Day: December 27, 2014

Giving Scotland’s children the best start

Breast’s best: New Year summit to promote breastfeeding

baby happyHealth, local authority and third sector partners will come together in the new year to kick off a year-long commitment to actively promote breastfeeding and support more women to breastfeed for longer.

The Breastfeeding Summit, to be held on Tuesday 24 February in Edinburgh, will examine what can be done to increase breastfeeding rates, which have remained relatively static across Scotland over the last decade.

Latest figures show 48.4 per cent of babies were breastfed at the first visit (around 10 days) in 2013/14. This compared with 44.4 per cent in 2004/05. The figures show a trend towards mixed feeding, where the baby is fed both breast and formula milk, and a decline by the 6-8 week review.

Leading experts will share the latest evidence on the benefits of breastfeeding, review what is working well, and identify key national and local actions to drive up rates and remove any barriers that exist.

The event will also explore ways to further support the increasing rates of breastfeeding in the most deprived areas, helping to reduce health inequalities.

While rates are increasing in mothers from disadvantaged backgrounds – up by 7.2 over the last nine years – there remains a clear association between breastfeeding and deprivation: mothers in most affluent areas are nearly three times as likely to exclusively breastfeed at 6-8 weeks compared with those in the most deprived areas.

Minister for Public Health, Maureen Watt, said: “This Summit will give us the chance to explore new ways to drive up breastfeeding rates. It’s an opportunity to bring experts together to discuss how we can support more mothers to decide to breastfeed for longer.

“Breastfeeding has major health benefits, in the short and longer term, for both mother and baby. That is why the Scottish Government continues to promote it as the best source of nutrition for babies.

“We know it is important to understand the factors which influence a mother’s infant feeding decision and develop effective strategies to encourage more women to breastfeed. Research shows that women who know about the health benefits of breastfeeding are more likely to start, therefore it’s essential that in the antenatal period the health benefits of breastfeeding are discussed and explained to all women.”

Promoting and supporting breastfeeding is a key component of Scottish Government’s Framework for Maternal and Infant Nutrition and there is strong evidence that breastfeeding in infancy has a protective effect against many childhood illnesses.

Breastfed infants are likely to have a reduced risk of infection, particularly those affecting the ear, respiratory tract and gastro-intestinal tract. This protective effect is particularly marked in low birth weight infants. Other probable benefits include improved cognitive and psychological development, and a reduced risk of childhood obesity. There is also evidence that women who breastfed have lower risks of breast cancer, epithelial ovarian cancer and hip fracture later in life.

The Breastfeeding Summit will take place at Murrayfield Stadium on Tuesday 24 February. Further details available at http://bookings.shscevents.co.uk/all/2994

 

Job experts out and about to spread work message

Jobcentre staff are getting out and about and taking work support direct to jobseekers as part of a new blitz targeting unusual locations –from football clubs to prisons and homeless shelters.

jobcentre (3)Employment numbers have reached a record 30.8 million and the number of people on the main out-of-work benefits is the lowest it’s been for a quarter of a century and now Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches – the government’s ‘army of jobs experts’ – are heading out to meet the public in children’s centres, youth hubs, homeless shelters, and rural work clubs to offer targeted support to people who need it most.

This more direct approach to helping jobseekers back to work has also seen roaming Work Coaches partnering up with professional football clubs, including Arsenal, Everton, and Tottenham Hotspur, to set up schemes that help young people build confidence and skills to prepare them to find work.

And they are setting up shop in prisons across the country to help prisoners who are soon to leave custody prepare for a new life away from crime and in work.

New figures released last week show that an average of 1,500 more people were in work every day over the last year and the number of people on the main out-of-work benefits is down by more than 850,000 to under 4 million – the lowest it has been since 1990.

Employment Minister Esther McVey said: “Our hardworking Jobcentre Plus staff have made a huge contribution to Britain’s jobs success this year. By doing things differently, and getting out to where jobseekers are, they’re helping thousands into work every day.

“We have broken record after record in 2014 – with huge falls in youth and long-term unemployment and the highest number of women in work on record.

“This new approach is working. What we can see at the end of the year is that our welfare reforms are ensuring that people have the skills and opportunities to move into work.

“But behind these record figures there are countless stories of individual hard work and determination – stories of people turning their lives around, of families who are now feeling more secure over the Christmas period with a regular wage, and of young people escaping unemployment and building a career.”

Specialist Work Coaches are based in prisons across the country where they can help parolees sign up to Jobseeker’s Allowance up to 6 weeks before they are released. Once they sign up, they are automatically placed on to the Work Programme to help them build up skills and experience.

The Work Programme is designed to get the hardest to help jobseekers back into work and has now helped 368,000 long-term unemployed claimants find sustainable work.

Jobcentre Plus staff have also helped budding entrepreneurs to set up more than 60,000 new businesses through the government’s New Enterprise Allowance scheme, which helps jobseekers, lone parents and people on sickness benefits, with a good idea, to start up their own business.

Since 2011, more than 360,000 people of all ages have taken up opportunities through employer-led sector-based work academies, or work experience placements through Jobcentre Plus, to give them a job taster and a guaranteed job interview.

In Bootle, Merseyside, Jobcentre Plus has staff working from the local Youth Hub to provide guidance and advice to young people in the area and to offer chances to gain skills and experience through Sector-based Work Academies – which are employer-led training courses that lead to a guaranteed job interview.

And in Scotland, Stranraer Jobcentre Plus staff have established weekly work clubs in rural areas to provide help on budgeting, mock interviews, CVs and cover letters, and job applications.

Have you been supported into work this year? Has Jobcentre Plus helped you start your own business? Get in touch!

Police appeal following New Town assault and robbery

Police are appealing for witnesses after six men on mopeds assaulted a 19-year-old man and stole his bag and pedal cycle.

The incident took place on Sunday at around 2am on St Vincent Place at Fettes Row. The victim had been followed from Howe Street by six males who were on four mopeds.

When he fell from his bike he was assaulted and his bike and bag were taken. The victim was assisted by a female passerby after the suspects had fled and police are now appealing for her to come forward.

The bike is a Cove make mountain bike style and ‘Stiffie’ model, which is blue with yellow forks, orange pedals and green bars.

The first suspect is described as white, 16 yrs old, skinny build, 5ft 2in to 5ft 5in, long black hair, pale complexion, wearing dark grey hoodie, light grey jogging bottoms and white trainers.

The other five suspects are described as youths in grey hoodies with hoods pulled tight around their faces. Three of the scooters were a dark and the other one was red.

Detective Constable Alison Wyllie said: “We are appealing for witnesses to the incident, which began on Howe Street leading to the suspects following the victim onto Abercrombie Place towards Fettes Row and St Vincent Place.

“Anyone who may see this bike, which is quite distinctive, should contact the police.

“We are particularly appealing to a lady who was in the area at the time and who assisted the victim following the attack to come forward, along with anyone who saw this group of males on the mopeds around the time of the incident.”

Anyone with information should contact Police Scotland on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.