City of Edinburgh Council Budget Deficit

That the Parliament expresses its concern at the City of Edinburgh Council's reported proposal to address its budget deficit by cutting staffing costs through the implementation of a severance scheme worth £14.5 million and by reducing staff hours; considers this an appalling way to treat essential council workers such as refuse collectors, social care workers, craft workers and social workers, and many more key staff, who it believes have worked hard throughout the pandemic to keep the streets clean, homes safe for tenants, the city moving and the vulnerable safe and cared for; understands that the Edinburgh Poverty Commission highlighted in a recent report that almost 15% of Edinburgh’s population live in poverty, including one in five children, and that Edinburgh has to become a living wage city within the next 12 months to challenge poverty; further understands that local authorities face a combined funding shortfall of £739 million due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is expected to top £1 billion by the end of the year; recognises the seriousness of the challenge facing Edinburgh, which it understands has a deficit of £12.5 million; believes that the solution is in a fair funding model for local government that protects jobs and terms and conditions of local government workers, and enhances the role of local government and the public sector in expanding employment opportunities to deliver improved services to tackle the serious challenges ahead, and calls on the Scottish Government to take immediate steps to address what it considers the funding crisis in the city.