Government budget cuts of £6.5m crush city building projects

Published on Friday 27 November 2009 08:40

CITY leader Jenny Dawe today warned that new council-backed projects would virtually grind to a halt after Scottish Government funding was slashed.

Edinburgh has effectively been handed a 6.5 million cut in its capital budget by finance secretary John Swinney, meaning there will be less for new building projects such as Meadowbank Stadium.

The revenue budget – used for the day-to-day running of the council – has been increased at one of Scotland's lowest rates.

Councillor Dawe hit out at the allocation process after Glasgow City Council got nearly double the amount of cash Edinburgh did. "There will not be a lot of money floating around so we can't build all we would have wanted," she said. "Meadowbank is something we would like to put a date on but just can't. It will be a case of working through what is there because there is not a huge sum of money to deliver what we want to."

Revenue funding will rise 1.76 per cent for next year to 796.9m – the third lowest rise of any Scottish council and well short of Glasgow's 1.4 billion, despite its population being just 24 per cent higher than Edinburgh's.

Cllr Dawe said: "It certainly highlights what is always said about Glasgow seeming to do better than us, although Glasgow and Edinburgh together seem to be the only councils that will end up with less for 2010-11 than this year.

"But with Glasgow, the population difference would not make their revenue settlement fair compared to Edinburgh's."

Edinburgh North & Leith Labour MSP Malcolm Chisholm accused the SNP of a "rip-off", saying the Capital's 1.7 per cent rise in revenue funding compared with an average 2.9 per cent Scottish increase. "The fact Edinburgh has such a low percentage increase highlights the problem with the current formula," he said.

In total, Edinburgh has been given capital funding of 62.1m for next year, although the figure doesn't include 36.1m expected to be allocated for housing, which would bring next year's figure up to 98.2m – still 13.7m lower than last year. If you subtract the 7.2m Edinburgh opted to "accelerate" from next year's budget, the figure is still 6.5 lower.

The Scottish Government is calling for Chancellor Alistair Darling to allow more accelerated spending from future budgets.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Any apparent reduction in the overall level of capital support reflects the acceleration of 100m of local government capital spending from 2010-11 to 2008-9 and 2009-10.

"This boosts the figures for the current year, and reduces the resource currently available next year, which is exactly why we are urging the Chancellor to agree to a further tranche of accelerated capital spending for next year."

COUNCIL MISSES OUT ON SCHOOLS CASH

NEW primary schools are to be built in East and West Lothian as part of a national 1.25 billion school rebuilding programme – but no money has been pledged to replace any of Edinburgh's crumbling primaries.

The Scottish Government has revealed in its second round of school funding announcements that 20 primaries and one special school will be rebuilt across Scotland.

West Lothian's Pumpherston & Uphall Station Primary in Livingston and East Lothian's Haddington Infants and St Mary's Primary are to be replaced under the scheme.

But Edinburgh will not be receiving any money, meaning that St John's Primary in Portobello – the primary school next in line for replacement – will have to wait for the foreseeable future.

David Manson, chair of St John's parent council, said: "It's bitterly disappointing, but the financial situation at the moment is such that when we're talking about the whole of Scotland, we know it has to be shared out.

"Edinburgh is now at the end of the queue."