The following article by Finance and Resources Convener Cllr Rob Munn and Vice Convener Cllr Joan Griffiths was published in today's Edinburgh Evening News:
When we set a balanced three-year budget around this time last year none of us had any inkling of the global economic turmoil that was about to be unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Keeping vital public services going to protect our communities and delivering support to those who need it most has been and remains our absolute priority throughout this crisis. But, of course, the mounting expenditure and, in particular, lost income as a consequence of the pandemic are putting acute pressure on our finances.
We’ve already faced around £85m in additional pressures and we know enough by now about the ever-changing nature of this crisis not to rule out further changes and financial challenges in the months to come.
That’s why the Council Business Plan and Revenue Budget report to next week’s Finance and Resources Committee adopts a pragmatic and realistic approach by proposing a one-year budget for 2021/22 and a budget framework for the following four years.
While we’ll of course update our proposed budget assumptions after the Scottish Government announces its Local Government Financial Settlement, we’ve been able to propose a balanced budget position for the coming financial year thanks in large part to financial flexibilities already agreed with the Scottish Government. This balanced position will be extremely welcome news for everyone who has depended so much on our essential services throughout the crisis.
Nevertheless, we’re clear that more fundamental reforms to service provision will be inevitable from 2022/23 as we grapple with the need to save more than £100m over four years, while continuing to progress our primary agenda of creating attractive, safe and sustainable places to live, building thousands of affordable homes and investing in modern, inclusive schools and early years settings to give our children the best possible start in life.
The report also sets the Council’s new Business Plan, titled ‘Our Future Council, Our Future City’, which is aimed at shaping Edinburgh’s “fair and green” recovery from the pandemic in the years ahead and is aligned with the budget framework.
Both the Business Plan and the Budget are underpinned by our core priorities and ambitions as an Administration, namely: tackling poverty and inequality as we strive to eradicate poverty from the Capital by 2030 and become a Living Wage City; boosting sustainability and dramatically cutting our carbon footprint towards our goal of becoming a Net Zero Carbon city, also by 2030; and enhancing wellbeing for all our citizens.
Through the Business Plan and our ongoing financial planning we’ll also be driving forward the aims set out in Edinburgh’s Community Plan. We’re determined to make sure our residents have enough money to live on, opportunities to work, equal access to learning and training and, crucially, to ensure Edinburgh remains a good place to live for everyone who calls it home. Our citizens deserve nothing less.