With over £1 million spent tackling litter every single week across Scotland, the Environment Secretary is enabling local authorities and other public bodies to take action on prevention. Continue reading A lot of rubbish: £1 million spent tackling litter every week
Residents of Drylaw and Telford have only THREE more days to sign up to join their community council. Nominations close on Monday (30th January) at 4pm. Continue reading Deadline day looms for Drylaw Telford
Historic Environment Scotland (HES), the heritage body in charge of listing buildings in Scotland, has unveiled a toolkit to help local groups across the country answer the question ‘What’s Your Heritage?’ Continue reading What’s your heritage?
Edinburgh residents experiencing financial difficulties with their energy bills are being urged by debt charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP) to ‘brave it’ and ask for expert debt help. Continue reading Edinburgh residents struggling with energy bills urged to call for help
Scottish politicians have reacted angrily to news that more Jobcentre Plus offices are to close in Scotland. Holyrood’s Minister for Employability and Training Jamie Hepburn said the cuts are disproportionate while both Green MSP Alison Johnstone and North and Leith MP Deirdre Brock said the decision is ‘wrong-headed’.
‘absolutely no place for bigotry and prejudice in Scotland’ – DFM John Swinney
Deputy First Minister John Swinney has warned of the dangers of denying fundamental human freedoms and allowing bigotry and intolerance to flourish. Mr Swinney’s comments came at Scotland’s national event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, at Bishopbriggs Academy.
Speaking ahead of the commemoration, the Deputy First Minister said: “Eleven million lives were extinguished during the Holocaust, the equivalent of twice the population of Scotland. Since then human rights have been denied and atrocities have been committed in places across the world, including Rwanda, Srebrenica and Darfur.
“Such tragedies are the consequence of the denial of basic human rights and freedoms. We must never forget the Holocaust as an example of what human beings can do when fundamental human rights are abandoned, and bigotry and intolerance are allowed to flourish.
“There is absolutely no place for bigotry and prejudice in Scotland and the Scottish Government is committed to doing all that we can to prevent and eradicate hate crime and intolerance.
“Later this year, I intend to accompany a school visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau through the Lessons from Auschwitz Project. It is only through learning the lessons of the past that we can create a future in which all our communities can prosper together in peace.”
Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, reflects that it is important to remember and educate future generations on the Holocaust’s causes.
He said: “Today we mark Holocaust Memorial Day, the date to mark the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp. This year’s theme, ‘how can life go on?’, encourages us to pause and reflect, not only on the terrible truth of the Holocaust, and the innocent lives that were so cruelly wiped out, but to also to draw inspiration from the survivors, who found strength and courage to carry on.
“It is important that survivor stories are heard. And as time goes by, it becomes ever more important that we listen, learn, remember, and educate future generations about the causes of the Holocaust, in particular antisemitism. Sadly, this remains an ever-present concern today. We will continue to tackle it head on wherever it is found and stand with our Jewish friends and neighbours around the world in defence of their right to live free from hatred and prejudice.
“The UK Government is committed to strengthening international collaboration to promote Holocaust education, remembrance and research. We will continue to honour this commitment, not only through our work with international partners, but also with civil society organisations who are dedicated to these efforts. Together we can put the lessons into practice and so educate the next generation that anti-semitic prejudice is consigned to the past.”
Police in Edinburgh and the City of Edinburgh Council are inviting people to vote for projects designed to create a city free from Islamophobia. Continue reading Vote for projects to challenge Islamophobia
Edinburgh-based advocate for the homeless Mel Young (above)has been recognised by the Lord Provost after earning an award from the United States Sports Academy. Mel, founder of the Homeless World Cup and the Scottish Big Issue, follows in the footsteps of sporting giants Cristiano Ronaldo, Tiger Woods, Andre Agassi and Michael Jordan to be named winner of the Academy’s prestigious 2016 Jackie Robinson Humanitarian Award. Continue reading Mel Young recognised for his ‘concern for mankind’
The Friday Craft Club has been cancelled on a temporary basis to allow the Youth Annexe to be used by Johanna in her work with our Scottish Climate Fund Challenge Project (writes JAMES McGINTY).
Alison Johnstone MSP, Health spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, today urged Scottish Ministers to act on the recommendations of a major report which concludes that 400 Scottish child deaths each year are potentially avoidable. The State of Child Health report by the Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health says the Scottish Government should adopt a ‘child health in all policies’ approach to decision making.
The report urges support for families through financial inclusion services, like Glasgow’s Healthier Wealthier Children scheme which Green MSPs have persuaded Scottish Ministers to roll out across the country. It calls for all schools to deliver comprehensive sex and relationships education and also calls for 20 mph speed limits in built up areas to create safe places for children to walk, cycle and play.
Alison Johnstone, Health spokesperson for the Scottish Greens and MSP for Lothian, said: “The link between poverty and poor health is well established and this shocking report shows we need a transformation in how Government approaches the issue. Four hundred preventable child deaths each year must prompt serious action.
“Green MSPs have been pushing for an anti-poverty budget from Scottish Ministers, and we’ve already secured a guarantee that Glasgow’s Healthier Wealthier Children project, which boosts incomes for vulnerable families, will be rolled out across Scotland. We need to see other interventions such as an allowance for young carers, promotion of the Living Wage to stop in-work poverty, and a more humane approach to social security.
“We also need to see a shift in spending to make it easy to be active every day. The lack of funding for walking and cycling while motorways and air travel are set to benefit, and the deep cuts planned to sports agencies and council services, show that Scottish Ministers haven’t grasped how serious the situation is.”
The full report is available at:
www.rcpch.ac.uk/state-of-
Recommendations for UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments and decision makers
Nearly one in five children in the UK is living in poverty and inequality is blighting their lives, with those from the most deprived backgrounds experiencing much worse health compared with the most affluent. Despite some improvements in the health of UK children over the last decades, there is clear disparity with Europe, and major cause for concern.
The UK ranks 15 out of 19 Western European countries on infant (under one year of age) mortality and has one of the highest rates for children and young people in Western Europe.
There is a strong association between deprivation and mortality, for example infant mortality is more than twice as high in the lowest compared with the highest socio-economic groups.
The prevalence of smoking during pregnancy in the UK is higher than in many European countries (for example 5% in Lithuania and Sweden, compared with 19% in Scotland, 16% in Wales and 15% in Northern Ireland).
Smoking in pregnancy increases the likelihood of death, disability, and disease (for example stillbirth, cot death and the risk of respiratory disease across the life-course).
There is marked variation in smoking in pregnancy across the UK with a strong association with deprivation; for example in Scotland over a quarter (25.9%) of women in the most deprived areas acknowledged smoking following the birth of their baby, compared with 3.3% in the least deprived areas.
Breastfeeding in England and Scotland has shown minimal improvement since data recording commenced in 1975, with no improvement over the last five years, and remains lower than many other comparable high-income countries.
At 6 months, only 34% of babies in the UK are wholly or partially breastfed, compared to 71% in Norway
Breastfeeding has substantial health benefits for mothers and babies.
Across the UK, 46% of mothers in the most deprived areas breastfed compared with 65% in the most affluent areas.
Across England, Scotland and Wales more than one in five children in the first year of primary school are overweight or obese.
There has been minimal improvement in the prevalence of child overweight and obesity over the past decade.
Obesity leads to substantially increased risk of serious life-long health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
In 2015/2016, 40% of children in England’s most deprived areas were overweight or obese, compared to 27% in the most affluent areas.
The percentage of 15-year-old children smoking regularly is 6% in England and 8% in Wales and Scotland.
Smoking continues to be the greatest single cause of avoidable mortality in the UK.
Starting to smoke during adolescence increases the likelihood of being a life-long smoker.
The prevalence of child smoking is much higher amongst children from the most deprived areas; for example in Scotland’s most deprived areas, at least 1 in 10 young people are regular smokers.
In 2013/2014, 13% of 15-year-olds surveyed in Wales, 11% in England and 13.5% in Scotland reported drinking alcohol at least once a week.
Alcohol abuse continues to be a problem across the social spectrum.
SOCH recommendations – Scotland
State of Child Health – full report
