Miles Briggs, Scottish Conservative & Unionist MSP for Lothian, has accused Lothian’s Green MSPs Alison Johnstone and Andy Wightman of not securing Edinburgh enough money in the SNP Government’s 2018/19 budget.
The Scottish Greens were ideally placed to secure a good deal for their regions with the SNP requiring their support to pass the budget.
Edinburgh City Council received an additional £3.49 in cash terms, but in real terms after inflation has been taken into consideration, Edinburgh City Council received £7.15 million less money.
Edinburgh has a rising population and an ever increasing demand on services and a crisis in the city’s social care system.
Miles Briggs comments:
“ The SNP’s Budget cuts in funding for the Edinburgh City Council have risked piling the pressure even more on vital local services that are struggling to cope with demand as the city’s population continues to rise, not least in social care where thousands of elderly and vulnerable people are waiting for care packages and assessment.
“ Lothian elects a third of the Greens Parliamentary contingent and therefore the area’s two Green MSPs should have made sure that they got a better deal for Edinburgh in the Budget instead of letting our capital city be short-changed once again by this SNP Government.
“The Scottish Conservatives will continue to argue that the SNP Government made the wrong political choice in cutting local government spending despite their overall budget seeing an increase in real terms, and that it should have maintained council spending levels in order to protect important frontline services in our communities.”