The deadline to apply for Best Start Grant School Age Payment is midnight on 29 February 2024.
Your child could be eligible if they were born between 1 March 2018 and 28 February 2019 and your family receives Universal Credit, tax credits or other qualifying benefits.
If you get Scottish Child Payment then there’s no need to apply. Your School Age Payment will arrive automatically. But there are some people who don’t get Scottish Child Payment who might still be able to get School Age Payment – for example those who get housing benefit.
If you think you could be eligible, please visit our website and apply before 29 February 2024:
Proposals to reform how legal services are regulated in Scotland have been backed by a majority of MSPs on Holyrood’s Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee.
The Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill sets out a modernised regulatory framework, which any firm that provides legal services in Scotland would be subject to. The Bill also reforms how complaints about legal firms are handled.
Evidence presented to the Committee showed that consumer groups, including Consumer Scotland, the Competition and Markets Authority and the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission’s Consumer Panel, broadly welcomed the proposals to modernise the regulatory framework. The groups told the Committee that the changes could address some of the difficulties consumers face in accessing and affording legal services.
However, the Committee also heard criticism of these proposals from the Senators of the College of Justice, Faculty of Advocates and Law Society of Scotland, who told the Committee that the current model of regulation was effective and independent.
The Committee’s report concludes, by majority, that the need to not further delay the reforms, alongside promised amendments to the proposals from the Scottish Government, outweighs the concerns that were raised.
The report calls on the Scottish Government to carry out further work on the Bill, including ensuring that the existence of two categories of regulator does not add to complexity for consumers and requests that the complaints process be further simplified.
The Committee would also like the Scottish Government to support the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission in developing a process so that complaints without merit can be quickly addressed.
Commenting on the findings, Kaukab Stewart, Convener of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, said:“During our scrutiny, we heard many strong views, particularly around the proposals to establish an independent regulator of the profession.
“Everyone on the Committee accepts that reform of the regulatory framework is long overdue and accepts that the current complaints process must be simplified.
“However, we are also aware of several significant issues with the Bill which must be resolved to ensure that the independence and efficacy of Scotland’s legal system is not undermined. The Scottish Government has sought to reassure us that it will introduce amendments to resolve these concerns.
“On balance, a majority of the Committee accept these reassurances and recommend that the Parliament should agree to the general principles of the Bill in order that we can review the amendments and not further delay these important reforms.”
Three Committee Members, Meghan Gallagher MSP, Paul O’Kane MSP and Annie Wells MSP, dissented from the report’s recommendation on the general principles of the Bill.
A record 73 schools bands will take centre stage at the 10th Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships on 10th March.
The Championships, the largest event of its kind in the world, sees schools pipe bands, freestyle groups and quartets gather to celebrate young musical talent.
Alex Duncan, CEO of the organising charity, said: “The Championships has been going from strength to strength since the start in 2013. There is something for every level; quartets for beginners right up to Juvenile grade for bands at the top of their game.
“The freestyle competition is very popular where any style of music and any combination of instruments go, as long as they include the pipes. This year sees 17 freestyle bands ready to battle it out in March.”
The event will take place on Sunday, March 10, 2024 at the William McIlvanney Campus in Kilmarnock.
David Johnston, Convenor of the SSPDT, said: “The Championships are one of the highlights of many schools’ calendars and we can’t wait to welcome everyone. Also, anyone wanting to start a pipe band in their school is also very welcome to come and see what can be achieved.
“It’s always a special day at the Championships. The team at East Ayrshire Council which is hosting the event at the William McIlvanney campus are superb and will help make it a very enjoyable day.
“Pipe bands build confidence, resilience, friendships, perseverance and other skills that help young people succeed in life. Teachers are still seeing the effects of the pandemic on young people, and more than ever recognise how pipe bands support wellbeing and wider achievement.”
The Championship is independently organised by the Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust (SSPDT). It carries the support of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA) but is not a RSPBA competition.
Provost Jim Todd, East Ayrshire Council said: “The pipes will be calling us to Kilmarnock Academy at the William McIlvanney Campus on Sunday 10 March for the Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships.
“It is a real honour to be hosting the competition, which is now in its tenth year, and to welcome young people and their families from all over Scotland to East Ayrshire.
“I will be there to enjoy the music and cheer on our young people. The standard of performance last year was exceptional and I can’t wait to celebrate the wealth of talent that I am sure will be taking to the stage this year.”
The Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust was formed with the belief that pipe bands are much more than a musical pastime; they develop life and employability skills such as teamwork, resilience and perseverance, self-confidence, camaraderie and a sense of discipline and dress.
The charity also recognises that in parts of Scotland the pipes and drums are not taught in state schools and where community pipe bands have disappeared too, the fragile cycle of teaching and learning traditional music is being lost.
The charity awards grants to towards tuition and other band-related costs, lends bagpipes and concert chanters free of charge, and runs paid apprenticeships for aspiring tutors.
Reflecting on 25 years of the Scottish Parliament as well as a focus on the future will be the central themes of plans announced today to mark the Parliament’s institutions’ quarter century.
The Scottish Parliament plans include a year-long programme of engagement designed to involve people throughout Scotland in a conversation that both reflects on devolution and considers how we can shape the Parliament in future.
A special event will take place on Saturday 29 June at the Scottish Parliament which people across Scotland will be invited to join. Further details will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Presiding Officer will also visit regions all over Scotland, meeting people from all walks of life to hear their views and ideas for the future. These activities, together with other events to be announced, will enable communities up and down the country to help shape the Parliament of the future.
The Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP said: “This year we will reflect on the Parliament’s record and the significant political events during 25 years of devolution. While that reflection is welcome, I also want the Parliament’s focus to be firmly on the future.
“I want to use this milestone as an opportunity to engage people all over country about their aspirations for their Parliament.
“I want to continue to build on and strengthen that relationship between people and Parliament and modernise Holyrood to ensure it meets Scotland’s needs for the coming years.”
Further details for our 25th anniversary will be announced throughout the year.
A special 25th anniversary themed Festival of Politics will take place in the Scottish Parliament in August.
The 25th anniversary year will also explore several themes from the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee’s report on public participation.
This work identified a gap in our activities around making the Parliament visible in and engaged with local communities.
Victoria Park’s Bowling Greens Consultation Workshop!
Come and talk with us at our in-person workshop at the Pollock Pavilion, The Boys’ Brigade, located at 227 Ferry Road, EH6 4SP, on Monday 26th February from 6pm to 8pm.
This is a fantastic opportunity to delve deeper into proposals discussed at our previous event, share your valuable ideas, and actively contribute to the thriving green spaces in Victoria Park.
Labour Lothians MSP, Sarah Boyack today slammed the Scottish Government for failing patients suffering with heart and circulatory disease.
Stats given to Ms Boyack by British Heart Foundation Scotland revealed there has been a 71% increase in people in the Lothians, waiting for an echocardiogram since 2021.
This is compared to an increase in 16% for Scotland as a whole.
Seven individuals have been revealed to be waiting over a year for the scan.
The concerning figures also stretch to outpatient cardiology appointments, where it was revealed in September 2023, that 55% of people were wating longer than the 12-week Scottish Government target.
These statistics come as it was revealed by NHS Lothian Board papers that NHS Lothian must make savings of 7%.
The papers also highlighted that the Scottish Budget also provided “no additional resource to cover inflationary costs and other new and emerging cost pressures”
Commenting on these statistics, SARAH BOYACK said: “These figures highlight the Scottish Government’s disgraceful failures in regard to heart and circulatory disease patients.
“It is even more troubling that while the situation is getting worse, the Scottish Government will not provide any additional resource to NHS Lothian.
“This is particularly worrying given Lothian’s population growth.
“If the Scottish Government does not act urgently, then this situation will continue to spiral into an emergency.
“People suffering heart and circulatory diseases deserve the top notch care our NHS is supposed to deliver.
“Instead, they are forced to endure unacceptable delays due to the Scottish Government’s lack of investment.
“If the Scottish Government doesn’t deliver additional funding soon, they will be letting down heart condition patients across the Lothians.”
John Cooper Clarke celebrates 50 years in showbiz with the Get Him While He’s Alive Tour
Tour coming to Queens Hall in Edinburgh on 12th & 13th April 2024
John Cooper Clarke released brand new poetry collection -”What” published by Picador on 8th Feb 2024
Literary phenomenon John Cooper Clarke is back and better than ever, returning with a brand new tour and poetry collection this 2024. John will be performing at Queens Hall in Edinburgh on 12th & 13th April 2024.
John’s new show will take fans on a completely one-of-a-kind journey through poetry and comedy. John’s live touring career has gone from strength to strength, with John recently returning from an epic North America tour in September 2023.
This year he’s back on home turf, as he continues to sell out theatres and halls across the UK, with a stretch of shows in Ireland also recently added.
It’s a chance to see one of the world’s most important and entertaining spoken word artists at his bold and brilliant best.
‘WHAT’ is the new collection from Britain’s “Poet Laureate of Punk” and will be published on 8th February to coincide with John’s 2024 national theatre tour celebrating 50 years of showbiz.
Venues for the “Get Him While He’s Alive” tour include the Edinburgh Queens Hall, a reunion show with very special guest Linton Kwesi Johnson at the London Palladium and three nights at Salford’s Lowry Theatre.
John’s new collection “What”, which will be published by Picador, is full of John’s much-loved sardonic wit and hilarious ponderings on modern life and follows on from John’s bestselling The Luckiest Guy Alive.
The original people’s poet, John’s cultural influence spans literature, music, and fashion, and his unique poetry and delivery style transcends generations.
From creating some of the most iconic poetry of the modern era, including “I Wanna Be Yours” (recently celebrating over a billion streams in its incarnation as a hit record by the Arctic Monkeys) to sharing his life story through his 120k selling memoir of the same name, John is still as relevant as he was when he shot to prominence in the 1970s.”
Sight Scotland launches ‘Pave the Way’ campaign to have tactile paving installed in every train station in Scotland
Sight Scotland, and Sight Scotland Veterans, have slammed the Scottish Government for placing lives at risk by forcing blind and partially sighted people to play tactile paving roulette in train stations across the country.
In August of last year, the Minister for Transport confirmed that tactile paving was installed in eighteen train stations around the country and said that all the remaining one hundred and forty-eight stations owned and managed by Scotland’s Railway will have tactile paving installed by the end of 2023. Unfortunately, this promise has been reneged on.
For most people living with a visual impairment, public transport is the only means they have to make journeys around the country. Tactile paving is a system of textured ground surface indicators that are primarily designed to assist individuals with visual impairments.
These tactile indicators typically consist of raised patterns or distinctive surfaces that can be felt underfoot or with a mobility aid, such as a cane. At a railway station, without tactile paving to indicate where the platform ends, visually impaired people face a serious risk to their safety and could fall onto the train tracks.
Craig Spalding, Chief Executive of Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans, explains: “We are launching this campaign as a lack of tactile paving at railway stations poses serious safety risks for many blind and partially sighted people.
“While we welcome the completion of phase 1 to upgrade the eighteen high priority stations, the Scottish Government’s deadline has been and gone for the remaining one hundred and forty-eight train stations without tactile paving.
“This is completely unacceptable and as a result many people with vision impairment are having to play tactile paving roulette, as they do not know what to expect from one station to the next.
“This is not scaremongering, or an over exaggeration; without tactile paving to indicate where the platform ends, visually impaired people face a serious risk of falling onto train tracks. We’re calling on the Minister for Transport to urgently upgrade all train stations in Scotland with tactile paving so that blind and partially sighted people can use our railways safely.”
Samantha Gough, a visually impaired athlete from Edinburgh, who recently had an horrendous experience whilst travelling by rail, is backing the campaign and says action needs to be taken before a serious accident occurs.
“I recently travelled to England by train and needed to change at Doncaster. Unfortunately, no-one was there to help me, and the station did not have tactile paving. It was a nightmare, a horrendous situation to be in, fast trains were screaming past with the wind hitting me and despite screaming on the platform for help, no one heard. People have died falling on the tracks before and I thought it was about to happen to me.”
Please support Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans’ Pave the Way campaign by writing to the Transport Minister to demand that tactile paving is installed on all stations in Scotland: https://sightscotland.eaction.org.uk/tactile-paving-now
Proposal to continue policy and increase level to 65p
Plans to continue setting a minimum price per unit of alcohol and to increase it by 15p will go before the Scottish Parliament for approval.
As part of a ‘sunset clause’ when Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) legislation was introduced in 2018, it will end on 30 April this year unless Parliament votes to keep it.
A price increase is required to counteract the effects of inflation and 65p has been selected as the Scottish Government seeks to increase the positive effects of the policy.
If Parliament agrees, it will take effect on 30 September 2024.
Deputy First Minister Shona Robison said: “Research commended by internationally-renowned public health experts estimated that our world-leading Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) policy has saved hundreds of lives, likely averted hundreds of alcohol-attributable hospital admissions and contributed to reducing health inequalities.
“Despite this progress, deaths caused specifically by alcohol rose last year – and my sympathy goes out to all those who have lost a loved one.
“We believe the proposals, which are supported by Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer, strike a reasonable balance between public health benefits and any effects on the alcoholic drinks market and impact on consumers.
“Evidence suggests there has not been a significant impact on business and industry as a whole.
“Alongside MUP, we will continue to invest in treatment and a wide range of other measures, including funding for Alcohol and Drug Partnerships which rose to £112 million in 2023-24.”
CAMRA: Action plan needed to save Scottish pubs from permanent closure after MUP announcement
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) says ministers need to value the role of local pubs as part of Scotland’s social fabric and protect them from closure.
CAMRA is calling on the Scottish Government to come up with an action plan to save the nation’s pubs following today’s announcement on increasing the minimum unit price for alcohol to 65p from 30 September.
Representing pubgoers, the consumer group believes that policies like Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) – and a cut in tax specifically on pints served in pubs, which it is calling for ahead of the UK Government’s Budget in March – can encourage people to drink in the regulated setting of the pub instead of drinking cheaper supermarket alcohol at home.
But the Campaign fears that uprating MUP won’t have an impact on its own to encourage pub-going and to safeguard the future of hundreds of community locals at risk of permanent closure due to crippling business rates and a possible return of Scottish Government plans to ban alcohol advertising.
Commenting on the MUP increase, CAMRA’s Scotland Director Stuart McMahon said:“Our pubs and social clubs are a vital part of our social fabric, bringing people together and helping to tackle loneliness and social isolation. But too many are being forced to close due to crippling costs, with pubs in Scotland shutting up shop at a higher rate than elsewhere in the UK.
“Sadly, the Scottish Government doesn’t seem to understand the importance of protecting our local pubs as community meeting places and as a safe, regulated place to enjoy a pint with friends and family, with all the wellbeing benefits that go with it. Once our pubs have closed down, or have been converted into flats or shops, or demolished altogether, it is too late to get them back for the communities they once served.
“That’s why we are calling on the Scottish Government to bring forward an action plan to protect and promote pubs as a force for good in our society and to recognise the mental health and wellbeing benefits of drinking responsibly in your local.
“CAMRA urgently wants to see a rethink on help for pubs with business rates, the closing of loopholes in the planning system that allow pubs to be demolished by developers without the need for planning permission and a commitment not to cripple valued local pubs and independent breweries by bringing back draconian measures to ban alcohol advertising and sponsorship.”
GMB Scotland responds to ministerial announcement on Minimum Unit Pricing
GMB Scotland has urged the Scottish Government to urgently reconsider plans to increase minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol by 30%.
The union, with members across the drinks industry, warned the policy is already risking jobs and investment while its health benefits remain unproven.
Deputy first minister Shona Robison today revealed the government’s intention to continue the policy beyond its initial five years while increasing the MUP from 50p to 65p.
David Hume, GMB Scotland organiser in the drinks industry, said: “The case for continuing with MUP never mind increasing it gets weaker with every piece of research published.
“Ministers must be guided by reliable research and data not wishful thinking and good intentions.
“The potential consequences of this policy are too damaging for it to be justified with anecdote, hunches and hope.
“Five years ago, we were told this policy would help save lives of problem drinkers. Now we are told it is about curbing the intake of moderate drinkers but there is no substantive evidence to suggest it does either.”
“The health benefits of this policy remain theoretical at best but the risk of undermining one of Scotland’s most successful industries threatening investment and jobs could not be more real.
“It is reckless to consider extending this policy and increasing MUP when there is no substantive evidence that it does any good.”
The union polled workers across the brewing, whisky and spirits last year when 64% said MUP should be scrapped because it needlessly risked jobs and investment while doing nothing to discourage problem drinking while a third said it should remain at 50p or be reduced.
Victoria Park’s Bowling Greens Consultation Workshop! 
Review of previous proposals
Brainstorming and idea-sharing session
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