Local housebuilder awarded 5 stars for customer satisfaction for a record 12 years in a row
Local housebuilder Barratt Homes East Scotland has received the maximum 5-star rating in the new Home Builders Federation (HBF) annual New Homes Customer Satisfaction Survey.
The number of stars awarded is based on customer responses to the question “would you recommend your builder to a friend”? For Barratt to have been awarded 5 stars means that over 90% of its customers would recommend their homes to a friend.
This is the 12th year in a row that Barratt has achieved the 5-star rating – a record unmatched by any other major national housebuilder.
It comes on top of the recent Supreme Win at the NHBC Pride in the Job Awards, where Barratt site manager Kirk Raine scooped the top award out of a possible 11,000 site managers across the country – marking the fifth Supreme win for Barratt site managers in six years.
The HBF New Homes Survey is one of the largest surveys of its type in the country and is completed by nearly 50,000 people who have recently bought a new build home. The simple 1-5 star rating system was developed to give customers an easy to view ranking system of which housebuilders have the most satisfied customers.
The high satisfaction rates are a testament to Barratt’s commitment to building high quality homes and great places that its customers are proud to call home. The customer is at the heart of everything Barratt does, and it is this focus on making customers happy which results in such high recommendation scores.
Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation, said: “The survey demonstrates that the industry is delivering an excellent level of service in the opinion of over 90% of its customers.
“The fact that we have seen four successive years of improved satisfaction levels shows the clear focus builders have been putting on the customer. That this level of satisfaction has been delivered during a pandemic that saw sites closed and builders unable to access homes for a period makes it even more of an achievement.
“To achieve a 5-star rating, meaning that at least 90% of your customers would recommend you, is a fantastic achievement that requires commitment from everyone within the organisation.”
Alison Condie, managing director at Barratt Homes East Scotland, said:“We’re incredibly proud to have been announced a 5-star housebuilder for a record 12 years in a row.
“We work hard to look after our customers, both before and after they buy their new homes, so it’s great to know that our customers rate us so highly, and that so many of them would recommend us to a friend. We will continue to give all of our customers a 5-star service.”
Barratt is currently building a range of quality new homes across the east of Scotland.
The latest data from RCEM’s Winter Flow Project show that increasing numbers of patients are beginning to return to EDs, with 71,722 attendances recorded in the third week of March – exceeding the previous highest total set in week one of the Project in October 2020.
Throughout the pandemic demand at Emergency Departments (EDs) has been significantly lower than previous years. Lockdowns have also meant that the public were at less risk of accidents that might require attendance at an ED, while the use of masks and increased hygiene practices minimised the spread of other seasonal illnesses, such as flu.
Now as attendances have risen 12-hour stays have also increased once again. However, as a proportion, 12-hour stays remain low suggesting that the rise in attendances has not led to an increase in very long waits as yet.
Even as patients begin to attend EDs in larger numbers, the level of available beds continues to be largely static, partly due to the practical difficulties of opening additional beds while maintaining infection prevention protocols.
Commenting on RCEM’s latest Winter Flow Project report Vice President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Dr Adrian Boyle, said:“While the NHS is manifestly in need of a recovery period, there are already indications that there may be little respite. We expect hospital activity to increase in the coming weeks and months as NHS services return to normal.
“Despite the ongoing success of the vaccine rollout, we know that we are not out of this yet. One trust has forecasted that June could see a surge in Covid patients on a par with the April 2020 peak.
“We are worried about this prospect and we are worried about potential variants coming into the country and spreading through the community. We would like everyone to continue to follow the rules and not become complacent. Unfortunately, without any time to recover and rest, NHS staff must once again be ready to face this if it comes.
“The College has consistently outlined the need for more staff, more beds and more resourcing for EDs, all of which may be needed as never before as Emergency Departments potentially attempt to juggle another wave of covid in addition to returning NHS services and activity to normal, all while maintaining proper infection prevention control measures.
“EDs have proved astoundingly resilient but that resilience will be stretched incredibly thin unless they receive the support they will undoubtedly need in the next few months.
“That being said NHS England’s operational planning guidance is most welcome. This outlines the top priorities for the year ahead and includes sufficient focus on the urgent and emergency care pathway. We particularly welcome the plans to expand capacity, introduce the collection of new data and ensure expansion of alternative care including SDEC and NHS 111.
“We have no doubt that we are once again facing an incredibly challenging phase, but NHS England’s latest guidance will be a welcome relief to many healthcare workers.”
A report from Westminster’s Work and Pensions Committee is calling on the UK Government to ‘act quickly and decisively’ to protect pension savers, more than five years on from the introduction of the pension freedoms, which have put people at risk of a much wider range of scams and fraud.
The report warns that commonly cited figures of the scale of pension scamming are likely to substantially underestimate the problem.
The situation is likely to be getting worse rather than better, with the covid-19 pandemic offering scammers new opportunities.
The Committee heard throughout its inquiry that pension scammers have moved online, with regulators powerless to hold search engines and social media to account for hosting scam adverts as they do traditional media.
Tech firms such as Google are accepting payment to advertise scams and then further payments from regulators to publish warnings – a practice the Committee describes as ‘immoral’.
The Government must now rethink its decision to exclude financial harms from the forthcoming Online Safety Bill and use it to legislate against online investment fraud.
In the same way as traditional media, online publishers should be required to ensure financial promotions are authorised.
The report also calls for the multi-agency task force set up to tackle pension fraud to be strengthened.
The existing Project Bloom should be renamed the Pension Scams Centre and given dedicated funding and staffing to manage an intelligence database and law enforcement.
Currently the fragmentation of reporting, investigation and enforcement has made tackling pension scams more difficult.
The Financial Conduct Authority must also ‘raise its game’ and publish information about its enforcement action, with the Committee hearing numerous criticisms that it is not effective in stopping scams, punishing scammers or retrieving scam proceeds.
Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP, Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, said: “The pension freedoms brought more choice for savers on how to use their pension pots, but the reforms have also opened up a whole new world of opportunity for scammers and fraudsters.
“At the same time, a woeful lack of online regulation has helped them reach more people than ever before.
“The result is an online free for all, where scammers can advertise with impunity while the tech giants line their pockets from the proceeds of their crimes.
“With global firms such as Google being increasingly influential as providers of information, consumers looking for financial advice are being let down by not being afforded the same level of protection they receive from adverts which appear on television or in a newspaper.
“There must now be parity across the media to ensure all adverts are regulated and the Government should use its Online Safety Bill to act.
“Tighter online regulation must be just the first step in improving protections for savers. Stronger enforcement with a new Pensions Scams Centre, a more effective FCA and extra support for victims are also desperately needed.
“Pension scams can cause huge financial harm and psychological distress and any one of us saving for the future is at risk of falling prey to a scammer.
“The Government and the regulators have been left playing catch-up following the pension freedom reforms and must now act quickly to protect savers and their hard-earned money.”
Rocio Concha, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Which?, said:“This report is a damning indictment of the approach of tech giants like Google to tackling scams.
“These companies have some of the most sophisticated technology in the world, yet they are failing to utilise it to prevent scammers from abusing the platforms by using fake and fraudulent content on an industrial scale to target victims and devastate lives.
“The case for including scams in the Online Safety Bill is overwhelming. Online platforms must be given a legal responsibility to identify, prevent and remove fake and fraudulent content from appearing on their sites and give their users the protection they deserve. The government must not miss the opportunity to act now.”
Scottish SPCA are appealing for information after two ferrets were found on Restalrig Road South on 23 March.
The animal welfare charity was alerted to the incident after a member of the public witnessed two girls leave the animals on a small grassy area and run off.
Scottish SPCA inspector Jennifer Surgeon said: “This ferrets were left in a cat box that was far too small for them. The cage was left open and the ferrets were running loose. Luckily the member of the public managed to contain them.
“Both ferrets appear to be in good body condition but were both very dirty. The cage they were in was also filthy.
“We appreciate that the people who left the ferrets in the area may have intended for the animals to be found but this is not the right way to give up an animal if you can no longer care for them.
“Thankfully, despite their ordeal, they appear to be unscathed and are now in the care of one of our animal rescue and rehoming centres where they are receiving the care they need.
“We would like to find out what happened to these ferrets. If anyone has any information on how the ferrets came to be in this situation they can contact our confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999.”
If anyone is concerned about an animal, please do not hesitate to contact our confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999.
We need your support today. From as little as £1, you can save lives.
Scotland’s biggest operator of visitor attractions, Historic Environment Scotland (HES), has set out its plans for the reopening of its sites as Covid restrictions ease.
HES is adopting a phased approach to reopen its properties, with over 70% of its free to access and ticketed properties reopening on Friday 30 April following the Scottish Government’s proposed dates for the reopening of the tourism sector and mainland Scotland moving to covid protection level 3.
This will see some of Scotland’s most iconic heritage sites, including Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, Fort George and Caerlaverock Castle, reopen to the public in line with Scottish Government guidelines.
This will also include access to over 200 unstaffed and key-keeper sites across Scotland where HES can provide free and safe access and where physical distancing can be readily maintained. *
HES also plans to re-open further sites across Scotland as part of a rolling programme of re-opening over the coming months.
The approach to re-opening has taken into consideration the requirements of each site as well as the regional picture to ensure that, as much as possible, HES’ reopening plans appropriately consider the circumstances in each local area, whilst providing a diverse range of experiences for visitors to enjoy.
As part of the reopening, visitors, including members, will be required to pre-book tickets online and to use contactless payment where possible; one-way systems will be implemented in some locations; and some areas of sites, such as enclosed spaces, will be closed off to visitors. Visitor numbers will also be limited for safety reasons.
Technology is also being used to tell the sites’ stories in innovative ways, with QR codes being adopted at a number of different sites.
Alex Paterson, Chief Executive of HES, said: “Scotland’s heritage attractions are a key part of our tourism sector both nationally and at a local community level, and contribute to our individual wellbeing, so we’re delighted to once again be opening sites up across the country.
“This will see us reopen all of the sites we reopened last year on the 30 April as well as further sites across the country on a phased based over the upcoming months.
“As always, the safety of our staff and visitors has been at the forefront of our planning, enabling safe access to our properties in line with Scottish Government guidance and our minimum operating standards which underpin our approach.
“We’re also pleased to tell the story of the sites through technology so visitors have the opportunity to experience the old and the new when they are exploring some of our most iconic sites and enjoying a piece of 5,000 years of history.”
All sites will follow the HES minimum operating standards, which were developed to set a benchmark for the safe reopening of historic sites and resumption of operational activities.
Tickets for all sites reopening on the 30 April will be available on a pre-booked basis next month.
* This includes Jarlshof in the Shetland Islands which will reopen initially on an unstaffed basis.
The full list of ticketed sites reopening on Friday 30 April are:
Aberdour Castle
Arbroath Abbey **
Blackness Castle
Caerlaverock Castle
Craigmillar Castle
Dirleton Castle
Doune Castle
Dryburgh Abbey
Dumbarton Castle
Dunblane Cathedral
Dundonald Castle
Dunfermline Abbey
Edinburgh Castle
Elgin Cathedral
Fort George
Glasgow Cathedral
Huntly Castle
Inchcolm Abbey
Jedburgh Abbey
Linlithgow Palace
Melrose Abbey
St Andrews Castle
St Andrews Cathedral
Skara Brae *
Stirling Castle
Tantallon Castle
Urquhart Castle
* Nb. Of all of its ticketed sites, Skara Brae in Orkney has been kept open to local visitors only, whilst in level 3, whilst the rest of mainland Scotland has been closed for covid protection measures since 26 December.
** Arbroath Abbey’s grounds will be accessible for free ahead of the opening of a new visitor offer at the centre due to open in the summer.
Fresh Start will be accepting donations from Tuesday 6th April.
The charity, which is based on Ferry Road Drive, supports people who have been homeless to settle into new homes. Fresh Start is looking for donations of:
Dishes and cutlery
Cleaning Items
Pots and pans
Bed linen and towels
Small household electric items
Long dated food products
For further information telephone 0131 476 7741 or email admin@freshstartweb.org.uk
As you may or may not be aware our minibus was stolen on 24/03/2021, although the police are currently looking for it, we are under no illusion that it is highly unlikely that we will have it recovered.
As such we have started a fundraising page so that we can attempt to attain a new minibus for the children who attend our care.
We also had a people carrier for many years and it was only in February that the insurance had to write that off due to vandalism so we have lost both of our vehicles within two months and we now have no transport for the children at all.
As a charity this is totally devastating and would ask that if you can help in these terribly hard times then please do. We really appreciate any amount, small or large.
Any donations big or small would be very much appreciated
Plans to restart foreign travel for millions of people could be doomed to fail if the government does not effectively consult consumers and reassure them that trips abroad will be safe, affordable and their refund rights will be upheld, according to Which?.
The UK government’s Global Travel Taskforce (GTT) is due to outline how it will restart international travel, currently set to reopen no earlier than 17 May, when it publishes its report in early April.
However, Which? is concerned that limited opportunities for travellers to engage with the GTT could mean that their concerns won’t be addressed ahead of international travel reopening.
The GTT page on the government’s website says it is consulting with a range of groups, including the transport industry, international partners, the tourism sector, the private testing sector, and academia and policy institutes.
Engagement with consumers seems to be largely limited to an email address that travellers can send their concerns about travel reopening to, and even this is not listed clearly on the GTT web page for passengers to find.
Today, Which? is publishing its list of consumer priorities for travel, which the GTT must take on board if its plans to restart international travel are to be successful. They focus on vital measures to build passenger confidence around the safety of travel, accessibility and affordability of Covid tests and vaccine passports and assurances that holidaymakers will not be left out of pocket by coronavirus travel disruption.
Which? is also urging people to share their experiences with the Taskforce of how the pandemic has affected their travel plans over the past year and their concerns ahead of travel reopening via email or social media in the two weeks left before the GTT is due to report.
For more than a year now, the consumer champion has been hearing from people who have been let down by their travel provider after the pandemic grounded most international travel, which saw confidence in the industry plunge to a record low.
According to the Competition and Markets Authority, cancellation and refund complaints have accounted for the overwhelming majority of complaints to the regulator since April 2020, with around 47,000 cancellation complaints about holiday companies since March 2020, and more than 10,000 cancellation complaints about airlines.
Though many holiday companies and airlines have since improved their performance, Which? is warning that travellers risk facing another summer of chaos and cancelled holidays if the government does not provide assurances around safety, testing costs, health travel certificates, and how bookings will be protected from changing travel restrictions and associated costs, such as Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) warnings against travel or the potential of costly hotel quarantine for arrivals from popular destinations.
With the risk of variants of the virus present in other countries being transmitted and brought back to the UK, it is essential that the government ensures that effective measures are put in place to ensure international travel is safe, particularly in airports.
Last summer, Which? reported that passengers endured queues in Stansted Airport with no social distancing, raising concerns around how airports will cope this summer if mass air travel is allowed to resume.
Given the limited data available on the ability of vaccines to reduce transmission, Which? is asking the GTT to ensure that clear guidance is in place for airports to facilitate social distancing between passengers, particularly in instances where passengers from ‘red list’ countries are travelling.
Which? is also concerned that travellers could face astronomical costs for testing, which is likely to be required for entry into most destinations this summer. Most countries now require a negative test before departure and a follow up on arrival, and passengers also need a negative test to return to the UK, and further tests on day two and eight of quarantine.
With PCR private tests costing around £120 each, the potential of up to five tests could mean travellers face paying hundreds more on top of the cost of their trip, potentially pricing people out of travelling.
Which? has also found that testing costs in the UK are considerably higher than in other countries. When it looked at the total cost of all the tests passengers would need for travel to a number of popular destinations across Europe, it found that the cost of tests were much lower on average compared to the UK. In Italy, for example, the average cost is €86 (£74) per test.
Additionally, Which? understands there will be a need for travel health certification, such as vaccine passports, but believes people need reassurance over how these will operate internationally, how their privacy will be maintained and their data protected, and what provisions will be made for those who cannot or do not want to rely on digital certifications. It is also essential that if certification is to be mandatory for travel, that it is provided free of charge.
The consumer champion is also urging the Taskforce to consider how travellers’ money will be protected if they cannot legally or reasonably travel to their destination because of coronavirus restrictions.
Despite many airlines offering reassurances that passengers can benefit from flexible booking policies this summer, Which? continues to hear from people who are still out of pocket for holidays that were disrupted last year.
Suzanna Mahoney, from Leeds, booked a holiday to Lanzarote with Loveholidays in January 2020. She was due to travel in August 2020, but when the time came, Loveholidays informed her that the FCDO advice for travel to Lanzarote had changed and asked if she still intended to travel.
Not wanting to travel against government advice, she chose the option of cancelling her holiday and was refunded the cost of her accommodation. She has not received a refund for the cost of her flights though, as they departed as scheduled, and has been left £1,600 out of pocket as a result.
Which? is engaging with the GTT and has shared its calls on the Taskforce to deliver for consumers.
It is asking the Taskforce to ensure that travellers will be given clear information about changing travel rules by the government and travel providers, that international travel will be safe, that they won’t face unreasonable additional costs and that the financial risk to consumers is minimised, that they will be able to get their money back if their holiday can’t go ahead, and that any travel health certification will be private and secure.
Until the Taskforce has published its report, Which? is advising people not to book any international travel or holidays, and wait until details of the GTT’s roadmap have been revealed before making any plans.
Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said:“Many of us are looking forward to the opportunity to step on a plane and travel to family and friends or take a holiday again in the near future, but the past year has taught us that there are a number of risks involved with international travel that need to be removed or reduced before we will be comfortable doing so.
“Confidence in overseas travel has plummeted as a result of the pandemic, and government interventions for both the industry and passengers who have been let down by their operator or airline have been woefully insufficient.
“The Taskforce has a real opportunity to give passengers the confidence to travel again, but it must take their concerns into consideration, or else it risks another disastrous summer for passengers and industry alike.”
A spokesperson for Loveholidays said:“As we have done with all our customers who had holidays booked to a destination where the FCDO subsequently advised against traveling, we asked Ms Mahoney whether she wished to go ahead with her trip and gave her the option to cancel or amend her booking.
“She opted to cancel and we waived our cancellation fee and provided her with a full cash refund for the part of the holiday that we are able to do so – her hotel booking. As a change of FCDO advice does not of itself trigger cancellation and full refund rights under the PTRs, any flight refund is dependent on Ryanair agreeing to do so, which to date they have not. This was made clear when Ms Mahoney chose to cancel.
“Unfortunately, some airlines including Ryanair, chose to continue to operate flights despite a change in FCDO guidance for that destination. In accordance with Ryanair’s terms and conditions, they refuse to provide customers with a cash refund if a flight is still going ahead even if a customer quite understandably chooses to not to travel in light of the latest FCDO advice.
“Ryanair holds the flight sums. If we had received a flight refund from Ryanair, we would have forwarded this to Ms Mahoney within five working days of receipt, as we have done with many other customers who cancelled in the same circumstances.”
The eyes of the trade union world are focused on Alabama as an Amazon workers’ campaign to unionise reaches a ‘crucial moment’, with the close of their recognition ballot later today (Monday 29 March).
In what’s been marked as a turning point for labour relations in the United States, workers are organising under the banner of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) to demand better working conditions and an end to worker surveillance at the Amazon Fulfilment Centre in Bessemer, a south western suburb of the city of Birmingham.
RWDSU representatives will join GMB Scotland union organisers on Wednesday evening at for a special online event, ‘Demands for a Post-COVID World of Work’, to inform and discuss the Bessemer unionisation campaign and its impact on the fight for recognition in Amazon across the world.
GMB Scotland Secretary Gary Smith said:“This is a crucial moment for workers’ rights but whatever the outcome in Bessemer this unionisation drive is a point of no return for Amazon, not just in the United States but across the world and including Scotland.
“It is a basic human need to want proper value for our work and for that work to be underpinned by basic rights and protections, and it’s why there is a reawakening of the need for unionisation to achieve it.
“The clock is ticking on the unfettered greed of billionaire disrupters and practitioners of precarious work because the COVID-19 pandemic has surfaced all the underlying exploitations that have been left unchallenged over the last decade.
“We are delighted that representatives from Alabama will be joining on us on Wednesday because the challenges facing Amazon workers in Bessemer are the same as those in Bathgate, and we need to learn from each other to make work better post-COVID.”
Police are appealing for information after two men were assaulted in Roseburn. The incident happened at 3.15pm on a foot bridge at Roseburn Terrace yesterday (Saturday 27 March).
The two men aged 24 and 22 stopped to fix a bike on the footpath when they were approached by three men and assaulted.
The 24-year-old man was taken the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment. The 22-year-old man did not require medical attention.
Detective Sergeant Callum Mill of CID in Edinburgh said : “We are appealing to anyone who was in the area and who witnessed the assault to come forward.
“We are keen to trace three men, one of whom is described as being 5’9″, aged 18-19 years old, black hair swept back, tall, of heavy build and wearing a navy puffa jacket.
“The second man is described as being, 5’6”, of thin build, aged 18-19 years old, with a red mark on the side of face, wearing a puffa jacket with the hood up.
“The third man is described as being about 6’0”, of thin build, aged 18-19 years old, wearing a light blue top and bottoms with orange writing on the front of it, wearing a face mask and hood.
“Anyone who has information that will assist this investigation is asked to contact us through 101 quoting 2302 reference number of Saturday, 27 March, 2021.
“Alternatively Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111, where anonymity can be maintained.”
