Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK
Do you plan your meals in advance? If you don’t, it may be something you could consider!
Meal planning can support healthy eating as nutritious and balanced meals are easier to achieve when planned ahead. Planning meals makes it less likely that families will opt for take-aways or less healthy home-cooked options.
Save money!
Menu planning saves money by identifying exactly what groceries are needed and makes it easier to resist impulse purchases. Planning your meals ahead also cuts back and reduces waste, as you only buy what you are going to use.
Keep it interesting
Menu planning could incorporate more variety into your week! Why not plan some meatless meals or have some themed nights? In your meal plan, you could also alternate between new and old favourite recipes to mix things up.
Don’t forget to think seasonal too! For example, what fresh produce is available this time of year? Or is it soup or salad weather?
Save time, effort and stress
That’s what we all need, right? Since the ingredients required to cook a meal are already available and the recipe has already been decided; time, effort and stress are reduced!
Remember that leftovers from one meal can be used to supplement another in your plan too.
Take a look in the cupboard for foods that need to be used and base some of the meal plan on what you find. For example, a can of chickpeas may be used to make falafels or houmous.
Hopefully we have inspired you to have a think in advance about your meal choices.
This academic year has seen the return of National exams and Highers in Scotland after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. For many children and their parents and carers, the exam period can be an anxious and stressful time.
A return to normality in September has seen Childline provide more support to anxious students as end-of-year tests loomed on the horizon.
In the year between April 2021 and March 2022, Childline practitioners delivered 1,734 counselling sessions to children and young people across Scotland and the rest of the UK with concerns about exam stress and revision, which is a 62% rise on the previous year.
When talking to Childline counsellors about their upcoming exams this month, children shared that their worries were affecting their mental health, anxiety levels and ability to sleep.
It is important for young people to know that they aren’t alone if they are feeling like this. Instead, that they are encouraged to share any concerns or worries with their friends or a trusted adult.
Parents and carers can help by reassuring their child that they are there to listen to what they might be feeling and to help them to take the time to think about what to do next.
There are lots of places young people can get support, including the Childline website where they can get advice on dealing with exam stress, visit our message boards or even use an art box to draw through what they want to happen and look at potential next steps.
Childline is here for every child and young person and our specially trained counsellors are also ready 24/7 to discuss exam worries and other concerns free on 0800 1111 or www.childline.org.uk
A variety of entertainment events are being held for the Winchburgh community this weekend (Saturday, May 21).
Organised by the Winchburgh Community Development Trust, the village is set to be a muster stop for the flotilla as part of celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of the Union Canal opening.
Around 26 boats and vessels will muster at Winchburgh on Saturday for the Flotilla 200 which will see two separate fleets sail from Edinburgh and the Falkirk Wheel to meet at Linlithgow on the complete 31.5 mile route.
The Farmers’ Market, the second organised by the Winchburgh Community Development Trust, has been moved to the grounds of Winchburgh Church, close to bridge 32 on the canal to help mark this occasion.
Winchburgh’s very own artist-in-residence, Gill White, will be present to help residents express their creative side. Further entertainment includes face painting, music and dance performances.
The market will feature a number of stalls selling local produce from local game, fruit and vegetables to house interiors and wax melts.
The Flotilla 200 has been organised by Scottish Waterways for All and Scottish Canals, with various musters point along the route. The Winchburgh muster has been organised by the Winchburgh Community Development Trust with support from the Winchburgh Developments Ltd.
The fleet mustering at Winchburgh is due to arrive between 1pm and 2pm on Saturday 21st May.
Leigh Lauder, Development and Engagement Officer, Winchburgh Community Development Trust, said: “We hope the people of Winchburgh will join the flotilla celebrations and as part of this, we are really excited to be hosting our second Farmers’ Market and welcome groups who will be entertaining people with their performances.”
The flotilla mustering at Winchburgh will be led by a wide beam canal boat, the Panacea from The Sorted Project, a charity that supports men and women in recovery from substance use and mental health.
Stuart Rennie, spokesperson for Scottish Waterways for All, said:“It is wonderful that the Winchburgh community will be able to play its part and enjoy Flotilla 200.
“We would like to thank Winchburgh Community Development Trust and Winchburgh Developments Ltd for all their help in bringing this to fruition and helping us all celebrate this important anniversary in the canal’s history.
“It’s a fine example of how volunteer groups, local communities and businesses can work together to everyone’s benefit.”
Penny Lochhead, Community Sports and Greenspace Manager, Winchburgh Developments Ltd, said: “This is a historic occasion for both the Union Canal as well as Winchburgh, and one we are thrilled to support.
“We would like to encourage all residents to join in the celebrations and enjoy the Farmers’ Market, while seeing the fleet of decorated vessels for themselves.”
Victoria Manor care home in Leith has benefitted from an exciting £750k refurbishment and upgrade resulting from a major investment programme launched by owners HC-One.
Residents of the 118 bed, friendly care home are able to enjoy sustainable, modernised and enhanced living environments – including in the new Saxe Coburg accommodation which offers a home from home state of the art care environment. Upgrades were also made to the Balmoral communities, reception building and Windsor and Holyrood communities.
The nursing and nursing dementia care home refurbishment forms part of HC-One’s £54.5 million refurbishment and upgrade programme. This programme will benefit 221 HC-One homes, including Victoria Manor, and forms part of HC-One’s mission to be the UK’s first choice care provider in the communities it serves.
As the largest care home refurbishment programme in the UK, HC-One is transforming its homes for the benefit of the Residents and Colleagues who live and work in them, and for the local communities they serve.
The upgrades mean that every HC-One home will be equipped to meet the needs of an ageing population with increasingly complex care needs – including dementia care needs.
The works at Victoria Manor began in June 2021 and were completed earlier this year.
Heather Leighton, HC-One’s Area Director said:“We are committed to fostering an environment that really feels like home, and décor and facilities are an important part of this.
“We’re really excited that the plans for Victoria Manor Care Home have now been safely completed, and we look forward to welcoming more visitors to see our new look.”
Fall prevention has been identified as the number one priority by the leading health and safety charity the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). And RoSPA is now calling on businesses, business leaders and the health and safety community to use the skills they have developed in fall prevention in workplaces, to educate their employees to help prevent falls in the home.
Shockingly, annual deaths due to falls, including falls on stairs, have nearly doubled in England from 3,667 deaths in 1990 to 7,274 in 2019. Falls cause untold misery and pain to thousands of people every year, from physical injuries and death, long-term health effects and disabilities, loss of mobility, loneliness, social isolation and loss of independence
. They also impact massively on society, costing the NHS and wider healthcare systems over £4billion every year. But RoSPA believes businesses and organisations can mobilise their people to help drive these numbers down.
The Falls Charity Appeal has two major aims. Firstly, RoSPA is urging organisations to deliver the charity’s free, twenty-minute Fall Fighter awareness sessions to their staff. These online sessions have been specifically designed to equip people with the knowledge and skills to recognise the potential risks and how to stop falls from happening.
Additionally, the sessions provide people with a better understanding of how to help limit the harm from a fall.
Secondly, RoSPA is asking for donations to be made to its appeal, which will fund the delivery of strength and balance programmes for people in later life, to enable them to lead active, independent lives for longer. Falls are the largest cause of accidental death among over-65s in the UK and these programmes have been shown to reduce the rate of falls by up to 30 per cent.
https://youtu.be/ZTDI8QmQXa4
Errol Taylor, RoSPA’s Chief Executive, said: “At RoSPA we know that businesses are experts in preventing falls in workplaces, but we want to translate these skills to tackle falls that are happening in homes, which are a forgotten killer.
“We believe that if every employee was made aware how falls can be prevented we could, together, achieve a huge reduction in the numbers of those killed and injured. This is why we have developed our innovative free Fall Fighter resource.
“By rolling-out our online sessions, businesses will be taking a leading role in addressing one of the biggest health and safety issues we face.
“There is so much that we can all do to stop falls from happening. A free Fall Fighter awareness session takes just twenty minutes to complete but could change the lives of loved ones forever.
“But we’re not stopping there, we want to deliver a programme of strength and balance programmes that will mean more people in later life can lead active, independent lives for longer. These programmes have been shown to reduce the rate of falls by a massive 30 per cent. And by making a donation we can start this incredibly important work.
“By joining together, we can be a powerful and positive force for good. I therefore encourage all businesses and organisations, no matter their size, to adopt and roll-out our Fall Fighter training and donate to our appeal – together we have the potential to save lives.”
In support of the Fall Fighter scheme, early adopter Sarah Riesner, Business Lead – Strategy, Risk & Governance, Severn and Trent, said: “We’re proud to adopt this free scheme, and encourage our 7,500 employees to become RoSPA Fall Fighters.”
And Barry Oliver, Group Executive for Health & Safety, from national house builder Berkeley Group, added: “The Fall Fighter scheme fits well with our strategic focus. Adding it to our own Learning Management System makes the roll-out simple.”
31 of 32 Local Authority Areas continue to see price increases over last twelve months
Average Scottish house price now at £218,992, up 0.5% on February, up 6.2% annually
Table 1. Average House Prices in Scotland for the period March 2021 – March 2022
Scott Jack, Regional Development Director at Walker Fraser Steele, comments:“Our data this month shows Scottish house prices continue to edge upwards. Modestly positive increases across the board continue to be the trend.
“The average house price in Scotland has increased by some £12,700 – or 6.2% – over the last twelve months, to the end of March. The average price paid, £218,992, sets another record and is the seventh time that this has happened in the last twelve months.
“On a monthly basis, prices in March 2022 rose by 0.5%, or close to £1,120. This monthly increase is lower than the revised 1.2% recorded in February, but surpasses the 0.1% that was seen in December 2021, three months earlier.
“It appears that the lack of good stock coming onto the market continues to support prices. This is in the face of some significant cost-of-living challenges too. We cannot know what that means for future performance, but we do know that high inflation makes property an attractive asset for investors when other assets do not offer such great returns. While you might think the future is uncertain, regional markets will perform differently for very specific reasons (think Aberdeen and oil) driving national averages.
“In our data, 31 of the 32 local authority areas in Scotland saw their average prices rise over the previous twelve months, one more than in February. On a monthly basis, on the mainland, the largest increase in prices was in Argyll and Bute, where values rose across all property types except for flats.”
Commentary: John Tindale, Acadata Senior Housing Analyst
The March housing market
The average price paid for a house in Scotland in March 2022 was £218,992, setting yet another record price for the country – the seventh occasion that this has happened in the last twelve months.
This price is some £12,700 higher than that seen in March 2021, meaning that prices have risen by 6.2% on an annual basis. This increase is 1.6% lower than the revised 7.8% seen in February 2022, and is in fact the lowest annual rate recorded since November 2020 – some 16 months earlier.
On a monthly basis, prices in March 2022 rose by 0.5%, or close to £1,120. Again, this monthly increase is lower than the revised 1.2% recorded in February, but surpasses the 0.1% that was seen in December 2021, three months earlier.
The housing market growth rates would therefore appear to be slowing in March, although as Figure 1 below shows, house prices are continuing to climb, with the slowdown in rates being almost imperceptible. It should also be borne in mind that house prices in March 2021 had an upward blip, (see Figure 1), being one month ahead of the termination of the LBTT tax holiday in Scotland on 1st April 2021.
The ending of the tax holiday in April 2021 prompted an increase in the number of transactions that took place in March 2021 (Figure 2 below), as well as an increase in the number of high-value properties sold in the month (Table 2 below).
This followed as buyers brought forward their actual purchases into March 2021 – or even earlier – to take advantage of the tax savings available. It can therefore be concluded that the cause of the slowdown in annual rates in March 2022 is due to the higher-than-normal values that were current in March 2021, distorting the annual comparison.
Figure 1. The average house price in Scotland over the period March 2020 to March 2022 with trendline
Looking at the England and Wales housing markets, we find that all regions showed an average increase of +2.3% in house price growth in March 2022, compared to Scotland’s fall of -1.6%. However, also relevant is the fact that the ending of the equivalent LBTT stamp duty tax holiday in Wales didn’t occur until June 2021, whilst in England the tax holiday continued up to the end of September 2021.
England and Wales did not therefore experience the same upward movement in prices in March 2021, as was seen in Scotland, and hence comparisons in March 2022 across the three countries can be misleading.
We anticipate, other things being equal, that annual rates of house price growth in Scotland will bounce back in April 2022, as the effect of the March 2021 blip begins to decline.
Transactions analysis
Figure 2 below shows the monthly transaction count for purchases during the period January 2015 to March 2022, based on RoS (Registers of Scotland) figures for the Date of Entry. (March 2022 figures are based on RoS Application dates.) The graph shows that sales volumes generally pick up in March of each year, especially when compared to February, which is generally the quietest month of the year for house sales.
The March 2021 transaction total, at 12,237 sales, is the highest of the eight years shown, for the reasons discussed on page 3 i.e. they were LBTT-related. The second-highest March occurred in 2016, with 11,017 sales. This occurred as the result of a pre-announced 3% additional charge to be added to the LBTT – on second homes and buy-to-let properties – which came into force on 1st April 2016.
If we remove the pandemic-related years 2020 – 2022 from the calculations, then the average number of sales in March for the seven years 2013 – 2019 amounts to 8,241 transactions, compared to August, which has the maximum number of sales of any month at an average 9,368 transactions. The March 2022 transaction total of 8,046 sales is therefore close to average, although it is based on RoS Application Dates, as opposed to the Date of Entry, which we use for all our transaction counts, except for the latest month.
Looking at the first three months of each year, then 2022 is currently the fourth highest of the eight years charted.
Figure 2. The number of sales per month recorded by RoS based on entry date (RoS applications date for March
Scotland transactions of £750k or higher
Table 2. The number of transactions by month in Scotland greater than or equal to £750k, January 2015 – March
Table 2 shows the number of transactions per month in Scotland which are equal to or greater than £750k. The threshold of £750k has been selected as it is the breakpoint at which the highest rate of LBTT becomes payable.
Table 2 shows that there were 43 sales in excess of £750k during March 2022, and we anticipate that this number will increase as further sales for the month are processed by the Registers of Scotland. However, it is extremely unlikely that the March 2022 total will exceed that of March 2021, as the latter total of 115 sales was enhanced due to it being the final month in which purchasers could take advantage of the LBTT tax holiday, which came into existence on 15th July 2020.
The total for March 2015 was also exaggerated, as it was the final month before Scotland’s LBTT tax scheme started, at rates higher than the SDLT charges (for high-value properties) which had previously applied to the whole of the UK.
If we exclude these two exceptional events, then the total number of high-value sales during the first three months of 2022 is the highest of the last eight years. This is an indication that the “lifestyle changes” associated with the pandemic arising from “working from home” and the “need for space” are still strong features of the current housing market. This in turn has resulted in strong competition for the properties that meet these requirements, with substantial price rises being seen at the top end of the market.
The six authorities with the largest number of the 194 high-value sales that have been recorded to date in 2022 are: Edinburgh (94); Glasgow City (14); Fife (14); East Renfrewshire (10); East Lothian (9); and finally East Dunbartonshire (7).
Local Authority Analysis
Table 3. Average House Prices in Scotland, by local authority area, comparing March 2021, February 2022 and March 2022
Table 3 above shows the average house price and percentage change (over the last month and year) by Local Authority Area for March 2021, as well as for February and March 2022, calculated on a seasonal- and mix-adjusted basis. The ranking in Table 3 is based on the local authority area’s average house price for March 2022. Local Authority areas shaded in blue experienced record average house prices in March 2022.
Annual change
The average house price in Scotland has increased by some £12,700 – or 6.2% – over the last twelve months, to the end of March. This is a £3,100 decrease over the revised £15,800 growth in prices seen in the twelve months to the end of February 2022.
In March 2022, 31 of the 32 local authority areas in Scotland saw their average prices rise over the previous twelve months, one more than in February. The one area experiencing a price fall in March was Aberdeen City, down by 2.9% over the year. In Aberdeen City, it is the average price of terraces and flats that have seen a fall over the last twelve months. However, in Aberdeen, as we suggested last month, there is a strong correlation between house prices and the price of crude oil: we are hence anticipating that property values will begin to increase relatively soon, following the recent dramatic rise in the price of oil.
The area with the highest annual increase in average house prices in March 2022 was Fife, where values have risen by 15.9% over the year. The average price paid for a property in Fife in March 2022 has been elevated by the sale of an apartment at the Hamilton Grand complex for £2 million. This is the sixth apartment at the Hamilton Grand to be sold in the last twelve months. One of the many features of the Hamilton Grand is that it overlooks the final hole of the Old Course at St Andrews – which must be one of the best places in the world to live if you are a golf fan.
Monthly change
In March 2022, Scotland’s average house price in the month rose by some £1,125, or 0.5%, which is less than half of the £2,500 increase seen in February. The average price of a home in Scotland now stands at £218,992, which sets a new record level for the nation for the seventh time in the last twelve months.
In March 2022, 18 of the 32 Local Authority areas in Scotland experienced rising prices in the month, three fewer than one month earlier. The largest increase in average prices in March – of 8.2% – was in the Shetland Islands, where the average price of detached homes increased from £170k in February to £205k in March.
On the mainland, the largest increase in prices was in Argyll and Bute, where values rose across all property types except for flats. Perhaps the most interesting sale in Argyll and Bute in March was Tervine House, a five-bedroom detached home, located in Kilchrenan, with its own private jetty and fishing rights to Loch Awe. To reach Kilchrenan, it is necessary to drive down a seven-mile-long minor road, which comes to its end in the village. The property was originally put on the market for £575k but sold for £802k, being indicative of the strong competition that exists for homes that match the pandemic “lifestyle change” needs, of wide-open spaces in scenic locations.
Peak Prices
Each month, in Table 3 above, we highlight in light blue the local authority areas which have reached a new record in their average house prices. In March there are 13 such authorities, five fewer than in February. We can also add that Scotland itself has set a record average price in March 2022 – the third of the year.
Heat Map
The heat map below shows the rate of house price growth for the 12 months ending March 2022. As reported above, all but one of the 32 local authority areas in Scotland are reporting an increase in their house values over the last year. The area with negative growth is Aberdeen City, where prices over the year have fallen by -2.9%. The highest increase over the twelve months to March 2022 was in Fife at 15.9%, followed by Argyll and Bute at 15.3%.
Comparisons with Scotland
Figure 3. Scotland house prices, compared with England and Wales, Wales, North East and North West for the period January 2005-March 2022
Figure 4. A comparison of the annual change in house prices in Scotland, England and Wales, Wales, North East and North West for the period January 2005–March 2022
Scotland’s Seven Cities
Figure 5. Average house prices for Scotland’s seven cities from January 2021–March 2022
Figure 6. Average house prices for Scotland’s seven cities March 2022
Police are appealing for information following a serious assault in Edinburgh.
Around 2.30pm on Friday, 13 May, officers were called to a report of a man having been seriously assaulted on Forrest Road. The 73-year-old sustained a serious head injury and was taken to the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh for treatment.
The suspect is described as being in his late 20s, between 5ft 10in in height and 6ft, of muscular build, with facial hair. He was wearing a dark hooded jacket and spoke with a local accent.
He was in the company of another male, described as being in his late 20s, of a similar height, with black hair, facial hair and was wearing an orange jacket.
Detective Constable Kieran Keddie said: “This incident saw a man sustain a serious head injury and it is vital we trace those involved.
“I am appealing for anyone with any information which may assist us to get in touch.
“I would also ask anyone who was in the area at the time and who may have dash cam footage to contact us.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact 101 quoting incident 1912 of 13 May, 2022. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, if you wish to remain anonymous.
Every year walking, wheeling and cycling in Edinburgh helps generate more than £186.2 million in economic benefits while saving 38,000 tonnes in greenhouse gas emissions – the equivalent of 49,000 flights from Edinburgh to New York – according to a major new report.
The Walking and Cycling Index, formerly known as Bike Life, is the biggest assessment of walking, wheeling and cycling in cities across the UK and Ireland, carried out by Sustrans. Results from Edinburgh show 66% of residents walk at least five days a week – more than any other mode of transport and above the national average of 50%. Twenty-six per cent of residents cycle at least once a week.
Annually, people choosing to travel by foot, wheel or bike help take up to 150,000 cars off the road and save the NHS more than £8.2 million through the associated health benefits. However, the Walking and Cycling Index also found that 70.7 million journeys up to three miles are still driven in Edinburgh each year.
Most respondents – 78% – said more shops and everyday services close to home would encourage them to walk and wheel more, while the same number supported the creation of more 20-minute neighbourhoods.
The Council is in the process of developing a model for a network of 20-minute neighbourhoods across the city, where public transport and active travel are the best options for getting around and streets are designed for people, allowing them to easily access and support their local businesses and services.
Twenty-three per cent of residents currently don’t cycle but would like to and 64% say more physically separated cycle lanes along roads would help them to cycle more, with access to secure cycle storage at or near home (57%) amongst other incentives to cycling.
Walking and Cycling Index Edinburgh – key statistics
Health: Every year walking and cycling prevents 1,252 serious long-term health conditions. The physical activity benefits of walking and cycling prevent 316 and 28 early deaths respectively, valued at £1 billion (walking) and £92.4 million (cycling).
Environment: If 80% of the 70.7 million car journeys of up to three miles were walked and cycled it would save approximately 23,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
Trips: Every day, 130,000 return walking trips and 16,000 return cycling trips are made by people that could have used a car. If these cars were all in a traffic jam it would tail back 435 miles – equivalent to the distance between Edinburgh and Southampton.
Quieter streets: Only 31% of residents think their streets aren’t dominated by vehicles. Sixty-one per cent support low traffic neighbourhoods and 59% said fewer motor vehicles on streets would be better for both walking and cycling.
Inequalities: Eighty-one per cent of non-disabled residents think the level of walking safety is good in their local area compared to 69% of disabled residents. Thirty-five per cent of men cycle at least once a week while only 17% of women do.
Funding: Half of residents (52%) want to see more government spending on both walking and cycling, and 57% would like more investment in public transport.
Daisy Narayanan, Head of Placemaking and Mobility at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “As ever, this report provides a fascinating snapshot of people’s walking, wheeling, and cycling habits – and the immense benefits active travel can bring, not only to our own health but the environment, the economy and the quality of life here.
Transport currently accounts for just under a third of Edinburgh’s emissions and it’s clear that there’s an urgent need to aid and encourage more sustainable ways of travelling if we’re to meet our 2030 net zero target. Responses to the Walking and Cycling Index provide an excellent guide for the kind of changes we need to make – people are telling us what we need to do to help them to travel by foot, wheel or bike, particularly for shorter journeys.
There’s already a great deal of work underway to support this. Our strategy for 20-minute neighbourhoods will mean people across Edinburgh can live well locally, meeting most of their daily needs from within their own community. The approach is designed to improve access to services where it is most convenient and helps to support local businesses, creating thriving, vibrant town and local centres.
This is alongside investment of £108 million over the next few years to transform walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure across the Capital, as outlined in our ambitious City Mobility Plan, including the transformation of George Street, the delivery of CCWEL linking Roseburn to Leith Walk and the Meadows to George Street route.
Dr Sam Gardner, Chair of Edinburgh’s Climate Commission, said: “Improving 2our streets to encourage more people to choose active ways of travelling is not only an essential part of tackling climate change but will also create a healthier, fairer city.
“A planned investment programme is already in place to support a step-change in the city’s cycling network and improve the safety of our streets for those walking and wheeling. It’s crucial that we not only deliver this programme but that we continue to build on its ambition at every opportunity.
“Edinburgh is a beautiful, compact and walkable city. We want to make sure all members of society can gain from this, and the Walking and Cycling Index is a key resource to help us to achieve that.”
Stewart Carruth, Interim Director, Sustrans Scotland, said:“I’d like to thank the people of Edinburgh who gave us their time to take part in the Walking and Cycling Index. Walking and wheeling should be the most accessible and desirable form of transport. It is of huge importance to people, especially during the current cost of living crisis and the climate emergency.
“The evidence is clear – Edinburgh residents want the option to walk and wheel to where they need to get to, and don’t want outdated and unmaintained pavements, crossing points that make walking and wheeling unsafe or inaccessible, and vehicles parked on pavements getting in their way.
“The City of Edinburgh Council can rest assured that they have the backing of the public to build on the work they have already started to make it easier for people to walk, wheel and cycle to get around.”
The Walking and Cycling Index Edinburgh is the fourth report of its kind produced by Sustrans in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council and draws on local walking and cycling data, modelling and an independent survey of 1,346 residents carried out from June to August 2021, following the lifting of Covid travel restrictions. In total, 9,681 people were surveyed in Scotland.
As well as outlining residents’ walking, wheeling and cycling habits and the associated benefits, the report looks to future developments in the city. These include City Centre Transformation, the extension of 20mph streets and the dropped kerbs programme, following the vision set out in the City Mobility Plan.
Legislative consent (sometimes known as the ‘Sewel Convention’);
Implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Co-Operation Agreement (TCA);
Intergovernmental relations;
Retained EU law; and
Implementation of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol
The effects of the UK leaving the EU, including UK and GB-wide arrangements put in place to replace EU systems (such as Common Frameworks and the UK Internal Market Act), as well as disagreements between the UK and Scottish Governments over issues including legislative consent, have all impacted on how the Scottish Parliament and Government work. These changes will be examined in detail by the Committee.
These hearings follow on from inquiries by the Committee into the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 and the UK Internal Market Act (UKIMA), as well as the Committee’s role in the first meeting of the UK-wide Interparliamentary Forum.
The Committee previously concluded that UKIMA has created a tension in the devolution settlement, with more emphasis on open trade than regulatory autonomy, when compared to the EU Single Market.
It also identified a risk that the emphasis on managing regulatory divergence at an inter-governmental level may lead to less transparency and Ministerial accountability, and a tension in the balance of relations between the Executive and the Legislature.
Speaking ahead of today’s first roundtable looking at the issue of legislative consent, Committee Convener, Clare Adamson MSP, said: “Leaving the EU has meant a significant change in the UK’s constitutional arrangements. Of course, this has implications for Scotland and its Parliament.
“Though many of these changes are very technical, they can have important implications. We have already put on record our concerns around a number of potential risks including less regulatory autonomy for devolved Parliaments, reduced democratic oversight, and a less consultative policy making process.
“As MSPs, we now want to examine what other changes mean for devolution.”
So far, the following roundtables are scheduled for the following dates:
Thursday 19 May: Legislative Consent after Brexit
Thursday 26 May: Implementation of the Trade and Co-Operation Agreement
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has detected 2 additional cases of monkeypox, one in London and one in the South East of England.
The latest cases bring the total number of monkeypox cases confirmed in England since 6 May to nine, with recent cases predominantly in gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men (MSM).
The 2 latest cases have no travel links to a country where monkeypox is endemic, so it is possible they acquired the infection through community transmission.
The virus spreads through close contact and UKHSA is advising individuals, particularly those who are gay, bisexual or MSM, to be alert to any unusual rashes or lesions on any part of their body, especially their genitalia, and to contact a sexual health service if they have concerns.
Monkeypox has not previously been described as a sexually transmitted infection, though it can be passed on by direct contact during sex. It can also be passed on through other close contact with a person who has monkeypox or contact with clothing or linens used by a person who has monkeypox.
The 2 new cases do not have known connections with previous confirmed cases announced on 16, 14 and 7 May.
UKHSA is working closely with the NHS and other stakeholders to urgently investigate where and how recent confirmed monkeypox cases were acquired, including how they may be linked to each other.
The virus does not usually spread easily between people. The risk to the UK population remains low.
Anyone with concerns that they could be infected with monkeypox is advised to contact NHS 111 or a sexual health clinic. People should notify clinics ahead of their visit. We can assure them their call or discussion will be treated sensitively and confidentially.
Monkeypox is a viral infection usually associated with travel to West Africa. It is usually a mild self-limiting illness, spread by very close contact with someone with monkeypox and most people recover within a few weeks.
Dr Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser, UKHSA, said: “These latest cases, together with reports of cases in countries across Europe, confirms our initial concerns that there could be spread of monkeypox within our communities.
“UKHSA has quickly identified cases so far and we continue to rapidly investigate the source of these infections and raise awareness among healthcare professionals.
“We are particularly urging men who are gay and bisexual to be aware of any unusual rashes or lesions and to contact a sexual health service without delay if they have concerns. Please contact clinics ahead of your visit.
“We are contacting any identified close contacts of the cases to provide health information and advice.
“Clinicians should be alert to individuals presenting with rashes without a clear alternative diagnosis and should contact specialist services for advice.”
Symptoms
Initial symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. A rash can develop, often beginning on the face, then spreading to other parts of the body including the genitals.
The rash changes and goes through different stages, and can look like chickenpox or syphilis, before finally forming a scab, which later falls off.
