St Andrew's Day holiday ruled out by £500k costs

ST ANDREW'S Day will not become a public holiday in Edinburgh after councillors heard the move could cost up to £500,000.

The Scottish Government had left it to individual local authorities to decide whether to create a new holiday on or around November 30, sparking claims it had backtracked on a manifesto commitment.

City councillors have now agreed to rule out the idea, and look instead at other ways to celebrate the day.

Officials advised councillors that adopting an additional public holiday, on top of the ten paid holidays given to staff throughout the year, could adversely affect the delivery of vital services, as well as carrying a substantial cost.

The council also ruled out the option of switching an existing public holiday to November 30.

Discussions are currently taking place with trade unions about bringing in more flexible public holidays, allowing staff more time off when it suits them.

Council leader Jenny Dawe said: "We decided to take no action at the moment to adopt St Andrew's Day as a fixed public holiday. Discussions are ongoing aimed at moving away from fixed public holidays to a more flexible arrangement where only the festive holidays are fixed.

"Employees could then choose to use the remaining days at times which suit their own personal circumstances. The council has not completely rejected the idea, however, and we can return to it at a later date if necessary."

But Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce spokesman Graham Bell thought the move was a missed opportunity. "It does not say much for us as a nation if we cannot have a public holiday on St Andrew's Day, and we at the Chamber do feel it would be a great benefit to Scotland.

"Yes there would be an effect on business, but long-term we feel that would be a positive effect. A holiday like that would create great celebrations and that in turn would bring in more tourism and so boost the economy."

The city's Tory leader, Iain Whyte, admitted there was no room for an extra public holiday, but said he would be keen to see St Andrew's Day take the place of a different public holiday.

"The council is trying to move away from fixed public holidays to floating holidays for staff, which is good for both employer and employee, so if they introduced another fixed holiday it would affect these plans," he said.

"We already have a lot of public holidays, but this is something I would like to see revisited, as there are existing public holidays that we could swap, for example."

Deputy council and city SNP leader Steve Cardownie said he hoped the day would become a public holiday in future years.

"I hope that in years to come the celebrations will grow, because it should be a day for all Scots to be proud and to celebrate," he said.