All parties should support SNP's sensible plans for our city - Angus Robertson

As in the whole of Scotland, people in Edinburgh are struggling under the weight of higher bills for food, energy and mortgages. Along with MSPs, councillors have a huge role to play in helping families sustain themselves in these times.

SNP group leader Adam Nols-McVey

That’s why the City of Edinburgh Council budget proposals are especially important and in the coming days, each party will present and vote on their proposals for the city’s 2024/25 budget.

SNP councillors, led by councillor Adam Nols-McVey, have made a credible, actionable and sensible budget for the city. At the centre of the SNP proposals are plans to fix the “Friday afternoon problem” that working parents have to deal with, often at great cost.

The SNP budget plan would fund universal free Friday afternoon after-school clubs to make life easier for families and ensure children get the best possible start in life. It is a commitment to giving the best education possible to children, and to support working people.

The budget will also help the citizens of the city by freezing monthly council tax bills, supporting youth work organisations, creating supported bus services, and investing in road safety around schools. The budget also includes more than £5.5 million of new spending targeted at climate change, to tackle the great emergency of our time.

We will also fund enforcement to ensure no short-term lets are waved through and an accompanying proposal in the council housing budget will bring hundreds of derelict homes back into use. I urge all parties to support these sensible plans for our city.