Why the SNP-Labour coalition accuse the Tories of being mean to them – John McLellan

It was strange then, that much time was spent in committee on Tuesday about the dreadful slight felt by coalition leaders at criticism it receives.

Closing residential streets without consultation or allowing vast funfairs to go ahead without planning permission? Fighting and losing expensive legal battles in the Court of Session? Hitting the bus company with punitive cash raids while localised services are curtailed? All for the good of the city and how dare anyone suggest otherwise.

The report has nine key messages and here are the summarised conclusions of seven of them:

The pace of change in community planning and empowerment, continuous improvement and public reporting has been slow. The council’s ambitions are not set out in an overarching strategic plan. It has had to rely on unplanned savings and on reserves to meet funding gaps. This is not sustainable. It does not have a longer-term financial plan. Its public performance reporting information is limited. Progress reports do not set out the details of savings that are expected or achieved. Community Planning Partnership has made slow progress. Community empowerment is not yet embedded in the council’s culture. The council does not have a structured approach to continuous improvement.

Still, they are ambitious. No wonder they prefer to accuse ‘evil Toaries’ of being mean to them.

John McLellan is a Scottish Conservative councillor for Craigentinny and Duddingston

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.