AHEAD of the upcoming Edinburgh budget being approved later this week, many public sectors are facing cuts, despite a proposed council tax hike.
The council has been urged to allocate funding to the third sector, to avoid an increase in forced closures and redundancies.
As Edinburgh Leisure faces financial difficulties, they have been forced to cut lifeguards during training sessions for sports clubs.
Charities across Scotland are facing pressures due to proposed cuts to funding introduced last year, and are calling on an allocation of at least £2m to protect their much-needed services.
Councils across Scotland have been considering increasing council tax, after six areas in England have been permitted to increase charges by a whopping 10% in some regions.
For the first time in 20 years, Scottish councils are considering huge increases to tax, which could be around 10% in the Scottish Borders, and 8% in Edinburgh.
Last week, East Lothian Council proposed plans to increase council tax by 10%, despite soon receiving a large General Revenue Grant from the Scottish Government.
The City of Edinburgh Council has warned that it must save £30m this year, and £109m by 2028/29, but has not yet revealed plans to protect social care, which faces a £22.1m cut.
An integrated impact assessment published last month states: “The council is facing ongoing financial pressure because of increasing demand for services and rising costs against a backdrop of available sources of income that are not keeping pace.”
A 5% increase in council tax would mean an additional cost per household of £6.03 per month in band D.
This would supposedly raise £16.5m on a recurring basis, but much of that would return to the UK Treasury to cover its increased national insurance costs.
According to consultations, many have raised concerns about their ability to afford increases in council tax, and are wary of the way in which the money may be used.
Despite the ongoing housing crisis, and money set aside for temporary accommodation in the city, homelessness charities are facing an £8.2m cut and are among 64 charities at risk of cuts that amount to £4.5m across the board.
£2.5m is supposedly set to be allocated to third sector support, with a further £1m potentially available after the initial programme.
The council state that in their meeting materials that: “The majority of Scottish councils are expected to implement increases of 10% and above.
“We’re keeping Edinburgh’s increase below that level without compromising essential investment or services.”
The council will be meeting to discuss and approve the budget this week, where many organisations and charities will be gathered to push funding for their causes.