Welfare reform advice on it’s way to council tenants

Council tenants facing housing benefit changes are being contacted by the City of Edinburgh Council. Leaflets  highlighting the potential impact the new rules will have when they come into force next year are now being issued across the city. These leaflets will give helpful advice on the options tenants have to limit the financial impact of the reforms.

The biggest effect is going to be on tenants who have an unoccupied bedroom as they will receive less housing benefit from April next year. Anyone under-occupying will lose 14% of their housing benefit if they have one spare bedroom (between £13 and £15 per week) or 25% for two or more spare bedrooms (between £20 and £27 per week). Options for tenants cover areas like paying rent, moving to a smaller home, maximising income and sharing with friends, family members or lodgers.

Councillor Cammy Day, Housing leader for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Tenants need to know just exactly what these changes will mean to them and the potential financial impact it’s going to have. Some tenants could be faced with a 25% reduction in their housing benefit. Their rent will still have to be paid so that means they will have to make up the difference from their household income. If tenants don’t pay their rent they are at risk of losing their home. No one wants to see that happen so we are advising people to get in touch with their local housing team now to discuss the various options open to them.”

My Favourite Place – and there are 150,000 of them for free!

 

CRAIL a favourite place?

From the tip of Shetland to the depths of the Borders, we have been scouring Scotland for your favourite places and now, during Book Week Scotland, we are bringing this special collection to you. My Favourite Place is the perfect book to read during Book Week Scotland, Scotland’s first ever national celebration of reading.

From inspiring stories and poems by members of the public, to pieces from well-loved writers including Michael Palin, Alexander McCall Smith and Scotland’s makar Liz Lochhead, My Favourite Place is a snapshot of Scotland’s favourite places.

The book contains over thirty stories, collecting places from all over Scotland and includes a series of illustrations from leading Scottish artists including Alasdair Gray, Louise Hopkins and Kate Davis.

150,000 copies of My Favourite Place are being given away the length and the breadth of the country this week (26 November – 2 December). You’ll find copies in so many places: libraries, bookshops, museums, businesses, arts venues, train stations, CalMac ferries, workplaces and even in Specsavers branches!

The contents of the book were collected as part of the My Favourite Place project run by Scottish Book Trust and BBC Radio Scotland in 2012. To find out more about the project and read the submissions from the public, visit: www.scottishbook.trust.com/myfavouriteplace.

Scottish Book Trust

What’s your favourite place in Scotland? Let us know?

QUEEN’s VIEW another favourite

I’ve looked out and dusted off some of my favourite stories and will be enjoying these books all over again – and as it’s so dark, wet and miserable outside, what better time to to curl up with a cup of coffee and a good book?

What will you be reading during Book Week Scotland? Let us know!