Single Point of Contact update

Preliminary work on creating the new Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for John Muir House is set to begin from Monday.

Work will be carried out in and around main reception.

The contractor will be setting up a compound on part of Peffers Place (the lane between John Muir House and the Corn Exchange). Siting the compound here will enable main reception to stay open and help to minimise disruption.

To gain access to the site, the contractor will cross the single storey flat roof near the UNISON office and into the courtyard, at the rear of main reception.

A temporary meeting space for Planning colleagues will be formed in the atrium at reception closed to the glazed screen. This will enable the space behind main reception to be cleared for works to commence.

Look out for further updates in due course.

Musselburgh Flood Protection Scheme Open Day

Local residents are invited to discover more about the flood protection works being planned for Musselburgh at an open public event to be held at Venue 2, The Brunton on Tuesday 26 February. The event has been designed to provide flooding information to interested parties in Musselburgh and will showcase progress made by East Lothian Council to date. Members of the Scheme’s Project Team will be available to discuss local concerns and answer any questions.

The event will also include stalls from Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), Scottish Flood Forum and the council’s Emergency Planning section who will be present to provide information and advice on flood risk, flood warning systems and property-level protection measures that householders may want to put in place.

Musselburgh has a history of damaging floods from the River Esk - the last major flood, and inundation of the High Street occurred in 1948. There were also significant events in 1927 and 1891. There is a lack of evidence of these events available to the Scheme, and so the Project Team are asking local people who may have any historical photos or memories of these flood events to get in touch.

HWL Practitioners appointments

March appointments are currently available for HWL Practitioners. These are all at JMH

Susan Green (Massage) –

1 March : - 09.00, 10.00, 11.00 and 12.30
15 March : - 11.00, 12.30, 16.00
29 March : - 10.00, 11.00, 12.30

Angela Jones (Massage) –

6 March : - 11.00
20 March : - 11.00

Lesley Nichol (Podiatry) –
13 March : - 09.00, 09.45, 10.30, 13.00, 13.45, 14.30 and 15.15

For further information and to book an appointment please email hwl@eastlothian.gov.uk

Council budget agreed

The council’s budget plans were approved today by Elected Members.

Read the news release

Watch our video

As you’ll be aware, the council – like all local authorities – continues to operate in a very challenging financial environment.

We’re dealing with multiple spending pressures at a time of significant local population growth, continued demand for services, inflationary costs and an obligation to deliver national policy commitments.

Most of our budget comprises central government funding. The expected revenue support grant for the council in 2019/20 equates to a reduction of £0.198m. When adjusted to reflect funding for new policy obligations – such as investment in the expansion of childcare, health and social care integration, implementation of the Barclay Review and Carers Act – we are facing an effective reduction of just under £2.5 million (1.5%).

This has underlined the need to continue looking for ways to reduce costs or raise additional income.

Key points agreed in this year’s budget include:

• Investment in new, improved or expanded local schools and infrastructure, with a near £300 million programme of capital investment over five years.
• A £170 million investment over five years in council housing, including significant expenditure on new homes and the modernisation or extension of others.
• Council tax will increase by 4.79% in 2019/20 (the maximum permitted), with indicative council tax increases of 3% in 2020/21 and 2021/22. Council tax provides less than a quarter of the money we need to run local services.
• Rent for tenants living in council properties will increase by 5%.
• The council will draw on £3 million of its reserves to help set a balanced budget in 2019/20.
• The council will continue to develop its transformational change programme, introducing further innovation, new ways of working and helping to reduce expenditure and/or increase income. Some service reviews will take place to support new and efficient ways of working and look at options for service re-design, helping to reduce costs.

While this means change will be required, East Lothian Council has a strong track record of building on improvements to services while challenging ourselves to be increasingly innovative - as highlighted by last year’s very positive Best Value Report from the Accounts Commission. And we are a council which performs very strongly in comparison to other local authorities.

This is testament to the commitment of employees and we will continue to build on this in the years ahead.

We will need to look at the design of services and ensure the structures we have in place are as effective and efficient as possible, enabling us to deliver services within a balanced budget.  

We will develop our approach to transformation – for example increased digitisation, helping residents access council services online at a place and time of their choosing, allowing us to focus on the delivery of frontline services.

And we will continue to empower local residents and organisations to work with us in partnership to deliver on our priority of reducing inequalities across our communities.

Although it is a challenging time – and is likely to remain so – there are huge opportunities for us all at East Lothian Council to play a full and active part in creating the even more prosperous, safe and sustainable East Lothian, which is at the heart of our vision.

Angela Leitch

Chief Executive

myHR

Pay Deal agreed with Local Government workforce

The Council has received confirmation from Cosla that the SJC Trades Unions have confirmed their acceptance of the national pay offer, covering a 3 year period from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2021. This offer covers the Chief Officer, Local Government Employee and Craft groups. The details of the pay agreements are as follows:

• 1 April 2018 an increase of 3.5% ( salaries above £80,000 are capped at £1,600)
• 1 April 2019 an increase of 3%
• 1 April 2020 an increase of 3 %
  
  The 2018-19 pay award effective from 1 April 2018 will be paid in the next available pay run:

• Weekly Pays – 14 March 2019
• Four Weekly Pay – 28 March 2019
• Monthly Pay – 29 March 2019 
  
  Pay offer for all employee groups covered by Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers including educational psychologists, quality improvement officers and managers, music instructors and education support officers have not as yet reached an agreed position.

Backdated Pay and Universal Credit

Universal Credit Payments may stop or reduce
If you receive Universal Credit the amount you get changes if your take-home pay changes. This includes awards of backdated pay. If you get additional pay within a Universal Credit assessment period (month), your Universal Credit payment will either be less than you normally receive or your income may be too high to qualify for a payment. 

Universal Credit is calculated on your personal circumstances. Because of this we, as your employer, do not know how, or if, you may be affected.   

The 2018/19 Local Government pay settlement was agreed on 1 March 2019 with backdated pay awards effective from 1 April 2018 being paid during March 2019. This increase together with the backdated payment means you will either receive less Universal Credit than normal or you may even earn too much to qualify and your Universal Credit claim will close. If your claim closes, you will see a message on your UC Journal telling you about this.

Will Universal Credit payments start again automatically?
No. If Universal Credit payments stop because you have had additional pay, you must start up your claim again. You should do this as soon as you can to make sure you do not miss out. 

How do I reclaim Universal Credit?
Log into your UC journal and select the “Reclaim” tab. You will find this at the bottom of the screen. This will take you to a new screen where you will be asked to answer a few simple questions. If you have any problems doing this, contact your Work Coach or visit your local Jobcentre Plus. 

You can access your UC Journal at www.gov.uk/sign-in-universal-credit

An overview of Universal Credit can be found at  www.gov.uk/universal-credit