Care charities live to fight another day after cuts climbdown
Plus: Toilet 'spy cam victims' informed; 'cave raves' plague historic cemeteries; and seaside art fest
Charities win social care cuts reprieve, but warning of more pain to come
Devastating social care cuts, which charities warned would effectively spell the end of community mental health services in the Capital, have been partly averted.
The move comes after the small community charity The Ripple wrote to the Edinburgh Integrated Joint Board (EIJB), which oversees social care services in the city, threatening legal action in a bid to stop the cuts.
The board agreed to shelve some of the most damaging cuts, agreeing instead to reduce spending by £1.26m instead of £2.2m, in the face of warnings lives would be put at risk.
That means under-threat services, including at Redhall Walled Garden and the Stafford Centre in Broughton Street, will continue at least for the time being.
However, charities warned damaging cuts would still be going ahead, with services supporting LGBT+ and ethnic minority people being disproportionately impacted.
The surviving services will also face an uncertain future, having to go through a recommissioning process aimed at improving their efficiency and effectiveness.
The board warned further pain was inevitable, as it faces up to a £31m funding shortfall with further cuts to its budget due next year.
‘Early intervention is vital’: Nick Ward, chief executive of the charity Change Mental Health, which runs services at the Stafford Centre, said all the cuts that had been proposed were unnecessary and self-defeating. “It has been disheartening for the third sector to have to continually make the argument that cutting early intervention and prevention services will only ever result in greater costs in the end," he said.
‘Minorities will suffer most’: Ward further warned “there are still significant cuts taking place to mental health services in the city”, adding: "We are very disappointed and concerned that many of these cuts have been passed that disproportionately affect ethnic minorities and LGBT+ people.”
Walled Garden’s future uncertain: Billy Watson, chief executive of Scottish Action for Mental Health (SAMH), whose Redhall Walled Garden is losing some of its funding, said: "Redhall Walled Garden will continue to provide essential support to people with mental health problems for the time being, albeit with reduced funding and a recommissioning process to come."
‘Broken trust’: Charities have warned of broken trust between them and the EIJB, calling for more transparent decision-making, which is evidence-based and built on genuine collaboration, during the upcoming recommissioning process.
‘Alternative is worse’: EIJB vice-chair Katharina Kasper said: "We are where we are because we don't have the money to fund the services that we need, to the tune of £31 million, and there will be more next year." The alternative to community service cuts were "much more harmful", she said, adding: "the alternatives may well include care home closures, delayed packages of care, reductions in the district nursing force, etc, etc. I'm being very speculative here because none of those are under consideration just yet. But we need to see everything in context.”
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
POST BOXES OF THE FUTURE: Solar-powered post boxes, where you can deposit parcels as big as a shoebox, are being introduced in Edinburgh. The so-called “post boxes of the future” are said to be the biggest change to the classic red design in 175 years. They can be found on Cluny Gardens, Morningside; Broomhall Drive, Corstorphine; Calder Park; Balerno and Kirkliston.
LAWYER GIFTS HOMES: Six new council houses are to be built in Haddington thanks to a bequest from a wealthy solicitor who died 85 years ago. John Richardson, who was also Musselburgh town clerk, left a £267,000 estate with instructions that it should provide housing for “deserving natives”. The bequest, now worth £3m, is to be used to build cottages at Herdmanflat. The annual £37,000 rent they will generate will fund grants for community groups and charities.
TOILET SPY CAMERA: At least five MSPs, one journalist and several other staff based at the Scottish Parliament were filmed by a spy camera hidden in a cubicle in one of its gents toilets, the Sunday Mail reports. Labour MSP Colin Smyth has been charged in connection with the hidden camera and possession of indecent images. He denies the allegations.
MORE UNIVERSITY JOBS TO GO: Senior staff at Edinburgh University are being invited to take voluntary redundancy as it aims to cut its spending by a total of £140m a year. Around 350 staff took voluntary redundancy under a previous scheme earlier this year, but that will save only around £24m. Meanwhile, Napier University is looking to cut up to 70 jobs, in order to balance its books.
‘CAVE RAVES’: The historic Old and New Calton Burial Grounds are to shut in the evenings after complaints they were being used for so-called “cave raves”. Residents had complained of persistent problems in the city centre graveyards including underage drinking, drug-taking, and abusive behaviour.
NO PEAK: Peak rail fares are scrapped in Scotland from today, bringing the cost of a peak-time return from Edinburgh to Glasgow down to £16.80 from £32.60.
HOMETOWN HERO: Indie rockers Wet Leg will be joined by Edinburgh singer-songwriter Hamish Hawk and Glasgow band Lucia and the Best Boys as the headline acts at this year's Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebration.
WRITER ARREST: Screenwriter Paul Laverty, who wrote the award-winning screenplays for I, Daniel Blake, Sweet Sixteen and The Wind That Shakes the Barley, has been charged under the Terrorism Act following a protest in Edinburgh. A longtime collaborator with director Ken Loach, Laverty was charged for wearing a t-shirt supporting the banned Palestine Action during a protest outside St Leonard’s Police Station. Laverty’s t-shirt said, “Genocide in Palestine, time to take Action”.
BINGO HALL FLATS: The former bingo hall in Leith’s Manderston Street will be converted into 200 student flats under plans, submitted by Longstone Ltd, which planning officials are recommending councillors approve on Wednesday.
I WOULD ROW 9,000 MILES: Three brothers from Edinburgh have broken the world record for rowing unsupported across the Pacific, after five months at sea. Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan Maclean completed the 9,000-mile-plus voyage from Peru to Australia in 139 days, five hours and 52 minutes. Jamie, 31, said: "This won't surprise anybody - but all I want is a pizza.
FREE WINDFARM POWER CALL: East Lothian Council leader Norman Hampshire has called for people who live near wind farms to be given free electricity. The Labour politicians spoke as councillors unanimously backed plans to call on the UK and Scottish Government to give more power over decisions on energy projects to local authorities.
Pic of the week
THE BUSINESS
Housing in and around Capital most expensive in Scotland
A Scottish property expert has highlighted the “clear price gap” that is opening up between housing in the Edinburgh area and the rest of Scotland.
David Alexander, Chief Executive of DJ Alexander, said the latest house price figures showed that the Scottish housing market “remains in remarkably good health with strong average price growth and demand remaining good.”
Average house prices rose £10,654 in Scotland over the last 12 months, according to the latest data from the monthly house price index £181,273 to £191,927. There were strong variations he added: “As ever some parts of Scotland are booming while others appear to be relatively static or even declining.”
“There is a clear price gap developing around the capital and its surrounding areas with East Lothian, Edinburgh, and Midlothian the first, second and fourth most expensive areas to buy in Scotland.”
OPEN HOMES: Miller Homes is set to launch three new developments in the East of Scotland, which will provide 328 energy-efficient homes. In the west of Edinburgh, West Craigs Mews launches for sale on 30 August and will comprise 92 private homes including three-bedroom terraced houses, three and four-bedroom townhouses, and four and five-bedroom detached homes. The other developments are at East Calder and Falkirk.
ENERGY FOR JOBS: East Lothian structural engineering and fabrication company Had-Fab has secured a £100 million contract to supply almost 500 pylons for the national grid for the north of Scotland. The contract win will see the Tranent company create around 70 new jobs.
AMBITIONS HARBOURED: Ambitious plans have been unveiled to create a new £250 million deep-water harbour on the east coast at Eyemouth. Part of the masterplan for the Borders harbour town, the vision is backed by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund and has been led by Eyemouth Harbour Trust and aims to create a hub for several industries including offshore wind, fishing and cargo that will generate a £20 million a year impact on the local economy.
STORE CLOSURE: Fashion retailer River Island is to close its Princes Street store on Friday. The company’s shops at Fort Kinnaird and the Gyle will remain open.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
SEASIDE ART: The Capital’s seaside art festival Art Walk Porty celebrates its tenth year showcasing the work of some of the country’s leading artists who live in and around Portobello. The theme of this year’s festival is Showground, celebrating Porty’s glory days as a resort. A varied series of ‘Arcade’ commissions has been developed in partnership with Nobles Amusements, including performance, dance, circus, theatre, puppetry and film. Most take place on the beach and prom. The festival runs from Thursday until Sunday, 14 September, with the chance to view arts in artist’s homoes and other ‘art houses’ around Porty and Joppa on both weekends.
BOARD GAMES: Celebrating board games, card games and roleplaying games, the Tabletop Scotland welcomes gamers to the Royal Highland Centre from Thursday until Sunday.
MOONWALK: On Saturday night, supporters of breast cancer charities take to the streets of the Capital to walk through the night, covering 13 miles through the night. Good luck to all the Moonwalkers.
QUICK BITES
BUFFET WIN: Cosmo Edinburgh, at the Omni Centre, has won the Buffet Restaurant of the Year award at the Food Awards Scotland, 2025, which celebrate the best of Scotland’s food and drink industry voted for by the public.
SAKE BAR: Nishiki has opened at Morrison Street, Haymarket offering one of Scotland’s first sake bars and serving up authentic Japanese food throughout the day.