Council Budget Meeting next week ...

As mentioned the other day, it's the 2014/15 Council Budget Meeting, next Thursday 13th February ...

... the Capital Coalition's full and final draft, of our revised budget proposals, will be published tomorrow morning (Friday 7th), on Committee Papers On-line (CPOL) - and here on the blog.

But - before all that - we did have a regular Council Meeting earlier today - the reports for which are all here; and you can (if so inclined?!) watch proceedings via the webcast archive very soon ...

... you know you want to ;-)

Scotland can help England to be One Nation

I've written a short-piece for the Electoral Reform Society, to coincide with the publication of their Towards One Nation report ... my brief thoughts are below:

There are those in the Scottish Labour Party who are always happy to blame the introduction of STV-PR to elect Scottish Councils, in 2007, for the rise of the SNP and thus the electoral decline of Scottish Labour.

It’s a simple theory – everything was someone else’s fault, we have no responsibility, and if only the electoral system had stayed the same then all would have been fine?

Unfortunately, for those who propound it, this theory is also a million miles from the truth.

For one thing --- so much has changed in the last decade: technology, communications, twitter, facebook, banking collapse, crisis of the elites, the decline of deference, a Westminster Coalition Government, the rise of UKIP in England, and general institutional decline – right across the media-spectrum from the BBC to the tabloid press.

The idea that whatever happens, the Labour Party simply has to stay the same and try and keep everything as it was at the time we were most electorally successful, is frankly the worst kind of conservatism.

The truth is that all healthy, advanced democracies in Europe use voting systems that deliver seats broadly in proportion to the voters’ wishes. 

Regrettably, the UK lies 16^th out of the 25 countries considered full democracies, in the Economist Intelligence Unit 2012 Democracy Index[1] --- and all of those above us, have forms of PR for their elections except Canada.

And, of course, it was a Labour-led Administration and a Labour First Minister that actually brought in the 2007 electoral changes - not from narrow party interest, because the changes did initially hurt Labour to begin with.

It is all too easy to be principled when it’s in your own interests, much more difficult when it might harm them. Sometimes though, when you do the right thing, the right things eventually happen.

And the truth now, in 2014, is that on many measures Labour is in a better position in Scotland’s councils under STV-PR that we were under FPTP: 

•  more Leaders than in 2003 (16 now compared to 14 in 2003) 
• a say in governing more councils (19 now compared to 17 in 2003)
• Labour Councillors and Labour in Administration/s in places that we had never had them before i.e. Aberdeenshire

The Labour Councillors who were so heavily concentrated in certain parts of the country, are now spread more thinly but more widely across the whole country, doing away with ‘them and us’ areas and helping to create a real ‘One Nation Labour’.

And while throughout the time of recent Labour Governments at Westminster, Labour haemorrhaged council seats – losing 58% of all the councils it had held at the start of the decade – Labour has held, and actually gained councils, in Scotland under STV-PR.

As shown in the Electoral Reform Society’s recent report , ‘Towards One Nation’ [2] if Ed Miliband really wants to modernise British politics and to make the UK a better democracy, then seeking to adopt the Scottish Local Government electoral system for English and Welsh council elections would go a long way to achieving his goals.

By doing the right thing by the country, he may well do the right thing by the Party; and finally give Labour some control in Councils in the South of England.

Now, that really would be ‘One Nation’ – undivided.

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[1] https://portoncv.gov.cv/dhub/porton.por_global.open_file?p_doc_id=1034

 

[2] http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/images/dynamicImages/file/Towards_One_Nation_%2029Jan2014Final.pdf

 

Local Budget Day approaching!

Local Budget Day approaching ... not the Council Meeting this coming Thursday ... but at a Special Council Meeting on Thursday 13th February.

And as regular readers will know, we've been consulting on our Draft proposals for some time ... a feedback-report on that process can be found here.

And - as per last year --- and in line with our general commitment to try and make the whole budget- process much more open, transparent and meaningful ...

... it is also our intention (as the Capital Coalition) to publish a full and final draft of our revised budget proposals (including our final draft motion) on Friday (7th), a full week prior to the actual Budget Day.

I'll thus put up links to the relevant files, in a subsequent blog post, at 10am this Friday morning. And, as ever - would welcome any further feedback, once I've published the files.

And - of course! - you can watch the actual meeting live and/or via the archive (in due course).

Towards One Nation

Meant to flag-up this Electoral Reform Society blog-post from last week - link here; and I'll just paste the full text below for ease of reference:

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At the end of last year we published a report, Northern Blues, which made the case for a fairer voting system at the local level from the Conservative perspective. It had a real impact, convincing a range of previously sceptical Conservative commentators of the case for local electoral reform.

Today we are publishing its corollary, Towards One Nation, the Labour case for local electoral reform. It may seem strange that there could be a Conservative and a Labour case for a particular voting system, but the truth is that a fairer system – while ultimately giving the voter a better deal and improving our democracy – also benefits both parties.

Read the full report

For the Conservatives, it means being able to represent its voters in the north and urban areas, and starting to rebuild shattered activist bases in its weakest areas. For Labour, it is a path to realising its ambition to be a One Nation party with representation everywhere – whereas currently the party is locked out of whole regions of the country.

Our report shows that introducing the voting system currently in place for Scottish local elections (i.e. the Single Transferable Vote) across England and Wales would put Labour councillors in 27 of the 69 local authorities which were ‘Labour-free’ in 2011. Most of these areas are concentrated in the south of England and rural areas. It is fascinating to see how regions thought to have minimal Labour support are in fact seeing Labour voters severely under-represented by the voting system. In Castle Point in Essex, for instance, over a quarter of the electorate voted Labour and yet this didn’t yield a single councillor.

Naturally, Labour opponents of local electoral reform will worry about the effect on some of the party’s super-majorities in urban areas. But Towards One Nation shows how having the vast majority of representation on councils completely out of proportion to the number of votes won can in fact weaken the party in power. Labour has at some point lost control over around 60% of the councils in which it had super-majorities in the 1990s.

Another potential objection is that Labour has been weakened in Scotland since the introduction of a fairer local electoral system in 2007. Yet the party is in government in three more Scottish councils than it was in 1999 (when Labour was arguably at the height of its powers), and has the same number of council leaders.

For all its ambition to represent people from across the country, Labour is practically non-existent in parts of the south of England and rural areas. Thousands of people vote Labour in these places, yet simply don’t get the representation they deserve. Local electoral reform would allow Labour to represent its voters everywhere, giving the party a crucial toehold in areas where they need to rebuild their activist base.

Labour is striving to be a One Nation party and is renewing its structures to reach out to a wider pool of supporters and voters. Local electoral reform would help the party do exactly that.

Read the full report

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Allotment Update

Quick visit to the Allotment this afternoon - before the Ireland V Scotland rugby started ... I've very luckily got a ticket for next week's game against England, at Murrayfield, so looking forward to seeing Scotland this afternoon :-)



Anyhow, the Allotment was all in reasonable order - as you can hopefully see from the shot above ... not a huge amount of growing going on obviously, but the Brussel Sprouts still going strong!

We were also fascinated by the extensive growth of bracket-fungus (here on the left - click on the image for a closer view) on one of our logs, which we normally use as a make-shift seat ...

... might not be sitting on it for a while now ;-)

February Leader's Report

February 2014

A community united

	Last Friday evening, hundreds of people gathered together at Cramond Beach, and across the Forth on Pathhead Sands, to release balloons and lanterns and light candles in young Mikaeel Kular's memory. It was an emotional, yet peaceful, way for the community to say their goodbyes. The news of his disappearance, followed by the heartbreaking outcome, led to an incredible outpouring of community spirit, with hundreds of volunteers giving up their time to join the search. My heart goes out to Mikaeel's friends and loved ones as they continue to come to terms with their dreadful loss.
Councillor Andrew Burns Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council

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Sporting chance

From its lofty beginnings as host to the 1970 Commonwealth Games, Meadowbank has been a fine servant to Edinburgh, and, almost half a century on, it continues to play a significant role in the lives of many people across the city, and beyond. Unfortunately, the facilities that were once considered state-of-the-art, aren't what they once were.

With Glasgow 2014 almost upon us, we are keen to build on the legacy for community sport that the Games will undoubtedly bring and our vision is for a leading-edge public sports facility that can give future generations the opportunity to get involved in sport and physical activity.

We are continuing to work closely with our partners to assess the social, sporting, health and economic impacts of a new Meadowbank and will consider the costs of commissioning a feasibility study, incorporating extensive community consultation, at our budget meeting on February 13. Watch this space!

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Tram project latest

It's been an eventful period for the tram since my last report with continuing full line testing, rigorous staff training ahead of service and the launch of the Transport for Edinburgh brand. We now know how Edinburgh trams will look and I'm pleased to see that the style ties in well with Lothian Buses. Integration of the two services is a big priority for us and will make life easier for everyone who wants to get around the city.

Trams are currently only passing through the city centre during the night, allowing important tests and checks to be carried out, but very soon we'll see trams during the day as well. Our safety awareness campaign is already underway but you'll see more activity before the daytime tests begin.

Remember, you can keep up to date with the project by following @edinburghtrams on Twitter.

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Enabling enterprise

I recently visited The Melting Pot, the ideal venue to launch 'Enabling Enterprise', a new strategy aimed at developing social enterprise in Edinburgh.

Social enterprises are making a significant contribution to the city by generating local employment, training and volunteering opportunities; taking innovative approaches to creating products and services and ploughing their profits back into their local communities.

The strategy has been commissioned by the Compact Partnership Board and will focus upon, amongst other things, the growth and resilience of the city's enterprising third sector, promoting and encouraging engagement with social enterprise and investing in education and training.

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Events in parks - tell us your views

Edinburgh's parks play host to many high profile festivals and events every year, enhancing the city's reputation, generating significant economic benefit and enriching our cultural and community offering. However, I am also aware that these events can impact on how they are used by local people and others.

We are now seeking public views on our Parks Events Manifesto. This document helps us to assess how many events take place within our parks and green spaces, and the criteria by which we decide if a request is suitable.

For more information and to complete our survey on our website. We will share the results and recommendations with you in June.

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Stay in the picture

Keep yourself in the picture with our news section online. Watch live full Council and some committee meetings on our webcast. Join the debate on Twitter #edinwebcast  

If you wish to unsubscribe please email us.

February Full Council Meeting

February's Full Council Meeting is coming up next week - meeting starts at 10am on Thursday 6th February ...

... all the reports are now up on Committee Papers On-Line (CPOL) and you can access the main agenda directly here; and the individual reports via this link.

Important to stress, that this isn't the 2014/15 Budget-Setting Meeting - that takes place the following week, at a Special Council Meeting on Thursday (10am start), 13th February. And, as per last year, we'll publish our Capital Coalition Budget Motion on the Friday before (7th February) and ensure it's widely disseminated.

Anyhow - more on all of that to follow for sure ...

... for this coming Thursday, there are a few issues to highlight:

1. there's a further update on Meadowbank - report here
2. an update report on Portobello High School - see here
3. an interesting report on Edinburgh's Social Enterprise Strategy - here

And much more besides!

Of course - if you're so minded, you can watch all the proceedings live here ... or the meeting will be archived a few hours after it finishes for viewing at your leisure ;-)

Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee next Tuesday

January's Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee is next Tuesday 21st  ...

... all the papers are now in the public domain: main Agenda can be found here; and the individual reports are all up on Committee Papers on-Line (CPOL) linked from here.

Only a few reports, but one or two that may well generate some debate I sense?

These Executive Committees aren't yet being webcast, but will be so in a few months time ... bet you can't wait ;-)

Jerry’s Map :-)

Visited an exhibition at Summerhall this afternoon - entitled Jerry's Map; you can read more about it here and I'll add the main text immediately below ...

... by total coincidence, the artist (whom we don't know at all - but you can hear directly from him via this link) is a neighbour of some friends we know in America! You can find that video clip via either Summerhall TV and/or Art in Scotland TV ... both sites are most certainly worth a visit :-)

It was great to be able to go to the exhibition, and instantly e-mail some photos (one of them, as above) of us exploring their neighbour's amazing map :-)

It's well worth a visit - appears to be at Summerhall through until Friday 24th January.

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Jerry Gretzinger

“The map began as just a doodle. I just made little rectangles and crosshatched them. Carefully. And I just kept adding rectangles and I put a river in….and some railroad stations. But there was this moment when I came to the edge of that sheet of paper…got out another sheet of paper and put the two together…and I think I taped them together. That’s when I realized that it kind of had a life of its own.”

An internet sensation, 50 years in the making, Jerry’s Map (as it is known – it has no official title) is an awe-inspiring artwork on a colossal scale. Jerry Gretzinger has been slowly drawing and painting his “map” one 8 x10 inch panel at a time. Working in makeshift studio spaces during spare moments plucked out between career and family. Jerry began with a singular doodle of a fictitious city centre, evolving it into a sublime world of more than 2,500 individual drawings.

Jerry utilises paint brushes, X-Acto knives, adhesive paper, Sharpie markers, acrylic and watercolour paints as well as informational tools such as numbered archival stacks and Excel spreadsheets. However, the most important and unique amongst the tools is chance. He has created systems governing the growth and decay of the map through what he has defined as the “future predictor” – a stack of modified playing cards which he draws from many times a day during his creative process. They are designed to introduce serendipity and chance into all facets of his “world.”

Jerry’s Map has never been seen outside of the United States and Jerry will continue to make modifications to his work at certain periods during the exhibition.

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Extremely good news, for the the start of 2014, with Edinburgh's figures for School-leavers achieving a positive-destination looking markedly improved compared to a few years ago ...

... I'll simply re-produce the relevant News Release below, which can also be found via this link:

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Future looking bright for Edinburgh's school leavers

Published Tuesday 7 January 2014

More school leavers are moving into work, education, or training. This is thanks to the strong partnership that has developed between the public and private sectors through the Edinburgh Guarantee. 

Figures published by the Scottish Government show that the success rate of school leavers in Edinburgh achieving and sustaining a positive destination is continuing to rise and is now at the highest rate ever in Edinburgh. The figure is up 3.1% on this time last year and is now at 91.4%.

A positive destination is defined as a place in Higher Education, Further Education, a job, paid apprenticeship, or work-focused training. 

Cllr Paul Godzik, Convener of the Children and Families Committee, said: “Whether it’s employment, apprenticeships or training, young people need to move out of school and into a positive destination quickly. It is really encouraging that there has been such an improvement in the figures once again.  Moving on to make a new start in life is the boost young people need at this critical point in their lives, and I am delighted that the Edinburgh Guarantee is having such a positive effect.”

Cllr Frank Ross, Convener of the Economy Committee, said: “Ensuring that Edinburgh’s young people have opportunities is vital for the economic success of our city. The year on year improvements that have been achieved since the inception of the Edinburgh Guarantee show that focused collaboration can make a real difference to many young lives. I am confident that with sustained investment and the support of our public, private and third sector partners these improvements will continue in future.”

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to one and all ...

... have had a relatively restful couple of weeks: down in an extremely wet Dorset for the Christmas-week, with a myriad of in-laws; and back in the Capital for Hogmanay, with visitors up here from Stoke-on-Trent.

Back to the grindstone tomorrow ... but before then, we did manage to quickly check out the Allotment this weekend: all looking in reasonable order, and thought the pond had survived all the rain in relatively good fettle ;-)

Merry Christmas and Very Best Wishes for 2014 :-)

My last day in the Office for this year ...

... and I'm planning to have a bit of a break from 'the blog/facebook/twitter/blipfoto' over the next couple of weeks.

Normal service will resume around Monday 6th January ;-)

I am in Edinburgh over some of the holiday-period, and sort-of-hoping to reacquaint myself with the family!

My work e-mails are though being read by staff, so if you need to get in touch urgently then that's the best way to do so: andrew.burns@edinburgh.gov.uk

I am also available on the mobile if its a real emergency ...

... hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Very Best Wishes for 2014 :-)

Can you help me, to help Venture Scotland?

I've generally kept my running-exploits off the blog, and made my blipfoto account the focus of my somewhat sporadic training-programme ;-)

But - thought I'd take the opportunity of the approaching year-end, to flag up that the training is actually going reasonably well: I'm up to 14-miles ... and looking forward to the coming few months, and taking part in the Edinburgh Marathon on Sunday 25th May 2014!

And behind the challenge of winning that pint from my Dad! - there's also a very serious point to all my running-efforts ...

... and that's to raise money for the wonderful Venture Scotland, whom I've had a long-standing association with, so - if you're feeling the Christmas-spirit, and want to help me, help Venture Scotland; then you could do so via my JustGiving page :-))

One week left to comment on Draft Budget!

Just one week left to submit any responses to the Council's 2014/15 Draft Budget proposals ...

... all the relevant details/links from here.

Hope to hear from you :-)

December Leader's Report

December 2013

Best start in life We are committed to ensuring that every child in Edinburgh has the best start in life and, despite budget pressures, investing in our schools remains a high priority. Work to deliver the new James Gillespie's High School is now well underway and the planning application for the new Boroughmuir High School is due to be submitted later this month. Good news also regarding the new Portobello High School with the Scottish Parliament Committee recommending this week that the Private Bill to address the legal obstacle preventing the school being built on Portobello Park should proceed. Meanwhile, many of our existing schools and nurseries are in line for a boost, assuming proposals for a £30m programme of works are approved by the education committee next week. Councillor Andrew Burns Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council   Nelson Mandela We were greatly saddened to learn of Nelson Mandela's death. Our thoughts are with his family and friends but also with the people of South Africa as they come to terms with their great loss. His influence extended far beyond South Africa's borders and his legacy and everything it represents will live on forever. Edinburgh has a long and close association with South Africa and its struggle for equality and, of course, with Nelson Mandela himself. In 1997, councillors were keen to demonstrate their admiration for his great courage, strength and determination and unanimously agreed to award him Freedom of the City. A Book of Condolence has been opened in the City Chambers and online, where it will remain for the next seven days.   Clutha tragedy I spend much of my time in this report discussing Edinburgh but, given recent events, it's only right that I mention Glasgow. The extraordinary response of the emergency services and from passers by in the aftermath of last week's tragic acccident has brought great credit to the city and to Scotland. Our deepest sympathy goes to the families and friends of those who lost their lives, and our thoughts are also with those who were injured to whom we wish a speedy recovery.   Tram project latest This week we witnessed a significant milestone in the life of the project: a moving tram on Princes Street. Testing now extends along the whole 14km route and we're on course to launch passenger services in May next year. It's important that everyone gets used to the return of trams to the streets of Edinburgh and, with testing set to step up a gear in the New Year, we'll extend our ongoing safety campaign to ensure that all road-users know what to expect. Remember you can keep up-to-date with the latest tram news by following @edinburghtrams on Twitter.   Cooperative Capital I have spoken in previous editions of our commitment to becoming a Cooperative Capital and to 'doing things with people, not to them' and there are some developments that I would like to highlight. We recently approved funding of £25,000 to help the Craigmillar Eco Housing Co-operative take forward plans to build 10 affordable homes in Greendykes, providing much-needed affordable housing in this part of the city. And, working with the Edinburgh Community Solar Cooperative, we are developing a project that will make use of council buildings to generate electricity for the benefit of the local community.   Clean up Edinburgh My thanks go to the many volunteers who rolled up their sleeves and took to Edinburgh's streets and green spaces to pick up litter, wipe clean graffiti, collect cigarette butts and many other things besides as part of our 'Clean Up Edinburgh' campaign day of action. Since launching in October, the campaign has focused on getting people, including Sir Chris Hoy and Scotland Rugby star Ross Rennie, to sign a pledge to clean up Edinburgh. It runs until next September and will include more clean-ups once spring arrives. In the meantime, visit the council website for more information and to sign the pledge.   Season's greetings Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a merry Christmas and all the very best for 2014. I can think of nowhere better to bring in the New Year than right here in Scotland's great capital city.   Stay in the picture Keep yourself in the picture with our news section online. Watch live full Council and some committee meetings on our webcast. Join the debate on Twitter #edinwebcast  If you wish to unsubscribe please email us.

December's Full Council Meeting

November's Full Council Meeting is coming up next week - 10am on Thursday 12th December ...

... all the reports are now up on Committee Papers On-Line (CPOL) and you can access the main agenda directly here; and the individual reports via this link.

Couple of issues to highlight:

1. Fairly lengthy 'appointments report', mainly due to events during the week :-(
2. Motion about the death of Nelson Mandela, at item 9.1 on the main Agenda, which calls for a lasting Edinburgh-tribute to be investigated.

And - of course - if you're so minded, you can watch all the proceedings live here ... or the meeting will be archived a few hours after it finishes for viewing at your leisure ;-)

Tell us what you think about our 2014/15 Draft Budget Proposals

I've highlighted the publication of our Draft 2014/15 Budget proposals on several occasions now ...

... and as mentioned before, there is plenty of additional information up on the Council's website - main (but not exclusive) links I'd highlight would be:

• Draft 2014/15 Budget entry page
• Let's talk about our saving and spending - interactive board
• short video about Council services
• feedback options

Closing date for feedback is Friday 20th December 2013 ... and there are lots of options for how to send in your thoughts:

• Online – www.edinburgh.gov.uk/budget – links to the short budget film and presentation, and feedback form 
• Feedback at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/EdinburghBudget 
• Complete a printed feedback form – available from libraries and neighbourhood offices
• Email – councilbudget@edinburgh.gov.uk
• By writing at Freepost, RSJC-SLXC-YTJY, Budget, Council Leader, City Chambers Edinburgh EH1 1YJ
• completing the feedback form over the phone 0131 200 2305 (open 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Thursday, 8.30am to 3.40 pm Friday)

I do hope as many Edinburgh residents as possible will provide some feedback on these draft proposals - it will be taken into account prior to the final setting of the 2014/15 Budget on Thursday 13th February 2014.

Let's talk about our saving and spending

Read about the financial challenges with the Council's budget

See the proposals we have for where we spend and save

Tell us what you think

Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee next Tuesday

 

December's Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee is next Tuesday 3rd  ...

... all the papers are now in the public domain: main Agenda can be found here; and the individual reports are all up on Committee Papers on-Line (CPOL) linked from here.

Several substantive reports up for decision this month - including a full update on the impacts of Welfare Reform, which you can access directly here ...

... and pleased to see a further update on the Edinburgh Community Solar Cooperative Proposals, which you can access here.