The College is hosting the event both online and in-person at its Sighthill Campus from 8.30am with the aim of showcasing training opportunities available to SMEs and large companies through the Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF).
The information event, taking place on Thursday 24 February 2022, will see business delegates learn about the FWDF from Edinburgh College’s Business Development Advisors, as well as meeting expert lecturers who will discuss the range of subjects available to businesses and employees.
Attendees will also hear from Tracey Bork, Head of People at Lothian Buses, about her experience of applying for fully funded training with Edinburgh College.
If delegates cannot attend in person, the College is streaming the presentations and interview taking place during the event via Microsoft Teams.
A link for the live stream and joining instructions will be available soon after registering for the event. Online delegates will have the opportunity to ask questions through a Q&A function within Teams.
The College encourages anyone who intends to attend the event in person to take a lateral flow COVID-19 test before they arrive.
The Flexible Workforce Development Fund, offered by the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council, facilitated by Scottish colleges, offers larger organisations and SMEs, across the private, public and third sectors, an opportunity to apply for fully funded training for their teams.
The funding provides SMEs with up to £5,000 of free training; and larger employers (those with an annual payroll bill of £3m+) with up to £15,000 of free training.
Introduction to the College, training opportunities and funding options.
8.50am
Interview with Tracey Bork, Head of People at Lothian Buses, about the client’s experience of accessing the fund through Edinburgh College.
9.05am
A presentation from Edinburgh College and the Training Development team about professional training courses and management soft skills (CMI, CIPD, ILM, bespoke).
9.15am
A talk on ‘Adapting to new working conditions during the pandemic’ from John Chalmers – Learning and Development Manager at Business Stream.
Prices are rising at the fastest rate in 30 years, and energy bills alone are expected to rise by 50% in April. We are all feeling the pinch but the soaring costs of essentials will hurt low income families, whose budgets are already at breaking point, most.
There has long been a profound mismatch between what those with a low income have, and what they need to get by. Policies such as the benefit cap and benefit freeze have left many struggling. Families are still reeling from the £20 cut to Universal Credit last October. And, though benefits will increase by 3.1% in April, inflation is projected to be 6% by then. This means yet another real terms cut to incomes.
The government must respond to the scale of the challenge. Immediate targeted protection to prevent serious hardship is essential, but short-term support will not be enough in the face of ongoing inflation.
The government should increase benefits by 6% in April and ensure support for housing costs increases in line with rents. All those struggling, including families affected by the benefit cap, must feel the impact.
Much more is needed for levels of support to reflect what people need to get by. But, in taking these first steps, the government will prevent the gap from getting wider and lay the foundation to further strengthen our social security system that protects us from poverty.
Signed by:
Alison Garnham, Chief Executive, Child Poverty Action Group
Graeme Cooke, Director of Evidence and Policy, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Emma Revie, Chief Executive, The Trussell Trust
Imran Hussain, Director of Policy & Campaigns, Action for Children
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director, Age UK
Sarb Bajwa, Chief Executive, British Psychological Society
Joseph Howes, CEO, Buttle UK
Leigh Elliott, CEO, Children North East
Laurence Guinness, Chief Executive, The Childhood Trust
Paula Stringer, CEO, Christians Against Poverty (CAP)
Niall Cooper, Director, Church Action on Poverty
James Plunkett, Executive Director of Advice & Advocacy, Citizens Advice
STATEMENT ON FUTURE PREMISES FOR CCC (2nd February 2022)
Since the disastrous fire in 2013, we have been looking to rebuild the former Corstorphine Public Hall at Kirk Loan.
We have made considerable efforts, with success, to modernise our governance structure to facilitate this, trusting it would then enable us to access the required funds as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) which owns and runs a Community Facility for the area.
A Lottery Fund application was applauded, but no funds were granted and as you may be aware the CCC has over the past few years received indications of funding options on a number of occasions by the City of Edinburgh Council but has not been allocated anything towards the approved project to rebuild on the original Public Hall site.
Strenuous efforts have been made over a number of years to secure the funds to make that project possible but without success. Our current lease at St John’s road will be coming to an end shortly, leaving us nowhere to run all our current and successful community groups and services.
After much serious consideration and research, CCC has now started the proceedings for a Community Asset Transfer (CAT) of Westfield House in Corstorphine, the former city council office building, also situated in Kirk Loan
Our intention is to adapt the current building to create the required community centre. The CAT presents an opportunity to provide even more services and activities for the local community. It is also anticipated that external funding for this project will be available from the Scottish Land Trust.
In addition to our existing cash reserves and all donations received, the original site at Kirk Loan has a value and although somewhat reluctantly, it is our intention that the site will shortly be marketed for sale; this will provide funds to be used solely for the provision of the new community centre for Corstorphine.
“We know this rise will be extremely worrying for many people, especially those who are struggling to make ends meet”
Record increase in global gas prices sees energy price cap rise of 54%
Ofgem knows this rise will be extremely worrying for many people
Customers struggling to pay their energy bill should contact their supplier to access the help available
The energy price cap will increase from 1 April for approximately 22 million customers. Those on default tariffs paying by direct debit will see an increase of £693 from £1,277 to £1,971 per year (difference due to rounding). Prepayment customers will see an increase of £708 from £1,309 to £2,017.
The increase is driven by a record rise in global gas prices over the last 6 months, with wholesale prices quadrupling in the last year.
It will affect default tariff customers who haven’t switched to a fixed deal and those who remain with their new supplier after their previous supplier exited the market.
The price cap is updated twice a year and tracks wholesale energy and other costs.
It stops energy companies from making excessive profits, ensuring customers pay no more than a fair price for their energy.
The price cap allows energy companies to pass on all reasonable costs to customers, including increases in the cost of buying gas.
Since the price cap was last updated in August, the current level does not reflect the unprecedented record rise in gas prices which has since taken place.
Under the price cap mechanism, energy companies will be allowed to pass on these higher costs from April when the new level takes effect.
This is because energy companies cannot afford to supply electricity and gas to their customers for less than they have paid for it.
Over the last year, 29 energy companies have exited the market or been put in special administration in the wake of soaring global gas prices, affecting around 4.3 million domestic customers.
Jonathan Brearley, chief executive of Ofgem, said:“We know this rise will be extremely worrying for many people, especially those who are struggling to make ends meet, and Ofgem will ensure energy companies support their customers in any way they can.
“The energy market has faced a huge challenge due to the unprecedented increase in global gas prices, a once in a 30-year event, and Ofgem’s role as energy regulator is to ensure that, under the price cap, energy companies can only charge a fair price based on the true cost of supplying electricity and gas.
“Ofgem is working to stabilise the market and over the longer term to diversify our sources of energy which will help protect customers from similar price shocks in the future.”
Ofgem will tomorrow announce further measures to help the energy market weather future volatility by increasing financial resilience and have the flexibility to respond so that risks are not inappropriately passed on to consumers.
The further measures include enabling Ofgem to update the price cap more frequently than once every 6 months in exceptional circumstances to ensure that it still reflects the true cost of supplying energy.
Help available for customers:
If customers are struggling to pay for energy bills, they should contact their energy supplier as soon as possible. Depending on their circumstances, customers may be eligible for extra help with their energy bills or services, such as debt repayment plans, payment breaks, emergency credit for prepayment metered customers, priority support and schemes like the Winter Fuel Payment or Warm Home Discount rebate.
Breathing Space Scheme: This is a scheme to give households time to receive debt advice and find a solution to sort out their debt problems. Breathing space will last for 60 days as long as applicants remain eligible during which time all creditors who have been included will be informed and must stop any collection or enforcement activity. Once the breathing space ends, creditors will be able to collect the debt in the usual way. Call the National Debtline on Freephone 0808 808 4000 or visit www.nationaldebtline.org
The Citizens Advice consumer service can provide advice on how customers can resolve problems with their energy provider. You can contact Citizens Advice via webchat, or by calling 0808 223 1133. For complex or urgent cases, or if a person is in a vulnerable situation, they may then be referred onto the Extra Help Unit.
2. Ofgem will announce further measures tomorrow including:
Introducing an uplift in the wholesale cost allowance in the price cap: after reviewing the evidence, Ofgem has decided that the existing price cap methodology did not appropriately account for the additional wholesale energy costs energy companies have incurred during the current price cap period following the unprecedented scale of wholesale energy prices and volatility. This adjustment represents less than 10% of the overall price cap increase.
Changing licence conditions to give Ofgem the more flexibility to change the price cap level if needed in between the regular six-monthly cap updates: Ofgem has set ourselves five tests which mean we will only expect to use the power in exceptional circumstances.
Further reforms to the price cap from October: In December we set out three options to make the price cap more robust to high and volatile wholesale energy costs while preserving as far as possible the benefits of the price cap for consumers. The consultation published tomorrow will include all three options, with quarterly updates as our preferred option
Breakdown of costs in the energy price cap
Dual fuel customer paying by direct debit, typical energy use (GB £)
*Network costs: The main driver of this increase is the recovery of Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) levy costs (£68). A supplier acting as a SoLR can make a claim for any reasonable additional, otherwise unrecoverable, costs they incur. These levy claims are paid to energy companies by the distribution network companies and recovered from consumers via their charges.
5. The charts below show the wholesale prices that are used to determine the wholesale cost allowance within the price cap from spring 2018 ahead of the introduction of the price cap in January 2019.
Wholesale costs make up the majority of a customer’s bill. An efficient supplier will purchase energy for their customers on the wholesale market in advance of when they need to supply that energy.
This purchasing strategy is reflected in how the wholesale allowance is calculated within the price cap. We observe the forward-looking energy contracts that energy companies typically purchase over time and combine these to determine the wholesale cost allowance within the price cap.
We do this twice a year when we update the price cap in August for the winter period (October – March) and in February for the summer period (April – September) based on the price of these forward-looking energy contracts over the previous six months.
The fixed horizontal line shows the average wholesale cost allowance for each 6 month price cap period based on the price of the relevant forward looking energy contracts (the jagged line).
The recent spike in the prices of relevant forward looking energy contracts over the last 6 months can be clearly seen. The scale and pace of wholesale price increases has resulted in a big increase in the wholesale cost allowance for the price cap level for summer 2022.
Wholesale gas price costs in the energy price cap
Pence per therm
Wholesale electricity price costs in the energy price cap
Pounds per megawatt hour
Data sets behind these graphs are proprietary and can be sourced from ICIS.
Chancellor’s statement – Energy Price Cap
Statement, as delivered by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, on 3 February 2022:
Mr Speaker,
The UK’s economic recovery has been quicker and stronger than forecast.
In the depths of the pandemic, our economy was expected to return to its pre-crisis level at the end of 2022.
Instead, it got there in November 2021 – a full year earlier.
Unemployment was expected to peak at nearly 12%.
Instead, it peaked at 5.2% and has now fallen to just over 4% – saving more than 2 million jobs.
And with the fastest growing economy in the G7 this year…
Over 400,000 more people on payrolls than before the pandemic…
And business investment rising…it’s no wonder Mr Speaker, that borrowing is set to fall from £320bn last year …
… the highest ever peacetime level …
… to £46bn by the end of this Parliament.
As we emerge from the depths of the worst recession in 300 years, we should be proud of our economic record.
The economy is stronger because of the plan we put in place; because of the actions we took to protect families and businesses.
And that plan is working.
But for all the progress we are making – the job is not yet done.
Right now, I know the number one issue on people’s minds is the rising cost of living.
It is the independent Bank of England’s role to deliver low and stable inflation – and the Governor will set out their latest judgements at midday today.
And just as the government stood behind the British people through the pandemic…
… so we will help people deal with one of the biggest costs they now face – energy.
The energy regulator, OFGEM, announced this morning that the energy price cap will rise in April to £1,971 – an increase of £693 for the average household. Without government action, this would be incredibly tough for millions of hardworking families. So the government is going to step in to directly help people manage those extra costs.
Mr Speaker,
Before I set out the steps we are taking, let me explain what’s happening to energy prices, and why.
People’s energy bills are rising because it is more expensive for the companies who supply our energy to buy oil, coal, and gas.
Of the £693 increase in the April price cap, around 80% comes from wholesale energy prices.
Over the last year, the price of gas alone has quadrupled.
And because over 85% of homes in Britain are heated with a gas boiler, and around 40% of our electricity comes from gas, this is hitting households hard.
The reasons gas prices are soaring are global.
Across Europe and Asia, a long, cold winter last year depleted gas stores.
Disruption to other energy sources like nuclear and wind left us relying more than usual on gas during the summer months.
Surging demand in the world’s manufacturing centres in Asia…
… at the same time as countries like China are moving away from coal…
… is further increasing demand for gas.
And concerns about a possible Russian incursion into Ukraine are putting further pressure on wholesale gas markets.
And so prices are rising.
Mr Speaker,
The price cap has meant that the impact of soaring gas prices has so far fallen mainly on energy companies.
So much so, that some suppliers who couldn’t afford to meet those extra costs have gone out of business as a result.
It is not sustainable to keep holding the price of energy artificially low.
For me to stand here and pretend we don’t have to adjust to paying higher prices would be wrong and dishonest. But what we can do is take the sting out of a significant price shock for millions of families … by making sure the increase in prices is smaller initially and spread over a longer period.
Mr Speaker,
Without government intervention, the increase in the price cap would leave the average household having to find an extra £693.
The actions I’m announcing today will provide, to the vast majority of households, just over half that amount – £350.
In total, the government is going to help around 28 million households this year.
Taken together, this is a plan to help with the cost of living worth around £9bn.
We’re delivering that support in three different ways.
First, we will spread the worst of the extra costs of this year’s energy price shock over time.
This year, all domestic electricity customers will receive an upfront discount on their bills worth £200.
Energy suppliers will apply the discount on people’s bills from October.
With the government meeting the cost in full.
That discount will be automatically repaid from people’s bills in equal £40 instalments over the next five years.
This is the right way to support people while staying on track with our plans to repair the public finances.
And because we are taking a fiscally responsible approach, we can also provide more help, faster, to those who need it most – the second part of our plan.
We’re going to give people a £150 Council Tax rebate to help with the cost of energy, in April – and this discount won’t need to be repaid.
And I do want to be clear with the House that we are deliberately not just giving support to people on benefits.
Lots of people on middle incomes are struggling right now, too – so I’ve decided to provide the council tax rebate to households in Bands A to D.
This means around 80% of all homes in England will benefit.
And the third part of our plan will provide local authorities with a discretionary fund of nearly £150m…
… to help those lower income households who happen to live in higher Council Tax properties…
… and households in bands A-D who are exempt from Council Tax.
We’re also confirming today that we’ll go ahead with existing plans to expand eligibility for the Warm Home Discount by almost a third…
… so that 3m vulnerable households will now benefit from that scheme.
And that’s not all we’re doing to help vulnerable households.
We’re providing £3bn over this Parliament to help more than half a million lower income homes become more energy efficient, saving them on average £290 per year.
Increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour in April, a pay rise of over £1,000 for 2 million low paid workers.
And providing an effective tax cut for those on Universal Credit, allowing almost 2 million households to keep an average of £1,000 per year.
The payment through energy suppliers will apply across England, Wales and Scotland.
Energy policy is devolved in Northern Ireland, with a different regulator, and the government does not have the legal powers to intervene.
So we will make sure the Executive is funded to do something similar, with around £150m for Northern Ireland through the Barnett formula next year.
And because the Council Tax system is England only, total Barnett consequentials of around £565m will be provided to the devolved administrations in the usual way.
Mr Speaker,
I know that some in this House have argued for a VAT cut on energy.
However, that policy would disproportionately benefit wealthier households.
There would also be no guarantee that suppliers would pass on the discounts to all customers.
And we should be honest with ourselves: this would become a permanent Government subsidy on everyone’s bills.
A permanent subsidy worth £2.5 billion every year – at a time when we are trying to rebuild the public finances.
Instead, our plan allows us to provide more generous support, faster, to those who need it most, providing 28m households with at least £200, and the vast majority receiving £350.
It is fair, it is targeted, it is proportionate – it is the right way to help people with the spike in energy costs.
Mr Speaker,
Today’s announcements are just one part of the government’s plan to tackle this country’s most pressing economic challenges.
A plan for growth – with record investments in infrastructure, innovation and skills.
A plan to restore the public finances – with debt falling by the end of this Parliament.
A plan to cut waiting lists and back the NHS with £29bn over three years and a permanent new source of funding.
And, with the measures I’ve announced today – a plan to help with the rising cost of energy with £350 more in the pockets of tens of millions of hard working families.
That’s our plan to build a stronger economy – not just today but for the long term.
And I commend it to this House.
Commenting on the energy cap rise, interest rate rise and the Chancellor’s measures to address the cost of living crisis, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The Chancellor’s announcement is hopelessly inadequate. For most families it’s just £7 a week and more than half must be paid back.
“It’s too little, it’s poorly targeted, and it’s stop gap measures instead of fixing the big problems.
“Britain needs a pay rise. The best way to help families is to get wages growing again. But this government has no plan to end pay misery.
“Ministers should be getting urgent help to families that need it most through raising universal credit. And we need a windfall tax on the excessive profits from North Sea gas to cut bills and boost investment in affordable energy.”
Responding to today’s announcements on energy costs and the cost of living, Katie Schmuecker, Deputy Director of Policy and Partnerships for the independent Joseph Rowntree Foundation said: “The Chancellor has offered cold comfort to families in poverty, who are already rationing what they can spend on essentials such as heating and food.
“These families are now expected to find at least half of the eye watering increases in energy bills, when many are already getting into debt to keep their houses warm and food on the table.
“Three quarters of those who can claim the enhanced support are not in poverty. Meanwhile inflation is set to rise at more than double the rate of benefits. This support will not get people through the next few months and it will not protect those most at risk of hardship.
“People in poverty are hit hardest by all these pressures because our social security system is simply not offering adequate support, and until that changes they will continue to be exposed to every economic shock.
“The Chancellor has made his choice, the harder choices will now be coming for those who still can’t afford essentials for themselves and their families.”
University of Birmingham’s Harriet Thomson on the rise of energy price caps: “This news comes at a time when families across Great Britain have already been facing years of rapidly increasing energy prices, as well as chaotic energy market conditions with the collapse of around 20 energy supplies since January 2021 alone.
“Just last month, ONS data found that 2 in 3 adults said their costs of living had gone up in the past month, with 79% of those attributing blame to gas and electricity prices.
“We know from the extensive body of existing evidence on this topic that lower income households will be disproportionately hit by the price cap increase, risking pushing millions more into a situation fuel poverty.
“This will have serious consequences for physical and mental health, social isolation, and educational attainment, with households forced to make difficult everyday decisions over whether to ‘heat or eat’.
“Moreover, these price increases are likely to push more people into using risky and/or polluting alternative energy sources, such as DIY candle heaters that have been linked to house fires, burning scrap wood and other flammable materials, and digging up peat. As well as the obvious risks to human life, these approaches will also exacerbate climate change.
“It’s clear that energy companies are reeling from the potent combination of cash flow reductions due to pandemic-related economic pressures on families who are building up more energy debt, and the global gas crisis.
“But the answer is not to burden households with yet more costs. The energy market is broken and needs radical reform – now is the time for the UK government to show ambition and commitment to the nation by investing in deep retrofits of our old and leaky housing stock, and to rollout decentralised renewable energy systems at scale.”
Do you know someone who would benefit from free access to ebooks, audiobooks and magazines, but who aren’t a member of the library?
You can get free instant access to Edinburgh Libraries Libby from OverDrive service without a library card.
Thousands of best-selling titles for adults, teens and children are available to read on your phone, tablet or computer. It’s a fantastic way to make the most of your electronic Christmas presents and to save money. Please spread the word to relatives and friends!
No library card? No problem! Until the 17 February if you are over 13 years old you can sign up for an Instant digital card in seconds.
All you need is a mobile phone number and the access code – Library2go.
The Instant digital card gives you access to Libby for three months.
However, you can keep on using the service for free by joining the library and receiving a permanent membership card. Join online through: www.edinburgh.gov.uk/joinourlibrary
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up Michael Gove has written to the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland following the publication of the Levelling Up White Paper.
In the letters the Secretary of State for Levelling Up:
calls for the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to work with the UK government to overcome shared challenges
The Scottish Government is yet to respond.
LEVELLING UP: REACTION
Responding to the publication of the levelling up white paper, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “If we don’t level up at work, we won’t level up the country.
“But the government has failed to provide a serious plan to deliver decent well-paid jobs, in the parts of the UK that need them most.
“Insecure work and low pay are rife in modern Britain. And for far too many families hard work no longer pays.
“With the country facing a cost-of-living crisis, working families need action now to improve jobs and boost pay packets – especially after more than a decade of lost pay.
“Ministers should have announced a plan to get real wages rising – starting with a proper pay rise for all our key workers and the introduction of fair pay deals for low-paid industries.
“And they should have delivered the long-awaited employment bill to ban zero hours contracts – as well as new, meaningful investment in skills and good green jobs of the future.
“Without a plan to deliver decent work up and down the country, millions will struggle on, on low wages, and with poor health and prospects.”
Recent polling published by the TUC found the British public’s number one priority for levelling up is more and better jobs.
The TUC polling, conducted by YouGov, reveals that the most popular priority for levelling up, chosen by one in two Britons, is increasing the number and quality of jobs available.
Increasing the number and quality of jobs is popular across the political spectrum. Half (49 per cent) of those who voted Conservative in the 2019 general election picked it as their top priority, along with more than half of Labour voters (56 per cent) and Lib Dem voters (54 per cent).
Matthew Fell, CBI Chief Policy Director, said:“The Levelling Up White Paper is a serious assessment of the regional inequalities which have hamstrung the UK’s economic potential for generations.
“It offers a blueprint for how government can be rewired and an encouraging basis for how the private sector can bring the investment and innovation to start overcoming those deep-rooted challenges, and power long term prosperity for every community, wherever they live.
“The picture it paints of a reinvigorated 2030 UK can inspire public and private sector partners to unite on shared missions for improving health, wealth, growth and opportunity across the country.
“Crucially, it accepts the CBI view that business-driven economic clusters – enabling every region and nation to build its own unique competitiveness proposition – can be a catalyst which brings levelling up ambitions to life.”
University of Birmingham’s John Bryson on the Levelling Up announcement: “The UK has always suffered from uneven development and this is reflected in all measures of well-being – from salaries to place-based differences in mortality rates and morbidity.
“There is no country on this planet that does not suffer from some form of uneven place-based outcomes. The implication is that any attempt to remove place-based uneven outcomes will and must fail. The policy outcome might mean some alteration in the extent or degree of unevenness, but unevenness will continue to persist.
“No political party will be able to develop effective solutions to create a level playing field. Nevertheless, this does not mean that policies should not be designed to support and facilitate some form of more even development. However, the outcome will still be the persistence of uneven outcomes.
“The key to any levelling-up agenda is to accept that every place is different and that there are multiple alternative place-based pathways; London can never become Newcastle and Newcastle can never become London.
“The levelling-up agenda needs to be positioned around a debate that is not based on closing the gap between the richer and poorer part of the country, but instead must be framed around facilitating place-based responsible inclusive prosperity.
“This must be the focus as any policy targeted at economic growth can never be sustainable. The levelling-up policy initiative ultimately must be designed to encourage inclusive carbon-light lifestyles. One implication is that levelling-up might also require some degree of levelling-down.”
Campbell Robb, Nacro chief executive said: “We know tackling poverty and inequality is key to levelling up. For over 50 years Nacro has been embedded in communities helping some of our nation’s most vulnerable people through our housing, education, and justice services.
“We see a huge amount of unmet need in our country. We need radical change to the systems that support people and significant funding to address this need, not just ambitions and slogans.
“Until there is right support, opportunity, and funding in place for everyone to succeed regardless of the circumstances, we cannot truly claim to be levelling up”
Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: “We now know what levelling up is – George Osborne plus New Labour.
“The White Paper is all about combining the devolution of the former Conservative Chancellor, with the bigger and more activist state focused on deprived areas of the last Labour government.
“There is a strong case for both. Whether they can be delivered very much remains to be seen.”
Responding to the publication of Government’s Levelling Up the United Kingdom White Paper, Social Mobility Commission Chair Katharine Birbalsingh and Deputy Chair Alun Francis said:“We welcome the publication of the Levelling Up White Paper, and the fact that it gives a clear framework to address disparities between regions and communities.
“These communities are full of talented individuals and we must do everything we can to empower them to thrive. Each of the missions the paper sets out are hugely important, and it is crucial that checks and balances are in place to ensure that local government bodies, both existing and new, are held to account for their delivery.
“The Commission has been clear that social mobility must be a core objective of levelling up. We are pleased to see that equipping young people with the tools they need to succeed in life is at the heart of this strategy, and that it includes measures that can contribute to social mobility through every stage of a young person’s journey, from early childhood through education, training and employment.
“The missions are aspirational and pose the right questions, but are also hugely ambitious. The test will be in the detail and the implementation – not just boosting skills, but which skills will be taught and how; not just aiming for essential literacy and numeracy, but defining the most effective ways to achieve them.
“Ultimately, levelling up will be judged on how well it creates opportunities in places they did not exist before. A key test will be how we help those with the fewest opportunities find decent work – this is not just about stories of rags-to-riches. More still needs to be done to stimulate the creation of much-needed quality private sector jobs in the most deprived areas.
“As the Social Mobility Commission we stand ready to work with the government to flesh out that detail, advise on the best ways to make these missions a reality, and ensure that levelling up empowers people up and down the country to stand on their own two feet.”
Finally, after months of delays, the levelling up White Paper is out! So was it worth the wait?
Levelling Up White Paper leaves low paid workers behind
As the TUC has argued, you can’t level up without levelling up at work. In-work poverty, driven by the prevalence of low-paid and insecure work, is sky-high in every region and nation of the UK. This reflects the fact that low-paid sectors, such as retail and social care, are major employers in every area of the country (writes TUC’s JANET WILLIAMSON).
And more and better jobs is the public’s top priority for levelling up, with recent polling for the TUC conducted by YouGov finding that increasing the number and quality of jobs is seen as a priority for levelling up by one in two people from right across the political spectrum. Does the White Paper deliver this?
The White Paper sets out 12 missions – or aims – spanning living standards, R&D, transport, digital connectivity, education, skills, health, well-being, pride in place, housing, crime and local leadership. There is not a specific mission on work, but the living standards mission is “By 2030, pay, employment and productivity will have risen in every area of the UK, with each containing a globally competitive city, and the gap between the top performing and other areas closing.”
So, what is the plan for achieving this?
In a nutshell, it is to grow the private sector and improve its ability to create new and better paid jobs. There are five strategies to support this aim, all of which fall under a typical ‘industrial strategy’ umbrella: improving SME’s access to finance; boosting institutional investment, including from the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and the recently established National Infrastructure Bank; attracting foreign direct investment and using trade policy, in particular freeports, to boost investment; improving the diffusion of technologies and innovation; and supporting and growing the manufacturing sector.
There are some important questions to be answered in relation to some of these strategies; for example, it is vital that the LGPS is invested in the long-term interests of its members, without its funds being diverted towards other purposes. And each deserves proper examination in its own right.
But what they have in common is that all of them aim to create a better distribution of well-paid and highly skilled jobs around the country. This is needed – but what about the jobs that people are already in? There is no plan to address inequality within the labour market and nothing to level up work that is low paid and insecure.
The experience of London shows that the prevalence of high-paid jobs does not automatically lead to rising incomes for the wider community. Indeed, London has the highest rate of in-work poverty in the country, with people in low-paying service sector jobs priced out of housing and local amenities.
To level up, we must tackle low pay and insecurity head on, and focus on those sectors that need it most.
We need to strengthen the floor of employment protection for all workers by raising the minimum wage and tackling zero hours contracts. And the government should lead by example, giving public sector workers a proper pay rise and reversing the devastating cuts that public services have suffered in the last decade. Decent jobs should be a requirement of all government procurement, so that the power of government is used to drive up employment standards.
But we also need to change the way our economy works to hardwire decent work into business models and economic growth. Relying on the private sector to level up without changing how it works will fail. We need corporate governance reform to rebalance corporate priorities and give working people a fair share of the wealth they create. And we need a new skills settlement to give working people access to lifelong learning accounts and a right to retrain.
Levelling up at work means addressing the imbalance of power in the workplace
Working people need stronger rights to organise collectively in unions and bargain with their employer. Collective bargaining promotes higher pay, better training, safer and more flexible workplaces and greater equality – exactly what we need to level up at work. Unions should have access to workplaces to tell people about the benefits of unions, following the New Zealand model.
And to level up we must tackle entrenched low pay and poor conditions within sectors head on, bringing unions and employers together to set sectoral Fair Pay Agreements for low paid sectors, starting with social care.
Creating new and better jobs is important; but this Levelling Up White Paper has left those in low paid, insecure work behind.
Police officers investigating a robbery at a shop in the Tollcross area have arrested and charged two men.
At around 10.45pm on Thursday, 6 January 2022, a 24-year-old man was walking on Spey Street when he was approached and taken back to the store where he worked on Leven Street. A four-figure sum of cash was then take from the store.
Two men, aged 26 and 28, have been arrested and charged in connection with the incident.
They are both due to appear in Edinburgh Sheriff Court today (Thursday, 3 February, 2022). A report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.
Detective Inspector Kevin Tait from Edinburgh Division CID, said: “We would like to thank the public for their assistance following our appeal.”
Reducing the negative impact of fireworks and pyrotechnics on communities across Scotland is at the heart of new legislation. The Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Bill proposes tougher action on the sale and use of fireworks and the misuse of pyrotechnics.
The Bill follows the report of an independent Firework Review Group which recommended tightening legislation to reduce the harm fireworks can cause.
An analysis of the public consultation, published in December 2021, showed strong support for key measures in the Bill amongst those who responded.
The Bill’s proposals include:
the introduction of a fireworks licensing system
a new power for local authorities to designate firework control zones, where it is not permitted for the public to use fireworks
restricting the days fireworks can be sold to and used by the general public
a new offence to criminalise the supply of fireworks and pyrotechnics to under-18s to ensure adults do not purchase such products on behalf of children
a new offence of being in possession of a pyrotechnic while at, or travelling to, certain places or events, without reasonable excuse
Community Safety Minister Ash Regan said: “This Bill will ensure appropriate action is taken over the sale and use of fireworks as well as reducing the misuse of pyrotechnic devices such as flares.
“We have undertaken a significant programme of engagement and evidence gathering which has demonstrated strong public support for tougher action.
“We have already moved quickly to introduce regulations restricting the times of day and the volume of fireworks that can be supplied to the public – as well as the times fireworks can be set off.
“This Bill demonstrates our absolute commitment to further improve safety for communities across Scotland.”
Police Scotland Chief Superintendent Linda Jones of Partnership, Prevention and Community Wellbeing said: “Pyrotechnics in the wrong hands can be lethal. They are inherently dangerous and their ongoing misuse is a matter of serious concern to Police Scotland. This is not only due to the risks faced by those who may discharge them, but to those around them.
“There is no safe way to operate pyrotechnics unless you are properly trained – leave it to the experts at organised events.”
Director of Service Delivery for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Assistant Chief Officer Stuart Stevens said: “It is clear the inappropriate use of fireworks and pyrotechnics such as flares can cause harm and serious injury as well as distress people, pets and the wider community.
“In some cases, fireworks have also been linked to anti-social behaviour which can put our crews and our partners at risk whilst drawing unnecessarily on our emergency service resources. We therefore welcome measures to help keep our communities, staff and partners safe.”
Clinical Research Fellow at the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Canniesburn Department of Plastic Surgery Eleanor Robertson said: “We are delighted this Bill is being introduced.
“Firework safety campaigns raise awareness of the hazards and provide risk-reduction strategies, but pediatrics and adult patients continue to present with severe hand and eye injuries. We believe the proposed legislation will substantially reduce both direct and indirect harm from fireworks.”
Head of Education, Policy and Research at the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Gilly Mendes Ferreira said: “We realise people still want to enjoy fireworks and we always ask that they do it responsibly.
“Misuse of fireworks and pyrotechnic devices can have a negative effect on people and animals across the country and we will always support the introduction of any preventative measures that will help keep Scotland’s people and animals safe.”
