Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Indigo Stafford

'Scandalous' figures reveal Edinburgh is lowest funded local authority in the whole of Scotland

Across Scotland, the average funding per head of the population is £ 1,981 - but in Edinburgh it is only £1,639 per person, a whopping £342 less per person than the rest of Scotland.

Labour Councillor Lesley Cameron is campaigning for fairer funding in Edinburgh, highlighting that the money does not reflect the issues that Edinburgh faces financially.

She took to social media to demand that The Scottish Government "restores the £250+million funding which has been cut from Edinburgh City Council since The SNP came to power". 

She wrote: "Lowest funded council per capita yet we’ve the highest housing costs, population growth, children, families & pensioners living in poverty, homelessness & hunger."

(Scottish Goverment)

Edinburgh Western MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton called the figures "scandalous", saying: "These substantial cuts to our local services means less money for schools, infrastructure and roads, and many other lifeline services.

"Our healthcare services have been an afterthought for years, with waiting times increasing and staff under constant pressure, the SNP government are doing little to nothing to alleviate pressure."

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “All local authorities, including City of Edinburgh Council, receive their formula share of the funding available and the formula is kept under constant review and agreed with COSLA.

“Local authorities will receive total funding from the Scottish Government of £11.4 billion in 2020-21. Taken together with the flexibility to increase council tax, councils have the opportunity to increase revenue spending by up to 5.3% in real terms to deliver local services.

“In 2020-21, Edinburgh Council will receive £878 million to fund local services. Taken together with their decision to increase council tax, Edinburgh Council will have an extra £66.1 million to support vital day to day services in 2020-21 which equates to an additional 8.8% on 2019-20.”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.