SIGNATURE GROUP PARTNER WITH FEVER FREE™ ZONE TO BECOME FIRST CHAIN OF FEVER FREE™ HOSPITALITY OUTLETS IN SCOTLAND
Adoption of FEVER FREE™ ZONE will instil confidence in staff and customers
Hospitality sector across Scotland has been crippled as a result of lockdown restrictions
Validated Temperature checks on entry, activating a six-hour pass will inspire confidence and afford both customers and staff, a safer environment for activity
Leading Scottish hospitality chain, Signature Group has confirmed that it is set to become the first group of hospitality outlets, officially endorsed by FEVER FREE™ ZONE. The new technology will be piloted in McLarens on the Corner – in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh – before being rolled out across other venues including Kyloe, Huxley and Cold Town House.
Their decision to adopt the pioneering technology developed by Medical doctor, clinical epidemiologist and public health consultant, Dr Paul Nelson has been influenced by their mission to afford both customers and staff the safest possible environment following the outbreak of C-19 earlier in the year.
Louise Maclean, Business Development Director for Signature Group comments, “This has been a really tough year for the hospitality sector in general, with so many outlets being forced to close their doors indefinitely as a result of government restrictions.
“As a business we have invested over £250,000 in covid mitigation since the outbreak of the pandemic and we are committed to doing everything in our power, to ensure that our customers and staff feel as safe as possible.”
Dr Paul Nelson said: “Our technology supports responsible businesses to become gatekeepers protecting the economy as well as reassuring customers of a fever free space in which they can spend their time.
“The six-hour temperature checks should serve as a strong reminder that the right to enter economically vulnerable spaces and ultimately the shape of our future is tied to our individual responsibility to do what we can, not to infect others.”
FEVER FREE™ ZONE could be the missing piece for keeping us in the lower tiers in the short term and may be required even when the vaccine is fully rolled out . The simple integrated symptom screening membership service designed to enable businesses and customers to reduce the risk of exposure to people with Covid-19 is completely non-invasive and simple to operate.
Temperature checks on entry, activating a six-hour pass will afford shop workers and patrons a safer environment inspiring confidence and boosting economic activity. If high temperature is detected, the shopkeeper will encourage the person to go home and the app will prompt them to seek medical advice and engage with the NHS. Anonymity is protected as data on temperature is never stored for an identifiable individual on the FEVER FREE™ ZONE system.
Louise Maclean, Director of Sales and Marketing for Signature Group concludes: “Our vision is to nurture a portfolio of preferred, destination venues for socialising and experiencing the best of Scottish, independent hospitality for locals and tourists alike.
“We take pride in building a reputation for great people, great products and, most importantly, consistently brilliant customer service and this is why we have taken the decision to work with Paul and his team at FEVER FREE™ ZONE.”
Government guidelines should be followed at all times, such as wearing a face covering and maintaining social distancing guidelines.
Telling family is the top way Scots make organ decision known
Ahead of Scotland’s move to an opt out system of organ and tissue donation, new research has revealed telling family is the top way people have made their donation decision known.
Almost three quarters (72 per cent) of people who have made their decision have told family what they’d like to happen, followed by over half (54 per cent) recording it on the NHS Organ Donor Register, and 27 per cent sharing it with friends.
The research also reveals one in ten (11 per cent) haven’t yet made their decision known to others – and today (17 December 2020) Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick outlined the importance of people recording their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register and making family aware of their latest views on donation.
The law changes to an opt out system from 26 March 2021, which means that if people aged 16 and over have not recorded a decision about donation, they will be considered as a possible donor when they die.
Under the new law, people can choose to be a donor, or opt out of donation, however sharing that decision with family remains vital, as family members will still be consulted to check what a loved ones latest views on donation were. This is to ensure donation doesn’t proceed where it is against a person’s wishes.
Of those surveyed who hadn’t shared their decision with family – over a third (38 per cent) said it was because they hadn’t got round to it yet, and almost a quarter (22 per cent) said they didn’t feel the need to raise it as it was a personal matter.
The Scottish Government is set to launch a national advertising campaign early next year to highlight what the change of law means, and the options people have, ahead of the March law change date.
Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick said: “With the introduction of Scotland’s opt out legislation on the horizon, we’re encouraging people to make time to record their donation decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register, and share it with family.
“Under the new law, family will always be asked about a loved one’s latest views on donation. We know organ donation isn’t something that comes up in everyday conversation but making a point of speaking about what you’d want to happen, means your family will be able to honour it.
“Everyone has a choice and regardless of whether you decide to be a donor, or opt out of donation, making that decision known is vital.”
To spread Christmas joy across the local community, Murrayfield Nursery has donated care packages to two Edinburgh care homes.
Parents, children and team members at Murrayfield Nursery gathered food and monetary donations to help create the care packages for Manor Grange and Struan Lodge care homes.
Food donations included sweet treats and Christmas decorations to lift the spirits of residents.
The team and children from Murrayfield then safely visited each care home to deliver their packages.
Murrayfield Nursery’s generous donation is part of an ongoing relationship between the care home residents and the nursery, who were involved in regular activities together prior to the pandemic as part of the nursery’s commitment to supporting their local community.
Rhonda Houston, Nursery Manager said: “We already have a relationship with our local care homes and wanted to bring some festive joy to them this Christmas, after what has been a challenging year for us all.
‘‘We were overwhelmed by the donations from our generous families, and the children enjoyed taking the gifts over to the residents. It’s so important to us to nurture this connection between generations.”
Murrayfield Nursery is part of the independent CC Nurseries group, which provides inspirational Early Childhood Learning and Care for over 500 families in settings across England and Scotland.
The Minister for Women and Equalities, Liz Truss, has set out the UK Government’s new approach to tackling inequality across the UK:
No matter your skin colour, sexuality, religion or anything else, the United Kingdom is one of the best places in the world to live.
The British story has been driven from its earliest days by the desire for liberty, agency, and fairness.
It is the notion that in Britain you will have the opportunity to succeed at whatever you wish to do professionally, that you can be whoever you want to be. Dress however you want to dress. Love whoever you wish to love and achieve your dreams.
But we must be honest. Our story is not yet complete. Our equality journey is not yet finished.
For too many people, particularly in places beyond the South East, opportunity is diminished.
For years, successive governments have either pretended that all opportunity was equal or failed to come up with proper solutions, paying lip service to a problem that has festered for decades.
It was this government that finally tore down this social taboo when we were elected to level-up the country and toppled the Red Wall turning it Blue.
We were elected partly on the promise of fixing the scourge of geographic inequality, and ensuring equal opportunity for all. There are still too many cases where your destination in life is decided by where you started it. So today, I am outlining a new approach to equality in this country.
This will be founded firmly on Conservative values.
It will be about individual dignity and humanity, not quotas and targets, or equality of outcome.
It will reject the approach taken by the Left, captured as they are by identity politics and loud lobby groups.
It will focus fiercely on fixing geographic inequality, addressing the real problems people face in their everyday lives using evidence and data.
If you were born in Wolverhampton or Darlington, you have been under-served by successive governments. No more.
Things must change and things will change.
This new approach to equality will run through the DNA of this government.
The moral and practical case for equality
For me, it is a moral and practical mission.
Just as our forebears fought for change, we must fight for change again – challenging what is unfair and unjust today.
It is not right that having a particular surname or accent can sometimes make it harder to get a job.
It is appalling that pregnant women suffer discrimination at work. Or that women may be encouraged to dress in a certain way to get ahead.
Or that some employers overlook the capabilities of people with disabilities.
It is outrageous in the 21st century that LGBT people still face harassment in public spaces.
As well as being a moral problem, it is shameful we are squandering so much talent.
If women opened businesses at the same rate as men – we could add £250bn to the economy.
If people of every ethnic group were fully represented across the labour market, that would mean an extra £24 billion of income a year.
If businesses were fully accessible for disabled consumers, they could benefit from an estimated £274 billion a year in spending power.
We can ill afford to waste this potential as we recover from Covid and build back better.
Equality rooted in Conservative values
Our new approach to equality will be based on the core principles of freedom, choice, opportunity, and individual humanity and dignity.
We will move well beyond the narrow focus of protected characteristics and deliver real change that benefits people across our United Kingdom.
We will do this in three ways.
First, by delivering fairness through modernisation, increased choice and openness.
Second, by concentrating on data and research, rather than on campaigning and listening to those with the loudest voices.
And third, by taking our biggest and broadest look yet at the challenges we face, including the all too neglected scourge of geographic inequality.
Now is the time to root the equality debate in the real concerns people face, like affording a home, getting to work, going out safely at night, ending discrimination in our offices, factories and shop floors, and improving our schools so every child has a good chance in life.
It is our duty to deliver, because if right-thinking people do not lead the fight for fairness, then it will be led by those whose ideas don’t work.
The failed ideas of the Left
The ideas that have dominated the equality debate have been long in the making.
As a comprehensive school student in Leeds in the 1980s, I was struck by the lip service that was paid to equality by the City Council while children from disadvantaged backgrounds were let down.
While we were taught about racism and sexism, there was too little time spent making sure everyone could read and write.
These ideas have their roots in post-modernist philosophy – pioneered by Foucault – that put societal power structures and labels ahead of individuals and their endeavours.
In this school of thought, there is no space for evidence, as there is no objective view – truth and morality are all relative.
Rather than promote policies that would have been a game-changer for the disenfranchised like better education and business opportunities, there was a preference for symbolic gestures.
Even now, authorities rush to embrace symbols – for example, Birmingham City Council naming new streets “Diversity Grove” and “Equality Road” – as if that counts as real change.
Underlying this is the soft bigotry of low expectations, where people from certain backgrounds are not expected to reach high standards.
This diminishes their individual humanity, dignity and agency.
And it hasn’t delivered the progress it promised.
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In addition, this focus on groups at the expense of individuals has led to harmful unintended consequences.
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Study after study has shown that unconscious bias training does not improve equality, and in fact can backfire by reinforcing stereotypes and exacerbating biases.
That’s why this week we announced we will no longer be using it in government or civil service.
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By contrast, the Conservative Party has elected two female leaders, and has a Cabinet with the highest ever level of ethnic minority representation.
We have done this not by positively discriminating, but by positively empowering people who want to go into politics and opening up our Party to people of all backgrounds. Because when you choose on the basis of protected characteristics, you end up excluding other people.
1. Fairness, not favouritism
Fairness, not favouritism, drives our approach to equality.
Too often, the equality debate has been dominated by a small number of unrepresentative voices, and by those who believe people are defined by their protected characteristic, and not by their individual character.
This school of thought says that if you are not from an ‘oppressed group’ then you are not entitled to an opinion, and that this debate is not for you.
I wholeheartedly reject this approach.
Equality is something everybody in the United Kingdom should care about and something all of us have a stake in.
So, I am calling time on “pink bus” feminism, where women are left to fix sexism and campaign for childcare.
Rather than virtue signalling, or campaigning, this government is focused on delivering a fairer and more transparent society that works for all and that delivers genuine equality of opportunity.
The work of American academic Iris Bohnet shows that modernising and making organisations more transparent is the best way to tackle inequality.
When things are opaque, it benefits those who know how to game the system.
We know that when companies publish their wage ranges, it leads to more equal starting points for men and women.
We know that automatic promotions based on performance help level up opportunities for women in the workplace, overcoming the barriers that make women less likely to put themselves forward for promotion.
And we know that evidence-driven recruitment in a clear and open structure is more effective than using informal and ad hoc networks.
On the other hand, techniques like unconscious bias training, quotas and diversity statements do nothing to make the workplace fundamentally fairer.
By driving reforms that increase competition, boost transparency and improve choice, we can open up opportunities.
This is the approach we will be taking across government.
It is fundamentally important that the role of equality minister is held by someone who also has another cabinet job, as I do with trade.
This ensures equality is not siloed, but is instead the responsibility of the whole government and all our elected representatives.
For example, the Academies Act 2010 meant good free schools were established across England and more children had the opportunity of a great education. The 1980 Housing Act empowered over two million people to get on the housing ladder, and the independent taxation of women in 1988 gave wives control of their own money.
All of these reforms promoted equality by giving people greater agency over their own lives and making systems more transparent.
For example, we know that students from poorer backgrounds are more likely to achieve better grades than they were predicted, and they lose out in the current university admissions system which is based on predicted grades.
That is why Gavin Williamson is right to base the university admissions system on the actual grades students achieve, making sure that students from lower income backgrounds have a fairer shot at university.
In the workplace, we know that flexible working improves productivity and helps people to combine work with other responsibilities.
That is why I will be working with Alok Sharma, the Business Secretary, to enable more flexible working – not just as a necessity amid the Covid crisis but to empower employees.
The best way to reduce unfairness in our society is through opening up opportunities for all.
This is the level playing field we should be talking about.
And we are going to make sure that this level playing field is properly enforced.
That is why I am appointing a new chair and a wide variety of commissioners to the Equality and Human Rights Commission to drive this agenda forward.
I am proud we have Baroness Kishwer Falkner, David Goodhart, Jessica Butcher, Su-Mei Thompson and Lord Ribeiro, all of whom are committed to equality and ready to challenge dangerous groupthink.
Under this new leadership, the EHRC will focus on enforcing fair treatment for all, rather than freelance campaigning.
2. Facts, not fiction
To make our society more equal, we need the equality debate to be led by facts not by fashion.
Time and time again, we see politicians making their own evidence-free judgements.
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My superb colleague Kemi Badenoch is leading work on the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, established by the Prime Minister.
We should heed the warning from its chair, Dr Tony Sewell, who wrote last month that they have uncovered “a perception of racism that is often not supported by evidence” and that “wrong perceptions sow mistrust”.
This does not mean we don’t recognise people’s stories about their individual lives or believe that their experiences of discrimination are not real. It means that we can and must have an equality agenda that is driven by evidence.
Today I am announcing that the Equality Hub will embark on the Government’s biggest, broadest and most comprehensive equality data project yet, and it will closely coordinate with the work of CRED (Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities).
Over the coming months, we will look across the UK to identify where people are held back and what the biggest barriers are.
We will not limit our fight for fairness to the nine protected characteristics laid out in the 2010 Equality Act, which include sex, race and gender reassignment.
While it is true people in these groups suffer discrimination, the focus on protected characteristics has led to a narrowing of the equality debate that overlooks socio-economic status and geographic inequality.
This means some issues – particularly those facing white working-class children – are neglected.
This project will broaden the drive for equality and get to the heart of the barriers people face. It will report its initial findings in the Summer.
In addition to race, sex, disability and religion, it will also look at issues around geography, community and socio-economic background.
It will deliver a new life-path analysis of equality from the perspective of the individual, not groups. Using longitudinal data sets will help us understand where the real problems lie.
3. Geographic Inequality
There is a deeper wage gap between London and the regions than between men and women, with an average full-time salary a third higher in the capital than the North East of England.
There are lower employment rates, pay packets and life expectancy across the North than the South. At the same time, average median hourly earnings in the South West are only just over two thirds of those in London.
That is why the equality agenda must be prosecuted with fierce determination and clarity of purpose up and down the country, not just in London boardrooms and Whitehall offices.
Whether that is making the case for free schools in deprived areas or using data to help regional businesses attract investment.
We will use the power of evidence to drive reform and give people access to the facts so they can push for change.
We will drive this action from the North of England, where we will be moving the Equality Hub.
And I am delighted to announce that we are also taking on sponsorship of the Social Mobility Commission, to give this agenda real teeth and coherence.
The whole of government will be – and is – totally committed to this agenda. The Treasury is revising its Green Book so that it judges infrastructure investment fairly across the UK, no longer seeing – for example – faster broadband as a better investment in Surrey than South Lanarkshire.
The Department for Education is going to extra lengths to create academies and free schools outside London. And in housing, we are working to increase opportunities for home ownership across the country.
This is just the start. There is much more we will be doing to make our country fairer and give people agency over their own lives.
This is not limited to the UK
This fight for fairness goes beyond our shores.
Next year, the United Kingdom will use its presidency of the G7 to ramp up its work worldwide with like-minded allies to champion freedom, human rights and the equality of opportunity.
The UK is co-leading the new global Generation Equality Action Coalition on Gender Based Violence, and co-chairing the Equal Rights Coalition.
In that role, we will be holding our International LGBT conference, on the theme of Safe to Be Me.
We are working internationally to bring an end to child marriage and are supporting international programmes to end the abhorrent practice of Female Genital Mutilation.
We need to make progress across the world and at home as a fairer world and a fairer Britain go hand in hand.
Taking the right approach to deliver real change
At this vital time in our country’s history, we must make sure everyone has a chance to succeed in modern Britain.
That is why we cannot waste time on misguided, wrong-headed and ultimately destructive ideas that take agency away from people.
Instead, we will drive an agenda that empowers people and actively challenges discrimination.
We will use evidence to inform policy and drive change.
And we will focus on increasing openness and transparency, fixing the system rather than the results.
Together, we will build back a better society and lead the new fight for fairness.
Commenting on the speech by Liz Truss on the government’s new approach to inequality, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “No matter who you are or where you are from, everyone should be able to get on in life.
“Liz Truss is presenting a false choice.
“Ministers must both tackle the barriers facing today’s diverse working class, and act to end the additional discrimination and disadvantage affecting BME, women and disabled workers.
“They should start by banning the hated zero-hours contracts in their employment bill due in 2021. This would help end the insecurity that penalises BME workers and women in particular, and holds down living standards for all workers.”
The TUC wants the government to:
Tackle insecure work at the employment bill, due in 2021, including banning zero-hours contracts
Introduce a legal duty on all public bodies to tackle class and income inequality
Bring in mandatory reporting of BME, class and disability pay gaps, as with gender
Thousands of families of disabled children in Scotland have received an additional £200 to help heat their homes this winter.
More than 13,000 families of a disabled child, on the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance for Children, have had a Child Winter Heating Assistance payment. These payments were made automatically using information provided by the Department for Work and Pensions.
As of Friday 11 December, a total of £2.5 million has been invested in Child Winter Heating Assistance payment.
Where a child has someone managing their benefits, Social Security Scotland has written to them to enable them to process this payment.
Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “I am delighted that we have successfully delivered our first disability benefit, the new Child Winter Heating Assistance.
“Getting this money to families as early as possible in the winter months will help them budget and balance the many financial pressures that they face at this time of year. For families of the most seriously disabled children and young people, who may need to heat their homes for longer periods, this can bring even more pressure in what is already a challenging circumstance.
“We are committed to making sure that people get everything they are entitled to. I would encourage families who think that they should have received this support and who haven’t had a letter yet to get in touch.”
Samantha Jones, from Helensburgh, who received the Child Winter Heating Assistance for her two children, Darren and Jacob, said: “I was very happy to see that Social Security Scotland were issuing these payments for children across Scotland.
“This will be a very helpful payment especially at this time of year for families like ours, this will really help and benefit our family and it’s very much appreciated.
“Having the extra money to help with heating costs is one less financial pressure that we have to think about on top of the cost of Christmas.”
Background
a client will qualify for Child Winter Heating Assistance if they live in Scotland and were in receipt of the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance for children on at least one day between 21 September 2020 to 27 September 2020
if a child has had their Disability Living Allowance highest rate care component award backdated to the Child Winter Heating Assistance qualifying week of 21 September 2020 to 27 September 2020 they need to contact Social Security Scotland to get their £200.
if a family believes that they are eligible for this payment and they haven’t had a letter or a payment, they should contact Social Security Scotland from Tuesday 15 December by calling the Freephone helpline on 0800 182 2222 or through web chat at mygov.scot/contact-social-security-scotland/
this is the first form of disability assistance to be introduced by the Scottish Government using its new social security powers.
financial support provided through the Child Winter Heating Assistance is in addition to the £100 COVID Winter Hardship Payment which will be made for each child and young person in receipt of Free School Meals on the basis of low income. These payments will be made by local authorities automatically for those eligible.
further support for anyone concerned about fuel bills is available from Home Energy Scotland. Home Energy Scotland are funded by the Scottish Government to provide free and impartial advice to help people to reduce their bills and to make homes warm and cheaper to heat. They can also make referrals for further financial support, including the Warm Home Discount Scheme. Anyone concerned about their bills can contact Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282 or visit their website at homeenergyscotland.org
EXTRA SNP GOVERNMENT FUNDING TO SUPPORT COUNCIL SERVICES
The City of Edinburgh has received an additional £45.825 million from the SNP Government to support local services in Edinburgh and tackle the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Local authorities will also receive their fair share of a further £184.8 million which is currently undistributed but will be allocated following parliamentary approval.
The extra funding has also been provided to help offset the drop in revenue that the capital has lost during the pandemic and brings the overall support package to councils over the COVID-19 pandemic to more than £1 billion.
The new figures come after Scotland’s Finance Secretary, Kate Forbes, announced that businesses, including taxi drivers, travel agents and those working in the hospitality sector, across Scotland will benefit from a new £185 million package of targeted coronavirus support.
Commenting, SNP MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Gordon MacDonald said: “The pandemic has put enormous pressure on households, communities and local services right across Scotland, and it’s right that the SNP Government has ensured our capital has more funding to deal with this.
“This funding boost is supporting access to food, welfare payments and frontline services, and is just one way the SNP is providing to individuals and businesses to protect jobs and incomes.
“There’s even more cash to come – and if we all stick together, and continue following the rules in the coming months, we will beat this pandemic.”
The Scottish Government have committed an additional £791.9 million in COVID related funding to support local authority services, including the estimated consequentials of £90 million for a lost income scheme.
The following table includes £607.1 million of that funding with local authorities receiving their fair share of a further £184.8 million which is currently undistributed but will be allocated following parliamentary approval.
The furlough scheme has been extended until the end of April 2021 with the government continuing to contribute 80% towards wages – giving businesses and employees across the UK certainty into the New Year, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced yesterday.
certainty for millions of jobs and businesses as furlough scheme extended until the end of April 2021
businesses struggling will have now until the end of March to access government generous loan schemes
Chancellor also confirmed that the Budget will be on the 3 March and set out the next phase of the plan to tackle the virus and protect jobs
In a move to ensure firms can access the support they need through continuing economic disruption, Rishi Sunak also confirmed he would be extending the government-guaranteed Covid-19 business loan schemes until the end of March.
These changes come ahead of the Budget, which the Chancellor has confirmed will take place on 3 March 2021. This will deliver the next phase of the plan to tackle the virus and protect jobs, so the extensions to the business loan and furlough schemes enable businesses to plan with certainty and access support in the first few months of the New Year ahead of the further update on wider Covid-19 economic support.
So far, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) scheme has protected 9.6 million jobs across the UK with more than one million businesses accessing loans to help them through the crisis.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: “Our package of support for businesses and workers continues to be one of the most generous and effective in the world – helping our economy to recover and protecting livelihoods across the country.
“We know the premium businesses place on certainty, so it is right that we enable businesses to plan ahead regardless of the path the virus takes, which is why we’re providing certainty and clarity by extending this support, as well as implementing our Plan for Jobs.”
Business Secretary, Alok Sharma, said: “While our loan schemes have provided a vital lifeline to millions of firms across the country, we know that business owners need additional certainty as we head into the New Year.
“Extending government-backed loan schemes will give companies right across the UK the finance they need to support, protect and create jobs as we build back better from the pandemic.”
The Chancellor said he would review the employer contribution element of the CJRS in January, but decided to bring this forward to allow businesses to plan ahead for the remainder of the winter and the New Year.
The government will continue to pay 80% of the salary of employees for hours not worked until the end of April. Employers will only be required to pay wages, National Insurance Contributions (NICS) and pensions for hours worked; and NICS and pensions for hours not worked.
The eligibility criteria for the UK-wide scheme will remain unchanged and these changes will continue to apply to all Devolved Administrations.
Extending the scheme until the end of April means businesses across the country will have certainty about what support will be available to them.
Businesses will also be given until the end of March to access the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme. These had been due to close at the end of January.
The schemes have already provided over £68 billion in guaranteed loans, and helped to keep afloat business in all sectors of the UK economy who have been impacted by coronavirus.
We are extending the schemes now, ahead of Christmas and further into the new year, to ensure that businesses can continue to access the support they need to grow and recover.
The government has already announced that more support will be available beyond March, through a successor loan scheme. More details of the scheme will be announced in due course, with the government providing a further update on wider Covid-19 economic support at the Budget on 3 March.
The furlough and loan schemes are part of the government’s wider plan to support, create and protect jobs through its Plan for Jobs. This includes the Kickstart Scheme, more investment in training and skills as well as the Self Employment Income Support Scheme grant, with a fourth grant being made available from February to April 2021.
Commenting on yesterday’s announcement by the Chancellor that the Job Retention Scheme will be extended until April, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Unions have been pushing hard for the job retention scheme to be extended. This decision will bring some much-needed certainty for workers and businesses.
“But the threat of mass unemployment has not gone away. The government must provide additional support for the industries hit hardest by this crisis – like retail and hospitality.
“And it must create the jobs we need by investing now in jobs in green infrastructure, transport and our public services.
“Fast-tracking spending on these areas will cut unemployment and help the UK recover more quickly from this pandemic. Ministers should take this opportunity to improve the scheme, with a minimum wage floor, clear support for training and better support for the self-employed.”
On the need to help workers who lose their jobs, Frances O’Grady added: “We can’t afford for this pandemic to scar people’s prospects the way recent crises have. Ministers must help those who lose their jobs get back on their feet by providing a permanent boost to universal credit’.
Plans for 146 High-Quality Apartments submitted following ‘Well-Received and Positive’ local consultation campaign
Drum Property Group has submitted a new planning application to the City of Edinburgh Council for the redevelopment of the 2.9-acre Stead’s Place site, near the foot of Leith Walk.
The site has been earmarked for development by the Council since 2008 and consists largely of an aged industrial estate and office space, together with a two-storey sandstone building facing directly on to Leith Walk.
Drum’s revised proposals will replace the existing industrial units with 146 high-quality apartments as part of an attractive landscaped residential scheme linking to Pilrig Park and beyond.
The sandstone building on Leith Walk will be retained and refurbished and made available for commercial occupation. The new proposal follows a successful six-month consultation programme for the revised plans, including two major online events as well as direct feedback sessions with local groups and residents.
Almost three-quarters of those consulted either supported or were neutral about Drum’s revised plans, with more than 80% saying that the site should now be developed.
Welcoming the new planning application, Graeme Bone, Group Managing Director of Drum, said: “This new planning application represents a culmination of more than three-and-a-half years of intense planning, consultation and hard work since Drum first purchased the site in 2017.
“Our proposals will now bring an added dimension to Leith Walk and the wider area, transforming what is currently an inhospitable industrial site by creating an attractive, open and accessible homes-led community for residents and visitors alike. This provides a comfortable living environment, away from the busy Leith Walk and linked through accessible and landscaped walkways and cycle routes to Pilrig Park and the rest of the city.
“By retaining and refurbishing the red sandstone buildings facing on to Leith Walk, we are also contributing to the wider regeneration of the local area, providing investment to create an attractive and distinctive destination and focal point which is needed now, more than ever.
“We are pleased that our designs have been well-received by the local community throughout an extensive and positive consultation programme, and now look forward to progressing the application with the City of Edinburgh Council.”
Drum’s planning application is for 146 high-quality apartments with the majority being build-for-rent and 36 being earmarked for affordable housing in line with Council policy. Building heights have been reduced to four and five storeys following feedback from the consultation process. Significant green space and access routes through the site open up a vibrant and attractive streetscape, linking the two residential buildings with the sandstone building overlooking Leith Walk. The red sandstone building will be refurbished and the individual commercial units and offices will reflect the distinctive and independent feel of the local area.
Mr Bone added: “Our revised proposals will maintain the red sandstone building whilst incorporating sympathetic design for the residential quarter to the rear of the site, creating a much-improved access linking Leith Walk with Pilrig Park.
“This will continue the traditions of vibrancy and independence which makes Leith Walk such an exciting destination in which to live, work and visit.”
The new planning submission follows a previous application submitted by Drum to the City of Edinburgh in 2018.
Latest figures show that the average monthly number of referrals from the NSPCC helpline to external agencies about child abuse in Scotland has increased by more than 50%
Over 900 referrals made by the helpline to agencies in Scotland about child abuse and neglect in eight months since the start of lockdown
The NSPCC is highlighting the vital role its team of professionals and volunteer counsellors will play to support children over the festive period, urging the public to support its Here for Children Christmas Appeal
Concerns about child abuse have soared since national lockdown measures were first introduced, the NSPCC has found – with the average monthly number of referrals from the charity’s helpline on the issue increasing by more than 50% in Scotland.
Since April, the helpline has received 31,359 contacts from adults across the UK who were anxious about child abuse or neglect, referring half (50%) of these on to external agencies like the police and social services to take further action.
In Scotland, this has led to a 56% increase in the average monthly figure from 72 at the start of the year, compared to 113 after lockdown. Over the last eight months, there has been more than 900 referrals from the helpline concerning the abuse of children in Scotland.
As the festive period fast approaches, the NSPCC has issued the findings as a warning that Christmas can be a very difficult time for children suffering abuse and neglect, and the impact of the Coronavirus could put even more children at risk.
To help protect children stuck at home in environments that are not safe, the charity is urging the public to search “NSPCC” and donate £20 via it’s Here for Children Christmas appeal page.
A concerned adult told the NSPCC helpline: “I am ringing with concerns for 3 children who I believe are being emotionally abused and neglected. The police were recently called to the family home because the mother was drunk and had left the children at home alone all night.
“The father, who no longer lives with the children, found out and came to the house saying he was going to take the children home with him. The children have said they want to move in with me before Christmas because they don’t want to live with their Mum or Dad.
“They are really worried that their mothers drinking will get worse over Christmas, as it has done in the past. I fear they could be right as her drinking is becoming worse and she has been drunk more frequently in recent months. They need urgent help.”
Kamaljit Thandi, Head of NSPCC helpline said: “These figures highlight the increase in the number of adults reaching out with concerns about the welfare of children since the first national lockdown began.
“It’s no secret that this Christmas is going to be a very different one and for thousands of children, being stuck at home for the holidays will be a terrifying thought. At the NSPCC, we know how important it is that people have the opportunity to speak up when they think a child is at risk of abuse and neglect. Our helpline for adults and Childline will be open every day over the festive period.”
As well as urging the public to be extra vigilant during the Christmas holidays, NSPCC Scotland is urging the Scottish Government to ensure children and families can get the help they need in the short and long term.
To avoid this crisis having a lasting impact on a generation of children, it is crucial that the Scottish Government invests long-term funding to support them to recover from adverse and traumatic experiences during lockdown and to rebuild their lives.
The charity’s team of professionals working on its helpline for concerned adults and the dedicated volunteer counsellors at Childline will all play a vital role in being here for children this Christmas.
Pauline, a volunteer counsellor at Childline said: “At Childline we know how important it is that we are here for children over the Christmas period. We are there for young people when they need the service the most and for many – Christmas will be that time.
“The pandemic has had a huge impact on young people and for the many who will have nowhere else to turn, we will provide a vital listening ear.”
Adults concerned about a child can contact the NSPCC helpline seven days a week throughout the festive period on 0808 800 5000, or email help@nspcc.org.uk
Citizens of the European Union who live in Scotland are being urged to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.
In an open letter and video message, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it is vital that every EU citizen who wishes to stay in Scotland completes an application by 30 June, 2021.
While it is the Scottish Government’s view that EU citizens should not need to apply to protect the rights they already have to live, work and study here, the UK Government has made it a requirement.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “My message to everyone from the EU who lives and works here remains this: Scotland is your home, you are our family, and we’d be privileged if you would stay here with us.
“We are drawing close to the end of the Brexit transition period, and the end of a year in which we have together faced the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In these times of uncertainty and disruption, I would like to once again re-assure EU citizens that Scotland values you for the contribution you make to our society, our culture and our economy.
“While I don’t agree that you should have to go through an application process to secure rights that you should automatically have, I do want to ensure that you are able to stay in Scotland.
“Many EU citizens have already applied for the Settlement Scheme – but many more do still need to apply.
“My message is a simple one. Please apply. Scotland is a better place because you are living here.”
The open letter and video mark International Migrants Day, Friday 18 December.
The First Minister’s video message is available to view on @scotgov social media channels including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram from 18 December.
The open letter has been translated into Italian, Lithuanian, French, Polish, Romanian, Spanish and German, and is being made available to public and third sector stakeholders.
Stay in Scotland social media graphics have also been translated into Italian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, French and German.
Full text of the open letter from the First Minister:
Dear European Union citizens living in Scotland,
I wrote to you last in October 2019 at a time of considerable uncertainty leading up to our exit from the European Union. Since then all of us in Scotland and across Europe and the wider world have faced the huge challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I would like to thank you for all you have done during this time as we have faced, and continue to face, this challenge together. You are of course our friends, family and neighbours in a year when the importance of these relationships cannot be overstated.
I believe that EU citizens in Scotland should not need to apply to protect the rights you already have to live, work and study here, but nevertheless there is a requirement, however unwelcome, to apply to the UK Government’s EU Settlement Scheme.
Thankfully, many of you have now applied to the EU Settlement Scheme and secured your status. Yet many of you are still to secure your status, and I must sadly reiterate that it remains critical that everyone who wishes to stay in Scotland must complete an application by 30 June 2021. Any EU citizen who is resident in Scotland before 31 December 2020 is eligible to apply, and I encourage you to do so.
The Scottish Government’s Stay in Scotland campaign provides practical guidance and support to help you protect your rights and complete your application to the UK EU Settlement Scheme.
Working with our partners we fund an EU Citizens’ Support Service with a telephone helpline which is free to use and staffed by qualified advisors. In addition we part-fund a network of advisors in Citizen Advice Bureaux throughout Scotland.
Accurate information about your rights is crucial. That’s why the Scottish Government commissioned the human rights charity, JustRight Scotland, to produce a series of accessible guidance notes on EU citizens’ rights. These are available in six languages and will help you better understand your rights to healthcare, housing, banking and other services in Scotland after 31 December.
You can find information on all the different support available to you at mygov.scot/stayinscotland, or contact the helpline for free on 0800 916 9847.
In light of the devastating impact of the pandemic, I hope that these resources will help you understand and exercise your rights. Please use them and encourage others to do the same.
My message to you remains the same: Scotland is your home, you are welcome here, we want you to stay.
