Report card shows Council pledges on track, one year on

Published Friday 24 May 2013

 

A review of pledges made to Edinburgh residents by the Council shows that the majority are progressing well.

 

The ‘contract with the capital’, published after the 2012 local government elections, details 53 specific commitments that will be reported on annually by the Labour and SNP Capital Coalition.

Four pledges have been completed, including creating a transport forum and introducing a ‘living wage’ for the lowest-paid Council staff. However, most are at the stage of having actions agreed and are in progress.

 

Council Leader Cllr Andrew Burns said:

 

“While I’m pleased that we’re making headway with the commitments we made, the most important thing about this first report card is that we are openly letting the public see how we’re doing so that they can make up their own minds about the Council’s performance. In terms of the biggest issues facing the city, we have seen some big steps forward with the tram project, property conservation and youth employment. But in these, and other areas, there are still very significant challenges such as ensuring we build a new high school in Portobello. Next year and beyond will be the real test as we see if the actions underway are going to deliver on our contract with the capital.”

 

Deputy Council Leader Cllr Steve Cardownie added:

 

“We must now continue to make sure that councillors and officers work together to maintain the momentum. There’s been a lot of discussion and effort in getting us to this stage, but what we all want to see is the delivery of the outcomes of the pledges that we made. The Council is united in the vision of Edinburgh as a successful and sustainable capital city. We will keep working towards that and the public will be able to see how we are doing in future reports.”

 

After the local government election in May 2012, the Capital Coalition set out six high-level commitments:

• Ensuring every child in Edinburgh has the best start in life
• Reducing poverty, inequality and deprivation
• Providing for Edinburgh’s prosperity
• Strengthening and supporting our communities and keeping them safe
• Ensuring Edinburgh, and its residents, are well-cared for
• Maintaining and improving the quality of life in Edinburgh.

 

These are further broken down into specific pledges, of which:

• 4 are complete
• 36 have actions that are agreed and on track
• 7 have new actions under development
• 6 are on track but with some actions that are not met

 

Full details of the pledges and their status are contained in the first year’s performance report to be considered at the Council meeting on 30 May.

Edinburgh Marathon 2014, Venture Scotland & a promised pint :-)

Just a little bit of uncharactersistic, self-promotion on the blog today I'm afraid ...

... as some friends, family and colleagues know; I reach a fairly significant age-milestone this coming December, 2013  :-(

And ... somewhat insanely I know ... I plan to run the Edinburgh Marathon in May 2014 (next year) when I will indeed be a stately 50-years old ;-)

I have run 5 Marathons before, a very long time ago in 1983/1984, when I was a mere-youth at 19/20years of age. The five I completed, none of them at any great speed I hasten to add, were:

1. Belfast, May 1983 (Northern Ireland)
2. Glasgow, September 1983 (Scotland)
3. Dublin, October 1983 (Eire)
4. Seven Sisters, Eastbourne; February 1984 (England)
5. Barmouth, April 1984 (Wales)

... and, rather foolishly in hindsight, at the completion of the last one in April 1984, I bet my Dad I'd run another when I turned 50-years old.

The bet was for a pint and a fiver.

I'm not bothered about the fiver, but I do want to win that pint :-)

I also plan to do the run for the charity, Venture Scotland - you can read more about them here ... and my JustGiving page is here (that was an unsubtle hint!).

I was involved in the early days (1988) of Venture Scotland, when it was initially formed, and established its unique brand of personal development programmes for young people aged 16-30, who face complex and difficult problems. They are a great charity and really do deserve as much support as possible.

And, for the duration of my training, I also intend to keep a blipfoto diary (for 1-year only) from May 2013 through to late May 2014, to record my running and fundraising exploits ... you can see that here.

My last blipfoto entry will hopefully be of me, drinking that pint :-))

I now promise to keep all-things fundraising on the blipfoto diary, and via twitter, and the blog will promptly return to much more important matters, such as the shocking progress with my Allotment-crops this year ;-)

Candidates confirmed for Liberton/Gilmerton by-election

All the voter-information you need for the upcoming Ward 16, Liberton/Gilmerton Council by-Election on Thursday 20th June can now be found via this link.

And all the candidates standing in the Liberton/Gilmerton by-election have been confirmed.

They are:

• Derek Howie - Scottish National Party (SNP)
• Phil Hunt - Pirate Party Scotland
• John Christopher Knox - Scottish Liberal Democrats
• Alys Mumford - Scottish Green Party
• Stephanie Murray - Scottish Conservative and Unionist
• Keith John Robson - Labour and Co-operative Party Candidate
• John Scott - Independent
• Jonathan Stanley - UKIPScotland 

Voters in this ward have until Wednesday 5 June 2013 to register to vote or apply for a postal vote for the by-election. To register to vote or apply for a postal vote people should contact the Electoral Registration Office or phone 0131 344 2500. 

Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm. The location of some polling places has changed so voters should check their polling cards carefully to find out where to vote. 

Polling Places:

• Gilmerton Community Centre
• Goodtrees Neighbourhood Centre
• Liberton Kirk Halls
• Liberton Northfield Church
• South Neighbourhood Office and Library
• St Gregory’s Church Hall
• TA Centre
• Valley Park Community Centre

The by-election will use the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system where voters can rank candidates in order of preference using numbers rather than a single cross. Voters can give a rank to as many or as few candidates as they like. The result of the by-election will be announced once the votes are counted on Friday 21 June. 

The vacancy in the Liberton/Gilmerton ward was created by the death of Councillor Tom Buchanan on Wednesday 3 April.

Castlebrae Community High School visit

I've posted up information, a couple of times, since the decision to keep Castlebrae High School open was made back in March ... here and here specifically.

And I did promise to write further about the Education Commission/Working Group, as it developed ...

... well, next Tuesday the Education Committee will consider a report (now available here) on the formal establishment of the Group - the Evening News covered some of the story last week - including the fact that my SNP-colleague, Councillor Cathy Fullerton, will Chair/oversee the upcoming work.

So, I was delighted earlier today to visit the school with Cathy, and to meet the Head Boy, Head Girl, and members of the Parent Council ... here's a shot of us outside the entrance to the school :-)

And, it gives me the opportunity just to reinforce the March Council decision ...

... if you want to hear either my own actual contribution to the debate on the 14th March, or Councillor Cardownie's, just follow these two links:

• Andrew Burns contribution
• Steve Cardownie contribution

To paraphrase my own brief speech:

• at the end of last year, we made it plain that the new Craigmillar Secondary School will be delivered by August 2020 at the latest.
•  I put all the documentation into the public domain at the time - follow the links from the 7-points here.
• we've now decided to keep the current Castlebrae Community High School (CCHS) open.
• an update report will now go the next meeting of the Education Committee on Tuesday 21st May.
• every effort, including the establishment of the community-requested 'Education Commission', will now be made to ensure that CCHS is successful between 2013 and 2020.
• the objective will be to ensure the current school remains open and successful until the new school is ready. 

I'm now really looking forward to hearing more from the Working Group and seeing its deliberations, and proposals, put into practice over coming months and years.

#ROBSON1 & May Allotment Update #2 :-))

Bit of canvassing, up in Gilmerton Dykes Drive, this afternoon with our local by-election candidate: Keith Robson (and others).

Apparently it was a deeply disturbing experience for Keith because of some football game that was ongoing at the time??

Anyhow, I really enjoyed speaking to folk on the doors ;-)

And, to make things even better, after leaving team #ROBSON1, we managed to get a bit of family-time down at the Allotment ...

... which amazingly means I've managed two allotment visits in one month :-)

And almost the whole site is now planted-up: got the brussel sprouts in today, and probably only about one-third of a bed left to fill with a final crop!

Here's a shot of the pond area, now starting to really come to life - not just around the edges, but the water itself is alive with tadpoles.

Ah well - onwards into another busy week at work: Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee on Tuesday - main agenda here, and all the individual reports can be accessed here ...

... never a dull moment.

#ROBSON1 for Liberton/Gilmerton on Thursday 20th June

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Edinburgh Labour had selected its candidate for the upcoming Liberton/Gilmerton by-election ...

... well, Polling Day is a mere 5-weeks this Thursday, and the #ROBSON1 campaign team is in full swing throughout Ward 16: you can see regular updates from the campaign trail via their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/RobsonForLibGil

Please do get in touch if you have any queries and/or would like to help during the campaign ... all the key phone numbers can be found via the link above.

Hope to see you in Ward 16 over the coming 5-weeks :-)

First year of the Council’s "contract with the Capital"

First year of the Council’s "contract with the Capital"

One year on from the local government elections, Council Leader Cllr Andrew Burns and Deputy Leader Cllr Steve Cardownie reflect on the progress made over the first twelve months of the ‘contract with the Capital’:

Cllr Burns said: “While there is still a lot of work to be done in the coming years, there’s also much we can be proud of in the year since last May. We have introduced a living wage for the lowest-earning Council staff, created a new Transport Forum to help develop a vision for how we all get around the city and helped to get more young people into work.

“We have also tackled some of the more challenging issues facing the Council.  The Deloitte reports into the allegations about property services were recently published and a new shared repairs service to help homeowners began in April. There is now a bill lodged with the Scottish Parliament that we hope will pave the way towards creating a much-needed new high school in Portobello. The tram project is making very good progress against the revised timetable and budget and the recent reopening of St Andrew Square is just one of several major milestones we expect to reach this year.

“I’m not aware of any other Council in Scotland that has made the same commitment we have to regularly and visibly report on progress against specific pledges. 

“Accountability, as well as performance against the targets we set, is essential in fulfilling our aim to rebuild trust with the people of Edinburgh.”

Cllr Cardownie added: “The progress we have made really underlines the importance of having a strong coalition. This gives the city stable leadership and allows us to create a new way of working within the Council and with our partners.

“Yes, there are many pledges that we need to keep working towards and there some big issues that the Council still has to resolve. But, it’s worth remembering that there is a lot to be proud about in the Capital, as demonstrated by the positive feedback in last year’s Edinburgh People’s Survey.

“From increasing satisfaction with neighbourhood services to our international reputation as a Festival City, Edinburgh is a great city for locals and visitors alike.

“We will continue to build on that and I’m really confident that we will go from strength to strength. Of course, we will continue to keep our own performance under review. But thanks to the open approach we have taken, residents will be able to judge for themselves how the Council is meeting their expectations.”

A full report of the Council’s performance against thepledges made in the ‘contract with the capital’ will be presented to the Council meeting on 30 May 2013.

The Capital Coalition was created after the 2012 localgovernment elections, with the Labour and SNP partnership making up 38 of the Council’s 58 councillors.

Labour and SNP join forces to take Edinburgh forward

Of course, it was a year ago today!

Here's the News Release below, from this very day last year - and the obligatory, suspect picture ... think I may now have less hair than Councillor Cardownie ;-)

More seriously, a full report on the Council’s performance against the pledges made in the ‘contract with the capital’ will be presented to the Council meeting on Thursday 30th May 2013.

I'll publish a short commentary, later today, briefly reflecting on these first 12-months.

Published Monday 7 May 2012

Labour Party and Scottish National Party form historic coalition at the City of Edinburgh Council.

The Labour Party and the Scottish National Party have signed an agreement to work together to run the City of Edinburgh Council following the local government elections on 3 May.

The agreement follows concerted efforts to reach an all-party alliance between all the groups that had councillors returned by the electors last week. The coalition partners said they hoped to continue to work with the other groups in the interests of the people of Edinburgh. 

Andrew Burns, Labour Group leader, said: "After listening to the will of the electorate and after intense negotiations over the last few days I am delighted that we have managed to reach an agreement to lead the city of Edinburgh for the next five years. Edinburgh electors gave a very clear mandate to Labour and the SNP, delivering 38 out of 58 councillors. A Labour-SNP coalition will now provide the stability and certainty needed to move Edinburgh forward."

Steve Cardownie, SNP Group leader, said: "The SNP looks forward to working in partnership with the Labour group with a progressive and exciting agenda to meet the challenges the city faces. With this strong partnership we are best placed to ensure Edinburgh serves its citizens well and emerges from the recession quickly and strongly. Our groups' economic policies are almost one and the same and we are confident they will deliver for the people of the city."

Chief Executive Sue Bruce, who was notified of the agreement today, said: "I look forward to working with the new administration, and indeed all councillors, over the next five years.

"A successful Council needs a partnership between the elected members who set the direction and policies, and the officers charged with putting that into practice. Together, our responsibility is to ensure that we take Edinburgh forward and make a real difference to the people who live and work here."

The coalition parties have agreed the following division of positions: the Labour Party will nominate candidates for the positions of Leader and Lord Provost; the Scottish National Party will nominate candidates for the positions of Deputy Leader and Deputy Lord Provost.

The first meeting of the new Council is on Thursday 17 May, at which it will appoint a new Lord Provost. It is intended that the other aforementioned positions will be agreed at the same meeting.

For full details of the results from the election on 3 May see our news release.

Neighbourhood Partnerships going from strength to strength

Published Monday 6 May 2013

The good practice of Neighbourhood Partnerships and how to increase their positive impact on communities is being considered by the newly formed Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee.

A review of the work of the 12 Partnerships in the Capital has been completed and aims to develop ways in which they can be strengthened and developed.

The review focuses on improving community participation and increasing the influence of Partnerships, with a significant commitment from a range of public sector and voluntary organisations to respond to locally identified needs and priorities.

Residents and representatives from the public and voluntary sector actively collaborated on identifying the improvements needed. Members of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee will consider the options presented in a report tomorrow (May 7).

The range of options include increasing communication about the work of Neighbourhood Partnerships and Community Councils, developing the use of online participation, and strengthening the links between organisations.

Councillor Maureen Child, Convener of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee, said: "Neighbourhood Partnerships allow for dialogue between the community, the voluntary sector, the local authority and public sector agencies. They have the potential to give people the chance to have their say, and have an influence on matters which are important to them in their area, or to express themselves about something that interests them.

"Feedback from online and workshop consultation found that 70% of respondents agreed that the role of Partnerships should be increased, which corresponds with the Capital Coalition's pledge to do so.

"Increasing community involvement in the democratic process can empower local people and organisations and encourage community pride."

#ROBSON1 for Liberton/Gilmerton on Thursday 20th June

Edinburgh Labour have selected their candidate for the upcoming By-election in the Liberton/Gilmerton Ward: Keith Robson.

Keith lives in Southhouse with his wife Gillian and their four-year-old son Struan. He knows the issues affecting the local area and would love the chance to represent the Ward 16 community at the City Chambers.

Keith's campaign team have set up a Facebook Page, which you can access here: https://www.facebook.com/RobsonForLibGil 

Please do get in touch if you have any queries and/or would like to help during the campaign.

May Allotment Update :-)

Attended the annual 'Kirking of the Council' service this morning ...

... reminded me that at this time last year, we were in the throes of post-election coalition negotiations; its certainly been a very busy 12-months!

Anyhow - to take my mind off all-things political, we escaped to the Allotment for several hours this afternoon and I finally got the last of the potatoes planted ... nearly a month behind previous planting-seasons :-(

Also managed to get our two 'rockets' erected, as you can see in the second photo here, and some sweet peas planted around the base/s.

Everything does, at last, feel like its about to spring into life ... even though its almost summer ;-)

Ah well - back to the grindstone tomorrow.

Astounding comments - no basis in fact, and totally irrelevant ...

I didn't know Audrey Fyfe, but my heart goes out to her family and friends ... it really does. I'm frankly incensed by what happened in the Court Judgement, relating to her death, earlier today - and can only begin to imagine how they must feel.

Please read the BBC report of the case, which concluded today - here ... the Sheriff's closing comments are astounding:

The sheriff said Mrs Fyffe "wasn't to blame in any way for the accident", but added: "She was not wearing a safety helmet and that in my view contributed to her death."

And he gave the driver (who was jailed for 2-years in the 1980's after previously killing a cyclist) 300-hours of Community Service.

The sentence is a complete disgrace, and I'm pleased to hear that the Crown Office is giving careful consideration as to whether it was unduly lenient.

But - equally as appalling, to me, are the Sheriff's comments ... please, please also read the evidence on helmet usage  - here.

Then have a glance at this same Sheriff's words/actions in 2010 - here.

All appalling. Truly, truly appalling.

Full Council Meeting Webcast

Full Council Meeting earlier today ... as ever, all the Reports can be found via CPOL (here); and for those interested the Webcast of the meeting can be found here.

Actually, one consequence of today's meeting is that all Webcast meetings will now be available (via the archive) for at least 5-years ;-)

Not within any of today's reports ... we are also looking at the potential introduction of i-pad voting; so that all individual votes will be automatically recorded and displayed on the system. At the moment, you can only see the overall voting figures (not individuals) via the (later) minute of the meeting. Watch this space!

Portobello Park Private Bill introduced in Scottish Parliament

Meant to mention the fact that, at the end of last week, we lodged the Portobello Park Private Bill in Parliament ... I'll simply repeat the relevant News Release below:

Published Friday 26 April 2013

A Private Bill to allow the new Portobello High School to be built in Portobello Park was introduced in the Scottish Parliament yesterday (Thursday 25 April).

The City of Edinburgh Council is taking the comparatively rare step of seeking to introduce new legislation as the existing law presents an impediment to the Council building the much-needed school.

The Private Bill, which is being promoted by the City of Edinburgh Council, aims to change the Common Good status of Portobello Park from inalienable to ‘alienable’, but only for educational purposes. This means although the land would remain in the Common Good, the Council would be able to ‘appropriate it’, or change its use, to an educational purpose.

The Council recently consulted on its proposals for a Private Bill and received resounding support to take it forward. The consultation produced the highest number of responses for any Council consultation in recent years, with over 12,000 individual responses received. Of the valid responses received from those who live in the city, 70% supported the proposals with the level of support from those in the local Portobello area being higher at 76%.

Councillor Paul Godzik, Convener of Education, Children and Families, said: “The Council is absolutely determined to deliver a new Portobello High School and this is an important milestone in the project.  The existing school is greatly in need of replacement and it is clear from the response to our recent consultation that the people of Edinburgh support our Private Bill to change the status of Portobello Park to allow the new Portobello High School to be built there.

“We believe we have a strong case to put to Parliament. This by far the best location for the much-needed new school and our open space compensation measures mean that the people of Portobello would not only gain a new park but also see improvements to other green space in the local community.”

Additional information:

1.   Following the introduction of the Private Bill there is a sixty day period for objections.  Local residents living near the park have already received notice from the Council that the Bill is being introduced and that they have a right to object.

2.   The Council anticipates that the Private Bill can be passed by February 2014 but since the existing planning permission is due to expire in February 2014, the Council will mitigate any risk by seeking to renew the planning permission in the Autumn with consultation on this being due to start in May 2013.

3.   The Portobello Park Private Bill, if successful, will only change the categorisation of the Common Good land at Portobello Park and will have no impact on any other Common Good land in Edinburgh, or elsewhere in the country.

4.   A local campaign group, PPAG (Portobello Park Action Group) took Court Action to prevent the new school being built in Portobello Park.  The initial court case found in the Council’s favour but on Appeal, Judges ruled that under existing legislation, while the Council could sell off the land with court permission, the law did not permit change from one of the Council’s functions to another.

Labour Group AGM

Labour Group AGM this evening; as Thursday's Full Council Meeting is the "Council AGM" ...

... needless to say, this won't be reported anywhere; but no challenges for any posts, all Senior (and Junior) positions remain as-was.

Just 12-months into a 5-year term, its the right approach as our single-minded focus remains on delivering those Capital Coalition pledges ...

... much more of which, next month :-)

80 years young ;-)

 Swiftly back to Edinburgh (by train, of course!) ...

... and made it back up North just in time to attend a large family gathering to celebrate my Mum's 80th Birthday.

A great time was had by all :-)

Its a very big year for significant, family mile-posts - already having taken place:

• my Dad is 85
• parents now married for 60 years
• my Mum is 80

And, well, this December just doesn't bear thinking about :-(

Electoral Reform Society Council

Saturday in London for the quarterly Electoral Reform Society Council Meeting ...

 ... amongst other subjects, good discussion about potential lessons from ongoing work in Scotland (see here) that may be applicable to ongoing campaigns in England.

London - as so often - was in truly stunning form, here's a view along the South Bank of the Thames with St. Paul's Cathedral in the distance.

Such a beautiful city.

May 2013 Leader's Report

 

May 2013

A tribute to Tom Buchanan

Like everyone at the Council, I was deeply saddened to hear about the death of one of our most experienced councillors, Councillor Tom Buchanan, last month. Tom brought unstinting energy and enthusiasm to his role as Economic Development Convener, particularly to the Council’s Strategy for Jobs. My thoughts, and the thoughts of all those who worked with him, are with his family and friends at this very difficult time. 

He was incredibly passionate about the health of the economy, especially when it came to creating opportunities for young people, and he will rightly be remembered for it. 

As a lasting memorial of Tom’s work, a scholarship is to be established in his name and I will be reporting the details of this in future issues of my Leader’s Report.

___________________________________________

Foster Care

I was recently very moved when I met a group of foster carers who took the time to come to the City Chambers and explain what they do, what some of the challenges are and the huge satisfaction they get from providing a loving home for children who need it. I know it is not for everyone, but I would urge everyone who can to consider becoming a foster carer.

I am also very grateful to Council staff for their commitment in recruiting such a dedicated team of carers for the city.
___________________________________________

Property Repairs

Consistent with the pledge in our Contract with the Capital to resolve issues surrounding the Council’s Property Services, two reports commissioned by the Council have now been published.

They make uncomfortable reading in parts but the issues raised in the reports have been addressed and the Council has approved stronger governance arrangements that seek to eliminate the risk of such situations happening again. 

Whilst this is a complex issue and there are ongoing legal implications, it is quite clear that the public has been let down. It is important to say, however, that the overwhelming majority of Council staff are honest and professional and work hard to deliver services for the people of Edinburgh.

I know that Council staff have put a great deal of effort into developing the new service and it is essential that we continue do everything possible to ensure that the public has confidence in the Council whether on property conservation or any other issue.

___________________________________________

Tram Update

Following the successful handover of the airport to Gogar section of the tram route in March, the project continues to progress well and remains in line with the revised schedule and budget. 

Contractors have been carrying out overhead cabling work along the route and on-street works in the city centre are moving along well. By the end of summer much of the road and track works will be finished and we now know that all construction works are programmed for completion by the end of the year. Beyond that a rigorous programme of system testing will take place.

See the latest pictures highlighting the progress on the Council website. You can also get regular updates by following @edinburghtrams on Twitter.

___________________________________________

Bedroom Tax

A range of Welfare Reform measures has been introduced from April this year and we are particularly concerned about the measures to reduce housing benefits for some tenants of local authorities and housing associations.

The Capital Coalition has forged a “no eviction” policy in response ... (I should add that the local Green Group on the Council have been very helpful/supportive in the formation of this policy position) ...

This will mean that tenants subject to the under-occupancy charge, who build up arrears because the housing benefit no longer covers their rent, are not going to be evicted. They will have to show that they have done all that can be reasonably expected of them to avoid falling into arrears and we will pursue collection of those arrears but we will not evict. If you or somebody you know is affected, there is information on our website or call 0131 469 5000.

___________________________________________

Community Planning

As Chair of the Edinburgh Community Planning Partnership I am pleased to report strong progress in our key areas of economic, health, educational, and social issues in the city. 

The Partnership has focused all actions on delivering its vision for the city: “Edinburgh is a thriving, successful and sustainable capital city in which all forms of deprivation and inequality are reduced”. Key examples of partnership action include the Edinburgh Business Gateway Partnership which, through its one to one support services, is making it easier to do business in the city. This support is focused on business growth, access to finance and developing entrepreneurship amongst women and young people, the sharing of facilities to improve the accessibility of services and the launch of a new Entrepreneurial Spark “hatchery”. 

Local IT/training initiatives are helping mitigate issues faced by residents affected by Welfare Reform and we have secured the support of financial institutions in schools to ensure our young people have access to bank accounts. 

The Family Nurse Partnership supports young first-time mothers to develop skills as competent, confident parents, engage in activities to support bonding with their child, delay weaning and become more physically active. 

These are just some of the ways the Edinburgh Partnership is making a real difference to our communities.

___________________________________________

National Performance Centre for Sport

I was delighted to hear that the bid submitted by Heriot-Watt University with support from the City of Edinburgh Council has been short listed for stage 2 of the process to become the home of the new National Performance Centre for Sport. The stage 2 submission will have the full support of the Council and we will be working closely with colleagues from the University to ensure we submit the best possible final bid. The deadline for the stage 2 application is 5 July 2013 with an announcement on the preferred bidder scheduled for late summer.

___________________________________________

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