Item no 43.1 + + EDI N BVRG H THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL Leader’s Report City of Edinburgh Council 1 February 2007 1. Cancellation of Royal Bank Street Party Council members were naturally concerned at the cancellation of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay’s Royal Bank Street Party but we acknowledge that safety must always be the first priority. The severity and prolonged nature of the weather meant that no other decision could reasonably have been taken; the decision to cancel was unanimous and the operational handling of the inter-agency partnership managed the situation expertly. I place on record my thanks and appreciation to the many staff, volunteers and technical advisers who performed a role on the night and I am pleased that the overall reaction to the cancellation has been one of understanding, if tinged somewhat naturally with a sense of disappointment. At 6pm the Royal Bank Street Party site was ‘locked down’, restricting access to the site, in the interests of public safety. In addition, operational personnel were also removed. This condition remained in place for the rest of the evening. The majority of the Seven Hills Fireworks did eventually take place, including a five second display from the Castle esplanade. This was based on advice that this was the safest course of action. The alternative, of ‘derigging’ a firework display, has significant health and safety risks associated with it. The Street Party site remained closed throughout in view of public safety concerns . It is worth remembering that Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations span four days. The Torchlight Procession and Night Afore International were, as usual, enjoyed by many thousands of Edinburgh residents and visitors to the city. Edinburgh will recover from this set back and we shall take the opportunity now to look forward and relaunch the world’s best New Year celebrations. 2. Hogmanay emergencies The extreme weather conditions experienced over Hogmanay also caused disruption and considerable distress for home and building owners around the city. During the New Year holiday weekend, Council staff attended 46 emergency calls to assist with building defects. These included choked and blocked drains, loose slates and roof tiles, collapsed advertising hoardings, masonry falls, windows being blown in and damage to walls and fences. Many of these were potentially life-threatening events but the prompt actions of our staff helped to ensure that all of these incidents were made safe without injury to the public or to themselves. I am grateful to our dedicated staff and to those public-spirited enough to report the incidents. 3. Herbert Coutts - Ae Fond Farewell It is with appreciation for a fine career which contributed in some unique ways to the cultural and sporting life of this city that I record the retirement of Herbert Coutts as Director or Culture and Leisure. Herbert’s career in Edinburgh began in I971 as Edinburgh Corporation’s Superintendent of City Museums. In the following 35 years he worked tirelessly to provide Scotland’s capital city with refreshed sporting facilities and a rich and world-renowned culture. In his 9 year tenure as Director, Herbert‘s vision helped Edinburgh both to remain as Scotland’s cultural capital and to consolidate its international reputation as a vibrant and active city. His involvement in key projects such as the redevelopment of the Usher Hall; the creation of Edinburgh Leisure, the Fife-Edinburgh Marathon and the extension of the City Art Centre demonstrated his clear influence on the cultural and sporting wealth of the capital and will serve as monuments to his leadership. Herbert’s impact on the literary life of Edinburgh has been profound. Under his leadership Edinburgh became the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature, established the Makar’s Court and introduced the post of Edinburgh Makar to promote the city’s literary heritage and the work of current writers. He also sustained a valued and quality libraries service for the capital. Herbert will be particularly remembered for cultural projects including The Emperor’s Warriors (1983, the first cultural exhibition advertised in Scotland and which attracted 221,128 visitors; Gold of the Pharaohs (1988), seen by over 447,500 people; and Star Trek (1992) created by Paramount Studios especially for Edinburgh to the delight of the 200,000 ‘trekkies’ who visited. Herbert’s contribution to the sporting life of the city will also have a lasting impact. He was instrumental in establishing Edinburgh Leisure - an innovative and successful enterprise - and has initiated a programme to refresh the capital’s sporting infrastructure with new national and regional sports facilities for the use of both elite athletes and the local community. I am sure colleagues will wish to join with me in thanking Herbert and wishing him a long and happy retirement. 4. Paul Gudgin Steps Down as Fringe Director Festival Fringe director Paul Gudgin is to step down from the post in early June, ahead of this year’s festival. Director since 1999, Paul has successfully ensured the Fringe maintains its huge global presence. As one of the most exciting arts events in the world, the Festival Fringe attracts tens of thousands of performers and visitors to Edinburgh every summer. I thank Paul for his tremendous hard work over the past eight years and for the way in which he fostered the partnership with the Council, and I wish him all the very best for the future. His successor has a very tough act to follow. 5. Edinburgh Residents Recognised in HM The Queen’s New Year Honours The capital city was well represented in Her Majesty The Queen’s New Year Honours. This was fantastic, and well-deserved, recognition of the significant time and energies these Edinburgh residents contributed for the public good. A Knighthood was awarded to international businessman David Murray. Richard Henderson, Solicitor to the Scottish Executive, received an Order of the Bath. Professors Richard Demarco and Alexander McCall Smith, Wilma Dickson and Ian Russell were recognised with CBEs. OBEs went to Michael Ellis, Dr Michael Gibson, Professor Stuart MacPherson, Dr Stuart Monro, Richard Murphy and John White. Maureen Baker, a Head teacher at a City of Edinburgh Nursery School, was awarded with an MBE as were Morag Deyes, Arthur Mathieson, Maureen McEvoy, Alan McKinney and Christopher Minty. Congratulations to these worthy recipients. I hope that they, and their families, are proud of their achievements. 6. Childcare Voucher Scheme It was reported in the media that Edinburgh was one of 21 local authorities in Scotland who had not implemented the Childcare Voucher Scheme. The scheme is a flexible, simple and cost effective means of helping parents cover childcare costs. It allows parents to take up to a maximum of f55 per week in childcare vouchers through a salary sacrifice arrangement. Childcare vouchers can be used to pay towards registered childcare for children up to age 16. Parents can save up to E916 each year through savings on basic rate tax and National Insurance. The administrative charge for the scheme is covered through reduced employer’s National Insurance contributions and is therefore a win-win situation for parents and their employer. I know the demands on parents to balance work and home life. I was therefore extremely concerned that we had not implemented this scheme. I raised this matter with officials and established that this is a voluntary scheme for employers to enter into once they have put in place the necessary pay processes and there is no legislative target that we have failed to meet. I have been reassured that we are working hard to implement the scheme. I expect it to be up-and- running in April and look forward to advising council staff when they can join up. 7. Promoting Local Democracy Brinqinq the Council Executive closer to local communities To enable local communities to participate in the democratic process and to use their local knowledge to shape Council services, meetings of the Executive of the Council are now taking place throughout the city. Over 2,000 invitations are delivered to residents in the immediate vicinity of the venues, which have so far been in Clermiston, Wardieburn and Stenhouse. The meeting in Clermiston hosted a neighbourhood management drop- in surgery, with staff on hand to adopt a problem-solving approach to nearly 30 issues raised by members of the public. Some issues have already been resolved, including: the provision of a litter bin within the walled garden on Corstorphine Hill, as requested by the Friends of Corstorphine Hill; warden patrols in Parkgrove Terrace and Clermiston Park to discourage dog fouling on grass verges; and street cleaning in Clermiston Grove. Work is well under way to deal with the remainder and, following an inspection of Duart Crescent shopping car park, the need for its complete resurfacing has been identified and cost estimates are being pursued. These meetings have generated great interest and have proved a valuable opportunity to test our delivery of neighbourhood management services. The lessons learned will inform our response to future Executive Meetings, starting with CurrielBalerno on 6 February (invitation at Appendix A). Local Development Committees Local Development Committees are an important part of the Council’s open style of working, helping to improve access for local people to the Council and councillors. Meetings include a public question time, providing residents with the opportunity to raise questions, and obtain responses, on any matters of concern or interest to them. Invitations are specifically sent out to local interest groups, community councils, schools, care homes and residents’ associations. I would, however, encourage all residents to attend and engage with their Local Development Committee. Forthcoming meetings are:- Wednesday 31 January - Pentlands LDC - (St.