

C&B News Article – March 2020
[The below article was submitted for publication as Gordon Macdonald's monthly column in the C&B News. The printed version may differ due to C&B News editorial considerations.] C&B News Article – March 2020 The Scottish Government’s Budget is set against the backdrop of heightened uncertainty and risk, created by the UK Government following their decision to delay the UK Budget until March. Discussions with Treasury officials suggested that our Barnett consequential or Block


Deal Will Mean Extra £7.43m For Edinburgh Council
SNP MSP Gordon MacDonald has welcomed an agreement to pass the Scottish Government that will see Edinburgh receive an additional £7.43 million in the next year. The amended budget will also see the Scottish Government take the radical step of introducing free bus travel for those aged 18 and under from January 2021. Police will benefit from a total uplift of £60 million in the next financial year, with £13m of additional investment in frontline services and a further £5m of a


More Edinburgh School Leavers In Positive Destinations
SNP MSP Gordon Macdonald has welcomed new figures showing more Edinburgh school leavers are in study, work or training than a decade ago. Across Scotland, a record proportion of young people were in a positive destination three months after leaving school last year. The gap between those from the most and least deprived communities achieving a positive destination the lowest since 2009-10. In Edinburgh, the number of unemployed school leavers seeking work fell from 15% in 200