October 2020 – Page 21 – The NEN

Prime Minister announces new local COVID Alert Levels

The Prime Minister yesterday set out how the UK government will further simplify and standardise local rules by introducing a three tiered system of local COVID Alert Levels in England.

Addressing MPs before hosting a Downing Street press conference, he confirmed the levels will be set at medium, high, and very high.

He set out how this new approach will be simpler and standardised, and thanked local leaders who have engaged with the government over the weekend.

The “medium” alert level – which will cover most of the country – will consist of the current national measures, which came into force on 25 September.

This includes the Rule of Six, and the closure of hospitality at 10pm.

The “high” alert level will reflect many current local interventions, but there will now be consistency across the country.

This primarily aims to reduce household to household transmission by preventing all mixing between households or support bubbles indoors. The Rule of Six will apply in outdoor spaces, including private gardens.

Most areas which are already subject to local restrictions will automatically move into the “high” alert level.

The “very high” alert level will apply where transmission rates are causing the greatest concern, based on an assessment of all the available data and the local situation.

This includes incidence and test positivity, including amongst older and more at-risk age groups, as well as the growth rate, hospital admissions and other factors.

In these areas, the government will set a baseline of prohibiting social mixing indoors and in private gardens, with the Rule of Six allowed in open public spaces like parks and beaches.

Pubs and bars must close, and can only remain open where they operate as if they were a restaurant – which means serving substantial meals, like a main lunchtime or evening meal. They may only serve alcohol as part of such a meal.

People will be advised not to travel in and out of these areas.

To create local consensus behind this more severe action, the government will work with local leaders on how individual areas should go beyond this baseline, which may include measures such as the closure of gyms, casinos, and leisure centres.

Non-essential retail, schools and universities will remain open in all levels.

Cases are rising rapidly across the country, particularly in the North East and North West, and this is resulting in increased hospitalisations and deaths.

The Prime Minster said that further action is required now to suppress the virus and make sure the NHS isn’t overwhelmed, and can continue providing essential services such as cancer care.

This follows significant local engagement throughout the weekend.

On Sunday, the Prime Minister spoke to Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, following detailed discussions over the last few days between all the region’s leaders, Chief Executives and senior government figures.

They discussed the huge challenge from rising numbers of COVID cases in the region and pledged to work together on combatting the virus.

Senior No 10 advisers and the Housing Communities and Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick also held discussions with local authority leaders and mayors from the highest areas of concern.

As the Prime Minister said, in recent months, local outbreaks have been tackled with targeted restrictions – helping save lives and avoiding the need to apply those measures nationally.

However, over time this has led to different rules in different parts of the country, with some rules becoming increasingly complex and difficult to enforce.

A postcode checker on gov.uk will show which alert level applies in each area and the NHS COVID-19 app will also direct people to this information.

Regulations for all three local alert levels were laid yesterday (Monday) and they will be debated and voted on in the House of Commons today (Tuesday). Subject to that vote, they will come into force on Wednesday, subject to the approval of Parliament.

These measures will be kept under constant review, including a four-week sunset clause for interventions in “very high” areas.

The PM also confirmed that the government will also provide Local Authorities across England with around £1 billion of new financial support.

He also said that engagement with other leaders in the North West, the North East and Yorkshire & Humber is continuing.

The PM also called on local leaders in the areas rated very high to work with the government on these measures, in return for more support for local test and trace, more funding for local enforcement, the offer of help from the armed services, and the job support scheme as announced by the Chancellor.

PM Boris Johnson made a statement at the coronavirus press conference:

Good evening everyone.

We are entering a new and crucial phase of our fight against Coronavirus.

Because the number of cases has gone up four times in four weeks and it is once again spreading among the elderly and vulnerable.

There are already more Covid patients in UK hospitals today than there were on 23 March when the whole country went into lockdown and deaths, alas, are also rising once again.

These figures are flashing at us like dashboard warnings in a passenger jet. And we must act now.

So we are giving local authorities across England around a billion pounds so they can protect vital services as they fight the virus.

Nightingale Hospitals across the North of England are being prepared for service.

And so we can squash this virus wherever it appears we are today simplifying, standardising and in some places toughening local rules in England by introducing three levels of Covid Alert.

Medium, with existing national measures such as the Rule of Six and the closure of hospitality at 10pm.

High, with extra measures including a ban on indoor social mixing between households or support bubbles.

And Very High, for places where, without further action, the NHS will swiftly be under intolerable pressure.

Areas within the Very High Alert category will be reviewed every four weeks and nowhere will be shut down indefinitely. And the exact restrictions at this level, Very High, will be worked out with local leaders, along with tailored packages of support.

But at a minimum they will, sadly, include a ban on all social mixing between households in private places, including gardens

and pubs and bars must close unless they can operate solely as a restaurant, serving alcohol only as part of a main meal.

We will also ask people not to travel into and out of Very High alert level areas.

Nobody affected by this will be left to fend for themselves.

And we will expand our unprecedented economic support to assist those affected by these decisions, extending our Job Support Scheme to cover two-thirds of the wages of those in any business that is required to close, and providing those businesses with a cash grant of up to £3,000 a month, instead of £1500 every three weeks, and extra funding too for those in the Very High category for local test and trace and enforcement.

You will shortly be able to type in your postcode into Gov.UK and see exactly what restrictions apply where you live.

The majority of the country will, for now, be at medium.

Most areas currently under local intervention will be at High, and Nottinghamshire, including Nottingham itself, East and West Cheshire and a small area of High Peak will also move to this level.

Over the weekend we have been working with local leaders in areas where the data are most worrying.

And from Wednesday, local authorities in the Liverpool City Region will move to the Very High alert level.

In addition to pubs and bars we have agreed with Liverpool City mayor Steve Rotheram that gyms, leisure centres, betting shops, adult gaming centres and casinos will close.

We are still working with other local leaders to determine how best to tackle the resurgence of the virus in their areas. But tackle it we will.

No one, least of all me, wants to impose these kinds of erosions of our personal liberty, but I am as convinced as I have ever been that the British people have the resolve to beat this virus and that, together, we will do just that.

With that I’ll hand over to the Chancellor, who has some more details on how we’ll be supporting these businesses, employees and areas affected by today’s changes …

Full details on what the COVID Alert Levels contain are set out below:

Local COVID Alert Level – Medium

This is for areas where national restrictions continue to be in place. This means:

All businesses and venues can continue to operate, in a COVID-Secure manner, other than those that remain closed in law, such as nightclubs.
Certain businesses selling food or drink on their premises are required to close between 10pm and 5am.
Businesses and venues selling food for consumption off the premises can continue to do so after 10pm as long as this is through delivery service, click-and-collect or drive-thru.
Schools, universities and places of worship remain open
Weddings and funerals can go ahead with restrictions on the number of attendees
Organised indoor sport and exercise classes can continue to take place, provided the Rule of Six is followed
People must not meet in groups larger than 6, indoors or outdoors

Local COVID Alert Level – High

This is for areas with a higher level of infections. This means the following additional measures are in place:
People must not meet with anybody outside their household or support bubble in any indoor setting, whether at home or in a public place
People must not meet in a group of more than 6 outside, including in a garden or other space.
People should aim to reduce the number of journeys they make where possible. If they need to travel, they should walk or cycle where possible, or to plan ahead and avoid busy times and routes on public transport.

Local COVID Alert Level – Very High

This is for areas with a very high level of infections. The Government will set a baseline of measures for any area in this local alert level. Consultation with local authorities will determine additional measures.

The baseline means the below additional measures are in place:

Pubs and bars must close, and can only remain open where they operate as if they were a restaurant – which means serving substantial meals, like a main lunchtime or evening meal. They may only serve alcohol as part of such a meal.
Wedding receptions are not allowed
People must not meet with anybody outside their household or support bubble in any indoor or outdoor setting, whether at home or in a public space. The Rule of Six applies in open public spaces like parks and beaches.
People should try to avoid travelling outside the ‘Very High’ area they are in, or entering a ‘Very High’ area, other than for things like work, education, accessing youth services, to meet caring responsibilities or if they are in transit.
People should avoid staying overnight in another part of the UK if they are resident in a ‘Very High’ area, or avoid staying overnight in a ‘Very High’ area if they are resident elsewhere.

Local COVID Alert Level – Very High:

Liverpool City Region

Liverpool
Knowsley
Wirral
St Helens
Sefton
Halton

Scotland is likely to adopt it’s own version of the ‘three tier’ strategy when the current ‘circuit breaker’ ends later this month, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed.

She told yesterday’s press briefing: “We intend to develop our own tiering framework and take that to Parliament after the October recess and of course, that will coincide with the ending of the temporary reset restrictions announced last week.

“At a strategic level, we will be looking to align as closely as possible with the other UK nations. I think it is important and it makes sense to try to do that, though, I would stress, that operational decisions about which tiers might apply in which parts of our nations will be for each of us to take at a devolved level.

“The publication of a new framework will be a key step to guide us through the next phase of the pandemic. But it’s by no means the only step we will be taking over the next couple of weeks.

“What we want to do is ensure that these temporary restrictions don’t simply slow or reverse the increase in cases for a while, although that is clearly important, before things return to normal or as they were before these restrictions afterwards.

“What we want to do is use the two weeks to secure a longer term benefit and greater resilience as we know we will be living with this virus for some time yet to come.

“So, for example, as I indicated last week, later this week we will introduce regulations to extend the mandatory use of face coverings in indoor communal settings, for example, staff canteens and corridors in workplaces.

“We are also going to be taking action to strengthen compliance with the different strands of the FACTS advice. That will focus particularly on self-isolation because that is so essential to reducing and preventing transmission, but it also an area where we know, for understandable reasons, that compliance is not yet as high as we need it to be.

“We are also talking to different sectors of the economy, including hospitality and retail, to help them ensure that they can operate even more safely in future. For example, we have already asked shops to return to two metre physical distancing, and to reintroduce other measures, such as one way systems, that they had place earlier on in the pandemic.

“And finally, as I said last week in parliament, we are reviewing, again, our testing strategy. As we continue to expand our testing capacity, we are looking at the basis on which we would test more people including groups of people who do not have symptoms but who may, if the virus is not detected help to generate, or risk, community transmission, or transmission where people are vulnerable.

“So we will be working hard over the next two weeks, to further improve how we control the pandemic, while living as freely as possible for individuals and businesses, and we will be seeking to ensure that as we exit the reset restrictions two weeks from now, we do that on a more resilient footing.”

Care experts provide tips to help vulnerable older people stay safe

Agincare, a family-owned care provider, has released practical home improvement advice to help families adapt an older relative’s home or care home room into a space where they can live comfortably and safely.

The advice contains just under a dozen home improvement and interior design tips that can help older people living with dementia, visual impairment, Alzheimer’s, hearing impairment, and mobility.

Adam Luckhurst, Director at Agincare, said: “We’ve set out our recommendations covering rooms for people living with dementia, visual impairment, hearing impairment, Alzheimer’s and frailty. And our 3D floorplans really bring the ideal layout in a care home room or an entire house to life.

“Ultimately, we want to help people stay independent for as long as possible, and these simple changes can make a big difference. Whether your family member wants to stay in their own home or is living in a care home, there are simple and effective changes you can make to help improve their quality of life.”

Agincare’s top tips for making homes and care home rooms safer and more comfortable are:

1) Replace wall art with family photographs in wooden frames.

“Photographs can provide important visual reminders to family members with dementia. But be careful about using mirrored frames as they can trigger confusion. Agincare’s experts suggest using wooden frames instead.”

2) Make sure rooms are brightly lit with natural light.

“Plenty of natural light can not only help with sight, including spotting any trip hazards for older people unsteady on their feet, it is also proven to reduce psychoactive symptoms, which are common side effects of neurodegenerative diseases.”

3) Remove rugs and frayed carpets.

“Family members of older people with limited mobility may be conscious about electrical leads and slippery surfaces causing a trip hazard. However, one of the most common reasons for falls in the home is rugs and frayed carpets. These should be removed from living rooms and kitchens to create a safer space.”

4) Have open shelving instead of cupboards.

“Cupboards can be stressful for older people with dementia. It can be difficult for them to remember which contents are behind which doors, for instance. Installing open shelving can help by putting everything on display.”

5) Install a banister rail on both sides of the staircase.

“A single banister on one side of the staircase is not enough to minimise the risk of falling. Instead, they suggest having two banisters – one on each side – to give support going up and down the stairs.”

6) Choose furniture that contrasts with walls to help visibility.

“The trendy minimalist colour schemes of contemporary homes may not be practical for an older family member with a visual impairment. If furniture is the same shade of colour as the decor, it can present a trip and injury risk. Embrace a colour clash and bring more contrasts into the home.”

7) Hang thick curtains for improved sound insulation.

“Good acoustics are essential for older people with hearing difficulties. Street noise can make hearing conversations, listening to music or enjoying what’s on the television tricky. Thick curtains provide good sound insulation.”

8) Decorate with a variety of textures to help with sensory needs.

“When you begin to lose your sight, you start relying more on your sense of touch. Agincare recommends using a variety of textures in decorating the home of someone with a visual impairment to help them find their way around.”

Agincare’s experts have created a series of 3D room layouts to illustrate their top tips.

The free room layouts from homes are available on the Agincare website here and the room layouts from care homes are available here.

National Road Safety Banner Design Competition deadline extended

The deadline for entries for this year’s schools design a road safety banner competition has been extended until 18 October to give children aged four to 11 longer to get creative.

For the twelfth year running, Recognition Express has teamed up with road safety charity BRAKE to run the ‘design a road safety banner’ competition. Winning designs based around this year’s theme of ‘No need to speed’ will be reproduced onto high quality, full size banners for display the child’s school during Road Safety Week (16 – 22 November).

In addition, the budding designer will also receive a special personalised trophy to mark their achievement. Recognition Express has a network of branches across the UK and there will be several regional winners.

New for 2020 is the option to email or upload entries online in addition to entering by post.

For full details and to download the entry form visit https://reschools.co.uk/uk/roadsafetyweek/.

Keeping people safe continues to be a priority – but it’s not just Covid that poses a threat to human safety. Someone is injured on a UK road every four minutes and vehicle speed plays a part on every occasion.

In a crash, 1mph can mean the difference between life and death, but people still regularly break speed limits or travel too fast for the conditions of the road.

Chris Masters, managing director of Recognition Express, said: “The Covid pandemic has turned everything on its head this year and school children are one of the groups most affected.

“Our design a road safety banner competition has become a fixture in the calendar of many local schools and we have been hoping against hope that schools would be allowed to go back for the autumn term and take part.

“Whilst our cashflow is tight as a result of the lockdown, we believe road safety is very important, and are committed to keeping people safe. Our relationship with BRAKE is long standing and we didn’t want to let them down this year.

“Road Safety Week aims to inspire thousands of schools, organisations and communities to take action and promote road safety awareness during the week and beyond and it is a privilege to be involved.

“Our competition is a fantastic opportunity to engage primary school children and help establish good road safety sense for years to come.

“We are always impressed by the creativity and quality of the designs sent in each year. I hope that our competition will help restore a sense of normality for the children this term and look forward to seeing more entries than ever before.”

61% increase in demand for food parcels between now and Christmas

Approximately 2.2 million people in the UK are living in food poverty, many of whom require support from foodbanks on a regular basis. Before the outbreak of the pandemic a record high 1.9m emergency food parcels were distributed between April 2019 and March 2020 by the Trussell Trust. It is estimated there will be a 61% increase in demand for food parcels between now and Christmas.

This equates to six parcels being distributed per minute. Mass unemployment, on a scale not seen since the early nineties is predicted, which will result in a further rise in food poverty. An estimated 670,000 additional people will be classed as destitute by the end of 2020.

Since its launch in 2014, Bounceback Food CIC has been committed to fighting food poverty. Their public cookery courses and foodbank drive uses the ‘buy one, give one’ model to generate social impact.

The cookery courses have enabled them to provide free places to people using foodbanks or getting third sector support, teaching them how to cook.

Their foodbank drive is supported through donations at market events. This proactive approach to tackling food poverty has helped them teach thousands of people how to cook, donate over 10,000 items of food to foodbanks and provide over 75,000 meals as part of their wider community outreach work which includes catering, supper clubs and corporate cook offs.

Prior to lockdown, Bounceback’s outreach work predominantly supported people in Greater Manchester, Cheshire & North Wales. However, as the economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic continues, the non-profit organisation is adapting its model to social franchising, so they are able to support the increasing numbers of people living in food poverty nationwide. By introducing this model the team at Bounceback are more confident they can help combat the growing number of people in food poverty in the UK.

Its current crowdfunder aims to raise sufficient funds so they can expand with three additional teams in new locations throughout the UK by November 2021, supporting the social enterprise’s long-term plan to have 20 teams operational by 2024.

Each team will manage regional cookery workshops educating people how to cook as well as their market events generating food donations which will then be distributed to foodbanks in the community.

Discounted tickets to cookery workshops are just one of several rewards that people who pledge their support to the crowdfunder will receive. Signed first edition copies of the new recipe books are also available.

The organisation is determined to make things fun too and have introduced an innovative way for people to stay connected, learn about food preparation and global cuisine, even in these difficult times.

Their Secret Supper Clubs is a new concept that will bring a group of friends together for a dinner party with a difference. Bounceback’s team serves up a feast based on their favourite recipes as the host joins an interactive, virtual cook-a-long session.

In line with the current UK Government ‘rule of 6’ guidelines, these intimate social events may be a welcome alternative way to spend an evening, as the nation faces more restrictions on socialising out of the home – although this would not currently be allowed north of the border, where it would only be permissable for one household.

A range of corporate sponsorship packages have also been developed providing businesses with an opportunity for exposure by sponsoring an episode of Bounceback’s weekly Share Your Secrets podcast.

The podcast celebrates the diversity of food, art and community and includes interviews with the artists involved in the production of ‘Secret Dishes From Around the World 2’, insights about community and culture from people in the featured countries and updates from Bounceback’s team as they scale up their proactive fight against food poverty across the UK.

Bounceback’s founding director Duncan Swainsbury (above) said: “I’m proud of the progress we have made over the last 6 months and that we have developed new ways to work.

“We have pledged 5 million free licenses to our online Cooking & Nutrition Portal and donated all remaining stock to our foodbank drive in the North-West – this is as well as adapting our catering service to deliver meals door to door, and launching online cookery workshops that provide free places for our beneficiaries.

“As claims for Universal Credit soar and with the furlough scheme coming to an end, we know that our organisation will be needed more than ever before to support those living in food poverty.

“It is essential that we scale up our social enterprise and build delivery teams in multiple locations to provide effective support to people nationwide.”

Heart research UK Healthy tip – National Cholesterol Month

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK

National Cholesterol Month: The benefits of eating oats

October is National Cholesterol Month. Cholesterol is a fatty substance which is needed in the cells of your body. Too much cholesterol in your blood can lead to a build-up in your arteries, which increases your risk of having a heart attack.

Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet that is low in saturated fat and high in fibre is a good way to keep your cholesterol healthy. Oats contain a type of soluble fibre known as beta-glucan, which can help to lower your cholesterol. In this healthy heart tip, we provide some ideas for increasing your consumption of oats.

Start your day with a warm bowl of porridge

As the weather gets cooler, you could start your day with a comforting bowl of warm porridge. Rather than adding sugar, honey, jam or syrup to your porridge, you could try adding fruit, such as berries, chopped apple or sliced banana and a sprinkling of chopped nuts, seeds or cinnamon.

Save time in the mornings by preparing an oaty breakfast the night before

If warm porridge is not your thing, you could try starting your day with Bircher. Bircher is made by soaking oatmeal overnight in yogurt and adding fruit, nuts and/or seeds. Why not try out some of these Bircher recipes from BBC Good Food: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/bircher-recipes

Add oatmeal or oatbran to soups and casseroles

You can get more oats in your diet by adding oatmeal or oatbran to soups and casseroles. This will increase the amount of fibre as well as helping to thicken your soups and casseroles.

Swap wheat crackers for oatcakes

If you tend to choose wheat crackers with your cheese, why not switch to oatcakes instead. You could also reduce your saturated fat intake by having a low fat cheese spread on your oatcakes, rather than a hard cheese, such as cheddar. Hard cheeses tend to be high in saturated fat, which can raise your cholesterol.

You can find more healthy tips, recipes and advice at heartresearch.org.uk.

Consultation launched on banning common single-use plastic items

Plans to ban some of the most environmentally damaging single-use plastic items in Scotland, including plastic cutlery and plastic straws, have been published for consultation.

The Scottish Government is seeking views on the introduction of new legislation to restrict the sale or commercial supply of plastic plates, plastic straws, plastic cutlery, polystyrene food and drink containers, plastic balloon sticks and products made from oxo-degradable plastics.

These items are the ones most commonly found washed up on European beaches and were identified in the EU Single Plastics Directive as contributing the majority share of litter found in the marine environment.

Millions are used in Scotland each year, including an estimated 300 million plastic straws, 276 million pieces of plastic cutlery, 50 million plastic plates and 66 million polystyrene food containers.

Restrictions on the sale or commercial supply of these single use plastic products would support efforts to tackle Scotland’s throwaway culture, reduce problematic litter and promote the use of more environmentally-friendly alternatives.

Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “There is no longer any doubt that plastic waste is having a hugely damaging impact on our oceans, rivers and land ecosystems.

“We must act now to reduce our reliance on single-use plastic and drive forward a move towards more sustainable, environmentally-friendly alternatives.

“Failure to do so is a dereliction of our duty to our children, who will inherit a natural world polluted by the plastics we have thrown away for the sake of convenience.

“This government is committed to tackling this problem. We were the first country in the UK to ban plastic-stemmed cotton buds and plans are well underway for a Deposit Return Scheme in Scotland.

“The proposals published today will take us further – keeping pace with the environmental standards of our European partners and re-affirming our position as a world-leader in the circular economy.

“However, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that the introduction of these measures is carefully considered. It is why we are keen to hear a range of views and I would encourage any individual, business or organisation with an interest to respond to the consultation.”

It is expected that any legislation would be introduced in 2021. The consultation will also seek views on the introduction of a ban on the non-commercial supply and manufacture of the single-use plastic items outlined in the consultation.

Iain Gulland, chief executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “Plastic is by far the most commonly used material in today’s single-use culture. There are clear benefits in use, of flexibility and durability, but plastic also causes significant damage when it leaks into our natural environment, including our rivers, lochs and seas.

“The consultation offers an opportunity to protect wildlife and prevent the heart-breaking scenes we see all too often in TV documentaries like Blue Planet 2. We hope people will also take this opportunity to adopt more sustainable solutions, such as reusable alternatives, to these single-use items.”

View the consultation on Citizen Space. The consultation will be open for 12 weeks and close on 04 January 2021 .

The full list of products being considered for market restrictions are:

Single-use plastic cutlery (forks, knives, spoons, chopsticks)
Single-use plastic plates (plates, trays/platters, bowls)
Single-use plastic straws
Single-use plastic beverage stirrers
Single-use plastic balloon sticks
Single-use food containers made of expanded polystyrene
Single-use cups and other beverage containers made of expanded polystyrene, including their covers and lids
All oxo-degradable products. This type of plastic (due to additives contained in it) contributes to micro-plastic pollution in the environment, is not compostable and negatively affects the recycling of conventional plastic.

Restricting these items would bring Scotland in line with Article 5 of the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive (EU) 2019/904.

Green light for a greener Meadowbank

Plans to transform Meadowbank into one of Edinburgh’s greenest neighbourhoods were approved by councillors last week.

Shaped in response to views shared by local residents – who were keen to see more quality greenspace, places for play and better-connected walking and cycle routes brought to the area – the masterplan for Council-owned land at Meadowbank was approved by the Development Management Sub Committee on Wednesday.

The £100m project is now expected to become the first development of its size in Edinburgh to promote the Council’s net zero carbon by 2030 goals by creating a low-car, low-carbon community and energy efficient new homes.

The sustainable mixed-use development will also create jobs and a significant economic boost by regenerating a five-hectare area next to the new Meadowbank Sports Centre – which is already set to become one of the greenest and most accessible centres for community sport in the country when it opens next year.

Space for a new GP surgery and community and commercial uses, the protection of existing trees and planting of saplings plus new rain gardens also feature in landscaping designs, which aim to pay tribute to the area’s sporting and industrial heritage.

With support from Nature Scot and the Scottish Government, the Masterplan has been awarded Building with Nature accreditation, setting the standard for high-quality low carbon features, and the Council has undertaken studies on the option for ‘green roofs’. The designs have also been endorsed by Sustrans’ Places for Everyone scheme, which brings specialised active travel knowledge to the project.

Councillor Neil Gardiner, Planning Convener, said: “As a planning authority, we need make sure we protect our City’s beautiful and historic built environment, while supporting our communities to become sustainable for twenty-first century living.

“We also need to adapt our city to meet the needs of a growing population, address the increasing impact of climate change and ensure growth is responsible. These designs for Meadowbank meet these needs with plans for a truly low-carbon, low-car, energy efficient neighbourhood, featuring new affordable homes. This is a really important site for the City and I’d like to thank everyone who took time to participate in the consultation process.

“The masterplan includes homes to meet different needs, including for families. One third of the houses will be affordable, making a welcome contribution to the needs of the heroes who keep our city running every day. This masterplan, which has broad community support, offers a gold standard for new developments across the city for both the public and private sectors.”

Councillor Maureen Child, Vice Planning Convener, said: “Our aspirations for place making through our new City Plan, which we are currently drafting, are about making sure our communities continue to be great places where people want to live and visit, so feedback from the local community has been key to shaping Committee’s decision making on Meadowbank.

“I’m pleased that an open conversation has been had and that we’ve been able to agree these ambitious plans, which offer a mix of community benefits and improved facilities. It will see the community evolve into a more connected and climate conscious community, in line with our net zero carbon targets.”

Keir Bloomer, the project’s independent Sounding Board Chair, said: “The current proposals have emerged through an intensive exercise in community engagement. In addition to a number of public information sessions and consultation meetings, a Meadowbank Sounding Board was established almost two years ago.

“This group contains representatives of a wide range of local community groups and organisations, including those who were opposed to the original proposals for the site. Local councillors and others with relevant committee responsibilities are also members but they are in a minority.

“Considerable efforts have been made to ensure that the sounding board is able to express its views, regardless of whether these are favourable to the Council’s perspective or not. I was asked to chair the group as somebody who is completely independent.

“The sounding board met quite frequently until restrictions during the pandemic made this impossible. Designs for the site have been altered on a number of occasions in response to its views. As a result, the current plans are greener and more open. Housing density has been reduced and designs improved. It is intended that the sounding board will continue in existence through the development phase, acting as a strong voice for local people.”

Cathy Houston, Project Architect at Collective Architecture, said: “We are grateful for the time taken by members of the community to engage in the Meadowbank design processes.

“This is such an important site in Edinburgh’s City Centre and so it is wonderful to be at this stage with a multifaceted proposal which seeks to enrich the neighbourhood on many levels: ecologically, environmentally, socially and with a huge amount of care.

“The process undertaken with the community has ensured that the development sensitively integrates new housing, local amenities, greenspace and restored public routes east to west.”

Brenda Devlin, a local Community Councillor, said: “Using the expertise of Collective Architecture and the City of Edinburgh Council, local consultations, focus groups, workshops and public meetings were organised.

“It became obvious that the participants that attended these events were being listened to and their suggestions and ideas taken on board. The plans now being presented are a result of these consultation sessions and mostly reflect the vision of local residents, groups, organisations and businesses.

“The creation of a Sounding Board provided another opportunity for further targeted local input and a place for checks and balances to be carried out on the final plans. This eco-friendly development with a mixture of housing types, quality green spaces and community facilities makes this a very exciting development and will be an asset to our area.”

Around 600 modern energy-efficient homes – a minimum of 35% of which will be affordable – are detailed in the planning application, which is available to view as a report to Committee.

More information is available at ww.edinburgh.gov.uk/meadowbank.

Government must act to address steep rise in Covid transmission among children, says union

Teachers’ Union the NASUWT is deeply concerned following the release of the COVID-19 Statistical Report by Public Health Scotland showing a significant increase in the percentage of secondary age children testing positive for Coronavirus in September.

The percentage of young people testing positive for coronavirus is of great concern to the NASUWT, particularly among the 12-17 age group, and could potentially increase the risk to teachers, education staff and the wider community unless further measures are introduced in schools to protect them.

Additionally, since the end of September there is evidence of increased percentage of patients testing positive among the primary school age group.

NASUWT General Secretary Dr Patrick Roach has called on Deputy First Minister John Swinney to urgently review the situation and identify what further measures can be taken to mitigate the risks posed by the increases seen in the data.

Dr Roach said: “Schools should remain open as long as they remain safe. But it is clear the spike in the Covid-19 transmission rate in certain secondary school children age groups, and also primary school age groups, coupled with the rise in transmission in the community, could potentially increase the risk to teachers and other education staff unless further measures are introduced in schools to protect them.

“At a time of significantly increased risk of virus transmission within the wider population, the data on the number of cases and testing among children strongly indicates a deeply concerning trend within the secondary school age population.

“The sharp upward trend in the data is a major concern for our members and secondary schools increasingly appear to be high-risk environments for coronavirus.

“This situation urgently requires attention by the Government and further mitigating measures need to be identified and implemented.”

Autistic people struggling to get vital support, says new report

– 72% of people responding to a survey about their experiences of the Scottish Government and COSLA’s 10 year Strategy for Autism reported that they did not have enough support to meet their needs –

The findings are published in today’s ‘The Accountability Gap’, a report from the Cross-Party Group (CPG) on Autism’s review of the Scottish Government and COSLA’s 10-year Strategy for Autism.

Supported by charities National Autistic Society Scotland and Scottish Autism, who provide Joint-Secretariat to the CPG, a survey carried out as part of the review also found that:

72% of respondents said they did not have enough support to meet their needs
78% of respondents said that it was not easy accessing support locally
50% felt that autism awareness among the general public had not improved
69% said that with more support they would feel less isolated
36% said they received no support within 12 months of receiving a diagnosis.

The CPG on Autism is Co-Convened by Annie Wells MSP and Alexander Burnett MSP, and has a large membership that comprises of MSPs, autistic people, families, organisations and professionals from across Scotland. The group meets regularly looking at issues faced by autistic people and families.

In 2011, the Scottish Government together with COSLA published a 10-year Scottish Strategy for Autism that set out priorities and aimed to deliver strategic action for autistic people and their families in Scotland.

The CPG on Autism undertook its review from May 2019 to January 2020 and heard first-hand the difficulties faced by autistic people and their families in Scotland. It found widespread recognition that the Government’s strategy set out a welcome vision and was well-intentioned however the majority of people who participated said there had been limited impact for many people in a number of areas including autism diagnosis and post-diagnostic support, as well as support in education, care and employment.

It also highlighted how a lack of accountability at local level, is leaving autistic people and families fighting, often with little success, to get the support they need.

The review makes 10 recommendations that aim to help improve the lives of autistic people that the Scottish Government and COSLA should consider when the Strategy comes to the end of its lifespan in 2021. These include:

Solving the accountability gap by establishing a new Commissioner role, whose remit includes ensuing that autistic people and families get the support they need.
Developing a new Scottish Strategy for Autism that is co-created between autistic people, families, charities, COSLA and the Government, is appropriately funded and delivers real sustainable change.

Co-Convener of the Cross-Party Group on Autism, Alexander Burnett MSP, said: “The majority view of the hundreds of people who have been involved in our review is that the ambition and aspiration set out in the Scottish Government’s strategy has not been realised in practice and that many autistic people and their families lack the appropriate levels of support in order to thrive in our society.

“We found that there are concerns surrounding a lack of training for professionals, as well as a lack of pre and post diagnosis support across a number of areas 2including social care, education, transition into adulthood, housing and employment.

“In the context of the pandemic we believe the report’s recommendations are more important than ever for Scottish Government, COSLA and partners to consider when planning for what comes next when the strategy is due to come to an end next year.

“Over the years, we have seen numerous reports and reviews on autism, however there seems to be little evidence to suggest any real change is being delivered at a local level.

“This is a system that is repeatedly failing to meet the rights and needs of autistic people. We must therefore focus on systemic sustainable change to enable better access to education, health, social and community services for autistic people and their families.”

Kirsteen, a mother from Aberdeen said: “I have an autistic son called Toby who is now a young adult. When Toby was younger he received support from the school, college and the local authority but virtually stopped overnight when he became 16.

“Toby needs a lot of support and without it we struggled to cope as a family. Ultimately, we reached crisis point and things escalated even to the extent the police got involved as he became very frustrated and lashed out.

“Toby is now living in his own flat which initially I had to pay for as the local authority did not provide anything that met his needs. They had offered a place in a hostel for people with drug issues which is completely inappropriate.

“I’m now selling my place so I can move closer to Toby as I desperately want to make sure he is supported. I do this because my son and daughters mean the world to me but it’s hugely stressful to hold down a full-time career in nursing and provide support for someone with such complex needs.

“I don’t feel things have got better over the last few years and I don’t think they will change unless Scotland implements legislation – committees and reviews on autism make no difference.”

Nick Ward, Director of National Autistic Society Scotland, said: “Today’s ‘Accountability Gap’ report from the Cross-Party Group paints a stark picture of the struggles that Scotland’s 56,000 autistic people and their families face in order to get the services they are entitled to – a struggle which sadly they often lose leaving them frustrated, distraught and often in crisis.

“The Government must now look to build on the 10-year strategy by building accountability into the system so people get the services and support they so desperately need.”

Charlene Tait, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Scottish Autism, said: “We recognise the Scottish Government’s commitment through its 10-year strategy to set out a landscape where autistic people and their families have access to the services and support they need.

“However, there is an evident ‘accountability gap’ between service provision and what is available. The reality is that many autistic people and their families often have to fight to get the vital services and support to which they are entitled.

“Over the years, we have seen numerous reports and reviews on autism, however there seems to be little evidence to suggest any real change is being delivered at a local level. This is a system that is repeatedly failing to meet the rights and needs of autistic people.

“We must therefore focus on systemic sustainable change to enable better access to education, health, social and community services for autistic people and their families.”

CPG-on-Autism-report-The-Accountability-Gap-12.10.2020 Download

Usdaw welcomes unanimous support for Ne’er Day closing

Happy New Year for shop workers?

Shop workers’ trade union Usdaw has welcomed Holyrood’s Petitions Committee’s unanimous decision to back a petition to end New Year’s Day trading in large stores.

The committee has agreed to write to stakeholders within the retail industry and urges the Scottish Government to conduct the required consultation.

Usdaw launched a petition last year calling on the Scottish Government to launch a consultation on implementing legislation already in place to ban most large shops from opening on New Year’s Day. The Christmas Day and New Year’s Day Trading Act (Scotland) Act 2007 prohibits trading in most large shops on Christmas Day and gave powers to the Scottish Government to stop the opening of those shops on New Year’s Day as well, which has never been enacted.

An extensive Usdaw survey of over 1,000 Scottish retail staff, found that:

98% say that stores should be shut on New Year’s Day
Three-quarters feel they spend too little time with friends and family over New Year.
Only 4% are happy to work on New Year’s Day or 2 January.

The full survey results can be viewed at: www.usdaw.org.uk/NYDSurvey

Tracy Gilbert, Usdaw’s Scottish Deputy Divisional Officer, said: “We thank the petitions committee for their unanimous support and decision to progress our petition.

“As Jackie Baillie MSP rightly pointed out, the First Minister agreed to look at Usdaw’s campaign, but that was back in January and the Scottish Government is now saying it’s not the right time to do this. It’s been 13 years since the original legislation was passed, so it is difficult to understand when the Government thinks it would be the right time.

“The strength of feeling among our members is clearly demonstrated by our survey and over 3,000 of them writing to their MSPs asking for support. Retail staff work incredibly hard all year round, but it is particularly busy and stressful throughout December. So they deserve to be able to spend time with family and friends.

“Hogmanay and New Year is a special holiday, but this is not reflected in the experience of many retail workers. Under the Christmas Day and New Year’s Day Trading (Scotland) Act 2007 Scottish Ministers may, by statutory instrument, ban large shops from opening on New Year’s Day, subject to consultation.

“On behalf of Scotland’s retail workers, we are urging the Scottish Government to open that consultation and for MSPs to listen to shopworkers’ concerns about their work and life balance. After everything Scottish shop workers have been through this year, as key workers on the frontline of delivering essential services, they deserve a decent break over New Year.”

What shopworkers say:

You’re tired from working and don’t really relax or enjoy the limited time you get with the kids. Then you start all over again working New Year’s Day too!!!
If, like myself, you have to work Boxing Day and New Year’s Day – it should be paid at least time and half.
As a store manager I have had to work Christmas and New Year. A lot of hard work goes into the weeks leading up. By Christmas Day you are exhausted and then back to work on Boxing Day. This year I also have to work New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day and on the second.
I am not happy working till 1930 on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. By 4pm our store was fairly empty.
Finishing times on Christmas Eve and Hogmanay are creeping up later, which has a severe impact on family life for retail workers.