Council Rents indicative of deeper issues
Information obtained under Freedom of Information has revealed that council rents in Edinburgh have risen by over £600 a year since 2007, an increase of almost 20%.
I am greatly concerned about the impact that this level of rise is having on some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Many council tenants are in low paid work and have to budget very carefully to make ends meet. Rent increases of this level are very difficult for many people to budget for.
The increase in council rents is indicative of the Council’s need to increase revenue in the face of tightening budgets. Commitments contained in the Concordat between the Scottish Government and Local Authorities have removed the discretion of Council’s to raise extra revenue through the council tax freeze and placed additional burdens on councils including the reduction of class sizes for P1-3, free school meals and the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence among many others.
The Scottish Government says that they are providing the resources necessary to fund both the council tax freeze and the provisions contained in the Concordat. However, the experience of Edinburgh suggests otherwise. Across the Country, class size commitments have been scaled back, delivery of free school meals has stalled and the Curriculum for Excellence is suffering from a lack of guidance and resources for teachers and parents.
However it is not just in Education where the strain is showing. We have similar problems with regard to flooding investment in the Water of Leith scheme. The council is being forced down a slower and more expensive procurement route in the absence of the previous Scottish Government's funding deal.
The Council dropped its proposals on the social care tender, after a massive campaign exposed the reduction in quality of service for vulnerable adults and their families and it was only thanks to a similarly well organised campaign that the decision to close the Gorgie War Memorial Hall was overturned.
Edinburgh Council has asked publicly in the past for the pressure on them to be eased and for the council tax freeze to be reviewed. The fact is that those who are hardest hit by the recession, and by social exclusion generally, are those who benefit least from the council tax freeze. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has said that the gains from a freeze in council tax are greatest as a percentage of net income for those on middle incomes while the largest cash gains go to the richest households.
When I recently asked the Finance Minister John Swinney if he considered it to be fair that council house tenants are being asked to pay an extra £11.57 a week, while better-off people benefit disproportionately from the council tax freeze I was disappointed if unsurprised by the stock response that Local Authority rents are entirely a matter for individual authorities.
I am disappointed at the hands off approach demonstrated by the Scottish Government's response to local government finance. The Scottish Government needs to take action to work closer with local government and support them to deliver the services that people want and expect.
I have also previously raised with the Finance Secretary the poor management of the trams project by the city council especially given that Audit Scotland gave the contracts the green light three years ago. I also lobbied on behalf of the business community for a bigger Tax Incremental Finance scheme for Edinburgh to ensure we are able to retain a bigger pot of money for local investment.