Vulnerable people with complex needs who need help to get into settled accommodation are to be supported by funding of up to £6.5 million, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced. Continue reading Housing First: Scottish Government commits £6.5m to tackle homelessness
School holiday activities for girls and young women
The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service is publishing a new statistical bulletin which – for the first time – will provide quarterly Official Statistics on criminal case activity in Scotland’s courts. Continue reading New criminal courts statistics bulletin published
Prime Minister Theresa May hosted a Downing Street reception yesterday to mark World Mental Health Day. She told guests: Continue reading Prime Minister Theresa May speaks out on World Mental Health Day
Edinburgh Napier has joined forces with Eyecademy to use blockchain technology to develop verifiable records for the supply journey of ethically-sourced food. Continue reading Blockchain can give us faith in our food
Two events coming up:
Businesses, charities and individuals across Edinburgh are being encouraged to move their savings to an ethical bank. Continue reading Edinburgh fair trade social enterprise backs call to save ethically
Scotland’s only professional theatre company dedicated to working with performers with a learning disability has revealed it is planning its first schools tour in the New Year, after gaining financial support from Aberdeen Standard Investments’ Charitable Foundation. Continue reading Schools tour a dramatic first for Edinburgh theatre company
New digital system to reduce stigma and make it easier to eat healthily
Pre-paid digital smartcards will replace food vouchers, following strong support for changes to the scheme for helping low income families eat healthily.
Healthy Start Vouchers will become known as Best Start Foods and the current paper vouchers replaced by smartcards in Summer 2019.
Respondents to a Scottish Government consultation on changes to the Welfare Foods scheme said the move to smartcards could reduce stigma, increase uptake and be easier for families. They also wanted support and training for retailers to ensure the system was easy for them to use.
The consultation also found overwhelming support for extending the range of eligible foods in the scheme, and providing free milk and healthy snacks to all children in funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC).
Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick said: “Improving Scotland’s health and tackling inequality starts with ensuring everyone can have a healthy diet, especially families with young children. Diet impacts on children’s health, their learning ability and their life chances as they grow up, but too many low income families face barriers to eating healthily.
“There is clear and strong backing for our plans to further support families, through making the system easy to use and by increasing the foods that families can access. This gives us a strong foundation for introducing these changes.”
Welfare Foods consultation summary report
Welfare Foods consultation full report
Powers over Welfare Foods have been devolved to Scotland under the Scotland Act 2016. These powers have not yet commenced and the consultation sought views on how best to take these forward.
Families’ allowances will rise from £3.10 to £4.25 a week, and from £899 to £1,011 in total over the period they receive support.
Consultation respondents also suggested a national awareness raising campaign, through a range of media channels, to raise the uptake of Best Start Foods.
