Month: March 2021

£4.5m to help central Scotland get gigabit speed broadband

  • More than 5,300 homes and businesses across central Scotland to get much faster gigabit broadband.
  • Includes premises in Ayrshire, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Stirlingshire, Greater Glasgow and Lothian.

More than 5,300 homes and businesses in Ayrshire, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Stirlingshire, Greater Glasgow and Lothian will get access to gigabit speeds thanks to the first £4.5 million to be awarded from the UK government’s nationwide gigabit programme.

These premises currently have slow speeds and were already due to benefit from superfast broadband through the Scottish Government’s Reaching 100 (R100) programme, which is scheduled to invest £83 million in central Scotland.

But now, thanks to an agreement between the UK and Scottish governments the properties will get gigabit-capable full fibre broadband built directly to their doorsteps.

While superfast provides minimum speeds of 30 megabits per second, gigabit broadband delivers lightning-fast speeds capable of reaching 1,000 megabits per second.

The move will future-proof people’s internet connections in these areas for the next thirty to forty years and allow them to take full advantage of cutting-edge technologies such as 8K TV and virtual reality streaming.

Matt Warman, UK Minister for Digital Infrastructure said: “The first pound to be spent from our £5 billion pot for gigabit broadband will be in Scotland.

“That’s because it is our mission to deliver lightning-fast next-generation internet connections to all parts of the UK as we build back better from the pandemic.

“And this is just the start. Other areas of Scotland and the rest of the UK will benefit from our record investment in this national broadband upgrade and we’ll announce more regions shortly.”

Scotland’s Connectivity Minister Paul Wheelhouse said: “The past year has demonstrated beyond doubt just how vital digital connectivity is across all areas of our lives – from health, wellbeing and education to social and economic recovery.

“That’s why the Scottish Government is investing £579 million in funding towards the £600 million cost of our Reaching 100% programme, building the infrastructure which, together with commercially-driven work, will ensure access to superfast broadband speeds to 100% of homes and businesses across Scotland.

The vast majority of connections being delivered to more than 120,000 premises through our investment in the three R100 area contracts – 100% in South, 86% in North and, now, 95% in Central – will be through fibre directly to the premises, delivering gigabit capability, providing connection speeds 30 times faster than our superfast commitment, and resilient, future-proofed connectivity for decades to come.”

UK Government Minister for Scotland, Iain Stewart said: “It’s great news that Central Scotland has been announced as the first area to benefit from the UK Gigabit Programme, and pleasing to see the UK and Scottish governments working together in partnership to level up communities.

“The UK Government will spend more than £5 billion to help those in areas that need improved connectivity most. This will help us to build back better from coronavirus and create new jobs and economic opportunities.”

The Scottish Government’s R100 programme is in the process of ensuring that all homes and businesses across Scotland can access superfast broadband. The vast majority of connections will be gigabit-capable and delivered via full fibre cables built directly to premises – known as Fibre to the Premise (FTTP).

In Central Scotland there are some premises which were set to be delivered via Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) technology.

The UK Government has committed to delivering nationwide coverage of gigabit capable broadband through its £5 billion UK Gigabit Programme, with a minimum target of 85% coverage by 2025. The £5 billion will be used to subsidise building in hard-to-reach areas that aren’t set to benefit from planned industry rollout.

On the basis that the UK Gigabit Programme would have to revisit these 5,368 premises at some point in the future to convert them to FTTP, the Scottish and UK Governments have agreed a technology ‘flip’ from FTTC to FTTP. This offers the chance to reduce build costs, enabling delivery of the connections earlier and at greater value for money.

The UK government will shortly be announcing further areas of the UK that will be the first to receive a share of the £5 billion and be connected through the UK Gigabit Programme.

Free training courses for community councillors

The Improvement Service and the Open University (OU) in Scotland are working together to offer all community council volunteers the opportunity to upskill and reskill using OU courses.

Throughout the pandemic the Improvement Service’s Community Councils (CCs) project supported by Scottish Government has been trying to find ways to support CCs as they adapt to new ways of working and the OU was one of the organisations we reached out to and asked how they could help.

We asked Scotland’s CCs what skills they would find helpful to have or improve on and we are delighted to present these free online courses which the OU have tailored to suit the needs of Scottish CCs.

Many CCs have fully embraced the digital journey during the pandemic and there are courses here to help you continue that journey such as using Microsoft Teams and succeeding in a digital world. In addition to digital skills there are also courses on a range of other topics that community councillors have suggested including finance, fundraising, community and business skills.

These courses are totally free – all community councillors have to do is register for a free account and then you can begin your learning journey with the OU.

The OU has many courses to choose from but if you would like to suggest additional topics for training not covered that would benefit CCs in Scotland please let us know by e-mail: scottishccs@improvementservice.org.uk

So what are you waiting for? Brush up on your skills or learn some brand new ones with the OU, just click on the link below to begin your journey:

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/skills-supportOU-CC

EXCLUDED UK: Please sign our Open Letter to the Chancellor

We need your signature please!

Deadline Monday 1 March, 5pm

In our efforts to make as much noise as possible ahead of the Budget, we’ve drafted an open letter to send to the Chancellor urging him to do the right thing and provide support to those who have thus far been excluded from support through no fault of their own.

Please help us and sign this letter and share! The letter can be found at this link:

The letter can be found at this link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oo0zKEWqxxD8rmTsQg7LY8O-UhgiCq4Ij0fZqQSm4H0/edit?usp=sharing 

You can simply add your name to the end of the letter by typing directly into it.

Please keep your signature to one line with your name and if you wish you can add profession/ organisation/ affiliation/ business name/ category for exclusion.

The letter will be published tomorrow evening.

Thank you!

Best wishes from the ExcludedUK Team.

#relentless #wearenotgoingaway #franticfebruary

PS: This is for anyone excluded from UK Government Covid-19 support OR wishing to show support … please sign!

Join our facebook community: www.facebook.com/groups/excludeduk

If you’re on Twitter – share our tweets here:@ExcludedUK

GMB seeks assurances as care home visiting resumes

Precarious balance between compassion and safety ahead of care home visit re-start, as GMB asks for worker assurances

Speaking ahead of the re-start of indoor visits to care homes across Scotland today (Monday 1 March), Rhea Wolfson of GMB Scotland’s Women’s Campaign Unit said: “The balance between compassion and safety is precarious at this moment. Confidence is fragile among care home workers and there can be no room for complacency.

“That’s why ahead of the return to care home visits GMB has asked the Scottish Government to ensure the delivery of three basic provisions:

  • Safe levels of staffing provision in homes.
  • A whistleblowing facility for worker safety.
  • Stringent enforcement of government safety guidelines.

“Everyone wants to see families reunited but government and employers owe a great debt to these key workers after the last year, and it’s important their voices are now being heard.”

The Scottish Government has published new guidance for care homes on visiting during the pandemic plus tools and resources on visiting and supporting residents in homes with COVID-19.

You can access this here: http://bit.ly/3fY3MFq

The guidance supports adult care home residents to resume meaningful contact with loved ones. This begins with up to two designated visitors, and a total of two visits a week.This will become normal practice in all but exceptional circumstances, such as a COVID-19 outbreak.

It is hoped to gradually increase the frequency and the number of people who can visit.

COVID: Brazilian strain reaches Scotland

Three cases of a COVID-19 Variant of Concern first identified in Manaus, Brazil, have been identified in Scotland.

Following their return to North East Scotland from Brazil, via Paris and London, three Scottish residents entered self-isolation and then subsequently tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19). These individuals then self-isolated for the required period of 10 days.

The tests were completed in early February and passed to the UK’s advanced sequencing capabilities programme which detected this new variant. Due to the potential concerns around this variant other passengers on the flight used by the three individuals from London to Aberdeen are being contacted. These three cases are not connected to three cases also identified in England.

Health protection teams, including local clinicians, have assessed each case and their contacts, and are arranging protective measures for this small number of potentially exposed individuals. 

To provide an extra layer of safety, teams are ensuring people who could have been infected by these first line contacts are also isolated and tested. This is to ensure all possible precautions are taken as we learn more about this particular variant.

Clinical and trial data continues to be assessed to examine how this new variant may respond to current COVID-19 vaccines.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “The identification of this new variant is a concern but we are taking every possible precaution. We have identified these cases thanks to our use of advanced sequencing capabilities which means we are finding more variants and mutations than many other countries and are therefore able to take action quickly.

“This new variant demonstrates how serious Covid is and reinforces the need to minimise the spread of the virus. We would encourage everyone across the country to adhere to the necessary public health restrictions by staying at home except for essential purposes as this is the single best way of staying safe and stopping the spread of this virus. It is now also illegal for anyone to travel to or from Scotland unless it is for an essential reason.

“The Covid 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.

“These three strands – following expert advice and guidance to suppress the virus, using our expanded testing programme to identify cases and break chains of transmission and rolling out vaccination as fast as supplies allow – are the three critical actions that will see us move, step by step, to protect the public, save lives and a brighter year ahead.”

As a precautionary measure and to provide further insights, samples from any passenger on the London to Aberdeen flight who subsequently tested positive or was symptomatic are being urgently sequenced to determine whether any had acquired the new variant. Those on the flight from London to Aberdeen will be contacted.

Public Health England has also identified three cases of the variant in England but these are not linked to the three cases in Scotland. Scotland and England are working together to ensure that a consistent UK approach is taken to managing such incidents.

This variant has been designated ‘of concern’ as it shares some important mutations with the variant first identified in South Africa (B.1.351), such as E484K and N501Y.  There is some data to suggest that this variant may be more likely to cause Covid-19 infections in people who have been vaccinated or who had been infected with one of the earlier strains of “wild-type” Covid-19.

The P1 “Brazilian” variant is a descendent of B.1.1.28 and was first detected in Japan but is most closely associated with the second wave epidemic in Manauas, Brazil. This variant has been designated ‘of concern’ as it shares some important mutations with the variant first identified in South Africa (B.1.351), such as E484K and N501Y.

It is possible that this variant may respond less well to current vaccines but at this time there is a high degree of uncertainty and we await clinical and trial data is awaited to understand this better.  

Genomic sequencing of Scottish samples is undertaken as part of a UK programme. This programme continues to develop ensure faster turnaround times.

Dr Susan Hopkins, PHE strategic response director for COVID-19 and NHS Test and Trace Medical Advisor, said: “We have identified these cases thanks to the UK’s advanced sequencing capabilities which means we are finding more variants and mutations than many other countries and are therefore able to take action quickly.

“The important thing to remember is that COVID-19, no matter what variant it is, spreads in the same way. That means the measures to stop it spreading do not change. Stay at home and if you do need to go out for essential reasons, cover your nose and mouth, wash your hands thoroughly and keep your distance.”