Views sought on mobility element of disability benefit
People are being encouraged to share their views on how a Scottish Government disability benefit supports their mobility needs.
The consultation on eligibility for the Adult Disability Payment mobility element will gather evidence to feed into a wider independent review. Ministers committed to this review to ensure the payment meets people’s needs now and in the future.
The mobility element, one of two components to the payment, supports people who have difficulties moving around or planning and following journeys.
Social Security Minister Ben Macpherson said: “Adult Disability Payment was developed in close co-operation with disabled people as part of our commitment to ensure Scotland’s social security system is delivered with dignity, fairness and respect.
“We want to hear a broad range of views on the eligibility criteria for the mobility element of Adult Disability Payment, particularly from people who are in receipt of disability benefits.
“We have already improved the application process for disability payments, while maintaining our commitment to safely and securely transferring people’s payments from the UK Government. We’d like to know about people’s experiences of this improved system.
“To anyone who receives Adult Disability Payment, or has views on how it is delivered, I would encourage you to respond to our consultation.”
Free event at City Art Centre, Saturday 11 February 2pm
Are you a tech geek and love seeing Edinburgh represented digitally? Well this free event is just for you!
Join us for an event hosted by the Data Civics team at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. Liz McFall, Darren Umney and Vassilis Galanos will talk about their recent work exploring North Edinburgh through the ‘eyes’ of internet platforms including Instagram, Twitter, Google Earth, street photography and community archive.
The work was conducted with help from local organisations including Screen Edinburgh, North Edinburgh Arts, Granton Hub and Edinburgh Palette among others.
The aim is to use digital methods to show the vibrancy of the area from the perspectives of people who live, work and play there.
The event will showcase the Granton CivicScope website and its collection of photographs, films and maps of the past, present and future of the area, and give the audience a chance to add their own images to the collection.
Brutalist photographer Simon Phipps and Darren Umney will talk with Liz McFall, Kath Bassett and Vassilis Galanos about their recent work exploring North Edinburgh through the ‘eyes’ of internet platforms including Instagram, Twitter, Google Earth, street photography and community archive.
Complimentary refreshments will be served.
For more information and booking, follow this link:
Enjoy a romantic set menu and love-inspired cocktails
The Ivy on the Square Brasserie is celebrating the season of love with a romantic set menu and bespoke cocktails available from Friday 10th February to Sunday 19thFebruary, making it the perfect place to spoil a loved one.
After receiving a glass of Veuve Clicquot Rose Champagne on arrival, guests can choose from a selection of dishes from The Ivy on the Square’s delicious three-course set menu full of culinary delights.
Priced at £75 per person, to start, diners are invited to enjoy a delicious starter, with options including a Duck Liver Parfait, served with caramelised hazelnuts, truffle, pear, and ginger compote with a toasted brioche, or Laverstoke Park Farm Buffalo Mozzarella served with red chicory, clementine, grapes, candy beetroot, and a spiced vinaigrette.
Main course options include Lobster Linguine in a tomato and chilli sauce, with vine cherry tomatoes, parsley, and spring onion, and Chargrilled Halloumi with Farro grains, crushed artichoke, hazelnuts, mushrooms, black truffle, and a plant-based sauce. If diners are looking for something even more special, a succulent, grass-fed Fillet of Beef is the perfect choice.
To finish, those with a sweet tooth can enjoy a sharing dessert perfect for couples or friends. The Raspberry Heart Mille Feuille features decadently layered white chocolate and puff pastry with a warm raspberry sauce, the perfect way to finish a romantic meal.
Alongside the sumptuous set menu, a duo of cocktails inspired by love will be available, designed to make even the cold-hearted blush. Guests can choose from a Heartbreaker on the Rocks (£12); a blend of Maker’s Mark Bourbon, Antica Formula, Cherry Heering, Chocolate wine and a dash of Campari, or a sweet Passion Berry Martini (£11), with Citric Blend, Crème de Fraise, and passion fruit syrup topped with prosecco.
Agata Lubera, General Manager at The Ivy on the Square says: “Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to treat those you love. Whether celebrating with friends, family or loved ones, we hope our guests enjoy our special set-menu and bespoke cocktails this Valentine’s Day.”
The Valentine’s Day Set Menu is available from 10th – 19th February and is priced at £75 per person for three courses and a glass of Veuve Clicquot Champagne. To book a table, please visit TheIvyEdinburgh.com.
50 leading civil liberties organisations and rights groups slam the government’s strikes bill
The TUC has welcomed an open letter penned by 50 civil liberties organisations and rights groups slamming the government’s new anti-strikes bill as an attack on the fundamental right to strike.
The organisations including Liberty, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam and many more said the Bill will allow “a further significant and unjustified intrusion by the state into the freedom of association and assembly.”
The groups also warn of the “enormous scope” the legislation would give ministers to decide key provisions, including the minimum service levels, without proper parliamentary scrutiny.
The Bill was back in parliament yesterday for its third reading.
The TUC has launched a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to discover why the government published the Bill without a required impact assessment.
Previous government advice – published in the Autumn – warned that minimum service levels in transport could poison industrial relations, and lead to more frequent industrial action.
Despite this warning, the Conservatives are now proposing to extend minimum service levels to a range of other sectors including – health, education, fire, border security and nuclear decommissioning.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “Ministers are launching a brazen attack on the right to strike – a fundamental British liberty.
“This draconian legislation would mean that when workers democratically vote to strike, they can be forced to work and sacked if they don’t comply.
“It is little wonder that civil liberties organisations up and down the country are lining up to condemn this spiteful Bill.
“It is undemocratic, unworkable and almost certainly illegal. And crucially it will likely poison industrial relations and exacerbate disputes rather than help resolve them.”
On the need for ministers to come clean about the true scope of the Bill, Paul Nowak added: “Instead of levelling with the public about the bill’s draconian nature, ministers are railroading it through without proper scrutiny or consultation.
“With inflation running at over 10%, the last thing working people need is for ministers to make it harder to secure better pay and conditions.
“It is shameful that parliamentarians are being forced to vote blindly on such far-reaching new laws. We urge MPs from all parties to vote against this nasty Bill.”
We are writing to you as organisations concerned with the protection of civil liberties in this country to urge you to reconsider the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill.
The right to strike is a fundamental liberty.
In Great Britain it is already highly constrained by detailed rules concerning balloting, notice periods and picketing.
We believe the proposals for minimum service levels during industrial action will unfairly constrain the activities of trade unions and their members by allowing a further significant and unjustified intrusion by the state into the freedom of association and assembly.
The government has produced no evidence that such draconian measures are necessary. Voluntary life-and-limb cover has long been a feature of industrial action by essential workers.
This Bill has the potential to cause significant damage to fair and effective industrial relations in this country by making it harder to resolve disputes. Indeed the government itself has acknowledged that minimum service levels risk leading to an increased frequency of strikes.
We are also concerned by the lack of detail in the Bill, and the enormous scope it gives you and your successors as Secretary of State to decide key provisions, including the minimum service levels themselves, free from proper Parliamentary scrutiny.
In particular, the vast power given to Ministers to amend or revoke primary legislation, including Acts that do not even exist yet, is an extraordinary denial of the duty of our elected representatives to legislate on our behalf.
The Bill will expand the power of Ministers over Parliament and employers over workers, undermine rights protections, and inject uncertainty and precarity into the lives of millions of people who may now face dismissal for going on strike.
We urge you to reconsider these plans for an unwarranted curtailment of freedom of assembly and association
Martha Spurrier, Director, Liberty
Justine Forster, CEO, Advocacy Focus
Robert Rae, Co-Director, Art27 Scotland
Clive Parry, England Director, Association for Real Change
D ame Sara Llewellin, Chief Executive, Barrow Cadbury Trust
Silkie Carlo, Director, Big Brother Watch
Rosalind Stevens, Project Manager, Civil Society Alliance
Brian Gormally, Director, Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ)
Isobel Ingham-Barrow, CEO, Community Policy Forum
Megan Thomas, Policy and Research Officer, Disability Wales
Ele Hicks, Engagement, Research, and Policy and Influencing Manager, Diverse Cymru
Andrea Simon, Director, End Violence Against Women Coalition
Clare Moody, Co-CEO, Equally Ours
Kyle Taylor, Founder, Fair Vote UK
Peter Wieltschnig, Policy & Networks Officer, Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX)
Clare Lyons, Director of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
Nick Dearden, Director, Global Justice Now
John Gaskell, Chair, Grassroots for Europe
Areeba Hamid & Will McCallum, Co-Executive Directors, Greenpeace UK
Declan Owens, Co-Chair, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers
Kevin Hanratty, Director, Human Rights Consortium Northern Ireland
Mhairi Snowden, Director, Human Rights Consortium Scotland
Yasmine Ahmed, UK Director, Human Rights Watch
Deborah Coles, Executive Director, INQUEST
Zehrah Hasan, Advocacy Director, The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI)
Jess McQuail, Director, Just Fair
Nimrod Ben-Cnaan, Head of Policy and Profile, Law Centres Network
Barry Gale, Group Leader, Mental Health Rights Scotland
Fizza Qureshi, CEO, Migrants’ Rights Network
Zara Mohammed, Secretary General, Muslim Council of Britain
Kevin Blowe, Campaigns Coordinator, Netpol
Mark Kieran, CEO, Open Britain
Kate Flannery, Secretary, Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign
The Scottish Parliament’s Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee will visit Ferguslie Park in Renfrewshire next Monday (6th February) to meet with Engage Renfrewshire, a Third Sector Interface, which supports local charities and other not-for-profit groups, as part of an inquiry into Community Planning.
In November 2022, the Committee launched a new inquiry into Part 2 of the Community Empowerment Act (2015), which changed how community planning is delivered by Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs).
Community Planning aims to improve how organisations such as local government, health boards, and the police work together with other partners to improve local outcomes in an area.
CPPs exist in every local authority to identify priorities, share resources to deliver services for people and are tasked with developing Local Outcomes Improvement Plans and targeted ‘locality plans’ for smaller areas which need more support.
Partners also must work with communities to involve them in community planning.
The Committee held a call for views between November 2022 and January 2023 and will go on to take evidence from stakeholders before sending a report to the Scottish Government in the spring, outlining its findings and recommendations.
Ahead of the visit, Committee Convener, Ariane Burgess MSP said:“Hearing directly from people in Renfrewshire involved in the local Community Planning Partnership will greatly improve our understanding of the impact of these partnerships and how they are helping to support communities across Scotland.
“Our inquiry is looking at the impact of the Community Empowerment Act on community planning and how CPPs have been able to respond to significant events such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the current cost-of-living crisis.
“Throughout this inquiry, we will seek to hear directly from organisations involved in Community Planning Partnerships, such as those we will meet in Fergulsie Park as well as communities and individuals from across Scotland about the impact the Partnerships have had.”
The Committee will hold meetings with Engage Renfrewshire in Ferguslie Park to learn more about the background to CPP operations in Renfrewshire, the Forum for Empowering Communities and examples of local partnership working.
Following this the Committee will visit the Tannahill Centre for an overview of local services delivered as part of the Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Approach and Winter Connection Programme.
Commenting, Dr Alan McNiven, Chief Executive of Engage Renfrewshire, said: “We’re delighted to welcome the Local Government Housing and Planning Committee to Renfrewshire as part of their review of Community Planning.
“Community Planning can be challenging but it’s an approach which can provide Third Sector organisations with the opportunity to establish a strong working partnership with the Public Sector – and in our experience partnership working often creates a great environment for delivering better local outcomes.”
Councillor Paul Kelly, COSLA Health and Social Care spokesperson, said: “COSLA Leaders are clear that addressing the pressures in our health and social care system needs a whole system approach which is not just about delayed discharge.
“All partners need to acknowledge that longstanding recruitment and retention issues place significant constraints on Health and Social Care Partnerships ability to deal with challenges and we must urgently invest in fair work to ensure that progress can be made in building and developing the social care workforce.”
Students are being encouraged to get protected against infectious diseases such as meningitis, measles and HPV (human papilloma virus) as they return to campus.
As schools, colleges and universities return after the festive break and students begin to mix closely, it is a time when we can see increased spread of infectious diseases.
Being vaccinated offers the best protection and we would encourage those eligible to get their most up to date jags to protect both themselves and their peers.
Dr Iain Kennedy, of NHS GGC Public Health, said: “Student health is vitally important and that is why we are encouraging everyone to ensure they have their vaccinations up to date.
“Diseases can spread easily and quickly through schools, colleges and universities and being vaccinated ensures the best possible protection.
“If you are unsure of your vaccination status, please get in contact with your local GP practice who should be able to advise you on this.
“All our routine immunisation programmes are available on the NHS.
“For more information about getting your vaccines, please speak to your GP or log on to NHS Inform where you can read further information on vaccinations.”
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the mandatory seatbelt law which was spearheaded by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)
Research shows that a quarter of people in vehicles who died in road accidents in 2021 were not wearing a seatbelt
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022 threatens vital lifesaving legislation and looks to sunset them before December 31 this year.
On the fortieth anniversary of mandatory seatbelt usage, a leading accident prevention charity has issued a rally cry to Government to save seatbelt laws from being lost or watered down as part of the the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), that spearheaded the campaign for mandatory seatbelt use over forty years ago, warns that thousands of lives are at risk if the Bill goes ahead.
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022 will see thousands of laws sunset by the end of this year, including lifesaving seatbelt legislation. Although seatbelt usage features in the Road Safety Act, the Bill is set to make critical information on who, where and when people should wear seatbelts unclear.
Statistics show that almost a quarter of people in a vehicle killed in a road collision in 2021 were not wearing a seatbelt. While the number of people killed on Britain’s roads has plateaued, the proportion of car occupants killed while not wearing a seatbelt has spiked sharply, reaching the highest level since records began.
Seatbelts made the news last month when Rishi Sunak was caught on video travelling in a moving vehicle while not wearing a seatbelt and was subsequently issued a fixed penalty notice.
Nathan Davies, Head of Policy at RoSPA, said: “Wearing a seatbelt is not just ‘common sense’. Making seatbelts a legal requirement changed behaviour, and drove up usage by 55 per cent almost immediately.
“But recent Department for Transport data shows us that compliance is the lowest it has ever been since the law was introduced, and that means that people still need laws which reinforce the importance for them and the other occupants of vehicles. By removing seatbelt laws, we expect usage to fall, and fatalities will then inevitably increase.
“Throwing vital seatbelt laws in the air at a time they are most needed will set the stage for thousands of the public being killed and injured on the road, leaving behind loved ones, friends and family. We must not throw away the progress made over last 40 years of mandatory seatbelt usage and urge the Government to tackle these vital laws with the time, respect and attention they deserve.”
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022 will have a second reading in the Lords on the 6 February.
Supporting your local sharing and repairing projects is an amazing way to change the way you consume, make less waste, and support your local community – but what exactly IS sharing and repairing? Where are your local projects, and what does it mean to get involved ??
Join Circular Communities Scotland’s Share and Repair Network this week to learn more about sharing and repairing and see if YOU are #ShareRepairAware!
Do you want to live more sustainably? Change the way you consume? Fight climate change? Save money in the cost-of-living crisis?
Sharing and repairing are amazing ways to do all the above, as well as support charities and social enterprises that give back to your local community, but it can be confusing to know where to go, what to do, or how to get involved.
Our #ShareRepairAware campaign is here to help.
Sounds good! How can I get involved?
Feeling brave? Take our online quiz to see if your knowledge about sharing and repairing is up to scratch! (If you share your results on socials, don’t forget to @ us, and use the #ShareRepairAware hashtag!)
Not sure about sharing and repairing? Read our campaign article (yes this one!) to learn more or visit our sharing and repairing webpage.
Like and share our posts on TWITTER, FACEBOOK and LINKEDIN to spread the word and help others be #ShareRepairAware!
Using cutting edge ‘choose your own adventure’ technology
BGT star Kevin Quantum builds on success of in person workshops to reach thousands of children
Edinburgh International Magic Festival is proud to announce the launch of Virtual Magic School [VMS] a cutting-edge and free-to-use, digital learning resource for primary school children in Scotland and the UK.
MagicFest’s original in-person workshops have been a hugely successful part of The International Magic Festival for 13 years, teaching over 2000 children magic tricks. The workshop format has now been upgraded using technology currently only seen in high budget productions by companies such as Netflix etc.
The course consists of 8 curricula-linked lessons and is packed full of illusions and tricks. Children get to make choices through the lesson selecting buttons on the screen and can unearth hidden secrets and magic tricks by correctly completing each lesson!
Key advantages include:
The course is tied up to the curricula North and south of the border thanks to the collaboration with primary school teachers in Scotland and England
The course focuses on numeracy, literacy and science as well as presentation skills, confidence and resilience.
The use of cutting edge ‘choose your own adventure’ technology hugely increases engagement and learning.
The resource has been funded by Scottish and UK funding bodies as well as Trusts and Private companies so that It could be free to use for all schools.
Britain’s Got Talent star and Festival organiser Kevin Quantum said: “I’m so excited to become the Magic Teacher for 1000s of children up and down the country teaching them not only tricks, but the real secrets behind the tricks, often found in science and maths, as well as the confidence and presentational skills needed to go and perform them to friends and family.
“Dumbledore eat your heart out! I think even he, with his powers, would have struggled to teach so many children simultaneously.”
Although VMS has just launched, the idea for the project was developed two years ago. During lockdown Kevin and his daughter Olivia started a YouTube channel teaching magic and science. The channel was so popular that it was commissioned by the BBC and has now evolved again to become an interactive digital learning adventure.
Svetlana McMahon MagicFest director said “We’re delighted to be fusing cutting edge technology, only seen so far on Netflix productions, like Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror, with our experience delivering magic workshops to children around the country.
“This is a huge step towards our goal of promoting magic as an artform and helps many thousands of children get a grasp on numeracy and literacy using the inbuilt curiosity and excitement of a magic lesson!”
In person Magic School has seen lessons here in Edinburgh during the festival, at schools in areas of deprivation around Scotland and as far afield as the Globe Theatre in London. This digital incarnation could now reach children all over the world.
The project has been supported by The Space, Baillie Gifford and Kiran’s Trust.
Fiona Morris Creative Director and Chief Executive of The Space said: “Virtual Magic School is a fantastic project that combines magic and tricks with branching narrative technology to create a really engaging teaching resource.
“We are sure that it will be an invaluable tool both inside and outside of the classroom where children learn through a medium that are increasingly accustomed to”.
Johnny Martin, Director of Kiran’s Trust said:“We have been pleased to have supported MagicFest’s Magic Schools, Workshops and Magic School on the Road. We are delighted to be part of that next generation of Magic education.
“We believe the VMS environment allows innovative ideas to flourish and helps in conceiving and executing various problem-solving approaches. It creates a room for creativity, perspectives, opportunities and ideas!”
