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Celebrating the 900
Value of NHS should not be underestimated
Council needs to
care for its
tourist industry
By OLIVIA THOMASTOURISM ADDS TO EDINBURGH in
terms of jobs and prosperity according to
Essential Edinburgh boss Roddy Smith,
but he urges the council and national
government to do more to look after this
asset.
Positive footfall with encouraging
retail figures, particularly in St James
Quarter which he describes as “thriving”,
and high investment levels from foreign
organisations are all reasons to celebrate.
Mr Smith said: “You don’t have to look
too far west, or too far to the north east,
to see how important tourism is. Our
empty department stores are being
brought back to stunning life as 4 or 5
star hotels. Hundreds of millions of
pounds are pouring into Princes Street- and that is not because we are a city of
500,000 people but because we attract
millions of visitors a year.
“While our tourism has insulated the
hospitality businesses in the city centre
from the worst of the crisis the sector has
faced through high energy, staff and
stock costs, which doesn’t mean they are
raking in fortunes. Far from it. Trading
conditions remain extremely difficult,
and many are surviving rather than
thriving.”
With the Visitor Levy being introduced
later in the year, he commends this as an
opportunity for the local council to work
with the tourism sector in how to spend
the estimated £25 million, saying it is
time for councillors to show their stated
aim is “more than empty talk”.
Mr Smith said: “The enabling
legislation makes it plain that local
councils are expected to use the money - certainly the greater part of it – to
support a sustainable visitor economy.
We have heard a lot of councillors talking
about ‘widening’ their options, and that
has caused considerable concern.”
Calls for funding applications amid criticism of civic activity
By PHYLLIS STEPHEN
THE COUNCIL HAS ANNOUNCED that
applications can now be made by community
groups for Edinburgh 900 funding of up to
£5,000 per organisation.
The fund celebrates 900 years of Edinburgh as
a royal burgh since it was founded by King
David I around 1124. Out of the funding for
the celebrations £100,000 has been allocated
to the Community Fund for events and
activities. A separate fund of £100,000 has
been set up for city wide events led by
cultural or heritage organisations and there
are grants of up to £15,000 on offer. In either
case the applications must show their
commitment to Edinburgh 900 programme
aims and themes.
The Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh,
Robert Aldridge said: “I’m delighted that both
the Edinburgh 900 community and civic funds
are now open for applications.
“I’m clear that our communities should play
an integral part in these celebrations and I’m
really excited to see the proposals as they come
through in the next few weeks. I have no doubt
that our residents will rise to the occasion and
show the very best aspects of our city.
“On the civic side this is an opportunity for
our cultural and heritage organisations to
exhibit Edinburgh and its illustrious past like
never before.
The deadline for applications is 20 May for
the civic fund and 27 May for the community
fund.Applications may be made on the council
website http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/events-
venues/edinburgh-900-years-old/
Cllr Katrina Faccenda is sceptical of the
arrangements to celebrate the anniversary- which are even now incomplete. She said:
“£500,000 has been allocated in the council
budget for 2024 celebrations details of which
we are starting to hear about in May and there
is minimum involvement and scrutiny by
democratically elected councillors. There
appear to be two parallel worlds in Edinburgh- the so-called civic events from which much of
the city is excluded and then the world of
housing crisis, food banks and daily struggle.
Until councillors recognise it isn’t enough to
promise a lovely party which will “put the city
on the map” we deserve to be called to
account.”
By SARAH BOYACK MSP
THERE IS A REASON THE NHS
is such a valued part of our
society. If you get ill, be it minor
or major, we have a dedicated
public health system that will be
there for you, at no cost. However,
The Scottish Government’s
mismanagement has left the NHS
trying to fulfil its duties with one
hand tied behind its back.
NHS Lothian has been under
pressure for years, but this year’s
Scottish Government budget has
left NHS Lothian having to find
7% savings - the majority of
which will come from cutting
services. I have been contacted by
a constituent who has
experienced these cuts first hand.
My constituent, Megan, has
been a type 1 diabetic since the
age of 12 and volunteered to trial
ground-breaking diabetes
technology for the NHS. This
closed loop system, as its known,
is a game changer for diabetics
and my constituent found that
her blood sugar had never been
better while using it.
One of the perks of taking part in
the trial was quicker access to the
technology once the study was
complete. However, at her last
meeting she was told that due to
NHS Lothian cuts, the closed loop
system would not be offered to her
after the trial and she would have
to revert to her old glucose pump.This in my view is a direct impact
of SNP mismanagement of our
health service. NHS England began
rolling out this technology at the
start of April and NHS Lothian had
similarly planned to start their roll
out across Edinburgh. But now, this
service has been cut and thousands
of diabetics across Edinburgh will
have an indefinite delay to access
this life changing technology.
Two thirds of diabetics in
Lothian want this technology and
investing in diabetes tech will pay
dividends in the long run as less
NHS resources will be required to
treat diabetes complications. With
10% of the NHS budget allocated
to diabetes and 75% of that
allocation dealing withcomplications, this technology
can completely transform how
our health service approaches the
disease and free up funding for
other parts of the health service.
Edinburgh is already the lowest
funded council area in Scotland,
but with 84% of Scotland’s future
population growth happening in
Lothian, it is clear something has
to change. We cannot go on
underfunding our health services
while our population is growing
dramatically.
The state of Edinburgh’s Eye
Pavilion illustrates what happens
when critical NHS services don’t get
the investment they require. We
cannot allow diabetes treatment in
Edinburgh to go the same way.Alan SimpsonMartin P McAdamFULL FITNESS
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