Council braces for drastic budget cuts

Vital services are expected to suffer as Edinburgh Council faces budget cuts of £90 million over the next three years.

To achieve the £90m savings, a 10 percent reduction in support costs across all services will be required, with 4 percent, or £3.6m, being saved from frontline services in the coming year alone.

The leader of Edinburgh Council, Jenny Dawe, said in a statement following the first savings proposal: "I would like to emphasise that the proposals in the budget packs are officer suggestions to address the unprecedented financial situation we face.

"These have been shared with all political parties and some will be politically unacceptable to the administration."

Among the many areas suggested for cuts are free transport services, with proposals to increase school bus eligibility from a two to three mile radius. Another controversial plan is the possibility of staff reductions and redundancies throughout council services.

The council are looking for various ways to explore alternative service delivery, which they state does not mean privatisation, and are looking to approaches that have proved effective for other councils.

Councillor Phil Wheeler said: "The reality is that we can no longer afford to continue running all of our services in the same way as we are currently. Come budget day on 11 February this council is going to have to face some very difficult decisions to balance the books at a time when there is an increased demand for some services.”

Some frontline services that have already had their budgets cut, including care for vulnerable people, have begun outsourcing to private companies.

The final budget decision will be made on 11 February, when the council will vote on budget proposals submitted by the administration and opposition parties.