March Leader's Report now available online - for this Thursday's Council Meeting - you can
access it on CPOL here and/or watch me speak to it, on Thursday,
here ...
... and the full text (with various links) follows below:
March 2013
Castlebrae High School
Deciding whether or not to close a school is one of the most
challenging decisions that most of us will have to face in our role as
Councillors.
Following an extensive consultation, officers of the Council are
recommending that we close Castlebrae High School in
June this year, primarily because the quality of the education. This is
absolutely no reflection on the school staff, as I saw myself on a recent visit
to the school. There is no doubting the huge commitment and effort from them
individually and as a group.
We will have to thoroughly consider the 200 page report to carefully weigh up and decide
what is best for the educational needs of the children as well as the longer
term future of the area.
The Capital Coalition is taking time to consider the detailed
contents of this lengthy report and discuss with interested parties, including
those campaigning to keep the school open, before making a decision at the
Council meeting on 14 March.
Whatever the outcome, we are absolutely committed to building a new
school in the Craigmillar area (predicted completion
in autumn 2020) - and have already allocated £618k of early funding for the
start of the design stage in 2017. We realise that the
successful regeneration of Craigmillar relies in part
on the commitment to a new school and the creation of a safe, family-friendly
environment.
___________________________________________
Another step closer to
Zero Waste
We have just agreed a long-term contract with Alauna Renewable Energy (ARE) to build and operate a
state-of-the-art food waste recycling facility on behalf of the Council, through
its successful Zero Waste partnership with Midlothian
Council.
I think this is a major achievement as it enables us to provide a
local, long-term solution for recycling food waste at a competitive price. It
will also help us continue to increase recycling levels, reduce the amount of
waste buried at landfill sites, meet greenhouse gas targets and continue to
attract new investment to Edinburgh.
This is the first collaborative waste project of its kind in Scotland
and will be based near Millerhill in Midlothian.
Together with Midlothian Council, we are leading the way with a partnership that
will see food waste collected in both areas recycled to produce renewable
electricity, as well as a fertiliser for local farms.
The Zero Waste Project is also midway through procurement for a
facility to recycle all the black bag waste that can’t be sorted at the kerbside.
This new facility will add value to all the extra effort from staff
to improve the city’s recycling rates. Even though there have been some problems
during the major service changes, your work is not
going unnoticed and is hugely appreciated.
___________________________________________
Tram Update
The tram project continues to progress well, in line with the revised
schedule and budget. The first completed section of the track has now been
officially handed over to the Council after successful testing by the
contractor, marking an important milestone for the project. The 2.8km stretch of
track between the Gogar depot and Edinburgh
International Airport has been subject to extensive testing and commissioning
which began in November 2012 and will now be used for driver training.
The latest picture update highlighting the progress made is now
available.
___________________________________________
Fresh Start - Shared Repairs Service
In response to public consultation, a newly designed Shared Repair Service will be phased in from 2
April to provide guidance to help home owners in shared buildings maintain their
properties. This will replace the Property Conservation Service that has been
the subject of significant financial and service concerns. The investigations
and remedial action into historical problems will continue, but going forward,
we want to offer a more customer focused service.
I’d like to acknowledge that this has been a very difficult time for
some staff as the service is transformed and I’m aware we are placing a lot of
demand on staff to get the new service up and running on time. We must provide
the best quality service possible to the public and I thank all of you for
keeping this goal firmly in focus.
The new service will continue to provide an all year round,
much-valued emergency response service to help owners make their properties safe
if they pose a danger to public safety.
There will also be a new advice and information service providing
guidance to support owners to make the right choices and take responsibility for
maintaining their own properties. Information will be available on the services
provided by property factors, property management agencies and also how to
organise shared repairs using the Tenement Management Scheme.
The Council’s statutory powers to compel building repairs will remain
but will only be used as a last resort.
___________________________________________
Partnership in action
This funding is a central component to meeting the operational costs
of these important sectors which contribute to the city's economic and social
wellbeing. I appreciate how much the Third Sector contributes to the quality of
life in Edinburgh as well as their overall economic contribution of around £101m
bringing in over £8.00 for every Council pound invested.
As well as that, volunteers provide over 730 thousand hours of unpaid
service. Based on the average Edinburgh wage of around £13 per hour, this
provides an annual economic equivalent impact of around £9.5m to the city. I
can’t say enough about our appreciation of the role of volunteers. The
recipients of funds they raise and the people they help directly are of course
the first to express their appreciation, but often the contribution from
volunteers is quietly provided and therefore not visible to most of us.
It is in this spirit that we have decided to review the process for
grants to third parties during 2013/14, in partnership with the third sector and
other stakeholders, to ensure financial stability for organisations and value
for money for the Council.
___________________________________________
Be in the picture
The Spirit of '45 is a call-to-arms to defend the venerable social
institutions that have improved the lives of millions. The film has been
instumental in promoting public discussion about cuts, worker's rights
and equitable public policies. You can join in the discussion on 
