Month: July 2019

“Disastrous” British Gas boss should go now, not later says trade union

British Gas owner Centrica’s chief executive Iain Conn is to step down from his post board next year. He made the announcement as the company posted a pre-tax loss of £446 million in the six months to June. The GMB trade union said Conn had ‘utterly failed’ and should go now, not later. Continue reading “Disastrous” British Gas boss should go now, not later says trade union

Award for smelliest performance at the Fringe goes to the Botantics?

Let’s hear it for Wee Reekie!

Festival audiences are being invited to turn-up their noses at one show in Scotland’s capital this week.

An energetic young personality at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is ready to put on a performance and create a bit of a stink for anyone interested in witnessing something of the natural world’s bizarre – and potentially slightly whiffy wonders! Continue reading Award for smelliest performance at the Fringe goes to the Botantics?

Bus strike will have a ‘significant impact’ on those in need of social care and support, says Alba

Following the announcement by Unite the union that Lothian’s drivers and engineers have voted to strike from 3 a.m. on 2 August, Social Care Alba, one of Edinburgh’s leading care and support providers have confirmed the extent to which this will affect those requiring social care and support across the capital. Continue reading Bus strike will have a ‘significant impact’ on those in need of social care and support, says Alba

Health: Tories call for greater use of private sector to cut waiting times

The amount spend by NHS Lothian on private treatment for inpatients has reduced significantly over the last five years. Inpatient (IP/DC) private spend has dropped from £15,751,689 in 2014/15 to just £1,339,216 in 2018/19. Continue reading Health: Tories call for greater use of private sector to cut waiting times

Crisis? What crisis?: More than 336,000 households aided through Scottish Welfare Fund

Scottish Welfare Fund annual spend hits £35 million.

poverty family JRF

People in crisis made more than 165,000 successful applications to the Scottish Welfare Fund in the last financial year, according to the latest statistics.

The Fund paid out £35 million, including £10.4 million in Crisis Grants to people in financial emergency, such as those struggling on low incomes or benefits  – a 14% increase on 2017-18. The money helped people with essentials such as food, heating costs and household items.

A further £24.8 million in Community Care Grants helped those facing extreme financial pressures with one-off costs for purchases including beds, washing machines and cookers.

The Scottish Welfare Fund is part of an annual package of over £125 million to mitigate against the impact of UK Government welfare cuts. Since its launch in April 2013, the Fund has paid out more than £200 million to support over 336,000 households, with a third of recipients being families with children.

Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “We would much rather these resources were invested in anti-poverty measures than protecting our people from another government’s cuts – a positon the UN Special Rapporteur on Poverty recently described as ‘outrageous and unsustainable’.

“The fact that so many households in Scotland are in need of emergency financial help is appalling, and a sad indictment of the UK Government’s record on austerity and welfare changes.

“As their welfare cuts continue to cause harm and damage, we continue to do our best to mitigate against them and provide financial support to low income families and carers through new social security benefits.”

In the UN Special Rapporteur on Poverty report published earlier this year, Professor Philip Alston praised Scotland’s “ambitious” schemes for addressing poverty, including the Fairer Scotland Action Plan and the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan.

He also noted Scotland’s “promising social security system, guided by the principles of dignity and social security as a human right, and co-designed with claimants on the basis of evidence”

The Scottish Government’s response to the Special Rapporteur’s report shows UK Government welfare cuts have increased the risk of deprivation for low-income families across Scotland

The Scottish Welfare Fund statistics

 can be found on the Scottish Government’s website

TED Talk: We should focus on wellbeing, says First Minister

In a speech to the TED Summit in Edinburgh, the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon argued that a focus on policies that promote wellbeing, and not just economic growth, could help address the rise of alienation and disaffection from politics.

The First Minister said the time for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to be seen as the only measurement of a country’s success was over. Continue reading TED Talk: We should focus on wellbeing, says First Minister