Conference & Banqueting Team Leader: voco Grand Central Hotel – Hospitality Heroes

Hayleigh Mullen, Guest Service Manager: Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel – Hospitality Heroes

Dinali Nadishani, Hotel Shop Manager: The Fife Arms Hotel, Braemar – Rising Up in Retail

Mandy Paterson, Head Chef & Kitchen Manager: QME Care (Queens House Kelso Ltd) – Champion Chefs

Daniel Phillips, Chef de Partie: Room with a View – Champion Chefs

Georgia Phillips, Reservations Manager: Dalata Hotel Group / Maldron Hotel Glasgow – Hospitality Heroes

Catriona Piper, Group Marketing Executive: Crerar Hotels – Hospitality Heroes

Hazel Powell, Head chef and co-owner: Baern at Bowhouse, St. Monan’s, Fife – Champion Chefs

Gregg Rankin, Head Bartender: Revolution – Brilliant in Beverage

Deborah Reidie, Head Chef: Inspired Community Enterprise Trust – Champion Chefs

Claire Rennie, Managing Director: Summerhouse Drinks – Brilliant in Beverage

Melina Riddoch, Guest Experience Co-ordinator: Meldrum House Country Hotel and Golf Course – Hospitality Heroes

Fleur Rush, Guest Experience Manager: Macallan Distillery Ltd – Tourism Trendsetters

Anna Sanina, Chocolatier: Bella Chocolate – Rising Up in Retail

Andrew Seward, Head Ghillie (Concierge): The Fife Arms Hotel, Braemar – Tourism Trendsetters

Marcus Sherry, Head Chef: Artfarm – The Fife Arms & The Fish Shop – Champion Chefs

Grace Sikorski McCulloch, Retail Manager: Lochalsh Reuse & Recycle Hub – Rising Up in Retail

Kev Stacey, Owner: 42 Cycling – Tourism Trendsetters

Mhairi Strohm, Head of Youth Training: Hub International – Hospitality Heroes

Jessica Thompson, Co-owner and General Manager: Mingary Castle – Hospitality Heroes

Alex Thomson, Visitor Attraction Manager: The Glenturret Distillery – Tourism Trendsetters

Kieran Wight, Head Chef: Elior @ Murrayfield Stadium – Champion Chefs

Leon Wilkes Back, Head of Mixology: Virgin Hotels – Brilliant in Beverage

David Wilson, Chef De Partie: Virgin Hotels Glasgow – Champion Chefs

Lucy Wilson, Chef: Wilson’s Farm & Kitchen – Champion Chefs

Beata Winiarska, Manager: Forest Farm Gelataria – Rising Up in Retail

Dylan Wynne, Trainee Tourism Manager: Cobbs Group – Hospitality Heroes

The Scottish Budget approved on Tuesday included an increase of £100m for councils, but that sum ‘won’t touch the sides’, said UNISON.

Commenting on the Scottish government’s announcement  of a £100 million cash injection to help settle local government pay disputes, Johanna Baxter, UNISON Scotland’s Head of local government, said:“The announcement of an additional £100m for local government is welcome. However, it won’t touch the sides of the £1 billion gap in local government budgets and doesn’t provide councils anywhere near enough funding for a decent pay uplift for local government workers.

“While local councils struggle to balance the books, thousands of jobs and community services are facing cuts. These scraps from the top table will do little to restore confidence in the Scottish government’s approach to local democracy or the communities our councils serve.”

The City of Edinburgh Council meets on Thursday to set the budget and the rate of council tax for the next year.

Scottish peace groups will hold a vigil for Ukraine on the first anniversary of Putin’s invasion.

On Friday 24 February, Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (SCND) will, along with other Scottish peace groups, hold a candlelit vigil to show their support for people in Ukraine. From 4.30-6.30pm peace groups invite people to donate to a humanitarian charity working in Ukraine, and to line Edinburgh’s Princes Street to mourn the deaths, bearing witness to opposition to the war, calling for its end – and especially the end of all nuclear threats. 

Co-sponsoring and participating organisations include Edinburgh CND, Edinburgh Stop the War, Peace and Justice, Protest in Harmony, Trident Ploughshares, Secure Scotland, Scottish Campaign Against the Arms Trade.

Lynn Jamieson, Chair of Scottish CND said: “Scottish CND unequivocally condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. We demand Stop Bombing Ukraine. The unacceptable risks of nuclear war (or a continent-contaminating fire at a nuclear power station such as Chornobyl) have run alongside the hell of killing, destruction and deadly actions.

“These have exacerbated climate change as governments choose to build war machines instead of green transitions. The only gains are by the arms industries whose hike in profits may outpace those of the energy companies.

“Russia and NATO are both nuclear armed and have military doctrines that include the first use of nuclear weapons, many times more destructive than those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Any ‘nuclear exchange’ threatens the end of all species and life itself. While the nuclear-weapons nations are rearming however, an overwhelming majority of UN member states support the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Banning nuclear weapons is the only way of preventing nuclear threats. An independent Scotland that accedes to the TPNW can disarm the UK. We are grateful for The Scottish Parliament and Government support.”

The vigil will be followed by a screening of the documentary film A Guided Tour of the Unacceptable, produced by Scottish CND and Secure Scotland and relating the history and geography of Scotland’s resistance to the UK’s nuclear weapon system.

This will take place at 7.30pm at the Media Centre in Dalry Road, with music from award winning musician Ryan Young. 

It is the middle of the week, and almost the end of the month, and this is the day when we begin production on our March newspaper.

If you have any news that absolutely needs to go in our paper then please do get in touch today.

SCOTTISH BUDGET

The Scottish Government’s budget was passed at Holyrood on Tuesday afternoon as set out to parliament by interim Finance Minister, John Swinney MSP.

The budget includes funding for Creative Scotland of £6.6 million which will be a relief for arts organisations, and the amount of funding for local authorities was increased by £223 million to support pay awards to staff. That sum is added to the already announced £570 million included in the local government settlement, taking the total for all 32 local authorities to £13.5 billion out of a total budget of around £57 billion.

Although the financial position of the government remains “exceptionally challenging”, Mr Swinney said that additional funding confirmed by the UK Government only on Tuesday morning had helped him to make some extra cash available.

Read more here

Hamilton is coming to Edinburgh

The Scottish premiere of the hip hop musical hit Hamilton will be on the stage at the Festival Theatre from 28 February to 27 April 2024. Producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh visited the capital on Tuesday afternoon and directed a very swift photo call after arriving with Capital Theatres CEO, Fiona Gibson. The group of photographers hardly had time to draw breath before he was off again for two interviews – but only with the BBC and STV.

However, thanks to the BBC Local Democracy Reporter scheme we can share the BBC footage with you here:

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The Council will set its budget on Thursday

The City of Edinburgh Council will meet on Thursday to set its own budget.

The SNP group on the council announced their plans for a graduated increase in council tax using statutory powers which they thought the council had. The group has now been told those plans would be unlawful.

Read more here.

On BBC IPLAYER – The Women Who Changed Modern Scotland

A new TV series The Women Who Changed Modern Scotland, which began on Tuesday evening features many women from Edinburgh.

Over the course of three programmes, this series will tell the stories of key women who have had a role in shaping Scotland over the last 50 years.

Presented by Kirsty Wark, it highlights the women who challenged the status quo in the 1960s and 70s, those who defied sexism to seize new opportunities in the 80s and 90s, and the women who, in more recent years, have stepped up to lead – in politics, in their communities and in the workplace.

The series will feature some well-known names, from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to Elaine C Smith, but also highlights an extraordinary range of women who may not be famous but whose passion and commitment have changed the lives of everyone in Scotland. 

In the first episode, which focuses on the 60s and 70s Kirsty discovers how the mothers of Craigmillar used the arts to revitalise their communities and create new opportunities for their children. Leading the campaign was local woman Helen Crummy, who lived with her family in the Edinburgh estate.

With help from the local community – she spearheaded a children’s arts festival which used creativity to draw attention to local injustices, such as unfair evictions, and which became a template for others in disadvantaged communities across the world.

This new series has been produced in partnership  with The Open University (OU) in Scotland, whose consultants on the series included Dr Kim Barker, Senior Lecturer in Law, and Dr Helen O’Shea, Lecturer in History. Dr Valerie Wright, of the University of Glasgow, also acted as a consultant on the series working with Two Rivers Media.

Says Kirsty Wark: “This series will celebrate the monumental achievements of women, many of them unsung, who some quietly, and others shouting from the rafters, did so much to transform the lives of women and men in Scotland and beyond in the last five decades.  They campaigned, they cajoled, they sang, they bravely made a path and encouraged others to follow.  Whether it was sport, stage, screen or fighting sex discrimination they made modern Scotland.”

The first episode of The Women Who Changed Modern Scotland will go out on the BBC Scotland channel on Tuesday February 21 at 10pm, with all three episodes available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.