The City of Edinburgh Council must listen and act on community views

It is crucial that the City of Edinburgh Council continues to engage with and then act on the views of its residents and communities as it considers options to make the significant savings needed.

The council isn’t alone in Scottish local government in having to make substantial savings. But the scale of savings needed - over £100 million by 2029 - means senior officers and councillors must work together to find sustainable ways to deliver differently, improve performance and ultimately reduce costs.

The council has ambitious plans to borrow money to improve housing and school buildings. But this will need to be managed carefully to ensure that plans are affordable and don’t have a detrimental impact on services.

Progress has been made since the Commission last reported, and many services are performing well. But now the council must address declining performance in areas including housing, waste and some aspects of street cleaning.

The Accounts Commission recognises the council’s ambitious plans to end poverty and become a net zero city by 2030. Given current progress, however, there remains a significant amount of work to achieve these targets, not least in establishing cost implications.

Jo Armstrong, Chair of the Accounts Commission said:

We cannot underestimate the scale of financial challenge. The council has successfully achieved savings over recent years. But given increasing demand and financial pressures, the council must accelerate its transformation and change programme. Listening to and acting on the views of staff and local communities will be vital.

The council has real opportunities, including the potential to raise more income. It shouldn’t use the potential of future income, however, to delay making difficult decisions now as challenges will only intensify.