Fair Funding for East Lothian Campaign

That the Parliament notes reports of East Lothian Council’s projected £71 million plus cumulative funding shortfall over the next five years; understands that, despite the latest Scottish Census confirming that it was the second fastest growing local authority area over the last decade, East Lothian Council is also currently the third worst funded per head of population out of Scotland’s 32 local authorities; notes what it sees as the council’s urgent demands for additional funding from the Scottish Government to tackle this discrepancy; welcomes the launch of the Fair Funding for East Lothian campaign by the Labour Group on East Lothian Council, which, it understands, is calling for the significant growth that the county has experienced to be recognised with the allocation of additional Scottish Government revenue and capital funding in order to help ensure that its infrastructure and public services are able to fully meet the requirements of what it sees as the rapidly growing population, and notes the calls for the establishment of a dedicated growth fund to support infrastructure development in the fastest growing council areas.