City 'will hit green targets'

CITY chiefs have insisted that privatisation of council services will not lead to the Capital missing climate change targets.

The Scottish Parliament is currently considering the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, which sets local authorities the target of reducing greenhouse gases by 42 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050. Failure to meet the targets could lead to a financial penalty.

Councillor Andrew Burns, leader of the Labour group on the city council, said he had concerns over whether the council can meet the targets if it chooses to outsource a series of services through its ongoing "alternative business models" programme.

Jim Inch, the council's director of corporate services, said: "I'd give an absolute guarantee that that level of control of the levers will be retained."