City plan to help citizens

The City of Edinburgh Council has launched an action plan to help protect its citizens from the credit crunch.

The current economic climate is a worldwide phenomenon but the Council is focused on protecting Edinburgh.

We have assembled a high-level team who are proposing and delivering solutions.

It consists of politicians from all parties and experts from the Council, including staff skilled in housing, the economy and finance.

An action plan has been agreed and will be delivered. This aims to safeguard jobs, maximise opportunities to build affordable homes and investigate public-sector backed home loans to help people get a foot on the housing ladder.

Our measures include:

• Investigating whether the Council or Housing Associations can take a stake in some private plots and housing units if the price is right. This would help create more affordable housing for sale or rent.
• Developing a public-sector backed ‘home loans’ scheme to help first-time buyers and those who need to move.
• Work with other agencies to establish a public-sector controlled land ‘bank’ for housing.
•  Stimulating £100m of new investment in Edinburgh, with an innovation team finding new business sectors for the city. By broadening our range of jobs, we aim to ensure that we are not overly reliant on certain sectors, such as financial services.

The growth of science and technology jobs is an example.

• More support for businesses looking to expand or relocate to Edinburgh.
• Expanding the successful range of programmes to get people back to work through training.