Don’t go to Glasgow – come to Comely Bank!
St Stephen’s Comely Bank Church extends an invite to the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony tomorrow evening at 7.30 – with strawberries and cream too! Ye’ll no’ get that in Glesca! All welcome!
Month: July 2014
New walk/jog club starts tomorrow
Has the growing excitement in the build-up to the Commonwealth Games whetted your appetite for exercise? Don’t answer that!
A new free local walk/jog club starts tomorrow (Wednesday) at 7pm at East Pilton Park – just in time for the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth games!
It’s open to all and is particularly suited to those who would like to try jogging for the first time. It’s a fun, friendly volunteer-led activity and free of charge.
Go on – turn the TV off and go join Dave and Phil!
Arts for all! Date set for exciting new theatre project
We first revealed news of this exciting new North Edinburgh Theatre community project last month, and a date’s now been set for an introductory meeting to get the ball rolling.
Whatever your skills and interests, there’s sure to be something for you in the 1d (that’s an old penny!)Tenement Opera project! Why not attend the first meeting at North Edinburgh Arts on Thursday 14 August at 11am? It could be the start of a something big – and there’s even free tea and cake!
Interested? See the flyer for details …
Take your marks: free quiz at The Grange Sports Club
The Commonwealth Games kick off tomorrow, and what better way to celebrate this sporting extravaganza than with a local sports quiz?
If you think you know your archery from your athletics, backstroke from your badminton or your cricket from your croquet (I could go on!) this 30 July event at The Grange Sports Club is for you …
Don’t lose out: tax credits deadline looming
With the tax credits renewal deadline of 31 July just ten days away, HMRC has revealed the top 10 excuses for not renewing tax credits claims.
Excuses given by claimants to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for missing the deadline include:
- I didn’t need the money because I’d met a rich bloke, but he dumped me
- My mum usually does this for me
- The form was locked in the boot of my car, and then my car caught fire
- My baby used the paperwork as a colouring book
- My dog ate the form
- I got confused with the 31 January Self Assessment deadline
- I booked the last two weeks of July for a holiday and forgot all about it
- I’ve been in hospital but am feeling much better now
- I was unable to get income details from my employers in time
- I thought I’d already renewed
Claimants have until the 31 July deadline to renew, or their payments might end – last year more than 650,000 failed to renew on time. This year, for the first time, claimants can renew online, at GOV.UK, as well as being able to renew by post and phone.
Nick Lodge, Director General of Benefits and Credits, HMRC, said: “By 15 July over 203,000 claimants have renewed online. It’s a quick and easy way to do it. Renewing tax credits on time is important. People who don’t renew by the deadline can, and do, lose their payments.”
HMRC asks all claimants to check the accuracy of the information in their renewals pack, and to tell the department about any changes to their circumstances that they haven’t already reported, such as to their working hours, childcare costs or pay.
Granton Information Centre’s Caroline Pickering said: “There has been quite a big media campaign to remind people that they must renew their claims, and it really is important that they do so by 31 July. Many of our clients first approach us with money problems, and any loss of income can have really serious consequences for families who are often living on the tightest of budgets”.
Tickets available for WW1 commemoration event
One thousand free places to attend Scotland’s Drumhead Service
A thousand free places will be made available from today for those who wish to attend Scotland’s national commemoration marking the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War next month.
Signalling the start of the five-year Scottish Commemorations Programme, a Drumhead Service will be held at Edinburgh Castle on August 10 before a congregation of almost 9,000 people from all parts of Scotland.
The multi-faith service on the castle esplanade will replicate those held on the front line 100 years ago when, in a long-held military tradition, neatly piled drums with draped Colours were used in place of an altar.
Thousands of seats have already been allocated by Scotland’s 32 local authorities to people in all parts of Scotland. Representatives of the armed services, veterans groups, charities and civic leaders across Scotland have also been invited.
From 0900 today (Tuesday) the Scottish Commemorations Panel will make a thousand places available to those who have not already secured tickets through their local authority or been invited by other means.
The August 10 event will mark the start of the Scottish Commemorations Programme which will remember eight particular events from World War One that had a significant impact on Scotland. They include the start and end of the war, major battles including Gallipoli, Loos, Jutland and Arras and domestic incidents such as the Quintinshill rail disaster and the loss of HMY Iolaire.
Following the ticket-only Drumhead Service, military bands and guards from the three services will parade down the Royal Mile. The congregation will be invited to follow in a procession to Holyrood Park, where they will find a replica Commonwealth War Graves cemetery. Those gathered in the park will have the opportunity to leave poppies and other markers.
The day’s events have been designed to give a sense of what it might have been like to enlist during the first few weeks and months of the war. The Drumhead Service represents the moment before deployment; the procession, a ‘March as to War’ and the gathering in Holyrood Park, the approach to the front and assembly for military action. The memorial of over 100 headstones will provide a vital sense of scale and a focus for acts of individual and collective commemoration.
Those who wish to attend the event but don’t have a ticket for the Drumhead Service are encouraged to line the Royal Mile and attend the memorial at Holyrood Park. The Drumhead Service will also be broadcast on a large screen at the base of Arthur’s Seat.
The Drumhead Service, procession and memorial will follow events happening in Glasgow as part of the UK Commemorations Programme on August 4 – the 100th anniversary of the date Britain entered the war. A Commonwealth-themed service at Glasgow Cathedral and a commemoration at the Cenotaph will be held in the city on that date.
Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop said: “The Drumhead Service, procession and memorial event on August 10 will be the first in a series of commemorative events between now and 2019 through which we will encourage people of all ages across Scotland to recognise the significant and broad impact the First World War had on our nation, and to reflect on its lasting social and civic legacy.
“This will be an opportunity for those from all parts of Scotland to come together to remember more than 100,000 Scots who lost their lives during the First World War, those who were left injured or disabled by the terrible conflict, and the families and communities in every city, town and village who were forced to come to terms with the terrible consequences.”
Chair of the Scottish Commemorations Panel, Norman Drummond, said: “The Scottish Commemorative Programme has three main aims: education, genealogy and legacy. We want to invite the whole of Scotland – people of all ages and in all corners of the country – to join us in remembering those who served during the First World War, to consider the significant impact the war had on Scotland and Scots around the world and to ask the question ‘What do we learn from all this?’
“Thanks to the support of local authorities, every part of Scotland will be represented at the Drumhead Service in addition to those from the military, veterans communities, charities and civic Scotland.
“By making a thousand places available to the general public we can be certain that as many people as possible, from all parts of Scotland, have an opportunity to come and commemorate this important anniversary, upon which we and our children and our grandchildren may in years to come reflect that ‘we were there and we remembered’.”
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo are organising the Drumhead Service, procession and memorial event at the request of Scottish Ministers.
Brigadier David Allfrey, Producer of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, said: “A Drumhead Service is a hugely fitting start to the Scottish Commemorations Programme. It provides a proper focus for us all in our reflections on the First World War: its context, its realities, its impact and its relevance both today and into the future. On the eve of battle, each and every combatant and those that support them, tend to find time for reflection, each in their own way. In the same way, we hope the Drumhead Service, procession and memorial might help stimulate a rich conversation that, using the War as its frame, can cover a broad ground – a look forward as well as a reflection on things past.
“The day’s events have been designed to give a sense of what it must have been like to enlist for the First World War, to leave familiar surroundings of town and country, to join up with others in the austere surroundings of the barracks, to wear uniform and be expected to act and live as a group – to stylised words of command – to march, learn skill at arms, face the uncertainty of travel overseas and the brutality of war.
“Scotland’s local authorities have secured the attendance of thousands of people from across the country but we recognise there will be many more who haven’t been allocated a place and would like to join us at the Drumhead Service to reflect on the part played by their forebears, to pay tribute to the many whose lives were lost and to contemplate what we might learn for the future.
“That is why we’re making 1000 free places available from today.”
The Drumhead Service will start at 10.30 on August 10 and will last approximately half an hour. Doors open at 9.00 and the congregation should be seated by 10.00. The whole event – including the procession down the Royal Mile and memorial at Holyrood Park – is expected to last until 14.00, although the public can remain in the park until 18.00 when the memorial will be closed.
Tickets for the Drumhead Service can be requested online at www.WW100Scotland.com.
Those requiring wheelchair access or with other accessibility requirements should ring 0131 225 1188. Tickets will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis and up to ten can be requested by each applicant.
All applications must be received by 4 August 2014.
Dads Rock add midweek date at Prentice Centre
Dads Rock are to introduce a new midweek playgroup for dads and their kids at The Prentice Centre. Starting next week (Wednesday 30 July), there will be Dads Rock play sessions (one hour) every Wednesday at 10am – as well as the usual Saturday (ninety minute) slot.
More Dads Rock news:
Weekly Play/Catch up: North Edinurgh Silverknowes Beach (beside the cafe) – Tuesdays 10 – 11am
Outings and Events:
Wednesday 30 July – City council Playday – Grassmarket 12-4pm
Saturday 9 August – Festival Show at the Botanics – ask at groups for tickets; they are free and it’s open to the whole family. Tickets given out on a first come basis!
Saturday 16 August – No Edinburgh sessions (our usual holidays)
For further info visit the Dads Rock Facebook page
Gaza: ‘unacceptable, unjustified and illegal’
Lazarowicz calls for ceasefire and an end to Israeli military action
As the fighting in Gaza has continued with reports of an Israeli attack hitting a Gaza hospital with the loss of four lives, North and Leith MP Mark Lazarowicz has condemned the conduct of military action by Israel in Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire in a letter to the Foreign Secretary.
The conflict has so far seen the death toll rise to well over 500, the vast majority of whom are Palestinian civilians including more than one hundred children.
In his letter to the Foreign Secretary, Mark Lazarowicz called for an immediate ceasefire to be monitored by the international community and humanitarian relief to be allowed to reach Palestinians in Gaza.
After the conflict saw its worst day yet on Sunday with the death of 100 more Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers, the local MP said: “I have written to the Foreign Secretary to urge the Government to exert pressure on Israel to end military action in Gaza and redouble efforts to bring about an immediate ceasefire.
“Like people around the world, I have been shocked by the present conflict and scenes such the bodies on a beach. I completely condemn the violence on all sides, including the rocket attacks on Israel.
“Nevertheless, the scale and conduct of the Israeli military operation is unacceptable, unjustified and illegal: in practice it is the civilian population of Gaza which is suffering its consequences.
“I am calling for an immediate internationally verified ceasefire and humanitarian relief to be allowed into Gaza to be followed by a renewed peace initiative which would see the lifting of the blockade of Gaza.”
According to OCHA (the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) the number of displaced persons now totals 84,000.
The North and Leith Labour MP went on: “I am concerned that with electricity and water supplies being affected we could face a humanitarian emergency if the fighting continues. Political engagement by the international community is vital to bring about a ceasefire with so many being forced to flee their homes.”
The Scottish Government has confirmed that the country ‘stands ready’ to accept Palestinian refugees.
Speaking on Saturday, External Affairs Minister Humza Yousaf said: “The start of a ground offensive is a serious and worrying development. The lives lost in this conflict are individual human tragedies and the killing of innocent civilians, be they Palestinian or Israeli, is to be utterly condemned. The rocket attacks on Israel are unacceptable and should stop, as should the Israeli offensive in Gaza, which is heavily disproportionate, as demonstrated by the mounting civilian death toll.
“As a Government we continue to call for a complete cessation to all violence and add our voice to those in the international community for an immediate, longer term ceasefire, and that both sides in this conflict put an end to the violence that is causing so many civilian deaths and injuries.
“The worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza has been well documented and the UN now estimates that over 18,000 people have been internally displaced. I have today written to the Home Secretary and told her that Scotland would be willing to accept Palestinian refugees and urged the UK to also play a part in easing the refugee crisis in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
“It is essential that the UN should be allowed to independently investigate all civilian deaths to determine whether there has been any violation of international law.
“Our offer of medical assistance to help the humanitarian situation still stands and we are currently in dialogue with the appropriate Governments and agencies to assess whether Scotland can give specialist medical help to civilians caught up in the conflict should should this prove possible.
“The Scottish Government also believes that the continuation of the blockade in Gaza is exacerbating the suffering experienced by the people there and tantamount to collective punishment. For that reason I recently wrote to the UK Government to exert further pressure on the Israeli Government to bring that blockade to an end.”
The UK government yesterday announced the UK will provide more than £5 million in emergency support to help tens of thousands of people affected by the violence in Gaza.
This includes £2 million in new funding announced by Prime Minister David Cameron for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s (UNRWA) Flash Appeal, which will provide emergency assistance to more than 84,000 people who have been driven out of their homes.
A further £3 million in funding will be brought forward to help the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) respond to the worsening situation and funding will also be reallocated to help rebuild UNRWA schools that are being used as shelters.
International Development Secretary Justine Greening said: “The escalation in violence has had a devastating impact on civilians. More than 500 Palestinians are now reported to have been killed with at least 83 children among the dead and more than 100,000 people have had to flee their homes.
“This new support from the UK will provide lifesaving food, shelter and clean water to those in desperate need as a result of the fighting. We must see an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire to prevent further civilian loss of life, followed by a return to peaceful negotiations.”
The UK Government has said that all sides must adhere to International Humanitarian Law and humanitarian supplies must be allowed to reach people in need. The security of both Israelis and Palestinians remains paramount, but restrictions that damage the economy and prospects for ordinary people in Gaza must be eased. A prosperous and stable Gaza is firmly in Israel’s security interests.
Pensions: millions to benefit from impartial advice
Millions of people will benefit from a right to free and impartial guidance on how to make the most of the new pensions choices that come into effect in April 2015, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced today. This follows the Westminster government’s consultation on how best to deliver the radical changes to how people access their pensions announced at the Budget.
In total 18 million people will be able to benefit from the changes to pensions should they wish to do so.
From April 2015 300,000 individuals a year with defined contribution pension savings will be able to access them as they wish when they turn 55 – subject to their marginal rate of tax.
This is the biggest change to how people access their pensions in almost a century, removing the effective requirement for many to purchase an annuity.
The consultation since the Budget has shown that these changes have been overwhelmingly well received, with individuals supporting greater freedom and choice, and the pensions and insurance industry ready for the challenge of creating new, flexible products, which better suit individuals’ needs.
The government’s response to the consultation today confirmed that:
- the guaranteed guidance on pensions choices will be provided by independent organisations rather than pensions schemes or providers
- even more people will be able to benefit from the new pensions flexibilities as the government will continue to allow individuals to transfer from private sector defined benefit schemes to defined contribution pension schemes – subject to two important new safeguards
- a new override will be introduced so that pensions schemes are able to offer individuals flexible access to their savings and the pensions tax rules will be amended to allow providers to develop new retirement income products that are tailored to the needs of individual consumers
Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, said: “It’s right to support hard working people that have taken the long-term decision to save for their future and I’m pleased that the responses we had to our proposals on making pensions more flexible have been overwhelmingly positive.
“We’re making sure that people have the right support to make their own choice about how best to finance their retirement and I’m pleased to confirm that everyone with defined contribution pension savings reaching pension age will get free and impartial guidance on their range of available choices at retirement.”
The government wants to ensure that guidance is trusted by consumers, and the vast majority, including most of the financial services industry who responded, said that consumers would not trust guidance given by a person or organisation with a vested interest in selling a financial product or service. It will bring together a range of delivery partners, including the Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) and the Money Advice Service (MAS), which already provide guidance and support to consumers.
People with private sector defined benefit savings will continue to be able to transfer to defined contribution schemes (excluding pensions that are already in payment), alongside two new safeguards to protect both pension schemes and the individuals transferring out.
Guidance will be offered through a broad range of channels, including web-based, phone-based as well as face-to-face, and to remain free to the consumer will be funded by a levy on regulated financial services firms.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have also today published a paper which consults on the elements of the guidance guarantee for which the FCA will be responsible: setting and monitoring the standards with which guidance providers will have to comply, making and enforcing rules on how contract-based schemes signpost to the guidance services, and adjusting the FCA’s existing conduct rules to support the introduction of the guidance guarantee and in response to the new flexibilities.
Two new safeguards are being introduced to protect both individuals and pension schemes in relation to defined benefit to defined contribution transfers: a new requirement for an individual to take advice from an impartial financial adviser regulated by the FCA before a transfer can be accepted; and, new guidance for trustees on the use of their existing powers to delay transfer payments and take account of scheme funding levels when deciding on transfer values.
HM Treasury also published the following guide today:
Pension Reforms: Eight things you should know
Understanding the pension system can be complex sometimes. We’ve explained how the new system will work and what it means for you.
1. We’re completely overhauling the system so you can take your pension how you like
In order to create greater choice and flexibility for people who have saved hard for their pension, we announced at Budget 2014 a series of changes to how people access their pension.
From April 2015, no matter how much you decide to take out from your pension after retirement, you will be charged the normal rate of income tax you pay on your salary (so either 0%, 20%, 40% or 45%) rather than the previous tax charge of 55% for full withdrawal.
2. 25% of your pension pot will remain completely tax-free, as it was before
You’ll be able to access 25% of your pot in one go without paying any tax.
3. We previously announced this would apply just to people with ‘defined contribution’ pensions
This is a type of pension also known as a ‘money purchase’ scheme.
This is when the money you and your employer pay in is invested by a pension provider chosen by your employers. The amount you get when you retire usually depends on how much has been paid in and how well the investment has done.
4. We’ve now announced that people who have a ‘defined benefit’ scheme will benefit too
A ‘defined benefit’ pension is typically a promise of a certain level of pension in retirement which is linked to your salary.
We’ve now announced that people in the private sector or in a funded public sector scheme will still be able to transfer from a defined benefit pension scheme to a defined contribution one if they want to, meaning they can benefit from the changes.
This means that around 18 million people will ultimately be able to withdraw their pension flexibly should they wish to do so.
5. Everyone who will be able to take advantage of the new reforms will be able to access free and impartial guidance
This will help people make confident and informed choices on how they put their pension savings to best use.
This guidance will be available through a number of different channels – via an online tool, over the phone, or face to face. Individuals will be able to choose the channel, or mix of channels, that they find most convenient.
It will be entirely impartial, so won’t be given by anyone who could be trying to sell you a product.
6. Your pension provider or scheme will be required to tell you about the guidance and how to access it
Accessing the guidance will be arranged by your pension provider, who will be required to tell you about it.
7. The changes will come into effect from April 2015
If you are over the age of 55, or will be from April 2015, you will be able to take advantage of the new system from then.
If you’re younger than 55 then you will be able to take advantage of the new system when you do reach 55.
8. You don’t need to do anything until then
If you’re thinking about retiring soon, you don’t need to do anything in the meantime, but we’ve also made other changes to help you save until then, such as our reforms to ISAs.
You can find more information about the pension reforms by reading our factsheet we published at Budget explaining the differences between the new changes and the old system, or more details on our response to the consultation.
Dearest Scotland …
Writing initiative ‘re-imagines the future of Scotland’
Take a pen and a piece of paper and write a letter to the future of Scotland? In this age of high-tech, super-fast digital communications it may seem like a very old-fashioned way to communicate, but a new writing project called Dearest Scotland has sparked a revival in letter writing.
The apolitical initiative has caught imaginations in the year of the Referendum by inviting letters and illustrations from people of all ages across the world with a connection to, or an interest in, Scotland.
Dearest Scotland is the brainchild of Glasgow-based social design agency SNOOK, who some readers may recall worked with Total Craigroyston and North Edinburgh Young People’s Forum on the ‘What’s the Matter?’ project in 2012.
Focused on crowd-sourcing from a widest possible demographic with the aim of giving a platform to citizens’ voices, Dearest Scotland’s co-founder, Sarah Drummond, recently spoke of the aspiration to receive handwritten letters that capture insights to what a future Scotland may look like.
Sarah said: “Our team at Snook work in grassroots communities and we hear great ideas everyday from ordinary people. Sadly there is no platform for these voices to be heard in the mainstream media, by governments or local authorities. Dearest Scotland aims to address that.”
The idea originated before the independence referendum was announced, and since it’s March launch Dearest Scotland has received a cross-section of letters keen to articulate visions that reach beyond the political debate of the 18 September vote.
And while the project proves that the art of letter writing isn’t dead, the choice to write and illustrate letters digitally via the Dearest Scotland website is also available!
Sarah also spoke of plans to publish received letters in a collated book format. She said: “Everyone who writes to Dearest Scotland has the chance to see their letter published. This allows for the opportunity to read what people of all ages from every part of the country have to say about their hopes and fears for a future Scotland both in connection to and outside of politics and the referendum.”
While new letters are catalogued daily, Sarah’s aim is to publish the visions in an open source digital catalogue – in addition to the book format – after the 13 September deadline for submissions, and all proceeds will be donated to new and existing Scottish literary projects.
The Dearest Scotland team is currently touring venues and events across the country, spreading the word in towns and rural areas.
The initiative has also caught the attention of politicians. Glasgow Anniesland MSP Bill Kidd lodged a parliamentary motion in support of the project in June, and a Holyrood debate has been scheduled for 13 August – the motion has received cross-party support from a further 25 members of the Scottish parliament. There are also plans to exhibit a display of letters by the Scottish Rural Parliament in November and within Holyrood in early 2015.
Sarah’s business partner and project co-founder, Lauren Currie, added: “We all have a box of letters stashed away somewhere that fill our hearts with joy every time we dig them out and re-read them. Dearest Scotland is our nation’s box of letters. These letters are so much more than communication, they are re-imagining the future of Scotland.”
To find out more information about Dearest Scotland’s project, summer tour, or to submit a future vision of Scotland, visit…
www.dearestscotland.com
twitter @dearestscotand
facebook /dearestscotland