Meeting of the Parliament 10 February 2016
The Government has taken two decisions that are material to the City of Edinburgh Council’s funding. One of those was negotiated with our dear late colleague, Margo MacDonald, in the very early years of the Scottish National Party Administration, when she made the case for a capital city supplement. In 2015-16, that generated £3.9 million for the city of Edinburgh, beyond the allocation that would have been determined by the formula. Mr Eadie will also be aware of the application of the additional funding floor that I established, which in the current financial year generates £13.7 million extra for the City of Edinburgh Council on top of the funding formula. According to the most recently available statistics, the City of Edinburgh Council had general reserves totalling £123 million.
The Parliament has considered the comparative strength of local authority funding in Scotland compared with the significant reductions that have taken place in authorities south of the border. That funding creates a strong platform for local authorities to undertake their financial planning, and has been part of the long-term commitment of the SNP Administration.