Month: September 2021

Nominations open for the Wall of Honour at new Meadowbank

The search has begun for names for the Wall of Honour at the new Meadowbank Sports Centre as nominations opened today (Thursday 30 September).

A space within the atrium in the new building has been reserved to honour members of the public who have made significant contributions to Meadowbank’s past and legacy as a sport venue and community facility.

Edinburgh’s new Meadowbank will be one of the country’s top community sports centres when it opens and will feature some of the most state-of-the-art fitness facilities in the United Kingdom. The Centre is on track to open to the public before the end of the year with the Wall of Honour being added in the New Year. 

Nominations must have a connection with Meadowbank and can be made in four categories:

  • Competitive Achievements – individuals who have medalled at a major senior championship within their sport. This includes Commonwealth, European, World or Olympic level events.
  • Community Service – individuals who have made significant contributions to sports, clubs and the Meadowbank community in a voluntary capacity.
  • Professional Service –individuals who were employed to work at Meadowbank Sports Centre for a significant period and contributed to the operation and development of the venue as a major training, sports, events, health and wellbeing, physical activity and community destination.
  • Special Contribution – individuals who do not meet elements of the above criteria but you feel are an outstanding individual who should be recognised on the Wall of Honour.

Communities, teams and individuals across Edinburgh have eight weeks to submit nominations for the Wall before the deadline of Friday 26 November. Final decisions will then be made by a selection panel.

Councillor Donald Wilson, Culture and Communities Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “As we prepare to open the brand new Meadowbank Sports Centre this is a wonderful way for the Capital’s citizens to pay a lasting tribute to the Meadowbank legacy and to outstanding individuals who have made a positive impact on sport in the city and gained national and international recognition for Edinburgh.

“Please help us celebrate the people of Edinburgh’s achievements by proposing a nominee now.

Councillor Amy McNeese-Mechan, Culture and Communities Vice Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Meadowbank has been an important part of Scotland’s sporting history for many years and the new development will build on this legacy.

“The Wall of Honour is an excellent opportunity to highlight what has gone before and will be added to over the years as the new sports centre takes its place as an important venue for Edinburgh’s sporting future.

“We want to hear from the people of Edinburgh on who has inspired them over the years and deserves to be recognised and celebrated for years to come.”

Nominations can be made online through the Council’s Consultation Hub and must be received no later than Friday 26 November 2021.

Survey: Are the kids alright?

A 3 year old starting nursery in 2021 will have spent half their life under pandemic restrictions.

Public Health Scotland @P_H_S_Official would like to know what that means for families’ wellbeing.

A new survey aims to find out, extended to represent children aged 0-11:

https://surveys.publichealthscotland.scot/838276?lang=en

Local heroes to be celebrated at Holyrood opening ceremony

A shopkeeper from Edinburgh who raised money for her local community during the Covid-19 pandemic has been chosen by the Presiding Officer as her local hero who will attend Saturday’s opening ceremony of the Scottish Parliament.

Linda Williams set up the coronavirus hardship fund at the Premier Broadway Convenience Store in Oxgangs. Having raised over £10,000 to help her local community, it helped hundreds of locals pay for essentials such as utility bills and food.

Linda will join other local heroes, selected by MSPs across the country, at the event on Saturday 2 October.  Those selected have made an extraordinary contribution to their communities either locally or nationally.

Alison Johnstone MSP, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament said: “Our local heroes initiative is all about celebrating people from across Scotland for their contributions to their communities throughout the pandemic and beyond.

“The many actions and achievements of those nominated are truly inspiring. So many of our local heroes have put others before themselves, for the good of others.

“I am proud the Scottish Parliament will recognise people like Linda and that our local heroes will play a part in our 2021 opening ceremony.”

Linda Williams said: “I am very happy to have been nominated, although I certainly wasn’t looking for any thanks or recognition.

“It has been such a hard 18 months for everyone, and I think we played a small part in making life a bit easier for our customers and neighbours by setting up a free same day delivery service and starting a hardship fund to help those who slipped through the cracks of the financial help that was available.

“Our community rose to the occasion magnificently; people were incredibly generous with their donations, and the whole experience became a shining light of hope during a hard time.”

Vaccinations programme makes ‘excellent progress’, says Audit Scotland report

The Covid-19 vaccination programme has made excellent progress in vaccinating a large majority of the adult population in Scotland, according to a new report published today (30 September) by Audit Scotland.

By 17 September, more than 90 per cent of people aged 18 or over had received at least one Covid-19 vaccine. Levels of vaccine wastage have been low, and the programme has helped reduce the number of people getting severely ill and dying.

However, uptake has been lower amongst young people, those in the most deprived areas and those from some ethnic minority backgrounds.

The vaccine rollout has also relied on a temporary staff drawn from across the NHS. This is an expensive model and the Scottish Government recognises that it needs a longer-term solution.

NHS boards and health and social care partnerships currently expect vaccine delivery costs to be around £223 million in 2021/22. But the final cost for this year will depend on clinical advice issued by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, so it could differ substantially from the current estimate.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “The delivery of the vaccination programme has been a success so far, with good collaboration and new digital tools developed to help the process.

“Early scenario planning by the Scottish Government and NHS boards has allowed them to continue to react quickly to formal UK clinical advice.

“There is now an opportunity for the Scottish Government to use what’s it’s learned to manage the challenges of the next part of the vaccine programme, and the wider delivery of NHS services.”

briefing_210930_vaccinationDownload

First Minister announces 2,000 jobs at Social Security Scotland

More than 2,000 jobs will be created with Social Security Scotland over the next 12 months, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced.

Recruitment will start in October for staff to support the delivery of benefits due to be introduced next year, including the Adult Disability Payment – the Scottish Government’s replacement for the Personal Independence Payment.

The majority of the new roles will be based in Social Security Scotland’s Dundee head office and Glasgow, to take calls from clients and process applications for Scottish benefits.

The remainder will be based across the country to provide face-to-face advice for people applying in the way that would suit them best, whether that is online, by phone, by post or in person.

The First Minister said: “Social security is a human right and a collective investment in the people of this country now and for future generations.

“These roles come at a critical time in Scotland’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and our investment will go beyond the money that we will pay in benefits. When we have introduced all our new benefits and moved clients from the DWP to Social Security Scotland, our new social security service will employ more than 3,500 people. This will provide secure, long-term employment in Dundee, Glasgow and across the country and deliver a positive economic impact of £280 million for our economy.

“We are committed to creating a diverse workforce to provide this public service. Having people from a wide range of backgrounds will help deliver the best service and ensure that we do things differently and treat people with dignity, fairness and respect.”

Social Security Scotland’s Chief Executive David Wallace said: “Social Security Scotland opened its doors in September 2018, and we are already delivering 11 benefits – seven of which are brand new. We know that our clients value our service as we have a 90% satisfaction rating.

“As we welcome more than 2,000 additional staff to deliver new benefits and a high-quality service, we are committed to increasing diversity in the organisation so we reflect the clients we are here to serve and their lived experience.

“We are delighted to be able to create more jobs in Glasgow and to our head office in Dundee and I look forward to welcoming colleagues into Agnes Husband House in 2022.

“We are a Living Wage, Disability Confident and Carer Positive employer. We proudly support the Fair Start Scotland programme and have committed to offering 100 roles as part of Young Persons Guarantee in 2021/22.”

People can find the latest vacancies and sign up for job alerts at:

socialsecurity.gov.scot/jobs  

Awards coming thick and fast for North Edinburgh’s Scran Academy


Scran Academy’s work with young people has been recognised in two separate Industry Awards.

On Thursday 09 September 2021, John Loughton [founder] and the North Edinburgh charity won the Apprenticeships and Skills category at the 2021 Public Sector Catering Awards, that celebrate those working within public sector catering.  

Scran are also a finalist in the Charity of the Year category of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations’ (SCVO) Scottish Charity Awards 2021, celebrating the best of Scotland’s voluntary sector and voted for by industry professionals and the public. The winner will be announced at an online ceremony, hosted by Sally Magnusson tomorrow (Friday 1 October). 

The Apprenticeships and Skills Award, sponsored by Brakes, recognised that Scran Academy’s catering operations are an integral part of Scran Academy and are essential to delivering confidence-building experiences for young people.

These include the Scran Café which is located in the NHS Comely Bank Centre and currently creates a welcoming haven for frontline NHS workers and clinical trainees.  

The charity also runs its Scran Van, which delivers free community meals, feeds youth groups and supports families across the city.  These provide our young people with opportunities to learn, gain new skills, work as a team and solve problems in real-life situations. 

Scran Academy was up against stiff competition from across the whole of the UK, including Hospitals, Universities, large catering companies and industry bodies. However, thanks to its team of volunteers, staff and young people, Scran’s unique model of bespoke educational support and training won the day.

Scran pipped, amongst others, University College Birmingham, Compass Group UK and Ireland and The National Association of Care Catering to take the award.

For the Charity of the Year Award, SCVO has recognised Scran for ‘coordinating a coalition of charities that produced, packaged and delivered nearly 150,000 meals during the first Covid-19 lockdown, supporting over 1,000 people per week at its height’.

None of this would have be possible without the 220 local people who gave tens-of-thousands of hours back to their communities. In 2020 SCRAN also delivered its most successful Christmas Hamper campaign, selling 222 in total.

The organisation also merged with Prep Table Scotland, opened the Scran Café in partnership with NHS Lothian and launched the Scran Van food truck to tackle holiday hunger across Edinburgh.

Scran Academy founder John Loughton, and Catering Manager, Will Bain, attended the Public Sector Catering Awards ceremony in London. 

Scran Academy Catering Manager, Will Bain, said: “It blew me away to be up against catering managers with hundreds, sometimes thousands of employees, and for them to give us recognition for the work we do at Scran.”

Founder of Scran Academy, John Loughton BEM, said: “This nomination is a real vote of confidence in our community work and a recognition in the power of food to change lives.

“Will Bain and his team-work magic at Scran, to ensure food is positive for all people, not just those that can afford it. At Scran we do hand-ups, not just hand-outs and young people go on to change their own lives once they realise people believe in them.”

Scran Academy’s focus is to help young people from across North Edinburgh to overcome learning and life barriers and lead more meaningful lives.

The community-based school Scran runs – the Scran Academy – uses food to support learners disengaged from mainstream school to access qualifications and work.

Despite being less than four years old, the charity has grown and last year scaled its impact to provide meals for thousands of people throughout the pandemic across the city.  

Bulb planting session at West Pilton Park with ELGT

Join us to plants woodland summer flowers in West Pilton Park!

Fun & friendly FREE event

Tools, Gloves & bulbs provided

Please dress for the weather

Meet at entrance to the park by West Pilton Gardens

For further details contact Emily: emily@elgt.org.uk or telephone 0794353086

Consultation: modernising our fire and rescue services

The future role of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) as it adapts to meet new challenges is at the heart of a new consultation.

The overriding purpose of SFRS will remain the protection of communities, preventing fires and reducing their impact on society while maintaining the safety and mental wellbeing of staff.

However, the consultation will ask the public about the increasing impact of climate change and the need for SFRS to take account of greater risks from flooding and wildfires.

The importance of SFRS making a full contribution to the Scottish Government’s Net Zero emissions targets will also be highlighted at a time when Glasgow is preparing to host the COP26 environment conference in November.

Supporting the modernisation of SFRS and investing to allow it to expand its community safety and prevention work is a key commitment in the Programme for Government.

Other key issues in the consultation on an updated Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland include:

  • use of new technology and modernisation of facilities and equipment
  • effective use of resources
  • keeping rural communities safe

Community Safety Minister Ash Denham said: “Throughout the pandemic SFRS has been at the forefront of our response in meeting the needs of local communities in any way they are able to, from delivering prescriptions and food to using rural fire stations as Covid testing sites.

“In addition to the challenges which Covid recovery brings, Scotland is also facing significant changes as a result of EU exit, climate change, population changes and the expectations the public holds for all public services.

“All organisations need to adapt to these new demands and this framework will pave the way for further evolution, just as the challenges faced by SFRS continue to evolve.

“While the challenges Scotland faces are ever more complex, they also serve to foster opportunities for dynamic public sector organisations like SFRS to flourish and we encourage everyone who has an interest in this important consultation to have their say.”

Take part in the consultation.

It’s The Scottish Sun wot won big at Scottish Press Awards

The Scottish Sun swept the board at the 42nd annual Scottish Press Awards last night as the industry celebrated the very best of Scotland’s journalism.

The Glasgow-based titlescooped the prestigious Newspaper of the Year Award, Journalism Team of the Year and News Website of the Year accolades, for its coverage of the Coronavirus pandemic.

It was also a triumphant year for the publication’s Political Editor Chris Musson, who was named Journalist of the Year, Reporter of the Year, and Scottish Political Journalist of the Year.

He also secured Scoop of the Year with colleague Graham Mann for their shocking expose that saw Finance Secretary Derek Mackay quit in 2020 after revealing he sent hundreds of messages to a schoolboy, aged 16, 

Chair of judges Denise West, chief commercial officer at DC Thomson Media and ex-Trinity Mirror (North) managing director said: “Journalists dig up stories, but their titles have to know what to do with them, and with its usual panache, The Scottish Sun knew exactly what to do when the good were delivered.

“Our daily paper of the year has lost none of its style and vigour and resisted political pressure to deliver one of the most important stories of 2020 and to keep well ahead of the pack when it came to the big political scoops.”

Denise said the decision to give Chris Musson Journalist of the Year was one of the “easiest decisions” judges have had to make in the awards’ recent history.

She added “Chris was involved in scoop after scoop which made the political weather week after week and even cost a Scottish cabinet minister his job.”

Sunday Times Scotland became the first Sunday Newspaper of the Year as judges praised the publication for its “agenda-setting news stories” as well as hard-hitting commentary and analysis.

And the Lennox Herald was chosen as the Weekly Newspaper of the Year by a panel of Scottish daily newspaper editors.

A total of 33 awards crediting the vital work of print and digital journalism were announced, with The Daily Record scooping the Campaign of the Year title with its ‘Addicted: What Do We Do About Scotland’s Drugs Deaths” series.

The Press and Journal’s Julia Bryce won the first ever Food and Drink Writer of the Year award, Gabriella Bennett of The Times won the Travel Writer category and DC Thomson’s Lesley-Anne Kelly was named Specialist Reporter of the Year.

The Nicola Barry Award, which was introduced in 2018 in honour of the late award-winning columnist and feature writer, was awarded to The Sunday Post’s Laura Smith.

Alan Muir, the ex-editor of The Scottish Sun who recently left after 34 years at the newspaper. received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement award.

And The Orcadian received the inaugural Chairperson’s Award for how they’d served their local community and “stood up for its readers” during the pandemic.

Denise praised the newspaper, adding: “This one small title went out of its way to do its bit with tangible help for its community by giving up vital revenue to reduce advertising rates so small local companies could market their services cheaply and rebuild.”

This year’s judging panel comprised 37 independent judges compromising 21 women and 15 men drawn from across the Scottish media, communications, and public affairs industries.

The event at the DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central was hosted by former BBC Scotland newsreader Jackie Bird.

The 42nd Scottish Press Awards are sponsored by VisitScotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Diageo, Johnnie Walker Princes Street, Openreach, BIG Partnership, Women in Journalism Scotland, DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central, Event Consultants Scotland and SGN.

Scottish Newspaper Society Director John McLellan said: ““There is no question that 2020 was the most difficult year news publishing has ever faced, keeping readers properly informed through the biggest crisis any of us have ever known at the same time as the revenues on which all titles depend all but collapsed.

“But as an industry we were more than up to the challenge, as all our entries and our growing audiences clearly demonstrate.

“It has been brilliant to have our first in-person awards since the pandemic began and it’s a clear statement of intent that the sector will recover and continue to serve our communities.”

More information about all Scottish Press Awards winners can be found at: 

https://www.scotns.org.uk/awards/

Independent advocacy support service for disabled people

New service will launch in the New Year

Disabled people are to benefit from a ground-breaking new advocacy service which will support access to Scotland’s social security services.

The Scottish Government has committed £20.4 million over the next four years to the provision of the new and free programme, unique in the UK.

It will offer advocacy support to disabled people looking to access Scottish social security benefits.

These include current and future disability benefits such as Child Disability Payment, Adult Disability Payment and Pension Age Disability Payment.

The service will be operational in the new year and is entirely independent of the Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland. It will be available in each NHS board area and will create up to 100 new jobs across the country.

Social Security Minister Ben Macpherson said: “The service will provide advocacy to anyone who is disabled and requires support to communicate their needs when accessing Scotland’s social security services.

“This assistance will be person-centred and advocates will provide the most appropriate form of support to each individual based on their circumstances.

“This is a new and independent free service, with no equivalent provided by DWP.

“It builds on our human rights-based approach and makes social security more accessible to disabled people in Scotland, ensuring their voices are heard.”

VoiceAbility, a charity with 40 years’ experience delivering advocacy services, has been awarded the contract to provide the service.

They will establish a new base and training centre in Glasgow and create up to 100 jobs over the four years. There will be at least one advocate in each NHS area at launch, with more jobs to be created as disability benefits are introduced.

VoiceAbility CEO Jonathan Senker said: “We are proud to launch this new independent advocacy service and we look forward to establishing a base in Scotland and taking on the staff to deliver it.

“The advocacy we provide will support disabled people to make sure their voices are heard when it matters most and that more people will get the support they’re entitled to.”

Brian Scott of the Glasgow Disability Alliance added: “Our members have highlighted the barriers that many disabled people face in accessing support to find out about the social security benefits they are entitled to – and to apply for them. 

“We welcome this free advocacy service as it will ensure disabled people are more involved in the processes and decisions which affect them. 

“In making social security more accessible to disabled people, it shows real evidence of a rights-based approach to providing services.”