Day: June 30, 2013

Call for North Edinburgh to nominate ‘older people’s champions’

hnadsNorth Edinburgh residents are invited to nominate their local champions for older people for the Age Scotland Awards 2013.  The Charity is looking for individuals, groups, partnerships and services that are inspirational in making a difference to older people.  

The Awards will be presented at the Scottish Parliament on 1 October, the UN International Day of Older Persons – with 30 August the closing date for nominations.

Nominations are invited in five categories: campaigning and influencing, partnership working, services for older people, volunteer of the year and Age Scotland member group of the year. These are sponsored respectively by McCarthy and Stone, Raeside and Chisholm, Specsavers at Home, David Urquhart Travel and Solicitors for Older People Scotland.  Details on how to nominate are available online atwww.agescotland.org.uk/awards  or by calling 0845 833 9334 to request a postal entry form.

Brian Sloan, Age Scotland Chief Executive, said: “Through the Awards we aim tochallenge popular myths about later life and our ageing population, demonstrate the vibrancy of older people’s voluntary action, and inspire others to follow the example of Scotland’s best services for, and by, older people.  So if you know of, or are, an individual, group or service in north Edinburgh worthy of wider recognition, whether in the public, private or voluntary sector, a nomination from you will be warmly welcomed.”AgeScotland

 

 

Good causes to benefit from carrier bag levy

carrierbagsThe Scottish government will introduce a 5p levy on plastic bags from October 2014. Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said the charge should reduce bag use in Scotland and raise £5m a year for good causes.

Mr Lochhead said: “Discarded carrier bags highlight our throwaway society. We use more carrier bags per head in Scotland than any other part of the UK and this is unsustainable. They are a highly visible aspect of litter and we are taking decisive action to decrease their number. By reducing the amount being carelessly discarded we can cut litter and its impact on our environment and economy. A small charge should also encourage us all to stop and think about what we discard and what can be re-used. This charge is not a tax but will see retailers donating the proceeds to charity – this could be up to £5m per year after retailers have covered their costs.”

Iain Gulland, the director of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “We can all reduce the impact of carrier bags by making sure that when we must take one, we re-use it over and over again as many times as possible and then recycle it at the end of its life.”

Retailers have expressed concerns over the introduction of the charge, however.

A CBI Scotland spokesman said: “Modest economic growth coupled with a continuing shift to internet shopping is making conditions challenging for the high street, which is already feeling the ill-effects of the Scottish government’s £95m retail rates surcharge and its £36m rates levy on empty shops and other premises. The plans for costly additional red tape in the form of an environmental levy on carrier bags, after significant success recently in reducing the use of plastic bags by voluntary means, will only make a difficult situation even tougher for retail businesses.”

The Scottish Retail Consortium says that carrier bag use has already fallen by 40% and there is a need to concentrate on bigger issues. SRC Director Fiona Moriarty said: “The Scottish government has decided that it wants further and faster reductions and the only way it can achieve this is through legislation.

“However, it is our view that if we focus solely on plastic bags we are in danger of being distracted from much larger and more important issues around waste. The SRC will be working with the Scottish government to ensure that the legislation is proportionate and as far as possible consistent across the UK to avoid confusion for customers and businesses.”

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