'This can't be allowed': Charities warn of 'devastating' cuts to social care services
Plus: Disappointment for Good Omens fans and city businesses await Budget with trepidation
Services for carers, the elderly and city’s most vulnerable face closure in proposed cuts
Charities supporting many of the city’s most disadvantaged people are expected to fold under plans to abruptly cut funding for 64 ‘valued’ care projects.
The Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB), which oversees social care services on behalf of the city council and NHS Lothian, are proposing to withdraw funding from a range of community-based support projects. The £4.5m in grants would be cut in 90 days as the board is forced to pursue dramatic cost savings.
That would lead to the closure of services used by an estimated 55,000 people - more than one in ten of the population - who are often referred to them by their GP.
Charities warn the cuts will be particularly devastating as the EIJB grants attract around £16m a year in extra funding from other sources which would be lost as a result.
The EIJB says it has no choice but to make the cuts so it can continue to fulfil its statutory obligations to provide services for those in most severe need.
What services will be affected? A wide range of support services provided by Third Sector organisations would stop. These include, but are not limited to, projects tackling social isolation and loneliness, particularly among the elderly; support for carers and people with dementia; post-natal depression support; work to tackle poverty by helping the most vulnerable access benefits and services; and help for the recently homeless.
Which charities are involved? The work of several of the city’s best known charities will be hit by the cuts, including the Eric Liddle Centre; Waverley Care; Bethany Christian Trust; Bridgend Farmhouse; Cyrenians; Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust; and Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre. The EIJB acknowledges in its impact assessment that the cuts may lead to the closure of some Third Sector organisations, likely to be smaller, local charities or social enterprises.
Volunteer work lost: The projects facing the axe attract volunteers whose work has “significant financial and social value”, and would cost more than £2.1m to replicate, according to the EIJB assessment.
The EIJB says: The joint board says all the programmes facing the axe “are well regarded by service users and of benefit to the city”, highlighting work to help those in poverty access support as a way they plug gaps in statutory services. However, it adds, “it is not possible to spend the same pound twice”, and therefore it has to concentrate its resources on meeting its own statutory obligations.
£100m cut from social care: In the last two years, the EIJB has been forced to make £50m in savings, from an annual budget of around £900m, during which it has so far cut only £1.5m from Third Sector grants. The joint board forecasts it will need to make a further £50m in saving in the next financial year.
‘Devastating’: The award-winning charity DadsRock, which supports fathers, is among those condemning the cuts, saying: “This cannot be allowed to go ahead, it will have a devasting impact on people in Edinburgh.” The Ripple Project, which supports community programmes in Restalrig, Craigentinny and Lochend and faces losing a large proportion of its funding, said it was “devastated” and is inviting support for a campaign to stop the cuts.
100 jobs at risk: Ross McKenzie, the independent councillor for SighthillGorgie, whose constituency will be particularly hard hit by the cuts, said the cuts would lead to an estimated 100-plus job cuts, adding: “This must be stopped.”
What happens next? The EIJB will discuss the proposed cuts at a meeting on Friday, while the grassroots campaign to halt the costs is likely to gather steam in the coming days.
The bigger picture: If Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers a UK budget on Wednesday which delivers extra funding for public services, could enough extra funding make its way to Edinburgh and quickly enough to avoid such damaging cuts?
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
TEARS OF JOY: Edinburgh-band Redolent are celebrating after winning the Scottish Album of the Year award for their debut Dinny Greet. The electronic-indie act - whose album was released on the Post Electric label run by Idlewild guitarist Rod Jones - follow previous winners including Young Fathers.
FIREWORK-FREE ZONES: Police have revealed details of the dispersal zones operating across the Capital in the run-up to Bonfire Night. Zones in Gorgie, Saughton, Oxgangs, Liberton, Gilmerton, Gracemount, Portobello, Niddrie, Moredun, Muirhouse, Craigentinny, Pilton, and the city centre, will be in force from 2pm on Friday, November 1, to midnight on November 5. They follow serious disorder in which officers were injured when fireworks and petrol bombs were thrown at them in Niddrie last year.
LESS GOOD OMENS: Some disappointing new for fans of Amazon Prime’s Good Omens. Neil Gaiman and the late Terry Pratchett’s tales of the angel and demon odd-couple Aziraphale and Crowley, played by David Tennant and Michael Sheen, was largely filmed at Bathgate’s Pyramid Studios and on location in and around Edinburgh. The bad news is that the previously announced third series will now only be a single 90-minute finale. Better than nothing, we suppose.
ANIMAL TESTING: Edinburgh University is among 10 leading research institutes which account for more than half of animal testing carried out in the UK last year, according to Understanding Animal Research report. The overwhelming majority of the university’s 139,881 tests on animals were on mice, rats or fish. The university has pointed out animal testing is a vital part of biomedical research and it is one of the UK’s top rated research universities.
LTN DECISION: Some residents fear Manse Road in Corstorphine will return to being a rat run after its controversial bus gate - which was twice cut down by vandals - was scrapped. The other Low Traffic Neighbourhood(LTN) measures introduced there were made permanent following an 18-month review.
CAFE IN STORE: Margiotta, the city’s popular family-run food and wine store chain, has been granted permission to turn part of its shop in Ashley Terrace, Polwarth, into an in-store cafe.
HOOLIGANISM CHARGES: Nine men have now been charged in connection with violence in St Andrew Square following Hibs match with Motherwell at Easter Road earlier this month.
NO PARKING BAN: Excitable headlines about a future ban on parking within the city’s city centre Low Emission Zone can be taken with a pinch of salt. The measure which the city council is looking to adopt would be an assumption against allowing any private parking - other than accessible spaces - at any future developments in the city centre.
FLATS SCRAPPED FOR HOMES: Twenty-seven family homes set in woodland will replace 176 flats under proposed changes to development plans for land near the Royal Infirmary. Nearly 700 homes in total are being built on the former Edmonstone Estate, off Old Dalkeith, with developers Road Policies Holding Ltd & Hosp Ltd, saying the changes are "in response to changing market demands.".
THE BUSINESS
Businesses in Edinburgh will know if anxieties around Chancellor Rachel Reeves “tough decisions” Budget are justified when she rises to her feet to give her first Autumn Statement on Wednesday.
Taxation concerns have loomed large in the past few weeks, with Scottish Chambers of Commerce highlighting a big jump to 55% of surveyed companies worried about taxation increases ahead of the budget – up by 20% on last year. Cashflow remains a concern for more than 60% of companies.
The Chancellor’s determination to tackle the £22 billion “worst ever” black hole in public finances she says has been inherited from the previous Government has led most experts to predict a combination of tax rises and rule changes to allow greater public borrowing.
While the latter will be used to boost spending by up to £50 billion on infrastructure projects in a bid to get the economy growing, the real prospect of taxes that will adversely impact business costs, allied with increasing energy costs, has seen confidence hit.
Business confidence in Scotland dipped by four points during October to 44%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Bank of Scotland issued today. On a more positive note, a net balance of 49% of businesses in Scotland also expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up 23 points on last month.
The Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 businesses monthly, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide.
In the Budget, the new UK Government has said it will meet its pre-election pledge not to increase taxation on “working people” and in turn that means we may well see an increase in taxation that affects businesses – notably employers’ National Insurance, fuel duty, and there are also concerns around increases to Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
BUSINESS AWARDS OPEN: Applications for the 2025 Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce business awards are now open. Representing everything from small businesses, to companies who are doing the most to support the environment, the awards run across 15 categories . Explore all award categories and criteria for the #ECCAwards25 here.
TECH WINNERS: Two Edinburgh tech businesses, vehicle and rental hire system Coastr and underwater exploration firm Frontier Robotics, a spin out from Heriot Watt University - have been named amongst those from across Europe who have won a place on the AG Elevate tech mentoring scheme run by major UK law firm Addleshaw Goddard.
BANK ON GROWTH: Swedish founded Handelsbanken, which provides private banking services for business and personal customers, is increasing its presence in Edinburgh with a move to a new larger branch in Torphichen Street after outgrowing its previous west end home of ten years at Haymarket Terrace.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
FIRE AND LIGHT: If you don’t have tickets yet, you will miss this year’s spectacular Celtic Samhuinn Fire Festival in Holyrood Park on Thursday night, but you can still enjoy Sarah McArthur’s brilliant long read about it. There’s still time to join Sunday’s Diwali Festival of Light, which is open to all, and start with a parade from St Andrew Square starting at 1.15pm, followed by dance, live music and fireworks in Princes Street Gardens from 3.30pm onwards.
HORROR FEST: From magic, cabaret and theatre to a quiz night and makers market, the Edinburgh Horror Festival has something for every fan of Nosferatu and gothic nightmares. Various events at The Banshee Labyrinth, Niddry Street, from Thursday to Sunday.
TASKMASTER STAR: Taskmaster co-creator Alex Horne brings his The Horne Section’s Hit Show to the Festival Theatre on Monday, at 7.30pm.
QUICK BITES
GONE TO POT: Happy Lamb Hot Pot has opened at the site of the former Italian Vapiano’s on South St David Street, offering diners Mongolian-style hot pot buffet served with boiling rich broth.
BIG APPLE STYLE: A touch of New York glitz comes to Edinburgh with the opening of Manahatta, a stylish bar and restaurant on Rose Street set across two storeys in the heart of the city centre, offering dining and cocktails in an art deco inspired surrounding.