Day: November 25, 2022

Work begins on the new David Lloyd Edinburgh Shawfair development

David Lloyd Leisure, Europe’s leading health, fitness, and leisure group, has announced that work has begun on the much-anticipated David Lloyd Edinburgh Shawfair development, with the club opening in summer 2023.

Located in the new residential development area of Shawfair, Midlothian, which lies to the southeast of Edinburgh, the club will offer world-class health, fitness, racquets and spa facilities. David Lloyd Edinburgh Shawfair is anticipated to become a popular leisure destination for families as well as health and wellness enthusiasts in surrounding areas.

David Lloyd Leisure expects that the new club will generate up to 75 jobs, and the group said that it will explore opportunities to develop local community partnerships over the coming months. The development was granted planning approval in April 2021 following extensive consultation with the local community in 2020.

At the time of its planning approval, Midlothian Council officers said that “the proposal aligns with the masterplan principles for Shawfair to encourage sustainable, healthy lifestyles within a vibrant community”.

Construction began in October 2022, and the development phase is expected to generate more than £4 million for local subcontractors and companies and involve 50-60 construction jobs.

The centrepiece of the club will be the 100+ station gym, which will house David Lloyd Clubs’ cutting-edge gym concept with an unrivalled array of best-in-class equipment.  There will be three group exercise studios; a hi-tech indoor cycling studio, high impact studio and a Mind & Body studio.

There is also a Clubroom café bar with a family zone, an indoor soft play area for the younger ones, and a business hub. An outdoor patio area will offer a space for outdoor dining and drinking on warmer days and evenings.

Michelle Chambers-Cran, Regional Manager at David Lloyd Leisure, said: “We are excited to be starting work on David Lloyd Edinburgh Shawfair and to be one step closer to bringing this new family-friendly leisure destination to life next summer.

“We know that people of all generations will relish what the club has to offer, from the state-of-the-art gym, racquet and spa facilities to the clubroom and children’s activities.

“Our philosophy is to create incredible health and wellness spaces where family and friends can spend quality time together.

“We look forward to engaging with the local community as the development takes shape over the coming months and would encourage those who want to follow our progress to register on the website for updates.”

The club will have a 250-space carpark and is well-connected to Edinburgh and surrounding towns in Midlothian and East Lothian by nearby bus, rail and cycle links.

Those who are interested in following developments at David Lloyd Edinburgh Shawfair can register for updates at: https://www.davidlloyd.co.uk/clubs/edinburgh-shawfair/.

Hidden Door 2023 Venue Revealed

Hidden Door 2023 will be taking over the former Scottish Widows complex at 15 Dalkeith Road in Edinburgh for a five-day immersive event.

From 31 May to 4 June, audiences will be invited into the building to witness its transformation from an office space into a spectacular, atmospheric festival of music, performance and art.

The iconic building, made of a series of hexagonal shapes, was designed by the architect John Hardie Glover. Since it opened in 1976 it has hosted financial institutions, with Lloyds Banking Group moving out of the site in 2020. 

15 Dalkeith Road will provide the perfect blank canvas for the 2023 event, for which Hidden Door is planning something a little different. The maze of office and utility spaces in the six-acre site will host an incredible immersive event bringing together a whole range of art forms, including visual art, music, dance, and spoken word.

A series of ambitious collaborative projects produced by Hidden Door will see artists and performers from different disciplines working together to transform the vast interior. Audiences will be invited to journey deep into the building to seek out the performances and explore the artworks.

The full programme will be announced early next year, with a call for visual artists, dancers, musicians and spoken word performers to get involved.

David Martin, Creative Director of Hidden Door, said: “This is the sort of building I’ve always dreamed about taking over for Hidden Door. It has a sort of ‘Tardis’ quality – although it does look pretty big from the outside, nothing quite prepares you for the expanse of spaces on the inside – you really could get lost in there!

“Every time we consider an empty building in Edinburgh we ask ourselves what we could do with it, and this one presents us with the opportunity to do something quite different. We will commission a series of projects that will see artists working with musicians, dancers, set designers, lighting artists and sound designers, all creating a series of experiential theatrical environments throughout the building for our audience to discover. We really are aiming for high impact next year!”

Hidden Door are working in partnership with Schroders Capital’s Real Estate team and Corran Properties, who are leading the redevelopment proposals for the site. Redevelopment of the property is planned with proposals to revitalise the building as a leading example of a sustainable urban workspace with new residential accommodation, set within a stunning landscape setting.

Rebecca Gates, Head of UK Asset Management, Schroders Capital’s Real Estate team, said: “Ahead of looking to breathe new life into this very important building, we are delighted to support Hidden Door Festival’s wonderful proposals to transform the vacant space into a temporary cultural arts venue which can be enjoyed by the public.”

A limited release of Early Bird Tickets are now available via hiddendoorarts.org/tickets or from Citizen Ticket.

Once the full programme is announced, ticket holders will be able to select which days they would like to attend.

Hidden Door 2023 is supported by Baillie Gifford and other generous partners and sponsors.

The organisers are working closely with the City of Edinburgh Council and other organisations to ensure the event will be safe and compliant.

Flash flood plans should touch on surface risks, Localis report warns

Responsibility for tackling the growing prevalence of flash surface flooding should be gripped by central and local government to prevent needless damage to property and human misery, the think-tank Localis has argued.

In a report published today entitled ‘Surface Tensions – working together against flash flooding’ the place experts argued the connection between increased urbanisation and surface water risk demand greater coordination between the public sector, developers and wider society.

The study found the separation of roles and responsibilities for managing and forecasting the impact flood risk are fragmented between a slew of government departments, agencies and local bodies, resulting in confusion when flooding does occur.

Of particular note, the report found that minor developments comprising nine houses or less, infill or permitted development – are aggregating the risk of surface flooding across an area, without a legal requirement to provide sustainable drainage. Official figures for the year to June 2022 show that 35,000 dwellings received planning decisions from local authorities where more than one percent of homes are already at risk of flooding as part of minor developments.

Given that 73% of minor development applications were approved across England in the same period, this could mean as many as 25,550 new homes built in areas that are already at risk of flash flooding, increasing pressure on infrastructure.

Among its key recommendations to reduce risk of surface flooding from climate change, Localis calls for the creation of a strong strategic planning authority with power for force national and local risk management authorities, such as the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) to work closely together and link up policy.

The report also calls for stronger collaboration between developers, landowners, LLFAs and central government agencies to understand and manage flood risk and resilience, and for this to be encouraged and incentivised across all new developments.

Localis Visiting Fellow, Professor Samer Bagaeen, said: “To tackle surface flooding, the next revision of the National Planning Policy Framework must require Local Plans to demonstrate how lead local flood authorities have assessed aggregate risk across the whole area, as well as how flood impacts will avoided, controlled, mitigated, and managed.

“And at the level of place, for infrastructure and procurements concerning flooding, lead local flood authorities should move away from human-engineered barriers and toward natural drainage systems that work to slow the flow of surface water and relieve pressure on sewers.”

Joe Fyans, Localis head of research, said: “As the UK is experiencing extremely wet days – more days of heavy summer rainfall on impermeable ground as well as a significant increase in heavy winter rainfalls – we are seeing an unsurprising increase the incidence of surface water flooding.

“How we go about funding this will be crucial. Central government would be best advised to pproduce a comprehensive flood infrastructure funding programme that is less restrictive and targeted toward places most at risk, while also encouraging ‘bottom-up’ practice by streamlining the funding process for smaller, district or community-based projects.”

Martin Milliner, claims director at LV= General Insurance, said: “As an insurer we see first-hand the very real and devastating impact flooding has on people’s lives. While we know the building of more homes is necessary to combat the housing crisis, the country is becoming less resilient to more extreme weather, and we must look at the future impacts this will have on our homes.

“The report highlights significant issues that continue to put an ever-increasing number of communities at risk, and it’s crucial that property developers, insurers and local authorities work together to tackle this important issue.”

“With the creation of our Flood-Proof Home of the Future we want to draw attention to the impact flooding could have on this country in 50 years, by showcasing the extreme features homes of the future may need to have to guard against flood risk.

“With the installation of such sophisticated flood proofing practically and financially out of the question for most homeowners, it’s more important than ever we work to combat the problem before such extreme measures are necessary.”

051_SurfaceTensions_AWKDownload

The Women’s Fund for Scotland celebrates investing £3million to organisations across Scotland

  • The Women’s Fund for Scotland has so far invested around £3 million to over 640 groups and is the only sex and gender specific grant maker in Scotland
  • Almost 1,000 life-changing grants have been made by The Women’s Fund for Scotland
  • 42,967 women and girls have benefited from The Women’s Fund for Scotland funding

The Women’s Fund for Scotland (WFS), a charity created to help girls and women across Scotland, has released its 2022 Impact Report.

The report details the way WFS has been able to inspire and empower women across the past 20 years to help them overcome inequalities that affected their freedom, health, income, pay and power.

Founded in 2002, WFS is the only gender-specific grant maker in Scotland and the report highlights that to date, it has invested around £3 million in over 640 groups helping almost 43,000 women and girls. The work of the fund has helped to create 48 social enterprises and the grants have supported 65 women to become self-employed.

The report highlights many examples of the life-changing impact support from the fund has had on women from all walks of life in Scotland.

The fund has helped and supported a wide range of groups across Scotland from a textile training project, partnerships with Glasgow Girls Football Club and the Women’s Business Station, supporting Deaf Link to develop a tailored service to meet the needs of deaf women and girls experiencing abuse, to the “Followitapp”, a digital resource for women being stalked that is accessible through the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre.

One user of the app described how it has helped her record incidents, and feel like she doesn’t have to have the evidence of her stalker in her home:

“I never felt safe. I was at breaking point. When the App didn’t exist, I wrote things down. I would get to the stage where I didn’t want to write it down anymore. I didn’t want it lying about my house. It was just a constant reminder of my stalker. I just wanted to forget about it all.

“In the App, the time and date are already there for you, and it’s a lot quicker. You don’t need to fill in all the information there and then. I filled the rest in when I got to a safe place.”

Sue Robertson, Chair of the Women’s Fund for Scotland, says: “Our impact report provides the perfect opportunity to raise awareness of the important work that The Women’s Fund for Scotland supports. 

“In Scotland you are never more than 50 miles away from an organisation funded by the Women’s Fund for Scotland, and more than 42,000 girls and women have benefited from our funding. This is something we are extremely proud of and hope to build upon in the coming years.”

Shona Blakeley, Executive Director at The Women’s Fund for Scotland adds: “We are extremely proud of all the support we have been able to offer over the years.

“However, this is only possible thanks to our supporters, and we rely on their generosity and kind donations. For those who would like to donate, you can do so via our JustGiving page – https://www.justgiving.com/womensfundforscotland”

The full impact report can be found here:- 

ImpactReport2022_compressedDownload

https://www.womensfundscotland.org/project-stories/impact-report-2022/

Miles Briggs: Homeless emergency across Edinburgh and the Lothians

Lothian MSP Miles Briggs, has called on SNP Ministers to declare a homeless emergency across Edinburgh and the Lothians.

At General Questions in the Scottish Parliament yesterday, Miles Briggs MSP asked Ben Macpherson MSP, Minister for Social Security and Local Government “Will he today now act and declare a homeless emergency here in the capital?”

Figures release on Wednesday showed that the number of estimated homeless deaths across Lothian had increased dramatically over the last three years.

Across Lothian estimated homeless deaths have gone from 26 in 2019, to 41 in 2020 to 63 in 2021. [Figures below]

The number of homeless applications has significantly increased over the last three years with 8,165 applications across East Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian and West Lothian in the quarter ending 30th September 2021, compared to 6,334 applications for the quarter ending 30th September 2019. [Figures below]

There has been an unprecedented number of children living in temporary accommodation in East Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian and West Lothian. Across Lothian 2,990 children were living in temporary accommodation at 31st March 2022, this compares to 2,140 children living in temporary accommodation at 31st March 2019. [Figures below]

Lothian list MSP Miles Briggs, who is the Conservative candidate for Edinburgh Southern, said: “The number of people who have died while homeless here in the capital has increased by nearly 150 percent over the last four years.

“Shelter Scotland have said the situation pointed towards public services failing people and a broken housing system.

“It is simply not acceptable, and Edinburgh City Council do not have the resources to deliver a solution.”

These figures come from the data section of the publication : Homeless Deaths 2021 | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk)

 
 
Area201920202021 
Identified deathsEstimated deathsEstimated death rate (per million population)Identified deathsEstimated deathsEstimated death rate (per million population)Identified deathsEstimated deathsEstimated death rate (per million population) 
Scotland17321652.221525661.922225060.4
City of Edinburgh172151.3283380.13944105.5
East Lothian000.04560.03342.6
Midlothian3454.91117.41011164.2
West Lothian119.12217.34532.7
Lothian (total)2126 3541 5663  
 
Table 6a: Open homeless applications by local authority
Back to contents
201920202021Comparing 30 Sept 2020 with 30 Sept 2021
31-Mar30-Jun30-Sep31-Dec31-Mar30-Jun30-Sep31-Dec31-Mar30-Jun30-SepNumber%
Scotland21,575 21,674 22,458 22,074 22,907 25,650 27,036 25,331 24,835 25,370 26,001-1,035-4%
East Lothian704 688 663 658 676 687 728 733 746 768 789618%
Edinburgh3,350 3,607 3,818 3,859 4,112 4,478 4,732 4,860 4,933 5,132 5,1474159%
Midlothian904 846 878 856 849 862 920 870 810 769 738-182-20%
West Lothian1,035 881 975 821 851 1,023 1,152 1,129 1,216 1,374 1,49133929%

Castle Street Christmas Market bursts into festive life tomorrow

Coming up this Saturday, Castle Street Christmas Market, run by LocalMotive Markets is once again making a festive splash with a wealth of artisan, bespoke ethical and fair trade products, handcrafted gifts and seasonal foodie & drink delights.

Set just below the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle looking onto Princes Street – now in its 15th year – the Christmas market with its distinctive festive gazebos, will be running for four weeks from the 26 November until the 23 December, with new exhibitors joining every week. 

This year ice skating, funfair rides and a whole lot of festive activities are taking place across the city and LocalMotive Markets are excited to be running two beautiful  Christmas Markets at Castle Street as well Ocean Terminal. *See dates below for Ocean Terminal.

Tania Pramschufer, director of LocalMotive Markets said: “We are seeing some amazing talent coming through – and this year with twenty stalls, we have “Loved by Bridget” handmade pebble art and upcycled items made by Lisa from Leven – who has a real passion for all things coastal.

“Also Borders based, Bowbrook Studios making exquisite collectible figurines with everything from farm animals to otters and discover Leanme Art Studio – artist Arias Deniz’s colourful sketches and paintings of Edinburgh streets and houses as well as jewellery.”

 “We have built a strong market following from all the artists, producers and local people involved. We are inviting our festive visitors to browse and enjoy our market with the opportunity to buy some unique and affordable gifts  – for example Gecko Gifts; Frangipani Toby Jewels, Floraidh Soaps, Gamries Candles and 100% Cards, and authentic Sicilian confectionery by Tipico, a sumptuous range of cheeses from Damn Fine Cheese and out of this world delicious range of chilli jams from Slaped Toasties…..

“Come and join us at our markets and take time to chat to the makers directly, as they each have a terrific story to tell about how they got started – some family run businesses, some part-time creativity or a new life venture – they all have some truly amazing stories to tell. Maybe they will inspire you to become a maker too.

Let the festivities begin!

Health Secretary launches NHS Scotland’s winter campaign

People across Scotland are being encouraged to include health as part of their festive preparations so that seasonal illnesses can be managed well at home. It is hoped that by following the tips and advice in the ‘Healthy Know How’ campaign the public will enjoy the festivities without having to seek health advice unless it is urgent or an emergency.

Humza Yousaf, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care launched the ‘Healthy Know How’ winter campaign at NHS 24’s newest contact centre in Hillington, Glasgow.

Meeting staff at NHS 24, Mr Yousaf said healthy know how can help us stay well this winter: “Nobody wants to be unwell, especially over the festive holidays, and these few simple steps can help everyone manage common illnesses and avoid the need to interrupt the festivities with a trip to the pharmacy or GP.

“This is going to be the most challenging winter for our health service, and a lot of the ailments for which people access out-of-hours care can be easily managed at home. NHS 24’s 111 service is always busy over the holiday period, but roughly a third of calls to 111 result in safe, self-care advice at home.

“If this campaign can encourage people to care for common seasonal conditions at home, that will leave our frontline services free to help those with more serious conditions.

“By taking a few simple steps we can all do our bit to help support our health services this winter.”

Healthy know how tips to keep well this winter include:

Details on the Healthy Know How campaign and the full range of winter health advice can be found here – www.nhsinform.scot/winter

Cabinet Secretary for Health launches NHS Scotland’s winter campaign People across Scotland are being encouraged to include health as part of their festive preparations so that seasonal illnesses can be managed well at home. It is hoped that by following the tips and advice in the ‘Healthy Know How’ campaign the public will enjoy the festivities without having to seek health advice unless it is urgent or an emergency. Humza Yousaf, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care launched the ‘Healthy Know How’ winter campaign at NHS 24’s newest contact centre in Hillington, Glasgow. L/R Pic Peter Devlin

No Ruined Stone: Paul Duke’s Muirhouse exhibition opens tomorrow

Paul Duke: No Ruined Stone
26 November 2022 – 19 February 2023
City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, Edinburgh EH1 1DE
Free Admission

This November, the City Art Centre opens a new exhibition of street photography by the artist Paul Duke depicting contemporary life in the Muirhouse area of Edinburgh.

Paul Duke: No Ruined Stone features 38 large-scale black and white photographs documenting the built environment and residents of Muirhouse. It is accompanied by a short film by Julian Ward, in which Paul Duke talks about his work and the experience of creating the series.

This is the first time No Ruined Stone has been displayed as a full-scale exhibition, bringing the photographs back to the artist’s home city.

Paul Duke grew up in Muirhouse, in the north of Edinburgh, between the mid-1960s and early 1980s. He attended the local Craigroyston High School, where his teachers inspired him to consider art as a possible future career. Drawn to photography, he enrolled at Napier College (now Edinburgh Napier University), before gaining a place to study at the Royal College of Art in London. From here, he established himself as a lens-based artist.

In 2015 Duke returned to Muirhouse to develop No Ruined Stone. This series was conceived as the second part of a photographic trilogy by Duke which examines the social climate in modern-day Scotland. It takes its name from the poetry of the Scots writer Hugh MacDiarmid. For No Ruined Stone, the artist spent time meeting local people and talking with them; reconnecting with his roots and exploring how the Muirhouse community had changed since his own upbringing there.

The exhibition at the City Art Centre presents a selection of 38 photographs from No Ruined Stone. It features views of homes and other architectural structures, surrounded by elements of the natural world. Portraits of local residents punctuate the otherwise unpopulated setting, giving a sense of the community’s identity – something that is too often misrepresented in popular culture and elsewhere.

Duke’s understated yet powerful images depict Muirhouse at a time of significant urban regeneration and social flux. While raising issues around social inequality and poverty, No Ruined Stone is underpinned by a message of human resilience, strength of character, and ultimately, hope.

Paul Duke said: “When I started work on No Ruined Stone in 2015, my greatest wish was to create a narrative that gave voice to the residents of Muirhouse – to challenge misrepresentation by portraying the community and local environment with honesty, fairness and dignity.

“I wanted to offer personal insight and in doing so, address pressing questions around social injustice. With millions of people up and down the land dealing with the cost of living crisis, I believe that these photographs have taken on new meaning and are now more relevant than ever.

Curator Dr Helen Scott said: It’s been a real privilege to work with Paul Duke on bringing this exhibition to the City Art Centre.

“No Ruined Stone is an important body of work that is both hard-hitting and reflective, socially-engaged and highly personal. There is heart and truth in these photographs, and the images linger with you long after you’ve seen them.

Councillor Val Walker, Convener of Culture and Communities, said: “We are delighted to present Edinburgh’s own Paul Duke: No Ruined Stone at the City Art Centre.

“His wonderful photographs will be on display for the first time as a full-scale exhibition and I’m sure visitors will be captivated by the series on contemporary life in the Muirhouse area of the Capital and the changes in the community.

“The aim of our City Art Centre is to champion historic and contemporary Scottish visual and applied arts, so I’m delighted that we can display Paul’s work in his home city.”

The exhibition is accompanied by the publication Paul Duke: No Ruined Stone (Hartmann Books, 2018).

Paul Duke: No Ruined Stone opens on Saturday 26 November 2022, and runs until 19 February 2023. Admission is free.

City council votes to end Lothian Pension Fund fossil fuel investment

Climate campaigners have welcomed yesterday’s council decision to pass a motion calling on the £8 billion Lothian Pension Fund to end its investments in fossil fuel companies that are driving the climate crisis.

The motion, tabled by SNP councillors Vicky Nicolson and Marco Biagi, and seconded by Adam McVey (SNP), calls on the Lothian Pension Fund to protect the long-term interests of its members by removing its investments from fossil fuel companies that are not shifting their business toward renewable energy.

Last month, East Lothian councillors voted unanimously in favour of ending the Lothian Pension Fund’s fossil fuel investments.

The Lothian Pension Fund, administered by The City of Edinburgh Council, invests an estimated £229 million in fossil fuel companies which are driving climate breakdown, including BP, Shell, ExxonMobil and Equinor.

Oil giant Equinor is currently planning to develop the Rosebank oilfield to the west of Shetland – the largest undeveloped oil and gas field in the UK which contains over 500 million barrels of oil.

Eva Gallova, Divest Lothian campaigner from Edinburgh, said: “Edinburgh councillors, having rightly declared a climate emergency in 2019 and committed to becoming a net zero city by 2030, today acted on these promises and showed their constituents that these were not just empty words.

“Divesting the Lothian Pension Fund from fossil fuels would cut the Council’s ties with an industry hell-bent on stymying climate action and taking us on a path which can only lead to more death & destruction.

“The members of the Lothian Pension Fund, especially the younger members, should have prospects for a future worth retiring into and this will not be possible if our councils continue investing in companies like BP, Shell and Equinor that are planning massive expansions in their climate-wrecking oil and gas production. It’s time for the Lothian Pension Fund to protect pensions and the planet by ending its investments in fossil fuels.”

Sally Clark, divestment campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “It is very encouraging that City of Edinburgh councillors have voted to support ending the Lothian Pension Fund’s investments in planet-wrecking fossil fuels.

“With the UN Secretary General warning last week at COP27 that we need to massively invest in renewables and end our addiction to fossil fuels in order to keep global temperature rises below 1.5 degrees, it has never been more urgent for councils to break their ties with the coal, oil and gas companies that are on course to trigger climate catastrophe with their expansion plans.

“We now need the Lothian Pension Fund to listen to councillors and invest in climate solutions like social housing and renewable energy that will protect pensions and benefit communities here in Scotland and around the world.”

The Lothian Pension Fund is the second largest local government pension scheme in Scotland and administers the pension funds of over 92,000 members from four local authorities in the Lothians. The pension fund also manages the pensions of 90 employers, including Scottish Water, Edinburgh Napier University, VisitScotland and Heriot-Watt University.

The motion from City of Edinburgh councillors comes as part of a global push to divest money from fossil fuels.

To date, 1,552 institutions worth $40.50 trillion have committed to divest, including the Welsh Parliament, the London Boroughs of Islington and Lambeth, Cardiff Council, and 100 UK universities including Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

‘Best and final offer’: NHS staff offered record high pay rise

Average uplift of 7.5% the highest offer in the UK

A ‘best and final offer’ has been made to NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) workers following pay negotiations with trade unions and employers.

The record high pay offer, the best in the UK, will ensure that these front line workers will receive pay rises ranging from £2,205 to £2,751, which is a further improvement on the existing offer for staff in Bands 5-8A. For the lowest paid this represents an uplift of 11.3%, and delivers an average uplift of 7.5%.

This increased offer was made after constructive negotiations between the Scottish Government and NHS unions. In a final offer made to trade unions, the new deal is worth an additional £515 million in 2022-23 and now includes a package of progressive measures to promote staff and patient safety, support long-term workforce sustainability and to recognise the breadth of skills and experience of NHS Scotland staff.

The settlement ensures that NHS staff would remain the best paid anywhere in the UK. It gives all frontline NHS Scotland AfC staff in bands 1-7 a pay premium of between £1,149 and £2,834 over their counterparts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Agenda for Change pay offer for 2022-23 will deliver the most progressive package of terms and conditions reform in over 40 years. The deal will benefit more than 160,000 employees including nurses, paramedics, allied health professionals and healthcare support staff.  

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “We have engaged tirelessly with trade union representatives over recent weeks, leaving no stone unturned to reach an offer which responds to the key concerns of staff across the service.

“This best and final pay offer of over half a billion pounds underlines our commitment to supporting our fantastic NHS staff. A newly qualified nurse would see a pay rise of 8.7%, and experienced nurses and would get uplifts of between £2,450 and £2,751.

“We are making this offer at a time of extraordinary financial challenges to the Scottish Government.

“We have made the best offer possible to get money into the pockets of hard working staff and to avoid industrial action, in what is already going to be an incredibly challenging winter. If the offer is agreed this pay uplift will also be backdated to April.

“Finally, I would urge the UK Government to get back to the negotiating table with the unions. This settlement has been shaped by the unions’ constructive approach and I hope it is backed by their members.”

BACKGROUND

The new offer also includes a review into reducing the working week to 36 hours, a commitment to review the job descriptions of Band 5 roles and ensuring protected learning time for specific groups, such as staff on agreed learning and development schemes.

TABLE

BandpointsScottish 2022/23 ratesProposed increase% this representsHourly rate
Band 11£21,692£2,20511.32%£11.09
Band 21£21,814£2,20511.24%£11.16
 2£23,820£2,20510.20%£12.18
Band 31£23,914£2,20510.16%£12.23
 2£25,808£2,2059.34%£13.20
Band 41£25,914£2,2059.30%£13.25
 2£28,187£2,2058.49%£14.42
Band 51£28,384£2,2808.73%£14.52
 2£30,329£2,2808.13%£15.51
 3£35,365£2,4507.44%£18.09
Band 61£35,522£2,4507.41%£18.17
 2£37,087£2,4507.07%£18.97
 3£43,286£2,5506.26%£22.14
Band 71£43,422£2,5506.24%£22.21
 2£45,080£2,5506.00%£23.06
 3£50,506£2,6605.56%£25.83
Band 8A 1£53,513£2,5485.00%£27.37
 2£57,767£2,7515.00%£29.54
Band 8B 1£63,530£2,2053.60%£32.49
 2£68,223£2,2053.34%£34.89
Band 8C 1£75,711£2,2053.00%£38.72
 2£81,426£2,2052.78%£41.65
Band 8D 1£90,590£2,2052.49%£46.33
 2£94,629£2,2052.39%£48.40
Band 91£107,840£2,2052.09%£55.15
 2£112,673£2,2052.00%£57.63

RCN Scotland Board members will, in the coming days, be considering the details of a revised NHS pay offer from Scottish government.

The pay offer was made today (24 November) following negotiations between the RCN and other health trade unions and the Scottish government. 

The RCN paused a formal announcement on strike action in Scotland while negotiations took place this week. 

Colin Poolman, RCN Scotland Director, said: “As always it is our members who will decide what happens next in relation to the pay offer. The first step in that process is for our board to review the detail of the offer.

“That will happen in the next few days. The revised offer still does not meet our members’ expectations, which is disappointing, but the Scottish government is saying this is their best offer.

“We will update members once that process has taken place.  

“I appreciate it may be frustrating for our members in Scotland, the majority of whom voted very strongly in favour of taking strike action. It was that mandate that encouraged the Scottish government to re-open negotiations. It is right that RCN Scotland Board members consider the offer in the usual way.”