Edinburgh council faces £100m of cuts as watchdog sounds alarm over city budget

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A watchdog has warned Edinburgh Council will have to make cuts of over £100m to balance their budget. The Accounts Commission said it is “crucial” the local authority engages with locals when they consider how to make swingeing savings.

Edinburgh, like many councils, is having to make deep cuts amid claims the SNP Government has short changed town halls.

Ahead of their report this morning, the Accounts Commission laid out the scale of the challenge facing the Labour-run council.

They said the £100m savings needed by 2029 requires senior officers and councillors to “work together” to improve performance and reduce costs. The watchdog said the council has “ambitious plans” to borrow money to improve housing and school buildings, but insisted this proposal needs to be “managed carefully”.

They also said the council had to address “declining performance” in areas including housing, waste and street cleaning.

Jo Armstrong, Chair of the Accounts Commission said: “We cannot underestimate the scale of financial challenge. The council has successfully achieved savings over recent years. But given increasing demand and financial pressures, the council must accelerate its transformation and change programme. Listening to and acting on the views of staff and local communities will be vital.

“The council has real opportunities, including the potential to raise more income. It shouldn’t use the potential of future income, however, to delay making difficult decisions now as challenges will only intensify.”

Council Leader Cammy Day said: “We’re encouraged by the Commission’s findings, which recognise the good progress the Council has made since 2020.

“We’ve delivered a lot of change at a time of huge pressure on our services and on our budget, but we’ve stayed true to our priorities of protecting day-to-day services and investing in a fairer, greener future. Our aims to eradicate poverty and become net-zero by 2030 are ambitious, but we need to be aspirational to make sure they stay at the top of our priority list.

“Our focus on getting the basics right for our residents, meanwhile, is also bearing fruit with Edinburgh now the top performing Council in Scotland for street cleanliness, and continued improvements in key areas such as road conditions. We acknowledge, however, that there is still much more to be done and we’ve targeted substantial additional resources into key services such as housing, where we know performance has to improve if we are to tackle Edinburgh’s housing emergency.

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“We’re continuing to adopt new technologies to make it easier for residents to come to us for help and, as recognised in the report, we’re looking forward to realising the huge benefits our Visitor Levy proposals will bring from 2026 – which we forecast will raise over £100m for the city by 2030.

“It’s no secret, however, that ever more difficult financial decisions lie ahead. Despite the unique pressures that come with being Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh remains the lowest funded council per head in Scotland, which is having a huge impact on our finances. The latest projections show that we will face a budget shortfall of at least £30m next year and we’ll need to work even harder to ensure we can keep on delivering best value for the people of Edinburgh.”

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