Edinburgh Seeks Digital Inclusion Project

Edinburgh makes a £12m bid for funding from central government.

15:27 11 August 2022

Edinburgh City Council is asking for the central government's support for funding for its series of projects that are aimed at tackling poverty and supporting local businesses in the city. 

 

The local council hopes to obtain more than £12m from the UK government's shared prosperity funding. 

 

If successful, the local government plans to launch the Codebase’s GreenTech Accelerator programme which aims to build entrepreneurial skills and new start-ups and MedTech initiative, which will fund medical technology start-ups. Reconnect Edinburgh is another proposed plan that involves partnering with organisations and local communities to run weekly digital training sessions. 

 

Councillor Jane Meagher, housing, homelessness and fair work convener, said: “Our communities make our city and we’re so lucky to have a great number of incredible people working so hard to support local projects and bring forward new ideas. It hasn’t been easy for the panel to narrow this shortlist down and I’m really grateful to everyone involved. They have chosen an exciting and diverse mix of important projects - each and every one of them designed to tackle poverty and improve lives at a local level – and I’m pleased the selection has received committee’s approval. 

 

She added: “We agreed that we would provide updates on the bid regularly, including the role of under-represented groups. We all want to make sure these efforts are inclusive and support a diverse range of residents.  This funding allocation really will mean the world to those involved and will allow us to help thousands of people. I’m looking forward to early confirmation from the UK government on our success with this bid, as I’m keen that we start delivering right away."