Day: November 27, 2017

Penny Mordaunt: Extra UK aid gives a future to persecuted Rohingya

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt has announced further UK aid for the Rohingya crisis, as she warns that global funding will start to dry up in 100 days. Ms Mordaunt made the announcement during a visit to Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. Continue reading Penny Mordaunt: Extra UK aid gives a future to persecuted Rohingya

Record number of Scots go to University

A record number of Scots were accepted to a UK university in 2017, figures published today show. Over 36,500 Scottish domiciled applicants accepted a place for this academic year – an increase of over 850 or 2.4%.

All other UK countries saw a decrease in the number of their residents accepted to university.

The figures were released by UCAS in their first End of Cycle Report 2017. It also shows a record number of all applicants accepted to Scottish higher education institutions in 2017 – up 1.7%.

Further and Higher Education Minister, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said: “It is great to see that Scotland is bucking the trend across the UK, with more of our prospective students securing a place at university. This follows on from the record numbers last year.

“It shows that our education system is supporting an increasing number of people to access higher education – giving them the skills they need to succeed.

“This is also another record year for Scotland’s universities, with the highest ever number of applicants accepted to study here. It is testament to the fact that Scotland remains a destination of choice for students, due in no small part to the reputation for excellence that our institutions have worked hard to achieve.”

Oh no, not another Festival! First Edinburgh Wellbeing Festival to be held in January

The City of Edinburgh Council and Good Thinking to launch first Edinburgh Wellbeing Festival

Kilted yogi

In January 2018 the Assembly Rooms in George Street will play host to some of the biggest names in health, fitness and wellbeing, with an exciting programme of events from yoga classes and meditation sessions, to talks and workshops on nutrition, sleep, gut health, mindfulness and emotional wellbeing.  Continue reading Oh no, not another Festival! First Edinburgh Wellbeing Festival to be held in January

Getting people active: £500 million investment has made NO difference

Over the past 10 years, the number of Scots taking part in sporting activities in Scotland has remained static, according to a new Parliamentary report. The Health and Sport Committee has found no evidence £500 million of public funding in the last year has increased the number of people getting active.

Currently, statutory support is awarded by sportscotland (£100m) and through local authorities (£400m).

These figures were revealed during phase two of the Committee’s inquiry which looks at reasons preventing people from taking part in sport and physical activities.

Convener of the Health and Sport Committee, Neil Findlay MSP said: “The variety of sports and physical activity on offer in communities is a real testament to the efforts and dedication of sport and community groups. We recognise the hard work that is going on to try and improve and expand participation rates.

“However, we are disappointed that overall participation figures have remained fairly stagnant over the past decade. In fact, we found that many of the issues raised during this inquiry have been raised before.

“The Committee believes these findings show how wide ranging decisions and initiatives across different portfolios taken at both governmental and local level can have wider impacts.

“We look forward to a response from the Scottish Government to tell us what its plans are to increase participation rates and to hear what lessons have been learned over the past decade”.

Further information is available via this link.

Mani swaps serving customers for saving lives

A former newsagent has told how he made a life-changing decision thanks to his customers – a crew of firefighters. Mani Dhesi left the shop counter and joined the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service after being inspired by their accounts of protecting the public. And the father-of-two – who can speak FOUR languages – is now playing a vital role in bringing the SFRS closer to communities. Continue reading Mani swaps serving customers for saving lives