Day: September 1, 2016

Scottish Labour: an alternative to austerity?

dugdale

119 days ago the SNP won the Scottish Parliament election and received a mandate from the people of Scotland to govern, albeit as a minority administration. What followed wasn’t a whirlwind of bold and radical activity, it was yet more constitutional debate. It simply can’t go on like this.

The Scottish Parliament returns for a new session next week. In advance of that today I am setting out Labour’s priorities, an alternative Programme for Government. These are some of the key issues we will push the SNP on in Parliament and across the country. They are firmly rooted in the manifesto we built together in May with a clear anti-austerity message at its core.

Education is our priority, because only by giving our young people the skills they need to compete for the jobs of the future can we grow our economy and close the gap between the richest and the rest. We also want the government to introduce a Bill to ban fracking, to ease the pressure on our NHS by investing in social care, to secure rights for workers and to support refugees arriving in Scotland.

At the heart of everything we do is the message that to invest in our public services and give everybody a fair chance in life, the SNP must stop the cuts. The Scottish Parliament has major new powers over tax and it’s time the nationalists started using them to end austerity in Scotland.

You can read our full alternative Programme for Government here.

If, like me, you think the last thing Scotland needs or wants is a second independence referendum, then share this with your friends and let them know what the Government should be doing to deliver that fairer future we want for all.

Kezia Dugdale

Scottish Labour Leader

Deirdre Brock backs ‘Glow Gold September’

Edinburgh lights up for childhood cancer awareness

Glow Gold (2)

Deidre Brock MP welcomed the Edinburgh skies lighting up in gold at the launch of the parent-led ‘Glow Gold September’ childhood cancer awareness campaign this evening (Thursday 1 September) Deidre is attending the switch on of the ‘Luminations of Love’ light display in St Andrew’s Square. Continue reading Deirdre Brock backs ‘Glow Gold September’

Theresa May: Making Britain better for everyone

Prime Minister: “We must make life easier for the majority of people in this country who just about manage”

theresa may

The Prime Minister will today reaffirm her commitment to pursue a bold programme of social reform, chairing a new Cabinet committee focused on making Britain better for everyone, not just the privileged few. Continue reading Theresa May: Making Britain better for everyone

Morrisons local derby raises over £1200 for charity

Morrisons Charity Match 1

Sunday 28 August saw the battle of all battles. Morrisons Granton took on Morrisons Ferry Road in a Charity Football match held at The Spartans Football Club’s Ainslie Park Stadium. The result was a victory for Ferry Road – and over £1200 raised for charity! Continue reading Morrisons local derby raises over £1200 for charity

Living in Harmony latest

Living in Harmony logo

Dear all,

Forum discussion 

Thank you to everyone who participated in the last forum meeting. There was a good discussion and lots of good ideas to follow up on, including how we can make North Edinburgh an area of excellence in terms of diversity in employment. I’m attaching the minutes (below). The next forum meeting will be on Thursday 12th October from 10 – 12 noon.

Minutes 18th august 2016

Race report

I’m also including a summary of a recent report produced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission which Douglas Samuel shared. This highlights further the worrying inequalities present in many walks of life, employment being one of them.

Race Report: Healing a Divided Britain

Scotland’s Ethnic Minorities face overcrowding, poverty and unemployment, says equality and human rights body

A new report published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission on race equality, has found that in Scotland, if you are born into an ethnic minority household today, you are nearly four times more likely to be in a household that is overcrowded and up to twice as likely to be living in poverty and experiencing unemployment.

The report is the biggest ever analysis of existing evidence into race equality in Scotland and focuses on poverty, education, employment, and housing.

Findings include:

  • In 2013 ethnic minority households were four times more likely than White households to live in overcrowded properties – 11.8% compared with 2.9%.
  • In 2013/14 people from ethnic minorities were more twice as likely live in poverty, both before and after housing costs, compared to ‘White-British’ people.
  • After housing costs, 36% of people from ethnic minorities were in poverty, compared with 17% of ‘White-British’ people.
  • Unemployment rates for people from ethnic minorities in 2013 were significantly higher than for White people – 13.2% compared with 6.9%.
  • In 2013, only 57.4% of people from ethnic minorities were in work compared with 73.8% of White people.
  • Unemployment rates for people from ethnic minorities in 2013 were significantly higher than for White people – 13.2% compared with 6.9%.
  • Just 2.1% of modern apprenticeships are filled by ethnic minorities although 5% of the target group for apprenticeships across Scotland are from ethnic minority groups. (Skills Development Scotland, Q1 2016).
  • Just 6% of Black school leavers from across GB attended a Russell Group university (Edinburgh and Glasgow), compared with 12% of mixed and Asian school leavers and 11% of white school leavers.
  • 1 in 4 Scottish pupils said they were aware of peers suffering prejudice based bullying.

Download the full report here.

Kind regards

Hannah Kitchen

Development Worker, Living in Harmony,

Pilton Community Health Project

0131 551 1671

hannahkitchen@pchp.org.uk

www.pchp.org.uk

Like us on Facebook for regular updates www.facebook.com/PiltonCommunityHealthProject

Beach wheelchairs event at Porty this Saturday

wheelchairs
Portobello Beach Wheelchairs is a local community group which believes that everyone has the right to enjoy our beautiful beach. We are currently gathering public opinion and raising awareness of beach wheelchairs with the aim of raising funds to buy, store and maintain beach wheelchairs to be used by visitors to Portobello Beach.

Continue reading Beach wheelchairs event at Porty this Saturday

September’s Garden Plant of the Month: Fountain grass

Garden Plant of the Month for September: Fountain grass

grass1

Grasses are popular in the garden, particularly fountain grass. With its elongated leaves and flowering plumes, the Garden Plant of the Month for September looks fabulous in the garden or on the balcony. The curving and upward lines of this grass species are attractive to look at in both summer and winter. Fountain grass comes in multiple varieties, with shorter and longer plumes that can look great in your garden.

Attractive dark plumes

Fountain grass (Pennisetum) is a member of the big family of ornamental grasses. Fountain grass is also called foxtail grass. When you see the plant with its attractive dark plumes, you can understand where these names come from. The plant originates from Australia and East Asia. The brownish, cylindrical inflorescences can reach a length of 25 cm and flower from July to September. The plant’s waving plumes are particularly elegant in summer, but they are also decorative in winter when they’re covered in snow. Fountain grass is a pollen-forming grass species with long, elegant, flat leaves from which the plumes emerge. The Latin word Pennisetum is a combination of the words ‘penna’ (= feather) and ‘seta’ (= pig’s hair) and refers to these inflorescences.

Caring for fountain grass

Your fountain grass will remain healthy and attractive by following a couple of simple tips. The plant likes a sunny spot in the garden, but can also do well in partial shade. Make sure that the soil doesn’t dry out, particularly during lengthy periods of drought. However, the plant doesn’t like to have its roots wet all the time either. Although the plant is hardy, it can do with a bit of protection during a hard and extended period of frost. Leave exhausted plumes and leaves on the plant in the autumn and winter to act as protection, and only remove them in early spring (March). New leaves will then form, and plenty of new ‘brushes’ will grow in the summer.

Pruning tip for fountain grass

To ensure an attractive plant again in spring, it’s a good idea to cut the plant back to 20 cm above the ground after the winter at the start of March. It will then have provided its own protection through the winter with leaves and old plumes, and can start growing and freshly blooming again.

More information about fountain grass and other garden plants can be found at Thejoyofplants.co.uk