I was delighted to attend the Edinburgh Private Tenants Action Group (EPTAG) campaign launch for tougher enforcement against rogue and criminal landlords. Over 50 people turned out to a public meeting – tenants, landlords, council officers, politicians – to find…
Author: Maggie Chapman (page 9)
Why we need a more participatory and inclusive approach to local politics
At last week’s full council meeting I had two motions up for debate. One in support of participatory budgeting (PB) as a means of deciding 1% of the Council’s discretionary revenue budget, and the second seeking information about setting up…
Leith Biomass Plant objection
Tomorrow is the deadline for objections and comments on the proposed Leith Biomass proposals. This is what I have sent in, and I urge others to do likewise! Proposed Biomass ‘Renewable Energy’ Plant at Leith Docks, Edinburgh Application by Forth…
Green approach to the City’s budget
On 10th February, the City Council set its budget for the next three years. We also debated the awards of grants to third sector organisations for delivering services in local communities. The budget process has been something that Greens have…
Why we should stand in solidarity with students
In many ways, 1998 seems a long time ago. It was before 9/11 and the war in Iraq. It was before any of us had heard about Al Qaeda, nevermind the War on Terror. It was before Hurricane Katrina, and…
£eith Decides: the city’s first participatory budgeting exercise
On Saturday 27th November, about 400 Leithers braved the beginnings of the snow and ice and turned out to participate in £eith Decides, an innovative approach to funding community projects. Twenty five projects, from Pulse of the Place (drumming for…
Snow firsts and non-snow non-firsts
All this snow has made for an interesting couple of days, and several firsts for me. On Sunday, as I walked to Craighouse Campus (buses seemed to be having difficulty with the Edinburgh hills), I ate my first ever icicle.…
Boycott: the strongest political act we have against Israel
On Saturday 5th June, somewhere between 3000 and 5000 people gathered in Edinburgh city centre to protest against the actions of the Israeli State. We were there because we are angry, appalled and disgusted at the way the Israeli State…
Success for the little guy: care and support contracts and unfair pricing aborted
Sense has prevailed at last! In my last post, I discussed why the tendering of care and support services was such a bad idea, after Edinburgh Council was forced to abandon its tender process. The independent review stated that the process…
Care & Support Tender abandoned … for now …
The Finance and Resources committee today agreed not to proceed with the awarding of Care and Support contracts as originally proposed. On the face of it, this is good news. It means that people currently receiving care and support services…