Stop the Cuts

Save the last swim/leisure centre creches

2009-12-15T21:31:00.003Z

Last year, Edinburgh's LibDem/SNP Council closed some of the creches in sports and swim centres. Now they're planning to close the rest. Here's details of the campaign to stop them: http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=39968&SESSION=903

Bring back our buses

2009-04-08T17:38:00.002+01:00

Here's news of a new campaign on even more cutbacks being imposed by the LibDem/SNP group who are now in charge of Edinburgh City Council. Send in details of bus cuts that are affecting you! http://bringbackourbuses.blogspot.com/

SNP Supporter Shares disappointment

2009-02-04T15:26:00.002Z

Big thank you to the SNP supporter who emailed no2cuts@gmail.com to share their dismay at the SNP Council and governments impact on the city:

* * * * * * * *

I have recently qualified as a teacher in Edinburgh, and in the last election I voted for the SNP, based on the promises they made in various areas:

Class sizes of no more than 20 in Maths and English secondary schools
Movement towards full independence from the Westminster government
£2 000 help for first time property buyers
A commitment to more police on the streets.

Seemingly, the only election promise they have kept is the freeze on council tax which has meant that all the above proposals are not affordable and are being scrapped one by one.
As a result, even though I have spent the last 5 1/2 years working towards what I thought would be a career for life, and with an astronomical amount of student debt piled up, I have no option but to abandon my dream and look for work in another sector, probably working in a shop for minimum wage.

Is this the future that Alex Salmond invisaged for us?

Protest the cuts at Edinburgh City Chambers

2008-12-13T18:54:00.001Z

Local organisations in North Edinburgh hit by the Fairer Scotland Fund grant cutbacks by the LibDem/SNP Council will be sending deputations to the Full Council meeting on Thursday 18 December which will make the final decision on the cuts. The meeting starts at 10 am - come along at 930 am and show the local groups affected your support!

LibDem/SNP Council Ignore Community Plea

2008-12-10T23:15:00.001Z

The ruling SNP/LibDem coalition on Edinburgh City Council has rejected a plea by the local MP and MSP to think again about their proposals for big cuts to community projects in North Edinburgh (see below). Local Labour MSP Malcolm Chisholm and MP Mark Lazarowicz, together with community representatives, went along to Edinburgh Council's Policy & Strategy Committee to plead with the Council's SNP/LibDem administration to reconsider their plans, but the ruling group forced them through.

However, a Labour amendment at the committee also gained the support of Tory and Green councillors. This means that the whole issue will come up again for final decision at a full meeting of Edinburgh City Council, on Thursday 18 December.
Local groups affected by the cuts are already mobilising to make their views heard at that meeting.

There's more details of the cuts on the North Edinburgh News website (one of the groups threatened with closure).

SNP slash Community Project Budgets

2008-12-02T15:24:00.004Z

During the recent Forth By-election, the Lib Dem/SNP Council administration accused Labour of scaremongering about cuts to voluntary services across Edinburgh.

Just a week later, the LibDem SNP Council postponed a meeting set to decide the future of various projects in the North of Edinburgh until after the Forth by-election and it was widely condemned as a political motivated decision.

Sadly, just last week that postponed meeting took place and the Council slashed over £500,000 from voluntary services and projects across the North of Edinburgh. These cuts will effect thousands of local people either due to them loosing their jobs or vital serivces being lost. It's a disgrace.

Budgets slashed by Organisation

North Edinburgh News
From £73,102 to £35,000 - £38,102 Slashed

Pilton Equalities Project
From £55,452 to £32,000 - £23,452 Slashed

North West Carers
From £60,438 to £30,000 - £30,438 Slashed

North Edinburgh Childcare
From £403,394 to £350,714 - £53,220 Slashed

Black Community Development Project
From £114,370 to £50,000 - £64,370 Slashed

Granton Information Centre
From £123,708 to £102,353 - £21,355 Slashed

North Edinburgh Trust
From £199,374 to £100,000 - £99,374 Slashed

Stepping Stones
From £11,444 to £9,572 - £1872 Slashed

Women Supporting Women
From £69,016 to £35,000 - £34,016 Slashed

North Edinburgh Arts
From £29,694 to zero - £29,694 Slashed

PYCP
From £141,350 to £93,670 - £47,680 Slashed

Muirhouse Youth Development group
From £116,942 to £93,670 - £23,272 Slashed

NET Community Activist Training
From £35,848 to zero - £35,848 Slashed

NET Community Voices Fund
From £25,000 to zero - £25,000 Slashed

Muirhouse Millennium Centre
From £107,692 to £50,000 - £57,692 Slashed

Money vs Meals

2008-05-21T17:10:00.005+01:00

This week 14 of Edinburgh's 18 state nurseries will stop serving hot food freshly prepared on site. It goes against every bit of advice from experts on school meals and good nutrition for Scotland's youngest and poorest kids. Stop these cuts by emailing Education Conveners: marilyne.macLaren@edinburgh.gov.uk and David.Beckett@edinburgh.gov.uk

Since the SNP took over the council last May, the children and families of Edinburgh have had to fight tooth and nail to keep their local schools and nurseries from closure, have had to accept crech facilities closing and endure increased fees for the ones they managed to save. The Go 4 it programme, a holiday activiites club which this year involved almost 1000 secondary school children, is being cut and potentially scrapped.

Physical education allocation is no longer guarenteed, school meals are being increased by 10p from August and now parents have to fight to keep school kitchens open so that their children's health, education and nutrition is no compromised. This is not what the SNP Government promised in its manifesto, it is certainly not a record to be proud of and the parents of Edinburgh and beyond have had enough.

THE FACTS:

- Every Primary and Secondary school in Edinburgh is being forced to take a 1.5%-2.0% budget cut

- This basically amounts to at least a £10,000 reduction per average Primary School, at least a £10,000 reduction per average Special School and at least a £50,000 reduction per average Secondary School

- School meals are being increased by 10p from August

- The Council's 'Youth Services' are being slashed by £357,000

- 'Community Learning and Development' is being cut by by the full-year equivalent of £850,000

Why has my bus fare gone up 10p ?

2008-04-24T18:08:00.005+01:00

Labour MPs, MSPs and councillors have all challenged the SNP Government to reverse its 10p tax on Edinburgh bus users.

When fuel duty rose by 2p in October, Gordon Brown announced a special rebate for public transport operators in order to keep fares low as the price of fuel rose. In England this means no fares increased.

In Scotland, Alex Salmond and the SNP who received their share of the additional money, worth £7.5 million, chose to spend it elsewhere - leaving Scottish bus users to pick up the bill.

Feeling angry? Email no2cuts@gmail.com and we will pass on the message.

Knowing that the SNP’s 3 year budget has no contingency plan for rising fuel costs, Labour activists formed the Short-Changed Campaign, which takes to the streets and bus stops of Edinburgh this Friday.

Ricky Henderson, Edinburgh Labour’s Transport Spokesperson said: "Bus passengers in Edinburgh will be puzzled as to why they’re paying more tax on their bus fares than people in England. It’s just not fair. It was so easy to find a £1 coin for the bus, but that extra 10p is total hassle and is leaving 1000s of bus users across Edinburgh short changed."

Nigel Grifffiths MP said: "Alex Salmond cares more about banqueting in Bute House than Bus fares in Edinburgh. That’s where the money has gone - pomp and ceremony instead of public services. He simply must release the money to reverse this SNP Tax on bus users now."

George Foulkes MSP said: "It is Alex Salmond and the SNP’s arrogance and complacency which is forcing Edinburgh fares up. Only too aware of rising fuel costs, Gordon Brown gave the nations extra money in the form of a fuel duty rebate so that bus operators could keep fares low. Alex Salmond got the cash but didn’t bother to pass on the money - now bus fares are rising for the first time in years and were all paying the price."

50% of Creches closing and £2 fee increase hailed as a victory by SNP

2008-03-25T18:59:00.005Z

Following angry protests from Edinburgh Parents, the SNP Lib Dem Council has dropped plans to close all but 2 city creches and has instead opted to close just 50% of city facilities and increase the charges to cover the difference.

Plan B is being hailed as a victory by SNP Councillors despite the fact that it put creche services even further out of the reach of the city's poorest families. The SNP seem to forget that it was they who seconded the £300,000 to Edinburgh Leisure funding leading to these cuts.

Anger as Latest Cuts hit Creches

2008-03-06T21:48:00.004Z

Edinburgh SNP Leader today said: "Edinburgh Leisure's job is to provide sports facilities - not childcare." A slap in the face to Edinburgh's hardworking families.

With the SNP voting through a £300,000 to Edinburgh Leisure services all bit two of the city's creches will close. Parents across the city reacted with anger as their ability to use key city public services was lost at a swipe of a pen.

What has the council got against hard-working families? 320 full time nursery places gone, nearly £1million in surestart services for Edinburgh's most vulnerable services lost, community education services cut, school budgets cut - now creche services.

Council budget cuts meetings

2008-02-23T00:11:00.002Z

This from the Evening News, reporting how the cuts got through:

It was never going to be a run-of-the-mill council meeting. And right from the off at the Lothian Chambers yesterday, the Lib Dem/SNP administration was left in no doubt that getting its first budget passed was going to be a slog.

Amid chants of "no more cuts" and whistle blowing from around 50 Unison protestors outside, councillors at first struggled to make themselves heard.

Luckily the campaigners had no plans to disrupt the entire meeting, though it was still six-and-a-half hours before the administration finally prevailed.

In the interim, spectators were greeted to a multitude of speeches – many far longer than decorum dictated – alongside heartfelt pleas, accusations of lying and scaremongering, riotous laughter, and pantomime-style boos and applause.

Opposition politicians were given their first taste of what was to come at around 11am, when council officials produced copies of the Evening News revealing the administration's plans.

A short while later, finance leader Gordon Mackenzie presented the plans to the council.

"Today marks a significant milestone for the coalition," he said. "Sceptics said this coalition wouldn't last, and indeed there were times last year when it looked like they, maybe, had a point. But today shows the coalition is resolute, it is radical, it is listening."

That did not convince everyone in the Chamber though, as the opposition highlighted what they said were swingeing cuts that will have a "long-term negative impact on young people and families throughout Edinburgh".

The budget includes plans to force individual schools to make efficiency savings of 1.5 per cent – around £2.5 million across the city – alongside controversial cutbacks to community learning, and the withdrawal of grant money for some voluntary organisations.

Labour claimed the reduction in grants would amount to £2.6m, although the administration insisted the cuts only total £780,000. The details of which organisations will lose out has yet to be made public.

Yesterday's meeting attracted seven different community groups, who all made last-ditch appeals to councillors for more cash – all of which failed.

Representatives from the Cameron House community centre management committee, the City Federation of Community Centres and the Edinburgh Adult Education Group all warned against cutbacks to the community learning budget, with plans to axe a total of 16 posts.

Next up was long-standing community activist Tina Woolnough, founder of the pressure group Parents in Partnership, who criticised the efficiency savings being forced on schools.

"This is the wrong thing to do," she said. "School budgets are already starved."

Representatives from the Blackhall Community Association urged councillors to reconsider plans to curtail the subsidised number 13 Lothian Buses service, and the Moira Park Sheltered Housing Tenants' Association rounded on the administration for issues on care of the elderly.

Regarding cutbacks to voluntary organisations, spokeswoman Phyllis Heriot – a former councillor herself – said: "I wouldn't like that on my conscience. How do you sleep at night?"

Lib Dem and SNP councillors claimed that their budget will "look after the elderly and vulnerable" with an "astonishing array of services to the people who live in Edinburgh".

The budget includes £13m in extra cash for vulnerable members of society, £33m as a contribution towards five new schools, £21m for Meadowbank and the Royal Commonwealth Pool, £20m-a-year on roads and pavements, and £5m for pitches and pavilions.

Council leader Jenny Dawe rounded on Labour for "scaremongering", accusing group leader Ewan Aitken – who earlier fell ill and was forced to go home – of spending "the last few weeks doing down this city".

Labour councillors spent the next ten minutes trying to persuade Lord Provost George Grubb to permit votes on a variety of amendments to the administration's budget – which proved fruitless. Presenting the party's alternative budget – which pledges to avoid cuts in schools and community learning – deputy leader Ian Perry said: "There is £110m additional money available for the council, and if that money is managed properly there is no need to cut or threaten to cut any services."

The Tory group presented its alternative budget with an unexpected promise of a one per cent cut in council tax, alongside the largest investment in roads and pavements of all parties.

Leader Iain Whyte said: "People in Edinburgh last May voted for what they thought was change. Today, we put forward a budget that will bring about real change."

The three Green councillors also produced an alternative budget, pledging to avoid education cutbacks and with £11m earmarked for a revamp of Meadowbank Stadium.

SNP group leader Steve Cardownie accused Labour's Holyrood leader Wendy Alexander of an "absolute lie" when she wrote in the News recently that Gorgie City Farm was under threat.

But Labour's Andrew Burns hit back at the administration for "having the cheek to accuse us of scaremongering". He added: "Edinburgh has had two decades of protection for the vulnerable, and support for schools. This was a good council getting better – but it's not anymore."

Green councillor Steve Burgess said he had "grave concerns" about the administration's budget: "The cuts will impact on people who need council support."

Shortly before 4.30pm, councillors voted on each of their respective budgets resulting in 29 votes for the administration, 14 for Labour, 11 for the Tories and three for the Greens.

As the weary politicians departed, veteran Tory councillor Allan Jackson commented: "This is my 32nd budget. Today has been fully predictable."

First education cuts come to light

2008-02-22T23:55:00.001Z

The Lib Dem - SNP Council has made the following cuts on 21 February:

every Primary and Secondary school in Edinburgh is being forced to take a 1.5%-2.0% budget cut
this basically amounts to at least a £10,000 reduction per average Primary School
at least a £10,000 reduction per average Special School
and at least a £50,000 reduction per average Secondary School
and to make things worse all school meals are being increased by 10p from August
in addition, the Council's 'Youth Services' are being slashed by £357,000
and 'Community Learning and Development' is being cut by by the full-year equivalent of £850,000 - see www.communitycentres.wordpress.com

SALE: 75% Off Key City services

2008-02-12T16:54:00.000Z

The SNP Lib Dem Council is proposing a raft of Cuts to key Voluntary Sector Services. Totalling £874,297 in "savings" the fulling groups are currently facing 75% cuts in their services. The first they heard of it was in the Edinburgh Evening News. No consultation, no thought to the impact on jobs and local livelihoods.

Don't call them Cuts though - you'll upset the SNP. They're "Proposals for Disinvestment"

75% off...
- Scottish Refugee Council
- Edinburgh Cyrenians
- Hutchison Vale Club
- North Merchiston Club
- Score Scotland (formerly West Edinburgh Multi-cultural Organisation)
- Edinburgh International Science Festival
- Gorgie City Farm
- Royal Zoological Society
- Workers Education Association
- Gorgie Dalry Partnership

SNP/Lib Dems Cut 60% of Home Helps

2008-01-08T14:24:00.000Z

When the Council proposed the closure of 22 schools and 4 community centres earlier this year there was nothing short of public outcry. Rallies descended on the city chambers, parents united to set up campaigning websites, children made posters and banners as the communities around them joined together to stand up for their future. Parent power won in the end and the Council was forced to go back to the drawing board.

Without the experience to stand up to the council officials or the courage to go to the Scottish Government and make the case for more money, this SNP Lib Dem council has opted yet again to make cuts to frontline services. This time, some of Edinburgh’s most vulnerable and frail people will suffer silently and there will be no march down the High Street to protest.

On the 12th November the City Council began a review of the 4000 people across the city who receive a home help. Within 3 weeks they’d reviewed 140 people. 40% of these people had their services reduced. 21% had their help stopped completely.

Home helps offer vital support to elderly and vulnerable people across the city. Whether it’s a couple of hours a week to get key chores down and messages bought, or a couple of hours a day to help people get washed and mobile, they offer great comfort and security. For many people they’re not just workers, but companions who brighten up what might otherwise be a dull and very lonely day.

To stealthily reduce and remove home helps from Edinburgh’s most vulnerable like this is an absolute disgrace, and for what purpose? Cutting home based services like this is both naïve and short-sighted. The cost of ensuring people can stay in the comfort of their own homes for as long as possible is significantly less than that of residential care.

What appears to be a short term gain just to balance the books and deliver a council tax freeze could well be at a great cost in a year or two years time as residential and medical bills soar.

This administration reeks of a council in crisis. An Ebenezer Scrooge pinching pennies without a thought to who might suffer as a consequence. As the reserves fill with gold again, everything around us begins to crumble.

For the SNP Lib Dem Council to propose a raft of school closures without proper consultation or thought as to how it might impact on local communities was naïve and careless. To instigate a review of home based services where the early results show over 60% of people’s care has been reduced, or stopped completely is sleikit.

This Council administration simply must learn to stand up to it’s officials and demand cuts in bureaucracy before cuts in services and it most do it in an open and transparent way. Picking on the most vulnerable is cowardly in the extreme.

Written by George Foulkes MSP and Published in the Edinburgh Evening News; 2nd of Janurary 2008

King's Theatre under threat

2007-12-13T16:22:00.000Z

The King's Theatre is under threat, it has been revealed. The theatre needs urgent safety repairs in the next 2 years, but the Council refuses to allocate money until 2010-2011 when it will be too late.

There is a website called www.savethekings.org.uk and more info in the Evening News.

City scraps holiday activities

2007-12-13T16:18:00.000Z

From the Edinburgh Evening News, 13 December:

A SCHEME to keep children active in the Easter school holidays has been scrapped and its long-term future thrown into jeopardy.

The Go 4 It programme, which this year involved almost 1000 secondary school children, with a further 700 on the waiting list, is the latest victim of the city council's cost cutting.

The move is expected to save £40,000 but has infuriated parents and comes at a time when Scotland is attempting to tackle rising levels of childhood obesity.

And it follows the axing of Play 4 It in October, a similar programme aimed at primary-aged children.

Both schemes also run during the summer holidays, at a combined cost of about £140,000, when the number of participants rises to 3345, with even more on the waiting list. A decision on the summer programme is due to made in February when the 2008/2009 budget is decided.

However, a council source admitted today that the number of activities available is likely to be greatly reduced, if the programme is not axed altogether.

"I think it's crazy," the source admitted. "It's one of the best programmes of its kind across the country. It introduces kids to unusual sports like surfing or fencing rather than the usual football activities.

More...

We Don't do Fridays

2007-12-07T15:23:00.000Z

The SNP Lib Dem Council has decided to scrap hot school meals on Fridays across the city without undertaking any public consultation.

This comes after the Hungry for Success Programme which the Labour Scottish Executive introduced vastly improved the quality and uptake of school meals. For full details click here.

2007-10-30T22:28:00.000Z

Judgement Day - 19th November

2007-10-30T14:29:00.000Z

On the 19th of November, the Lib Dem/SNPs Plan B for School Closures will be announced. It appears that Marilyn McLaren, the City's Education Convenor is determined to have a kinder cull of some of the city's most loved schools and educational facilities.

The Evening News is reporting that although Abbeyhill and Stockbridge Primaries may be saved... The 3 nurseries in the heart of the capital are set to go.

For full details click here.

Stopthecuts will endeavour to bring you the latest developments as they unfold.

Plans a New Boroughmuir High and Portobello High Abandoned

2007-10-02T14:10:00.000+01:00

The Evening News are today reporting that SNP Government is refusing to fund not one, but 6 new schools for Edinburgh.

The SNP Councillors are blaming the Lib Dem Education Convener, the Lib Dem Education Convener is blaming the SNP Government and the SNP Government is blaming the previous administration.

When will these people stop acting like a protest movement and start take the responsbility of governing and delivering for Scotland seriously?

300 Full time Nursery Places Cut

2007-09-21T13:59:00.000+01:00

Yesterday's Full Council Meeting saw the SNP & Lib Dem Council cut 300 Full-time nursery places.

From now on, only the most vulnerable families will be offered free full-time places, and it is feared those who are only slightly better off will be prevented from going back to work or training because they will be unable to pay for childcare.

Furthermore, A number of charities and voluntary organisations are also furious to hear that there funding is going to be cut half way through the year.

To read more see here and here

...I'd just remember for every £1000 shaved off budgets, another SNP or Lib Dem Councillor gets a robe.

Message from Westfield Court Parents

2007-09-17T13:47:00.000+01:00

Westfield Court Nursery School which was recently earmarked for closure in The City of Edinburgh Council’s Rationalisation and Development Programme.

Having fought hard over the last month to prevent our nursery being closed this Christmas and our children and dedicated staff scattered between 5 different nurseries, we the parents are greatly distressed that the Children and families department now seems to be attempting to close all of the nurseries contained within the report by stealth.

We have been informed this week that the council have without consultation amended the criteria for full time nursery places removing the Head teacher’s ability to prioritise and allocate these places. Allocation is now to be centralised at the council effectively allowing the council to direct placements to the nurseries they wish to keep open and away from those places they had previously earmarked for closure.

Furthermore with the amending of the full time place criteria many parents who’s children have already been awarded perfectly legitimate full time places find their children are now facing having their full time places withdrawn after Christmas because the reason’s they have been given their placements have been dropped from the new criteria or placed at the bottom of the order of priority. These needs do not disappear just because the council has decided to amend its criteria.

Added to this is the Council’s plan to reduce the number of full time places City wide by in excess 300 places with effect from January 2008.

We the parents of Westfield Court Nursery are pleading with you to save many of our children having their full time places withdrawn halfway though a school year. We have applied to The Council to make a deputation to their full council meeting this Thursday 20 September 2007 at 10.am.

1 in 3 Nursery Places to be axed

2007-09-14T09:44:00.000+01:00

The Scotsman is today reporting that one in every three nursery places is to be axed by the Lib Dem SNP Council:

PARENTS are having to give up jobs to look after their children after the local council told them it would no longer provide them with full-time nursery places.

Headteachers are calling parents across Edinburgh to tell them that they will no longer get places for their children.

Almost one in three nursery places is to be scrapped as part of the city council's attempt to save £1.8 million from the early years budget. In a couple of years, the total number of full-time places will be cut from 1,054 to 700.

The move by the local authority's ruling Liberal Democrat-SNP coalition is in stark contrast to the SNP nationally, which has a key aim of increasing nursery provision.

As part of the cost-cutting measures, the council has tightened the admission criteria for full-time places at its nurseries. It now gives priority to children at risk of abuse and those on the Child Protection Register.

Other children must have needs on a sliding scale to qualify: the criteria include mental health issues and families under severe financial stress.

Under the new rules, the children of asylum seekers and travellers will have greater priority than the offspring of teenage mothers, who want full-time provision so they can return to school.

Allison MacLeary has been told by the headteacher at Grassmarket Nursery that her four-year-old son Donnie is unlikely to keep his full-time place. She now fears she will lose her job and will be unable to work at all. She said: "I have worked as a personal assistant for three years on a flexible basis whenever I am needed. Grassmarket has been great; they allowed me to amalgamate my hours over three full days and change my days as and when I'm needed to work.

"I had to let my boss know when it looked like the nursery might close and she's already looking for someone else because she needs someone who can be flexible.

"There are huge waiting lists at private nurseries and the cost of childcare would probably be higher than I would earn anyway, so I'm going to be jobless."

Grassmarket Nursery had faced the axe under controversial proposals to close 22 schools, including six nurseries, to save £9 million and fill a £10 million deficit in the local authority's budget. However, those plans are expected to be formally withdrawn at an emergency meeting of the council on Saturday after the SNP withdrew its support.

Rachael Hay was told by Westfield Court Nursery that her son Christian, four, is to lose his place after Christmas.

She said: "He did qualify for a full-time place under the old criteria, but under the new criteria his needs have gone right down the list."

Christian had been due to start primary school in August, but was kept back a year to help his development - and having a full-time nursery place was crucial in making that decision.

Mrs Hay said: "He's very socially immature for his age. He would cling to the teachers rather than mix with the other children at nursery. I'm worried this is going to be a backward step for him."

Andrew Burns, Labour's education spokesman in the city, said the new admissions policy had not been approved by any committee of the council.

"I find it unacceptable that a revised set of criteria, which could have a very significant impact on nursery provision, is apparently being implemented without any democratic approval from elected members," he said.

Marilyn Maclaren, the council's education convenor, said: "Free full-time nursery places have always been provided on the condition that they may be reviewed and a review is currently under way. The council only has a statutory obligation to provide free part-time nursery places to children from the age of three and it will continue to do so. We will also continue to offer full time places to those who need it most."

Nursery services under threat

2007-09-11T23:14:00.000+01:00

The Stepping Stones in Granton, with a centre in Muirhouse as well, is under threat from the council cuts programme.

They've been told they face potential removal by the Council of the funding for their work with the under 3s, their ante-natal services, and their family support services.

If their worst fears become a reality, they could lose more than £90,000 - more than 40% of their annual budget of £220,000.

This threat is not surprisingly causing real worries to the staff and the mothers and families with whom they work. More details from Mark Lazarowicz here.

Demonstration called

2007-09-11T23:03:00.000+01:00

A demonstration/rally has been called to campaign against the latest council cuts from the education budget.

The demonstration has been called by a new campaign group called Edinburgh Education First, just before the emergency full Council meeting on Sat 15 Sept 11.30am at City Chambers to discuss the budget cuts

The Edinburgh Education First campaign took shape as a result of a well-attended public meeting on Thus 6 Sept. Chaired by Bernadette Brown of Dalmeny Primary School, the lively meeting called for action and sustained pressure from parents and families to put education and provision for children first.

Politics by Press Conference

2007-09-06T13:48:00.000+01:00

Green and Labour Councillors, keen to avoid politics by press conference, used there power to call an emergency council meeting so that the SNP/Lib Dem administration could be called to explain their decision to abandon the schools closure programme.

Althought delighted by the news, members felt that it was only right and proper that the Councillors properly inform the Council about what happens next. Since Education Convener Marilyn McLaren has shown no regret - other than the very fact that her wicked plan has fallen apart - it is particular pertinent that the people of Edinburgh find out "What's next?" in the line for front line service closures... Will it be buses, services for the elderly or community and leisure facilities?

The total number of Labour and Green Councillors was enough to call an Emergency Council Meeting - but it then falls to the Lib Dem Lord Provost to pick an appropriate date with 15 days of the request being submitted. Normally council meetings are held on Thursdays, but many thought that any alternative week day may have to be found in order to slip it neatly into the diary. However, it appears that Lib Dem petty politics couldn't resist the temptation of tabling the meeting for 12.30 on the Saturday of the holiday weekend. Just shows you how little regard they have for due process.

Not to worry - Labour and Green Councillors will be sat there waiting for answers. It will however be fascinating to see how many Lib Dem and SNP Councillors turn up to attempt them.

Schools face fresh budget cuts

2007-09-05T20:32:00.000+01:00

From the Evening News:

HEADTEACHERS have been warned they face having their budgets slashed further after the failure of council plans to axe up to 22 schools across Edinburgh.

City schools are already set to lose £1 million of funding, with secondaries being ordered to save £20,000 and primaries £6000. But those cuts were calculated when the council expected to save £9m by closing schools.

Today, the council warned that further cutbacks had not been ruled out as education chiefs struggle to balance the books. Opposition politicians and teaching unions today condemned the move and warned that belt-tightening would hit pupils the hardest by taking away money for equipment and facilities, as well as learning and teaching assistants and minor repairs. ....

Councillor Andrew Burns, the city's Labour education spokesman, said: "I don't feel these are justified cuts. The Executive is about to come forward with a new legislative programme, and it is absolutely inevitable that if their proposals get taken forward there will be extra money coming to local authorities. "

The education department has a revenue budget of more than £300m, there has to be a more imaginative way of making savings than cutting services."

Edinburgh South Labour MP Nigel Griffiths called on the Lib Dem-SNP coalition to reverse the move.

Victory for Campaigners!

2007-09-03T17:18:00.000+01:00

A Stop the Cuts reporter attended the Edinburgh Lib Dem’s press conference in the City Chambers today at 3.30pm to hear the news that the council’s consultation over the proposed school closure is now over - following the SNP’s withdrawal of support.

Lib Dem Education Convener Marilyn McLaren said that she was really disappointed that the planned school closures were being abandoned and said that whole consultation process “had been hijacked by political opportunism.”

Stop the Cuts is astounded that she made no mention of the huge swell of public opposition to the proposals influencing her decision. She further added that the Liberal Democrats were having an emergency meeting tonight to discuss the future of the SNP Lib Dem coalition as they feel that there has been a serious breach of trust following the SNP’s U-turn.

Labour MSP George Foulkes said ““The U-turn on school closures by the SNP group on Edinburgh City Council is a great victory for the campaigners. However - a word of cuation - A group which can renege once can do so again in the other direction and there should be no immediate end to the campaign.

The SNP have changed their position just in time to avoid embarrassing Alex Salmond & Fiona Hyslop in the legislative programme debate in Scottish Parliament on Wednesday. When they take it back to the Council, the officials will challenge them to find alternative savings and they may find themselves crumbling again.”

North & Leith MP Mark Lazarowicz added “If the reports today are correct it is obviously a victory for parents, pupils, staff and all members of the public who have made clear their outrage at the massive school closure programme proposed by the Liberal Democrat-SNP run council.

But we need more than a statement from the SNP leader on this. There should be an emergency meeting of the council within days to confirm the withdrawal of the schools closure programme.

There is no reason why a meeting cannot be arranged very quickly; the council's standing orders allow for this to happen. Parents, pupils and staff should not have the axe of closure over the threatened schools a day longer than is necessary. Not a further penny of council money should be wasted on taking forward this failed scheme”

Rumour of U-turn?

2007-09-03T13:45:00.000+01:00

Stop the Council cuts has heard a rumour today that the SNP have pulled their support for the school closures programme. Full details are as yet unavailable but we shall endeavour to keep you posted as the situation develops.

Although this may prove a great success for the thousands of parents, pupils and community activists who have been campaigning against these closures for the past few weeks - we must remember that a party who can U-turn so quickly on a policy can't necessarily be trusted not to do the same again.

Whatever happens now, the council officals will have to go back to the drawing board and they may well come back with a whole new set of controversial proposals. We must all continue to keep our eyes firmly on the ball.

Campaigning on Leith Walk

2007-09-01T18:12:00.000+01:00

Photos of Mark Lazarowicz MP campaigning against the school closures at the top of Leith Walk today.

He was getting people to sign paper copies of the on-line petition.

School campaign sites

2007-09-01T18:10:00.000+01:00

Now up and running

Save Abbeyhill Primary

Save Stockbridge School

Save Victoria School

and of course the Stop The Cuts petition

There are also many petitions on the Downing Street website:

Drummond CHS http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/drummond/

Dalmeny Primary http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Dalmeny/

WHEC http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/westerhailesec/

Abbeyhill Primary http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Abbeyhill/

Castlebrae http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Castlebrae/

Bonnington Primary http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/bonningtonschool/

Westburn Primary http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SaveWestburn/

St Cuthberts primary http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/St-Cuthberts/

Drumbrae Primary http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SaveDrumbrae/

Cameron House Nursery http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SaveCHNS/

Westfield Court Nursery http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/savewestfldcourt/

Craigentinny Primary http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Craigentinny/

All schools http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/schoolcloseure/

Tom Hunter "deeply concerned"

2007-09-01T18:07:00.000+01:00

The Scottish philanthropist, Sir Tom Hunter, has lent his support to the campaign against school closures, saying he was "deeply concerned" over plans to axe two secondaries to which he has given hefty donations.

He has committed £750,000 to schools in the city, including Wester Hailes Education Centre and Castlebrae Community High in Craigmillar, which are earmarked for closure.

The full story is in The Scotsman.

Craigentinny petition live on Downing Street

2007-09-01T18:01:00.000+01:00

The campaign to save Craigentinny in live on Downing Street - please sign up.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Craigentinny

There is also a page on the BBC Action Network here.

Scottish Parliament petition

2007-09-01T17:18:00.000+01:00

A petition has been launched on the Scottish Parliament website, calling on MSPs to vote against the closure of Drummond. The SNP Scottish Executive will have to decide whether or not to grant closure to the school, because it is running at above 80% capacity.

http://epetitions.scottish.parliament.uk/view_petition.asp?PetitionID=181

Is is "calling on the Scottish Parliament, in light of the proposal to close Drummond Community High School in Edinburgh, to urge Scottish Ministers not to grant consent to school closure proposals where the school role exceeds 80% of the school’s capacity".

Dates of public meetings announced

2007-08-28T16:06:00.000+01:00

The dates of public meetings regarding the "review: rationalisation and development" of the schools have been published today.

Public Meetings regarding	Venue/Contact	Date
Princess Elizabeth P.S/Cameron House CC	Prestonfield Primary School	Thurs 20th Sep
Westfield Court NS	Balgreen Primary	Wed 26 Sept
Gorgie Memorial Hall	Gorgie Memorial Hall	Thurs 27 Sept
St Anne's Community Centre	St Anne's Community Centre	Tues 2nd Oct
Riddle's Court	Riddle's Court	Thurs 4 Oct
Grassmarket Nursery School	Tollcross P.S (Community Hall)	Tues 9th Oct
Bingham Community Centre	Lismore Primary School	Thurs 11th Oct
Lismore PS	Lismore Primary School	Tue 23rd Oct
Brunstane PS	Brunstane PS	Thurs 25 Oct
Victoria PS	Victoria PS	Tues 30 Oct
Fort PS	Fort PS	Thurs 1st Nov
Drumbrae PS	Drumbrae PS	Wed 7th Nov
Clermiston PS	Clermiston PS	Thurs 8 Nov
Hillwood PS	Hillwood PS	Tues 13th Nov
Ratho PS	Ratho PS	Thurs 15th Nov
Abbeyhill PS	Abbeyhill PS	Tues 20th Nov
Leith Walk PS	Leith Walk PS	Thurs 22nd Nov
Burdiehouse PS	Burdiehouse PS	Wed 28th Nov
Gracemount PS	Gracemount PS	Thurs 29 Nov

All public meetings take place from 7pm to 9pm.

You can also find them in the calendar at the bottom of this page which includes details of all events related to the school closures.

Drummond pupils take their case to Downing Street

2007-08-28T00:10:00.000+01:00

A campaign to save Drummond Community High School - currently running at nearly 90% occupancy - has been launched on the Downing Street website.

You can visit the petition here.

Labour’s alternative budget

2007-08-27T12:00:00.000+01:00

Today, the Labour group on Edinburgh City Council have announced their alternative budget, which shows that £12 million can be raised to allow the council to avoid £7 million pounds worth of unnecessary cuts to public services, which will see 26 schools close.

In May, the Labour led council left a surplus to the incoming SNP/Lib Dem council. However only three months later their plans to close a large number of Edinburgh schools have left the people of Edinburgh baffled.

The Labour group's alternative budget is putting people before numbers and has shown that these cuts are completely unnecessary and avoidable, should council leaders have the political will. Why won't the SNP/LibDem council accept that there might be a way to stop these closures?

Stay Out of School Day

2007-08-24T11:56:00.000+01:00

Next Friday, pupils at Craigentinny Primary School are being encouraged to stay out of school in protest at the proposed closures. Instead pupils will be encouraged to join parents and community activists in a mass letter writing campaign outside the school gates.

If you'd like help in organising a Stay out of School day in your area email stopthecouncilcuts@googlemail.com

Parents storm Council Chamber and are still ignored..

2007-08-24T09:56:00.000+01:00

Parents and pupils were yesterday left in utter dismay when Lib Dem and SNP Councillors refused to hear deputations in an unprecedented move at the Full Council Meeting.

Both Edinburgh South MP Nigel Griffiths and Edinburgh North & Leith MSP Malcolm Chisholm were also denied the opportunity to speak. Both the vote on hearing deputations and the vote on the proposed school closures programme went down to the final wire with the Lib Dem Lord Provost George Grubb casting the deciding vote with the Lib Dem SNP administration on each occasion.

The Evening News reported that....

"Lisa Ross, 37, a student from Stenhouse - whose daughters Sophie, 9, and Charlotte, 7, attend the threatened St Cuthbert's Primary School - stormed into the meeting.
She shouted: "We want to be heard about school closures. "

"How dare you make so many mistakes with our money - not your money, ours. We want to speak about school closures and you don't want to hear us. Who do you work for?"
Ms Ross' demand was met with enthusiastic applause from Labour councillors who had voted against the motion to refuse to hear them, along with Conservatives and Greens.

When the clapping died down, Ms Ross said: "You do not care about the people of Edinburgh and schools and education." She was then marched out of the Chambers. A group of around a dozen other parents were blocked from going in as the crowd that had been outside the Chambers since 8am shouted: "Save our schools, save our schools."

The question begs, how can we trust the Lib Dem SNP Council to run a fair consultation if they wont even listen?

100s of Protestors March on City Chambers

2007-08-23T12:08:00.000+01:00

100s of concerned parents, pupils and trade unionists protested outside the Council Chambers this morning. With the Full Council Meeting starting at 10am the noise, banners and press must surely have been noticed by Marilyn MacLaren, the Lib Dem Education Convener proposing these cuts.

Nigel Griffiths MP visits Burdiehouse

2007-08-22T22:33:00.001+01:00

Griffiths met the Head Teachers of St Catherine’s Primary and Burdiehouse Primary this week to discuss the threat to close them by the new Liberal-Democrat-run Council.

These two popular local schools are facing closure as part of the Lib-Dem spending cuts. In spite of receiving high praise from the independent school inspectors, both St Catherine’s and Burdiehouse Primary Schools have been targeted for closure. Nigel Griffiths is leading a delegation of parents to the meeting of the full council on Thursday.

Nigel Griffiths said: "I do not believe in keeping all schools open under any circumstances -when Hyvot and Fernieside Primary schools were shut, I worked with local parents and our Labour councillors to ensure that a brand new school was built at Craigour Park. But now the Liberal Democrats are wanting to close two of our schools without planning any replacement."

The Liberal Democrats who run Edinburgh are utter hypocrites and opposed every school closure before they took power in May. Now they plan to close 22 schools. No-one should be surprised. When they last ran Edinburgh in the 1980s, they axed 1,000 teaching posts.
The Inspector’s report on St Catherine’s which highlighted 9 strengths in the school and concluded:
"Teachers set high standards for pupils’ attainment, were good at letting them know their child’s strengths and weaknesses and provided helpful information about homework and their child’s progress." - HMI Report 2003

Cllr Norma Hart, who has been in constant touch with the school since her election in May, says: "Burdiehouse Primary school is an anchor in this community and this year the inspectors praised the teachers for striving to get the most out of their young pupils."
But while the council’s report on closure states that schools of under 100 pupils are not considered viable, both our schools have well over 100 pupils each.
S

tephen Small of the St Catherine’s School Board said: "It was a total shock to us. There was never any rumour about this. We have a full complement of Primary 1s this year. We’ve had money spent both inside and outside the school."

Cllr Ian Murray highlighted the 3 new schools provided by Labour in South Edinburgh including a new Gracemount high school.

St Catherine’s Primary - 9 strengths:
The Liberal-Democrat led council is ignoring the latest independent Inspector’s report on St Catherine’s which highlighted 9 strengths in the school and concluded:
"Teachers set high standards for pupils’ attainment, were good at letting them know their child’s strengths and weaknesses and provided helpful information about homework and their child’s progress."

HMI report on the St Catherine’s Primary School

Some of the key strengths highlighted in the report:
• The teaching process
• Expectations and promoting achievement
• Structure of the curriculum
• Partnership with parents, the School Board and the community
• Accommodation and facilities
• Staffing
• Provision of resources
• Climate and relationships
• Learning support.

The inspection covered key aspects of the work of the school. HM Inspectors evaluated learning, teaching and attainment, examined pupils’ work and interviewed staff and pupils. Areas of the curriculum included in the inspection were English language, modern languages, mathematics, and technology within environmental studies.

Unacceptable Programme of Closures

2007-08-21T15:13:00.000+01:00

The programme to close 22 school and 4 community centres, put forward last week by the new Lib-Dem/SNP Council, is completely unacceptable to the Labour Group.

Marilyn McLaren, the Lib-Dem Executive Member for Education, Children and Families, said in the Evening News last Friday that “the closures were for educational, not financial, reasons” and the Director of Children and Families, Gillian Tee, in the same article, said “we are not being driven by finance and savings”. I take them both at their word and agree with them that this programme should not be about finance.

It therefore makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to rush through a consultation process to close all of the 26 establishments in less than nine months, as they propose. There are many questions to be answered and much more time is required. Most importantly, the underlying case has not been made for following such a drastic course of action. It will affect thousands of children, parents and wider communities across Edinburgh. The Council has a duty and a responsibility to get this right and nine months are simply inadequate.

Labour is not opposed to making the difficult decision to close schools – previous Labour Administrations in Edinburgh have indeed undertaken school rationalisation programmes, but there has always been a distinct purpose and rationale behind our decisions, which was made very clear before any closures went ahead.

Falling school rolls and demographics are not good enough reasons for parents who have chosen a school for it location, standards and ethos.

If the overall rationale is supposedly educational, then why do the proposed secondary school closures appear to fall most heavily in the areas of highest deprivation within our city? It would mean that those who need the Local Authority’s help most, would be worst affected.

Why do some of the most popular primary schools in the city appear to be earmarked for closure? It would mean that hundreds of parents would unnecessarily be denied access to establishments that are currently successful and popular.

How do we know that the outcome will be in the best interests of all the children in Edinburgh, regardless of where they live and how vocal their parents are?

There are simply too many unanswered questions. Frankly, the Lib-Dem/SNP Administration should go back to the drawing board with these completely unacceptable plans.

- Adapted from The Edinburgh Evening News, 21/09/07