Edinburgh's community centres could soon reopen for food parcel distribution

OPTIONS for reopening community centres as bases for food distribution are to be drawn up after supplies were stolen from tents outside one centre.

Food and equipment was taken from the temporary storage tents at Magdalene community centre in the grounds of Brunstane Primary School last weekend.

Volunteers from the centre, which normally offers activities for children, teenagers and adults, have been helping the community during the coronavirus lockdown by providing food parcels for those in need.

So far the city council has refused requests to open community centres even for food distribution in their areas.

But now councillors have ordered officials to draw up options, as part of the city’s recovery plan, to allow access for volunteers to operate food parcel distribution.

The Greens said keeping them closed meant some food bank work was now taking place in people’s homes, gardens or public streets, resulting in additional safety and security issues.

Green councillor Alex Staniforth told yesterday’s policy and sustainability committee: “The Scottish Government legislation does allow for community centres to open for food distribution.

“When we have brought this up before we were told we didn’t need to open community centres because alternatives had been found.”

But he said the theft from Magdalene community centre was clearly due to the fact it was stored outside in tents rather than inside the centre.

“It’s a stark illustration of why the policy of not opening community centres to food distribution groups needs reassessed.”

And fellow Green councillor Melanie Main said: “It cannot be right the council is licensing premises so you can sell beer from the window of a pub and allow staff to work within these buildings and within restaurants as takeaways and yet we expect our community centre management committees to provide voluntary services without having access to their buildings.”

Council leader Adam McVey accepted a report on the options should be brought back within six weeks.

But he said: “We should not be setting expectations that all our community centres will open within a defined timescale - we don’t have that knowledge yet.

“We don’t have the certainty that can be done safely and in accordance with the demands of key services.”

And depute council leader Cammy Day also urged caution, saying some community centres may be needed as overspill accommodation for schools when they reopen because of physical distancing requirements.

The committee also heard talks were taking place at various levels to try to make sure the Capital did not lose out when funding to help cope with the Covid crisis was shared out between councils.

The Scottish Government recently passed on £155m to councils which was received from Westminster due to extra spending south of the border.

But the money was allocated according to the usual funding formula despite Edinburgh being harder hit during lockdown because it owns Lothian Buses and depends on income from parking charges more than other councils do.

Cllr McVey said the Scottish Government had acknowledged councils would face further financial pressures and had offered to meet umbrella organisation the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.

He said: “That seemed to me to be a fairly open-ended question for conversation which was not based on a tight understanding that the formula would continue to be applied, but a conversation on the real pressures councils would face.”

He said it was important to ensure the problems faced by the councils with the biggest risk and the biggest loss of income were taken into account and there was no “slavish devotion” to the funding formula.

Council chief executive Andrew Kerr added: “I understand there is a programme looking at recovery and renewal led by Glasgow’s chief executive which is considering these issues in terms of what is the right formula for the cities and those that are hardest hit and that will form part of the advice to Scottish Government.”