Fringe faces hit as £2.6m council cuts go to the vote

THE Edinburgh Festival, the largest cultural event in the world, is among arts groups and voluntary organisations that face losing £2.6 million in grants from cuts to funding.

Edinburgh City Council chiefs have proposed a series of cutbacks to the wide range of organisations that benefit from the 25m grant it spent this year.

The Edinburgh International Festival and the Festival Fringe are among those anticipating reductions in funding. Others include Citizens Advice Edinburgh and the Theatre Workshop, a group which helps those on the margins of society; it is facing a 37 per cent cut.

The average funding cut for organisations that receive funding from the culture and sport department will be 4 per cent on last year.

Councillor Andrew Burns, leader of the Labour opposition group, said: "This will have a massive impact. In our (opposition] budget, we've found savings from back office functions and reducing the use of consultants."

The chamber will vote on the 2.6m cuts on Thursday.

Councillor Phil Wheeler, the city's finance leader, said: "The council has applied the same principle regarding savings to third-party grants as it has to spending across the board."