Detectives are appealing for witnesses after a man was found seriously injured on Wester Drylaw Drive last night (Friday, 12 March).
Members of the public found a man lying injured on the road at around 7.15pm.
Emergency services attended and a 33-year-old man was taken to hospital for treatment to serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Extensive enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.
Detective Inspector Alison MacDonald, of Edinburgh CID, said: “Detectives are currently carrying out enquiries in Wester Drylaw Drive and the surrounding area in order to establish exactly what has happened.
“I am appealing to anyone who was on Wester Drylaw Drive yesterday evening and witnessed what happened to the victim, or anything at all suspicious, to please get in touch.
“I would also urge any motorists with dash-cams who were in the area to check their footage in case they have captured anything which could be of significance to our investigation.
“Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland via 101, quoting incident number 1498 of 13 March. Alternatively you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where details can be given anonymously.”
Police are still seeking information following an attack on a man in Wester Drylaw Drive which took place on Tuesday afternoon.
Police are also delivering letters to houses in Clermiston following a series of incidents over recent weeks.
– Works out at just 66p a can, saving customers over £6! –
– Offer available in store now meaning customers can take advantage for St Patrick’s Day –
Morrisons are helping Guinness fans to party like the Irish, from the comfort of their own living rooms, this St Patrick’s Day with customers able to get their hands on 15 cans of the Irish national tipple of choice for just £9.99.
The famous stout – best served cold – works out at just 66p a can, and saves customers more than £6 off the RRP.
St Patrick’s Day (17 March) takes place just three days before a battle of the titans in the 6-Nations Cup, with Ireland taking on England on home turf which is sure to be an explosive clash.
Customers will need to be quick to bag this deal – which is the cheapest available in the UK supermarkets as the deal is running from the 11th until 21st March, in-store while stocks last*.
Callum Keaney, Senior Buying Manager at Morrisonssaid:“With St Patrick’s Day just around the corner and a massive showdown coming up between Scotland and Ireland in the 6-Nations tomorrow there’s no better way to celebrate than with an ice-cold Guinness.
“We’ll still be raising a glass at home so we’re pleased to be offering our customers the best price out there!”
The horrific – and often avoidable – impact of the coronavirus pandemic in Scotland on the lives of those in care (like older people and disabled people) has thrown into sharp relief the inadequacies of our social care system.
While the recent Report of the Independent Review of Social Care (the Feeley Review) identified some of the problems, its recommendations shrank back from confronting the cancer at the heart of social care, namely, its domination by market forces and by private providers whose primary concern is with profit and not care.
By contrast, this pamphlet, jointly published by the Jimmy Reid Foundation and the Social Work Action Network (SWAN) with contributions by leading disabled activists, public sector trade unionists, frontline workers and campaigners including Neil Findlay MSP and journalist Kevin McKenna, calls for a publicly owned, controlled and funded national care service, where care workers and care users are in the driving seat.
The pamphlet can help shape the debate in the coming months over the kind of National Care Service we want to see in Scotland. Buy it, read it and order copies for your union branch, your college course or your organisation.
Copies can be purchased in pdf or hard copy from Calton Books for £4 each:
One of the actions was a commitment to the establishment of an independent review to consider and make recommendations on Edinburgh’s slavery and colonialism legacy in the civic realm.
In November 2020, the City of Edinburgh Council appointed Sir Geoff Palmer as independent chair to lead the Edinburgh Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review Group. This Group includes a number of citizen volunteers who have offered their time, lived experience and expertise to make sure the Review is impactful.
The Review’s remit is broad and takes in figures commemorated in the public realm who were both for and against slavery.
An investigation is now underway of, including but not limited to, relevant public statues and monuments, street and building names within City of Edinburgh boundaries which Review Group members agree are of significance.
They will go on to consider the options and responses available to redress this legacy, including the possible removal or re-interpretation of features.
The Group will oversee a public consultation on this before formulating recommendations to bring back to the Council.
Recent media reports have focussed on those in scope who profited either directly or indirectly from the slave trade, however there are a number of figures included in the Review who were aligned with the abolitionist movement.
Chair Sir Geoff Palmer comments below on recent coverage to clarify:
Sir Geoff Palmer, Chair of Edinburgh Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review Group said: “The purpose of this historical review is to select monuments, buildings and streets in Edinburgh which are associated with slavery and colonialism.
“Edinburgh’s links with slavery and colonialism are well documented. Edinburgh street names are well represented in the Slavery Emancipation, Compensation List of 1833 where slave owners were compensated for their slaves because legally the slaves were property.
“A recently compiled list of Edinburgh buildings, monuments and streets associated with slavery and colonialism will be discussed by the Review Group on 15th March, 2021. This list is comprehensive and it contains slave owners, abolitionists, buildings and monuments.
“For example, the list contains:
‘John Gladstone (Leith), slave owner, the father of William Gladstone, the Prime Minister. He received the largest compensation for 2,508 slaves. Henry Brougham, the distinguished abolitionist (St. Andrew Square).
‘Gilmore Place, commemorative plaque to Frederick Douglass, the black abolitionist who lived in Edinburgh in 1846. Balcarres Street, representing Earl Balcarres’ period as governor of Jamaica and slave owner. Henry Dundas (Viscount Melville) …statues (St. Andrew Square) and street names, Scottish politician who delayed the abolition of the slave trade to benefit slavers. As President of the Board of Control, he controlled the East India Company from 1793-1801 (India Street).
‘Philosopher and economist Adam Smith and philosopher David Hume (statues) were indirectly involved in slavery. Smith proposed moderating slavery and improving its profitability with wages ( see Adam Smith’s grave included dossier sites linked slavery colonialism Daily Mail, 6 March) and Hume suggested that negroes were inferior to whites which had an impact on the practice of the racism in slavery.
‘The British Linen Bank building, St. Andrew Square, is included because it was a very profitable company managing the sale of clothes for slaves. Gillespie School (building) represents association with James Gillespie the tobacco merchant.
‘David Livingstone (statue) missionary in British colonies in Africa. Rodney Street which ends at the Royal Navy Club. Admiral Rodney stopped the French from taking Jamaica from Britain in 1782 (Battle of the Saintes). Jamaica (Jamaica Street) was Britain’s main producer of sugar and coffee.
‘The Earl of Hopetoun (statue, St. Andrew Square) had military association with slavery in Grenada and was a relative of Henry Dundas, so was Lawrence Dundas the owner of Dundas House (St Andrew Square).
“The list is historical and was compiled without prejudice or bias. Reference in recent articles including the Telegraph (Adam Smith’s grave listed dossier slavery colonialism sites) to the selection of Adam Smith is disappointing, no denigration was intended.
“The scope of our review is broad and takes into account figures commemorated in the public realm who were both for and against slavery. Indeed, the list also includes abolitionists Brougham (St Andrew Square) and Douglass (Gilmore Place).
“I would also like to clarify about the comments made in telegraph article by Tom Devine in regards to the new narrative on Dundas’ temporary plaque being untenable because, it reflects his view about Henry Dundas in his 2015 book, ‘Recovering Scotland’s Slavery Past …The Caribbean Connection’ where he says: “One of the most powerful of these was Henry Dundas, ‘The Uncrowned King of Scotland’, whose Parliamentary intervention in 1792 arguing for gradual abolition of the slave trade effectively killed off reform for a generation” [15 years].
Not surprisingly, he received grateful thanks from influential members of the West India interest [slavers] for his support for their cause”. As Secretary of State for War, Dundas managed “gradual abolition” during the French revolutionary wars and was the “chief instrument” against abolition of the slave trade.
“This project will be carried out in association with Edinburgh University. Working together we will achieve the aims set out by the Council to ensure that equality, inclusion and diversity are embedded in the practices of the Council.”
People Know How have launched a nationwide campaign, Connectivity Now, calling for accessible and affordable connectivity in homes across Scotland to facilitate an end to data poverty.
Coronavirus highlighted digital exclusion across demographics, postcodes and sectors throughout Scotland. Organisations across sectors have now joined the battle against digital exclusion to continue offering their services, products or support.
The Connectivity Now manifesto is a call-to-action for organisations across sectors. It consists of 3 actions:
1. Regulate connectivity
2. Link connectivity to shared spaces
3. Zero-rate essential service websites
Read the full manifesto and pledge your support to #ConnectivityNow on People Know How’s website.
To make your pledge even more impactful, the charity is encouraging pledgers to record a short video clip, completing the following sentence: I support Connectivity Now because… Pledges including a video will be shared on People Know How’s social media channels, tagging and promoting your organisation as a supporter.
To spread the word and help get more pledges, People Know How have posts pinned for you to share on their Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn channels and don’t forget to use the #ConnectivityNow hashtag!
Let’s unite our experiences from this pandemic and do something about data poverty!
Ready to pledge? Visit the website to read the manifesto, pledge your support and move one step closer to #ConnectivityNow:
As trade unionists, we stand united against the epidemic of male violence. We also stand against the disproportionate threat of male violence faced by women, by Black and migrant communities, by LGBT+ individuals and by disabled people.
Violence against women and girls is rooted in structural inequalities and power imbalances between men and women. Women’s experience of violence is shaped by other factors such as ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, immigration status and disability. Experiencing intersecting inequalities compounds the threat of violence women face.
Male violence threatens women in all areas of their lives – in our homes, workplaces, and in public and digital spaces. Institutional and systemic failings enable and empower perpetrators and deny women safety and justice.
In the UK:
97 per cent of young women have been sexually harassed
One in two women are sexually harassed in the workplace
80 per cent of women of all ages have been sexually harassed in public
Women who report rape have a less than 4 per cent chance of it ever being heard in court
Three women are killed each week as a result of domestic abuse homicides
Women are not responsible for the actions of men.
We stand with survivors of male violence. With the families of Sarah Everard, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry and countless others who have lost a loved one to violence.
Government must act now to dismantle institutional sexism, racism and other forms of discrimination.
To start that work, we call on Ministers to:
1. Implement a new mandatory duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment at work and ratify ILO Convention No.190
2. Include migrant women within the Domestic Abuse Bill provisions and ensure safe reporting routes for women with insecure migration status
3. Reverse the cuts to public services and ensure all relevant public sector staff receive enhanced training on preventing and responding to violence against women
4. Provide long-term funding commitments to support the provision of vital, life-saving services for survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence that meet the level of need, including specialised by-and-for BME, LBT+ and disabled women’s services
5. Draw up a cross-departmental action plan to tackle the structural inequalities experienced by women, Black communities, LGBT+ and disabled people in work, health, education, housing and justice
We demand safety. We demand justice. We demand equality.
Operation Proust will continue this weekend, with officers on patrol in different areas of Edinburgh to tackle antisocial behaviour on and around bus services.
There have been a number of incidents involving youths across the city over recent weeks, which have resulted in the disruption and even temporary termination of services.
The focus will be on ensuring services are able to run smoothly as well as deterring further incidents of antisocial behaviour and criminality.
Chief Inspector Sarah Taylor said: “Bus drivers have and continue to provide an essential service to the public during this pandemic, including transport to and from hospitals. It is disgraceful that those who have continued to support our communities have been targeted in this way.
“Officers will be out in the community providing reassurance to the drivers and members of the public. Anyone caught engaging in antisocial behaviour or violence will be dealt with robustly.
“Extensive enquiries are ongoing to trace the individuals involved in the recent incidents and I would appeal to anyone with information to contact Police Scotland through 101. Alternatively you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
Edinburgh’s culture sector will be boosted by funding of around £4.7 million in the coming year if Councillors approve the cultural grants scheme next week.
The report seeks approval for the continued Strategic Partnership, flexible and project funding recommendations for 2021/22, the second year of the programme, originally agreed in 18 June 2019.
Last year, following the COVID-19 outbreak, the Council’s Leadership Advisory Panel agreed the funding recommendations for 2020/21 and pledged support for Edinburgh’s cultural sector with resources to be repurposed to help mitigate the impact of the pandemic.
Regular and ongoing reporting from funding recipients has allowed the Council to directly monitor and work with strategic partners on their progress throughout the year.
Next week’s report recommends councillors approve the commitment of £4,689,279 to continue to support culture sector partners during the ongoing pandemic.
This funding would contribute to retaining jobs, creative practices and development, and responsive programming and delivery of activity throughout the city supporting freelancers, artists and companies towards sector recovery.
Councillor Donald Wilson, Culture and Communities Convener said: “It would be an understatement to say 2020 was extremely tough for our culture sector but we’ve been hugely impressed by the resourcefulness and resilience they’ve demonstrated throughout the crisis.
“We are committed to doing what we can to support the sector and its recovery as safely and as quickly as possible. Our grants programme has always supported the city’s year-round cultural offering and by approving the funding for 2021/22 we’ll be playing our part in boosting the sector following such a hard year.
“We’re in regular contact with all of our event and cultural partners in the city and look forward to their return to activity when that comes.”
Councillor Amy McNeese-Mechan, Culture and Communities Vice Convener said: “We know this is an extremely difficult time for so many in the culture sector and I’m very glad we’ll be able to maintain our commitment through the £4m+ culture sector funding programme, subject to the report being agreed next week.
“We’ll continue to do what we can to support the sector to make sure they’re in the best possible place to recover. This support will in turn play its part in the whole city recovering from the effects of the pandemic as we look forward to enjoying the positivity and dynamism that Edinburgh’s cultural offer will bring.”
Unpaid carers who have not already been identified through social security data or GP systems will be able to register themselves for a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination appointment from next week.
The new online service, which opens on Monday 15 March, is for unpaid carers aged between 16 and 64 who provide face-to-face care for a family member or friend.
Carers who receive relevant benefits (Carer’s Allowance, Young Carer Grant or Child Winter Heating Payment) will be in our system and will receive a letter with details of their appointment. But all unpaid carers are being encouraged to self-register – when they do, they will be advised if they are already scheduled for an appointment so there is no duplication.
A Scottish Government marketing campaign will be launched next week to encourage all unpaid carers who are eligible for a vaccine to get one. The campaign will be supported by additional communications from local carer services and other third–sector organisations to carers on their mailing lists.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “The support provided by unpaid carers is hugely valuable. I know they are under greater pressure than usual as a result of the pandemic, and we owe them our sincere thanks for the important work they do.
“Our vaccination programme follows the priority list set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) with unpaid carers included within Group 6.
“We have already written to many unpaid carers identified through Social Security data and GPs and we are launching a system which will ensure every carer who is eligible for an appointment can register for one.
“It is crucial that all unpaid carers are offered a vaccination so they are protected whilst they care for others.
“We will be launching an extensive marketing campaign to make sure all unpaid carers know about this opportunity and understand how to book an appointment. All those who have access to the internet are encouraged to use the online service but those who don’t can, of course, call the Vaccination Helpline on 0800 030 8013.
“We continue to urge all those eligible to take up the offer of a vaccination. The vaccination programme is one of three key ways we are working to beat this virus, along with our expanded testing programme to identify cases and break chains of transmission and the important lockdown restrictions everyone in Scotland must follow. All these measures work to greatest effect when they work together.”
On behalf of the National Carer Organisations, Minority Ethnic Carers of People Project (MECOPP) Chief Executive Margaret Chiwanza said: “Over the last year, carers have continued to provide support to family and friends in unprecedented circumstances.
“Their inclusion as a priority group for the vaccination recognises the overwhelming contribution they have made and continue to make.
“Many of Scotland’s carers will be in touch with a local carer centre but there will be many others who are not in contact with support services. It is essential that we reach out to these carers. The self-registration system will provide a single point of contact making it simpler for carers to make an appointment and receive a vaccination.
“It is vital that all of Scotland’s carers – young carers aged 16–plus, adult and older carers and those from Minority Ethnic backgrounds – are supported to protect and maintain their own health and well-being and that of the people they care for.
“We commend government for taking this very positive step.”
The new service is open to anyone aged 16 to 64 who provides face-to-face care – unpaid – for a family member or friend who is affected by a disability, physical or mental ill-health, developmental condition or substance misuse.
Self-registration online service nhsinform.scot/carersregister – will be open to unpaid carers from Monday (15 March).
Covid-19 National Vaccination Helpline – 0800 030 8013
