It’s the summer holidays! Woohoo! 
We’ve got lots of fun wee events on to keep yous busy, so come down to the college and see us or catch us out and about at our Bookbug sessions.
See below for the different events on throughout the week. All events are completely free and run as a drop in so come along whenever suits!
Biggest pay uplift since devolution for senior medical and dental staff
The Scottish Government has accepted the 6% pay increase for senior NHS staff recommended by the independent Doctors and Dentists Pay Review Body (DDRB).
The award will mean NHS Scotland senior medical and dental staff, general medical practitioners and general dental practitioners will receive a 6% pay increase for this year, backdated to 1 April 2023.
For a consultant this means a rise of £5,488 at the bottom of the pay scale and £7,292 at the top.
Health Secretary Michael Matheson said: “The NHS has faced substantial challenges over the last few years, and staff have been working tirelessly to continue to provide care while under increased pressure.
“This award demonstrates the value we have for all our senior medical and dental staff and the invaluable contribution they make.
“It’s crucial that we continue to not only recruit and build our future NHS workforce, but also retain expertise within and this award will mean our staff remain the best paid in the UK – and an overall minimum increase of 10.5% over the past two years.
“We continue to negotiate with BMA Scotland Junior Doctors Committee and hope reach a separate pay settlement for 2023/24 for junior doctors soon.”
The 6% pay uplift will be applied to all senior NHS Medical and Dental staffing grades.
The Scottish Government, BMA Scotland and other relevant bodies all participated and provided evidence to the DDRB to allow them to make their independent recommendations.
This year’s award builds on the 4.5% pay uplift awarded in 2022. This means staff have received a minimum 10.5% pay increase over the last two years which equates to a £9,428 rise for a new Consultant, and £12,528 for a Consultant at the top of their pay scale.
Audiences at The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo next month will be treated to the spectacular sounds of traditional and contemporary music from across the globe, and now they can do so for half-price thanks to new tickets on sale soon.
Organisers have revealed The United States Air Force Band will wow the crowds with a freestyle musical performance depicting America’s great songbook while The Trinidad & Tobago Defence Force Steel Orchestra feature contemporary Caribbean music from artists like Freetown Collective, DJ Private Ryan, Nailah Blackman and Skinny Fabulous.
Lead Service the Royal Air Force Massed Military Bands, HM Royal Marines and The King’s Colour Squadron this year present popular gaming tracks from Battlefield 2, Final Fantasy VII and Dragon Age: Inquisition. The music of Scotland also features heavily with traditional tunes from the Massed Pipes & Drums.
As preparations for the spectacular return of the Tattoo continue, with just one month to go, organisers have pledged to ensure the celebrated cultural attraction can be enjoyed by all. Half -price tickets for their Preview Night go on sale from 10am Tuesday 4 July, for the performance beginning at 9:30 pm on Thursday 3 August.
Preview Night tickets offer both local and international audiences the very first chance to witness the seminal spectacle, as talented performers from across the world gather on the iconic Edinburgh Castle Esplanade.
The half-price Preview Night tickets have been a regular Show feature in recent years, and whilst enjoying discounted entry to the Show, Preview Night audiences can still expect to see the full line-up of international acts performing throughout August.
Michael Braithwaite, Creative Director of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, says: “Storytelling is at the heart of this year’s Tattoo. We’re presenting an enticing array of tales, myths and legends through music, dance, sound, and light. Stories features a huge range of musical styles, genres and artists and I’m looking forward to audiences catching the magic in August.
“As an international cultural celebration, the Tattoo is a show we want everyone to experience and enjoy. Our half-price Preview Night tickets are a great way for people to be part of the excitement and are always snapped up quickly.”
Stories is a celebration of storytelling, giving a stage to performers and acts to share those stories that mean the most to them, communicated through innovative music, dance, and performance. Stories draws inspiration from the sagas, myths, and legends that people across the globe have shared with each other for centuries.
Over 800 performers from across the globe will take part in this year’s Tattoo, bringing with them extraordinary music, dance, and performance talents. There will be vivid and exciting acts from Trinidad & Tobago, The United States, Switzerland, and Norway, along with homegrown talent from the UK.
Military musicians continue to play a central role in the performance, with the RAF as the lead Service this year. Audiences can expect to hear the skirl of the Massed Pipes and Drums that echo around the Esplanade as part of Stories, supported by Tattoo Performers and musicians from UK Military Regiments.
In addition to this, the Tattoo are also launching their new membership scheme, during the week of 3 July, featuring a two-tiered approach, with Friend of the Tattoo, and Patron of the Tattoo costing – with benefits including pre-sale access to 2024 tickets and exclusive Tattoo Behind the Scenes Tours.
Preview performance tickets can be purchased at edintattoo.co.uk/tickets or on the phone at 0131 225 1188 from 10am on Tuesday 4July. Prices start from £20. The Show runs from 4-26 August 2023, with Innis & Gunn once again offering a bar service at the event. Drinks pre-order is available now from edintattoodrinks.co.uk.
A partnership to support cancer patients and their families to deal with the financial, emotional and physical health effects of the disease is to be extended with a further investment of £9 million.
The programme looks to ensure that everyone affected by cancer in Scotland has access to a specialist key support worker. This means clinicians have more time to offer direct medical and clinical support to patients.
Over the next three years, it is anticipated there will be a gradual increase in access to the service, with a minimum of 14,000 new cancer diagnoses accessing it each year.
The Scottish Government has been working in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support to improve the service offered to those affected by cancer through the Transforming Cancer Care Programme (TCC). This partnership – the first of its kind in the UK – began under the 2016 Cancer Strategy and has seen £18 million invested to date.
The Scottish Government has agreed to continue the partnership and provide an additional three years of funding for the Improving the Cancer Journey services. Each partner will invest an additional £4.5 million.
Making the announcement ahead of a visit to NHS Forth Valley to celebrate the NHS 75th anniversary, First Minister Humza Yousaf said: ““Our recently published Cancer Strategy and Action Plan places an emphasis on person-centred care for all and supporting the mental health of cancer patients and their families.
“We have committed to launch the final Improving the Cancer Journey service, in partnership with Macmillan, over the next three years. We will also commit to spreading this successful model to all areas in Scotland over the coming year.
“This will see an additional £9 million of joint investment and ensure that everyone diagnosed with cancer in Scotland has access to a key support worker. It will be of great benefit to patients while also easing pressure on the NHS by freeing up clinicians.”
Janice Preston, Head of Partnerships at Macmillan Cancer Support in Scotland, said: “The Macmillan Improving the Cancer Journey (ICJ) Services are available for anyone affected by cancer.
“By the end of 2024, everyone in Scotland who needs support will have the chance to talk to an ICJ practitioner who will help individuals to identify their needs and access expert support, from benefits advice to emotional support – whatever they might need.
“This is a unique service for people affected by cancer that helps to reduce pressure on the NHS and is making a really positive difference to people living with cancer and their families. Since 2014, these vital, non-medical services have already helped over 18,500 people and this money will mean they can keep on transforming cancer support across Scotland.
“We are excited that, through our partnership with the Scottish Government, another £9 million is being made available to ensure people can continue to get this help for another three years.”
The roll out of the Improving the Cancer Journey model to every Health & Social Care Partnership follows 4 key principles:
o 100% of adults diagnosed with cancer, within agreed criteria, will be invited or referred to an ICJ service to speak to a specialist practitioner.
o An ICJ practitioner with the service user will complete a Holistic Needs Assessment (HNA) and generate a care plan to meet the needs identified.
o Local community assets will be identified and utilised to support the service user in meeting their needs.
o The service user will be followed up by the ICJ practitioner in the community to monitor progress with agreed actions.
Motorists are being put in the driving seat to find the best fuel prices as the government prepares to force retailers to publicly fess up to how much they are charging at the pump.
In a win for consumers, they will be able to compare prices in real time in any area of the UK, through a new fuel price reporting scheme. Drivers will be able to easily identify those charging fair prices and those failing to pass on savings from falling wholesale costs.
The government will change the law to force retailers to comply by providing up to date price information, which is expected to lead to greater transparency and competition – in turn driving down prices and easing people’s cost of living.
The new scheme will make pricing data available for third parties – paving the way for them to create price comparison apps and websites – supporting the digital economy and helping growth.
The tough action by government follows publication of a Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) report today showing some supermarkets charged drivers 6p more per litre for fuel. This amounts to £900m in extra costs in 2022 alone – around £75m a month.
New powers will be handed to a public organisation yet to be decided, to closely monitor the UK road fuel market, scrutinise prices and alert government if further intervention is needed.
This is the latest step in the government’s action to ease the cost of living, as part of its efforts to halve inflation this year – one of the Prime Minister’s five priorities. It follows the Chancellor’s roundtable with regulators last week, including the CMA, to ensure consumers are being treated fairly and help those struggling to make payments.
Grant Shapps, Energy Security Secretary, said: “Some fuel retailers have been using motorists as cash cows – they jacked up their prices when fuel costs rocketed but failed to pass on savings now costs have fallen.
“It cannot be right that at a time when families are struggling with rising living costs, retailers are prioritising their bottom line, putting upwards pressure on inflation and pocketing hundreds of millions of pounds at the expense of hardworking people.
“Today I’m putting into action the CMA’s recommendations and standing by consumers – we’ll shine a light on rip-off retailers to drive down prices and make sure they’re held to account by putting into law new powers to increase transparency.”
Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: “It isn’t fair that businesses are refusing to pass on lower prices to protect their profits while working people struggle with balancing their budgets.
“Consumers need to be treated fairly, and so we’re empowering drivers to find the best prices possible for their fuel by taking swift steps following the CMA’s recommendations.”
The CMA’s report found a concerning weakening of competition in the fuel market and an overall increase in retailers’ margins, especially in respect of diesel and with supermarkets the worst offenders (see below).
It also noted a lack of reliable and comprehensive price information available to motorists.
The report recommends the mandatory public disclosure of fuel prices and establishment of a body to monitor the market, which the government has agreed to.
The government will consult on the design of the open data scheme, and market monitoring function this autumn – with changes to the law needed to bring it in. In the interim, the CMA will create a voluntary scheme encouraging fuel retailers to share accurate, up-to-date road fuel prices for publication by August and continue to monitor fuel prices using its existing powers.
The move follows a similar scheme in Germany, which boosted competition amongst fuel retailers. Meanwhile, motorists who shopped around in Queensland, Australia, saved on average $93 per year off the back of a statewide scheme rolled out in the area.
Action to protect consumers announced today follows the government spending nearly £40 billion protecting households and businesses from spiralling energy bills over the colder months – including paying half the typical household bill and saving the average home roughly £1,500 by the end of June.
Meanwhile, with the latest Ofgem price cap coming into effect from 1 July, families will see their yearly energy bills fall by around £430 on average. On top of this, the government is also providing additional support to the most vulnerable, with an extra £150 for disabled people and £900 for those on means-tested benefits.
A new fuel finder scheme to enable drivers access to live, station-by-station fuel prices on their phones or satnavs would help revitalise competition in the retail road fuel market, the CMA said yesterday
The scheme would be made possible by new compulsory open data requirements and backed by a new ‘fuel monitor’ oversight body. The proposals are the key recommendations by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to UK government following its in-depth study into the road fuel market which found a weakening of competition in retail since 2019.
At present, retailers only provide information on prices at the petrol stations themselves. This makes it hard for drivers to compare prices and weakens competition. The fuel finder open data scheme would need statutory backing through legislation to ensure fuel retailers provide up-to-date pricing and make that available to drivers in an open and accessible format that can be easily used by third party apps such as satnavs or map apps, through a dedicated fuel finder app, or a combination of both.
The fuel monitor would monitor prices and margins on an ongoing basis and recommend further action if competition continues to weaken in the market. As the UK transitions to net-zero the demand for petrol and diesel will reduce. The fuel monitor will help us understand the impact of this on vulnerable consumers that remain dependent on petrol and diesel for longer, as well as those living in areas with limited choice of fuel stations.
The fuel monitor will ensure ongoing scrutiny of retail prices for petrol and diesel. We observed that following the interim update issued by the CMA in May 2023, the average price of road fuel fell in large parts of the UK. Over the last year, the CMA has investigated the road fuel market in detail and reached the conclusion that competition is not working well and greater transparency in pricing is needed to improve consumer confidence and bring down prices for drivers.
There is no evidence to suggest that there has been cartel behaviour taking place and the CMA has no plans to open an enforcement case.
The report found that:
Supermarkets are generally the cheapest places to buy fuel, with Asda typically the cheapest of those. This has anchored prices in the past. The CMA found that in 2022, Asda and Morrisons each made the decision to target higher margins.
Asda’s fuel margin target in 2023 was more than three times what it had been for 2019, while Morrisons doubled their margin target in the same period. Other retailers, including Sainsbury’s and Tesco, did not respond in the way you would expect in a competitive market and instead raised their prices in line with these changes. Taken together this indicates that competition has weakened and reinforces the need for action.
Diesel prices have been slow to drop in 2023, partially down to Asda ‘feathering’ (reducing pump prices more slowly as wholesale prices fell) its prices and other firms not responding competitively to that. As a result, the CMA estimates that drivers have paid 13 PPL more for diesel from January 2023 to the end of May 2023 than if margins had been at their historic average.
Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA, said: “Competition at the pump is not working as well as it should be and something needs to change swiftly to address this.
“Drivers buying fuel at supermarkets in 2022 have paid around 6 pence per litre more than they would have done otherwise, due to the four major supermarkets increasing their margins. This will have had a greater impact on vulnerable people, particularly those in areas with less choice of fuel stations.
“We need to reignite competition among fuel retailers and that means two things. It needs to be easier for drivers to compare up to date prices so retailers have to compete harder for their business.
“This is why we are recommending the UK government legislate for a new fuel finder scheme which would make it compulsory for retailers to make their prices available in real time. This would end the need to drive round and look at the prices displayed on the forecourt and would ideally enable live price data on satnavs and map apps.
“Given the importance of this market to millions of people across the UK this needs to be backed by a new fuel monitor function that will hold the industry to account. As we transition to net zero, the case for ongoing monitoring of this critical market will grow even stronger, so we stand ready to work with the UK government to implement these proposals as quickly as possible.”
Local factors also contribute to how much drivers pay at the pump. The CMA identified that there are significant price differences in local areas, and that the difference between the highest and lowest prices in local areas has increased as average fuel prices have risen.
Lower prices are typically associated with having a supermarket retailer nearby, and where there are no supermarkets, for example, in remote areas, fuel retailers are likely to have higher costs and prices are likely to be higher. The fuel finder scheme will be important to help people find the best deal possible but it is essential that the monitoring function keeps a close eye on local variations in prices.
The price premium at motorway service stations has grown in real terms since 2012, and price variation on motorways is low, due to limited competition between service stations. A fuel finder scheme would allow drivers an easy way to see where they can find cheaper fuel in the area if they come off the motorway.
The CMA has also imposed fines totalling £60,000 on Asda for failing to provide relevant information in a timely manner.
Asda received two fines, each of £30,000 (the statutory maximum), for:
Asda has now provided the CMA with the required information.
The final report on the Road Fuel Market Study is available to read in full.
Fuel retailers have been pushing up their margins on pump prices meaning higher prices for drivers.
The latest findings from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) reveal that between 2019 and 2022 supermarkets pushed up their margins on petrol and diesel by 6p per litre (PPL).
The CMA also found that “increased margins on diesel across all retailers have cost drivers an extra 13 PPL from January 2023 to the end of May 2023.”
The organisation goes on to say:
“Over the last year, the CMA has investigated the road fuel market in detail and reached the conclusion that competition is not working well and greater transparency in pricing is needed to improve consumer confidence and bring down prices for drivers.”
However, the CMA could find “no evidence to suggest that there has been cartel behaviour taking place and the CMA has no plans to open an enforcement case.”
The CMA’s study on road fuel prices identified a reduction in competition amongst the supermarkets:
“Supermarkets are generally the cheapest places to buy fuel, with Asda typically the cheapest of those. This has anchored prices in the past. The CMA found that in 2022, Asda and Morrisons each made the decision to target higher margins. Asda’s fuel margin target in 2023 was more than three times what it had been for 2019, while Morrisons doubled their margin target in the same period.
“Other retailers, including Sainsbury’s and Tesco, did not respond in the way you would expect in a competitive market and instead raised their prices in line with these changes. Taken together this indicates that competition has weakened and reinforces the need for action.
“Diesel prices have been slow to drop in 2023, partially down to Asda ‘feathering’ (reducing pump prices more slowly as wholesale prices fell) its prices and other firms not responding competitively to that. As a result, the CMA estimates that drivers have paid 13 PPL more for diesel from January 2023 to the end of May 2023 than if margins had been at their historic average.”
The CMA is calling for the compulsory release of price data by fuel retailers so that apps can be developed which allow drivers to check what is the best price in their local area.
It also wants to see a new monitoring body to hold the industry to account.
According to the CMA “motorway service stations are charging around 20 PPL more for petrol and 15 PPL more for diesel compared to other fuel stations.”
Free online talk showcasing work in the Southern Ocean trails auction to support conservation
On Friday 7 July the South Georgia Heritage Trust and the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust are hosting a free, online talk about one of the world’s most iconic species – Orcas, or killer whales.
Southern Ocean Stories: The Orca’s Tale, provides a unique opportunity for the public to hear from two of the world’s leading whale experts about their work, and the fascinating insights it gives us into the life of these amazing creatures.
Speaking at the event will be ecologist, author and skipper Jared Towers, alongside Bay Cetology Director and marine biologist Leigh Hickmott of Open Ocean Consulting who is known as the killer whale specialist for the BBC’s Frozen Planet II series.
One of the world’s most iconic species – Orcas, or killer whales – in the Southern Ocean, are the subject of a new online talk hosted by the South Georgia Heritage Trust and UK Antarctic Heritage Trust.
The talk will look at how, by studying the movements, behaviour, abundance and ecology of killer whale populations using direct observations and remote sensing technology, we can tell the story of our changing environment. Guests will also hear about Jared and Leigh’s personal tales and experiences of working in Antarctic waters and the challenges that brings, all illustrated with their amazing photographs.
The event is being hosted by Alison Neil and Camilla Nichol, Chief Executives of the South Georgia Heritage Trust and UK Antarctic Heritage Trust respectively.
The event launches an online charity auction to raise funds towards conservation programmes that both organisations are undertaking in Antarctica and on the island of South Georgia.
The auction will include two fantastic expedition voyages to South Georgia and to Antarctica: G Adventures are donating a 22-day adventure voyage to South Georgia, the Antarctic and the Falkland Islands for two people, and Hurtigruten are donating a 12-day ‘Highlights of Antarctica’ expedition cruise for two people.
Alison Neil, CEO of the South Georgia Heritage Trust said: “We are delighted to be working with our friends at the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust on what will be a fascinating evening learning about enigmatic Orca, and also on an online charity auction to raise funds for conservation in South Georgia and the Antarctic.
“Along with our affiliate charity Friends of South Georgia Island, SGHT is currently supporting whale research projects in the region and is also working towards a landmark artwork celebrating the return of whales to South Georgia waters.”
Camilla Nichol, CEO of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust said: “The orca is one of the emblematic creatures of the Southern Ocean, anyone who experiences seeing them cannot fail to be awed by the experience.
“It’s a huge privilege to be hosting this event when we can all learn more about these extraordinary creatures from leading experts. I hope that this will also inspire supporters old and new to get involved in our auction.
“We are hoping to raise funds to support the vital conservation work both of our organisations conduct to protect these special places in this most incredible part of our planet.”
As well as the headline prizes of the two adventure cruises, the auction also includes a wonderful selection of experiences and exclusive lots, from unique artworks by recognised Antarctic region artists to antiques and collectables.
Examples include:
The auction lots will be available to browse after the event with bids needing to be placed before 19 July.
‘Southern Ocean Stories: The Orca’s Tale’ is taking place at 6pm (UK time) on Friday 7 July 2023. Attendance is free, and to book your ticket visit:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/southern-ocean-stories-the-orcas-tale-tickets-656851690087?aff.
The event will be available to view on YouTube if you can’t watch live, via SGHT: www.youtube.com/@southgeorgiaheritagetrust-5638
or UKAHT: www.youtube.com/@ukantarcticheritagetrust
To find out more about SGHT, visit www.sght.org and for more information about UKAT, visit www.ukaht.org
Make your voice heard on the future of Greyfriars Kirkyard!
The new Conservation Management Plan is looking for residents views of what this iconic Edinburgh space will look like in the future.
Send an email to greyfriars@kirkyard-consulting.co.uk for more information
Hospitality venues adopt new partners to drive sustainability efforts
A POPULAR venue which helps to support the advancement of surgery around the world has adopted a range of impressive new sustainability measures.
The moves see Surgeons Quarter serving up a new coffee bean supplier while also delivering a partnership to recycle coffee grinds, as part of a sustainability review across its portfolio.
The organisation, which operates a range of venues to support the work of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd), has named workers’ cooperative Equal Exchange as its preferred coffee supplier across all its venues, including luxury hotel Ten Hill Place.
Now the ‘Grown by Women’ coffee range will be used in all espresso and bean-to-cup machines throughout its venues. Grown by Women’s coffee is directly sourced from Equal Exchange’s female cooperative members, and helps support women, their families, and wider communities.
Meanwhile, Surgeons Quarter has also partnered with a farm operated by homelessness charity, Cyrenians, to recycle coffee grinds from its Café 1505 venue on Nicolson Street. The charity’s working farm uses organic waste, including coffee grounds, in its compost.
Stewart Munro, Operations Manager at Surgeons Quarter, said: “We are renowned for our sustainable practices especially in Ten Hill Place Hotel, but we continually seek new partnerships to help us build these practices across the campus.
“We’re delighted to be supporting Equal Exchange by taking them on as our coffee supplier and partnering with Cyrenians to upcycle our coffee grinds in a sustainable way.
“Cyrenians Farm is a fantastic enterprise, we’re already looking at ways to expand the partnership to support the work they do to produce sustainable, organic produce.
“We were also particularly drawn to Equal Exchange’s ethos to invest in crucial initiatives such as mobile health clinics. Given our affiliation to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, we were especially keen to support these enterprises.”
Surgeons Quarter promotes, sells, and manages all commercial activities held within the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh campus.
It includes facilities for conferences, meetings, private events, parties, weddings and its own four-star hotel Ten Hill Place as well as Café 1505 and SQ Travel.
The new partnerships have been implemented following a review of sustainability practices across its venues, in a bid to meet ambitious sustainability goals.
Sophie Bell, Fundraising Manager at Cyrenians said: “Working with Surgeons Quarter is an exciting opportunity for us, we’re impressed by their commitment to work with likeminded enterprises.
“Our farm aims to foster a sense of community and supports our work to tackle the causes of homelessness. We’re excited to be partnering with Surgeons Quarter’’.
Cyrenians Farm in Kirknewton, West Lothian, is home to a community for young-people aged 16-25 years, and the surrounding working farm is a social enterprise providing opportunities for residents, volunteers, and visitors to grow vegetables, and develop life skills, while being in a trusting and nurturing community
Stewart added: “We have several initiatives in place to offset CO2 and drive sustainable practices in all our venues. Which is why it’s important that the products enjoyed by our customers, guests, and employees are ethically sourced and sustainable, as we want to make a positive difference.
“Undertaking the sustainability review allowed us to make an informed decision about how we could provide the best combination of quality and sustainability in our choice of suppliers.”
Additionally, Surgeons Quarter plans to expand its ethical retail range of products in Café 1505 through Equal Exchange to offer organic fairtrade chocolate, raw honey, and Palestinian extra virgin olive oil.
The review also appointed Scotland based Caffia, a third-generation family-run business, as the new preferred supplier of filter coffee and tea across the Surgeons Quarter venues. Caffia will supply a range of organic, Fairtrade, and Rainforest Alliance coffees and teas.
Profits from the Surgeons Quarter portfolio go towards the advancement of surgery and the improvement of patient outcomes worldwide.
More information about Surgeons Quarter can be found at:
Cutting waste, increasing recycling and protecting the natural environment. These are some of the suggested benefits of a circular economy, but will a new Bill help make these changes happen?
The Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill will introduce measures the Scottish Government believes will help Scotland to move towards a circular economy. The Scottish Parliament’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee wants to know if these proposals will work in practice and whether they are sufficient to achieve that goal.
According to the Scottish Government, a circular economy would not only cut waste and reduce carbon emissions, but it would increase Scotland’s self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on international supply chains.
As well as creating a circular economy strategy, the Bill also contains powers to set additional charges for single use items as well as placing new duties on households and local authorities in terms of disposal of household waste and recycling.
Now the Committee want to hear from people across Scotland about their views of the Bill and whether it really will make a difference in reducing waste in Scotland.
Committee Convener Edward Mountain MSP said: “The Bill before us has ambitions for creating a circular economy which will protect Scotland’s natural environment and help tackle the climate emergency.
“But this Bill is wide ranging and will affect individuals, businesses and communities, so it is important to hear these voices to make sure the measures which are proposed work in practice.
“Covering areas such as household waste, littering and recycling this will affect many aspects of day-to-day life. So, it is vital that as many people as possible get involved in the discussion to help strengthen our scrutiny of the detail in the Bill.”
To provide a detailed response to the Bill – Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill – Scottish Parliament – Citizen Space
To make brief and general comments – https://engage.parliament.scot/group/29745
The Committee’s call for views will be open until Sunday 20 August 2023.
Award-winning influencer will turn up the heat on ‘fast fashion’ and urge homeowners to be more eco-friendly as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe
TV presenter and award-winning designer Anna Campbell-Jones will urge Scotland’s homeowners to make their kitchens green as well as clean in a special stage show as part of this year’s Edinburgh Festival.
The Scotland’s Home of the Year judge has been announced as the star guest at the second Green Home Festival, which is being held in Edinburgh as part of this year’s official Fringe.
Running from 14-18 August, and organised by the Construction Industry Collective Voice (CICV), the festival will deliver 11 free in-person and virtual shows to help consumers along the road to low-carbon living.
Anna will take centre stage on the first day of the week-long renewables jamboree in a show entitled Ingredients for a Greener Kitchen, dismissing the trend for ‘fast fashion’ and encouraging homeowners to make their cooking spaces more eco-friendly instead.
The renowned interior designer said: “I am delighted to be taking part in this year’s Green Home Festival and help raise the profile of eco-friendly living for consumers across Scotland.
“Finding greener ways of designing, decorating and renewing our homes will be vital for us all going forward and creating more low-carbon kitchens will be a key part of that.
“In particular, I feel passionately that the era of ‘fast fashion’ for interiors must come to an end. Kitchens are a significant contributor to unrecyclable landfill and I’m going to talk about alternative approaches to the concept of what we mean by ‘getting a new kitchen’.”
Anna starred in the grand finale of Scotland’s Home of the Year last Monday night (26 JUNE) and also won the interiors and design award at the inaugural Scottish Influencer Awards in Glasgow in October 2022.
She will now share a stage alongside experts from Scottish Water, plumbing body SNIPEF, electrical trade association SELECT and James Alan Construction, who will share their first-hand knowledge and advice on what to consider when planning and renovating a kitchen.
Festival co-organiser Gordon Nelson, Scotland Director of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) said: “We are delighted to welcome Anna to this year’s Green Home Festival and look forward to hearing her invaluable input and expertise on greener living.
“Like all our shows, Ingredients for a Greener Kitchen will deliver a wealth of practical advice, focusing on the vital areas that can make kitchens eco-friendly – water efficiency, electrical efficiency and sustainably sourced materials and units.”
Other topics at the Green Home Festival include green garden rooms and offices, making retrofit projects eco-friendly, the potential of microwave heating, converting churches and how the home of the future will be powered.
The event will also include a dedicated heat pump day, with two separate shows on how to reduce bills, access grants and install the technology, as well as options for hybrid heating.
Plus the experts from Built Environment – Smarter Transformation will host an in-person show on the advantages of community heat networks and an online webinar that will advise what consumers can do to reduce both their energy consumption and energy bills.
Mr Nelson added: “With all the events now confirmed, the second Green Home Festival is shaping up to be as big a success as last year’s inaugural event.
“With a strong focus on accessing funding and saving money, our experts will offer practical demonstrations of low-carbon technology that consumers can put into action as we move towards becoming a net zero nation.”
The Green Home Festival is the latest in a string of practical and constructive initiatives launched by the CICV since its creation as the Construction Industry Coronavirus (CICV) Forum in March 2020.
Made up of 28 trade associations, professional services bodies and companies, it has maintained a steady supply of information and practical advice to the sector as well as carrying out surveys, producing animations and posters, hosting webinars and maintaining close dialogue with Scottish Government ministers.
