Scottish Book Trust is calling for members of the public to submit a real-life story based on the theme of hope, as part of their annual non-fiction writing opportunity that supports and encourages people from across Scotland to use their creativity to share their own experience.
Alongside appealing for stories to be submitted from the public, Scottish Book Trust has commissioned pieces from Scotland’s Scriever Susi Briggs, Ever Dundas and Alycia Pirmohamed, who will also be taking part in workshops.
Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: ‘Scotland’s Stories is one of the highlights of Scottish Book Trust’s work, giving a platform to people all over Scotland, no matter their experience as writers.
‘It’s a privilege to collect and share these stories from Scotland’s unique and varied voices on the theme of hope, and we’d love to see as many people as possible enjoy the positive benefits of writing for pleasure.’
The Ripple Project is proud to announce the launch of North-East Edinburgh’s first community-run refillery project from its Restalrig Lochend Community hub.
The volunteer-run ‘Ripple Refillery’ will open on 27th March and is the latest sustainability initiative from the North-Edinburgh membership-led community charity. Local people will have the opportunity to bring their own containers and jars to stock up on a variety of essential items, such as dry foods, toiletries, pet food and cleaning products, all supplied at affordable prices.
The project is led by Tristan Green, Community Action Worker, at The Ripple, who commented: ‘Our goal is to help the community by providing access to good quality, low-cost food.
“Our stocked items are based upon a community feedback survey which highlighted essential items that local residents struggle to afford in retail quantities.
“Given the continuous cost-of-living crisis and the harrowing news reported this week that there are now 12 million people in absolute poverty in Britain, more creativity is required when trying to ease the worries of those most in need.
‘The refillery will help local people to save money whilst also supporting the environment by removing the need for single use plastics and reduce food wastage. We’ve been working with local producers including Edinburgh Community Food and Organic Egg Supplier Dave Stoddart to ensure that we’re able to offer the best local produce where possible. Any small profits will be re-invested into community-based projects in the area.
“I’d like to thank all of our amazing community volunteers who give up their time to help run the refillery and we would love to hear from local businesses who might be able to support us with the supply of stock.”
Preventing homelessness and strengthening tenants’ rights
New legislation which aims to keep people in their homes and help prevent homelessness has been published.
The Housing (Scotland) Bill will introduce an ‘ask and act’ duty on social landlords and bodies, such as health boards and the police, to ask about a person’s housing situation and act to avoid them becoming homeless wherever possible.
It also reforms provision for people threatened with homelessness up to six months ahead and includes provisions for tenants experiencing domestic abuse.
The Bill will outline proposals for a New Deal for Tenants, a key part of the Bute House Agreement between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party.
Proposals include long term rent controls for private tenancies, new rights to keep pets, decorate rented homes and stronger protection against eviction.
Housing Minister Paul McLennan and Tenants’ Rights Minister Patrick Harvie will lead the Bill’s passage through Parliament.
Mr McLennan said: “Scotland already has the strongest rights in the UK for people who become homeless – but nobody should have to experience the trauma and disruption of losing their home.
“Early action, through the kinds of measures included in the Housing Bill, results in fewer people reaching the point of housing crisis. It also means people facing homelessness have more choice and control over where they live, helping them to maintain relationships in their community and stay in work.”
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Mr Harvie said: “A fairer, well-regulated rented sector is good for both tenants and landlords. Tenants benefit from improved conditions and security, while good responsible landlords will thrive when their good practice is recognised by regulation.
“Scotland has led the way across the UK in improving the experience of people who rent their homes and this reform has been at the same time as significant growth in the size of the private rented sector. So progressive reform can lead to better conditions and a healthy rented sector overall.
“I want to keep working with both tenants and landlords to achieve that goal.”
THE housing bill published today by the Scottish Government fails to address the systemic issues driving the housing emergency, Shelter Scotland has said.
The charity warned that there was no realistic prospect of councils being able to fulfil new statutory obligations given that local authorities are regularly failing to meet their existing legal duties.
The bill’s publication comes in the wake of figures which show a significant decline in the delivery of social homes, which Shelter Scotland says is essential in tackling the systemic issues driving the housing emergency.
Shelter Scotland Director, Alison Watson, said:“There is a growing consensus that Scotland is in the grip of a Housing Emergency. Already four local authorities have declared housing emergencies, with more expected to follow in the coming weeks.
“Today’s housing bill was an opportunity to address the causes of that emergency and end the scandal of 10,000 children trapped in temporary accommodation.
“What we need is urgent action to drive up the supply of social homes, invest in local services and stop to councils breaking existing homelessness laws.
“Instead, we have a Housing Bill that does none of that and risks diverting frontline staff from the task in hand. By proposing new additional duties on councils already failing to deliver existing laws, we run the risk of making the situation worse.
“It is time for Scottish Ministers to listen to what our communities are telling them – declare a housing emergency and bring forward a new plan to deliver the social homes we need.”
Responding to the Housing (Scotland) Act being published, Citizens Advice Scotland Housing spokesperson Aoife Deery said: “The pandemic and cost of living crisis underlined the need for better protections for tenants and more affordable housing. In many ways the market is simply broken and urgently needs repaired.
“The CAB network in Scotland gives out hundreds of thousands of pieces of advice a year on housing, and it was one of the top areas of crossover advice – where people seeking help with housing also needed help with something else, often social security, debt or energy bills. In fact a third of all single working age households contacting CABs do so for advice on housing.
“We welcome this once in a generation opportunity to improve the rented sector and shape a fairer system. We look forward to getting into the detail of the Bill, change needs to happen with both landlords and tenants involved, we will be contributing our evidence as this work moves forward”
Cyrenians welcomes the introduction of the Housing (Scotland) Bill to the Scottish Parliament today. Long awaited, the new prevention or ‘Ask and Act’ duties included within it have the power to reach people before they become homeless and get them the right help, much faster.
‘Ask and act’ forms the cornerstone of a wider set of reforms to homelessness legislation. If passed, the Bill will require public bodies – including healthcare and justice agencies to implement systems whereby people at risk of homelessness are easily identified and directed to the appropriate services before they reach crisis point.
These duties will implement recommendations from the Homelessness Prevention Task and Finish Group (co-chaired by Crisis and Cyrenians), published in August 2023 [click here to read the Group’s report].
The group drew on its collective knowledge of the housing sector, as well as the lived experience of people who were homeless, through the All in for Change programme.
Throughout the process, building up to the publication of the Housing Bill, Cyrenians has consistently argued for increased funding to resource new prevention duties. We will continue to advocate for the necessary resource that our public bodies and local authorities will need to make the promise of the Housing Bill possible.
Ewan Aitken, Chief Executive of Cyrenians, said: ““Scotland is in the grip of a housing crisis. Several local authorities have now formally declared a housing emergency as the numbers of people facing homelessness is reaching record levels.
“But we know from our work across 60 services in Edinburgh, the Borders, Falkirk and the Lothians, that in many cases homelessness can be stopped long before people reach crisis point.
“To do that we need to widen the scope of responsibility, giving people within public bodies the right training and resource to be able fulfil this role. We believe that this, a public health approach to homelessness, is key to tackling the housing crisis.
‘We are very pleased to see the plans for prevention duties within the Housing Bill, published today. This legislation has the potential to prevent homelessness in Scotland. However, to do that, it needs to be properly resourced.
“As a charity which tackles the causes and consequences of homelessness, we regularly work with people whose situation could have been prevented, if they had received help earlier. We urge the Scottish Government to ensure that these duties are properly funded so that the bill can live up to its potential.”
Cats Protection has welcomed the new Housing (Scotland) Bill, which will for the first time give renters the right to own a pet.
The charity’s Advocacy & Government Relations Officer for Scotland, Alice Palombo, said: “This is a landmark day for renters in Scotland, who will finally be given the right to own a pet with an end to blanket ‘no-pet’ policies.
“We hope this new law will stop the misery faced by animal lovers who have been denied the chance to ever own a pet cat, simply because they rent rather than own their own home.
“People in rented housing pay significant amounts of their income every year on fees and rent, and it is only right they should be able to feel at home in that property. Pet ownership – whether it’s a cat or another companion animal – provides companionship to all sorts of people. Whether it’s older people at risk of loneliness or young families with children learning how to care for others, pets play a vital role in our lives.
“We’re particularly pleased to see the Bill introduces an obligation for local authority and social landlords to publish a policy relating to domestic abuse. Cats Protection operates a free fostering service for cat owners fleeing domestic abuse, but many victim-survivors can struggle to find cat-friendly housing. We hope that domestic abuse policies will include a commitment to ensuring victim-survivors can keep their pets when they settle into new housing.
“A survey by Cats Protection and Dogs Trust found a lack of sufficient pet-friendly rented housing in Scotland, with only 22% of Scottish landlords allowing pets. This puts a strain on rehoming charities, and landlord-related issues is one of the top reasons for cats coming into our care.”
The Housing (Scotland) Bill was informed by three public consultations and will now by scrutinised by the Scottish Parliament.
Fewer than one in five incidents reported to police
Victims of domestic violence have been encouraged to seek support and report incidents to police, following a reduction in recorded cases.
Newly published statistics show Police Scotland recorded 61,934 incidents of domestic abuse in 2022-23, a decrease of 4% compared to the previous year.
Most domestic abuse, however, is not reported. The most recent results from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (for 2018-20) estimated that only 16% of incidents were reported to police.
Victims Minister Siobhian Brown said: “Domestic violence is abhorrent. Although these latest statistics show a decrease in police recorded incidents, we know that there are cases where violence and abuse is not reported. I would encourage victims to seek support from organisations who can help and, where they can, to report any abuse to police.
“Through Scotland’s Equally Safe Strategy, which focuses on early intervention, prevention and support services, we are putting in place measures to tackle the root causes of domestic abuse.
“It is imperative that where behaviours turn into violence and abuse, those responsible face the full force of the law and are brought to justice. Our landmark Domestic Abuse Act has provided more powers to police and courts to punish perpetrators of abuse and protect people at risk.
“This month we announced £2 million of funding for Rape Crisis Scotland and Scottish Women’s Aid to help reduce their waiting lists for women who need support services, including refuge places and counselling.
“This is in addition to £19 million annual funding from our Delivering Equally Safe Fund, which aims to tackle gender-based violence and has supported 121 projects from 112 organisations since October 2021 – benefitting almost 32,000 people in its first year.”
The Victim Centred Approach Fund will also provide £48 million to 23 organisations from 2022-25, including £18.5 million for specialist advocacy support for survivors of gender-based violence.
Scotland’s Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline (0800 027 1234) provides a 24-hour, 365-day-a-year service, for victims of domestic abuse, sexual violence and other forms of violence against women, providing confidentiality and specialist advice. The Scottish Government has provided £1.9 million funding to the helpline.
Scotland’s Chief Statistician yesterday released domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland, 2022-23.The main findings include:
The police recorded 61,934 incidents of domestic abuse in 2022-23, a decrease of 4% compared to the previous year. This is the second consecutive year this figure has shown a decrease since 2015-16.
In 2022-23, 39% of incidents of domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland included the recording of at least one crime or offence.
The type of crime or offence that was most frequently recorded as part of a domestic abuse incident in 2022-23 was common assault, accounting for 32% of all crimes and offences recorded. This was followed by threatening and abusive behaviour, accounting for 21% of crimes and offences.
Following its enactment on 1 April 2019, crimes recorded under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 accounted for 5% of crimes and offences recorded as part of a domestic abuse incident in 2022-23.
There were 114 incidents of domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland per 10,000 population in 2022-23. At a local authority level, Dundee City (180), West Lothian (148) and Glasgow City (141) recorded the highest incident rates per 10,000 population.
Where gender information was recorded, around four-in-five incidents of domestic abuse (81%) in 2022-23 had a female victim and a male suspected perpetrator. This was the same as in 2021-22.
In 2022-23, the 31 to 35 years old age group had the highest incident rate for both victims (277 incidents recorded per 10,000 population) and for the suspected perpetrators (245 incidents recorded per 10,000 population).
A third of incidents (32%) occurred at the weekend in 2022-23. This is a slight decrease from 33% in 2021-22.
In 2022-23, nine-in-10 (90%) of all domestic abuse incidents occurred in a home or dwelling where location was recorded.
Community groups across Edinburgh will be able to provide vital services and support for thousands of local people thanks to National Lottery funding announced today.
North Edinburgh projects have done particularly well in the latest round of funding. Both North Edinburgh Arts and Stepping Stones North Edinburgh are awarded six figure sums, while Muirhouse Millennium Centre, Heart of Newhaven, Blackhall Children’s Sports Committee, Ama-zing Harmonies and Granton Parish Church are among other local organisations to receive grants today.
The latest round of funding from The National Lottery Community Fund is shared amongst 384 projects across Scotland, sharing in £15,048,544.
North Edinburgh Artswill use their award of £148,821 to continue their ‘Green Projects’ programme which provides green spaces for local people to come together whilst offering a range of volunteering opportunities and arts and garden activities for people of all ages to get involved in.
Valla Moodie, Green Projects Manager, North Edinburgh Arts said: “This funding will enable us to start an exciting phase of work as we move back into our refurbished and extended building after two years in temporary venues, setting up our new Community Shed workshop and redeveloping our community garden at the back of our venue.
“This support, given to our ‘Green Projects’, will allow us to continue to offer opportunities for our local community that improve their health and well-being whilst contributing to the enrichment of their neighbourhood, building local resilience to big issues and sharing and supporting them with actions that combat climate change.”
STEPPING STONES North Edinburgh receive £132,020 through the Improving Lives programme.
The group, based at Inchgarvie Court in West Pilton, will use the funding to continue delivering their Family Wellbeing project, supporting primary school children and their families by providing individual, group and equine mental health support in North West Edinburgh.
Thanks to an award of £126,671, Deaf Action will run a digital literacy programme to help deaf people across the city develop and improve their skillset.
Support will be provided through a series of one-to-one sessions and group work covering specific topics such as word processing, scam awareness, healthcare apps and video calling software.
Lauren McAnna, Community Services Manager, Deaf Actionsaid: “Our Digital Inclusion Service will support deaf people living across Edinburgh to become digitally empowered, unlocking a world of information, resources and opportunities that will foster greater independence and help improve life outcomes.
“We will support deaf adults and older people who face significant barriers to communication and social inclusion and who are likely to be experiencing financial hardship and/or socioeconomic disadvantage.
“By supporting deaf people to overcome barriers to digital literacy they can become more connected and active citizens, have increased independence and improved wellbeing in many aspects of their lives.”
An award of £19,929 to Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland means they can continue to identify more victims of human trafficking across the city.
Joy M Gillespie, CEO, Survivors of Human Traffickingsaid: “We will be able to work with our cross-sector partners to recover more victims of human trafficking in Edinburgh and provide vital prevention information to those most at risk.
“We believe there is power in partnership and are grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund for partnering with us to help end end human trafficking in Scotland.”
Announcing the funding, Kate Still, Scotland Chair, The National Lottery Community Fundsaid: “This latest round of National Lottery funding will be distributed to groups across Edinburgh who are providing a range of essential services and support for thousands of local people, helping to make a real difference to their lives.
“As The National Lottery prepares to mark its 30th birthday later this year, today’s investment is a timely reminder of the difference that National Lottery players continue to make to communities across the country.”
The National Lottery Community Fund distributes funding on behalf of National Lottery players who raise more than £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK.
For most 21-year-olds, their first experience of travelling abroad without their parents is filled with foam parties, budget hotels and questionable cocktails.
For two soldiers in The Royal Regiment of Scotland, their first solo trip is vastly different.
Privates Ethan Wyper and Allan Beveridge are preparing to leave their hometowns for the very first time this month, to support Officer Cadets in an intense training course in Bavaria, Germany.
The course, which is the Officer Cadets final exercise before commissioning as Army Officers from the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, is used to evaluate their abilities to fight and lead in tactical operations.
Ahead of his first ever venture outside of the UK, Private Ethan Wyper from Kilmarnock said: “This my first time abroad, which is exciting in itself. Adding in that the purpose is to see what I’m training towards, in terms of reaching an Officer position, is really motivational.
“I left school at 16 and went to straight into working, so I didn’t have any opportunities to travel. The fact I’m about to spend a week in Germany, training hard with my fellow soldiers – and hopefully getting to experience some of the local culture – is something I never thought I’d have the chance to do.”
For Private Allan Beveridge from Edinburgh, the training exercise also gives an opportunity to travel abroad that he otherwise may not have had. He added: “I left school quite young and knew I wanted to travel to new places and see new things but before joining the Army, I didn’t even have a passport and the furthest I’d ever travelled to was Wales.
“The Regiment helped me through the process of getting a passport, which I’m hugely grateful for, and now I have the opportunity to travel to places I only ever imagined before while also furthering my career in the Army.”
Major Rob Weir, Officer Commanding 5SCOTS, said: “Exercises such are these are crucial for both the professional and personal development of our soldiers.
“Life in The Royal Regiment of Scotland is about far more than simply being battle ready. It’s about helping each individual to be the very best versions of themselves and to broaden their experiences through opportunities they may otherwise not have access to.”
The intense week-long trip will include simulated ambushes with plastic explosives, patrols and other gruelling situational exercises.
Giving Scottish soldiers a chance to see the demanding training first hand, the experience will allow them to understand the challenges that lie ahead as they rise through the ranks of The Royal Regiment of Scotland.
On Thursday (28 March), nationwide pet retailer Jollyes will be putting in place a six day ban on the sale of rabbits to make sure shoppers don’t make an impulsive purchase over the Easter period.
The UK’s second largest pet retailer will ‘paws’ the sale of bunnies from Thursday 28 March until Tuesday 2 April 2024.
The bunny ban, which Jollyes has led for decades, prevents the possibility of unwanted rabbits being abandoned after the Easter holidays.
The restriction will apply to every one of Jollyes’ 101 UK pet stores.
Phil Turner-Naylor from Jollyes said: “Pets bring enormous joy and companionship to people throughout their lifetime, and they deserve to be looked after well. Rabbits can live up to 15 years and we recognise that is a serious commitment by pet owners.
“Jollyes is ‘the Pet People’ because we’re passionate about animals. We want to ensure that families are buying pets at the right time for the right reasons and believe that lifelong responsibility should be considered, researched, and prepared for.”
While rabbits won’t be available for sale during the Easter period, customers can still hop to Jollyes as it will be offering plenty of pet-friendly Easter treats and toys.
Of course, as all responsible dog owners know, it will also be reminding pooch parents of the dangers of theobromine in regular chocolate, which is toxic for dogs.
Changes to proposed regulation and improvements in governance standards are urgently needed to ensure private sector defined benefit (DB) pension schemes remain an active and thriving part of the pensions landscape and work in the best interest of scheme members, MPs say today.
The Work and Pensions Committee report concludes that despite a steady decline in number in recent years, DB pension schemes are still of critical importance to both savers and the UK economy.
It warns however that two decades of regulatory and policy caution from DWP and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) have led to a low-risk approach to investment that threatens to inadvertently finish off the few remaining DB schemes still open to new members.
With an improvement in funding levels over the past decade presenting new challenges and opportunities for schemes, the report calls for a fresh approach both to funding regulation and the treatment of surpluses in pension and compensation schemes.
Among recommendations on the latter, the report calls for DWP and TPR to look at ways of ensuring the reasonable expectations of scheme members for benefit enhancement are met where there has been a history of discretionary increases.
On the new funding regime proposed by the Government to come into force in September, the Committee’s inquiry heard concerns that open schemes would be forced to de-risk unnecessarily, potentially leading to premature closure.
The Committee calls for the Government to address such concerns in the final version of the Funding Code and for TPR’s objective to protect the Pension Protection Fund to be replaced with a new duty to protect future, as well as past, service benefits.
PPF reserves now stand at £12 billion and the report calls for legislation to allow the levy to be reduced to zero and for compensation levels to be improved.
To encourage better governance, the Committee welcomes the introduction of a trustee register to improve TPR oversight. The report notes TPR’s view that consolidation, including through pension Superfunds, is one of the main ways to improve governance, and calls for the required legislation as soon as possible.
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP, Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, said:“Defined benefit pension schemes are hugely important to savers planning for a comfortable retirement and for the UK economy.
“The improvement in scheme funding levels presents opportunities for both to benefit, but a new approach to regulation and governance is needed to protect the best interest of scheme members and allow still open schemes to thrive.
“The flexibility afforded by the much-improved financial position of the PPF, which we applaud, gives the Government an opportunity to ensure open schemes are not hindered by overly cautious restrictions imposed by regulations.
“While many trustee boards operate to high standards, new standards for trustees can foster confidence that this is the case across DB schemes.”
The report follows up on some of the points raised during the Committee’s previous inquiry into DB pensions with Liability Driven Investments, which examined the events of autumn 2022. The Committee heard that a repeat of the events was now unlikely given the steps taken to improve resilience.
A full list of the Committee’s conclusions and recommendations is available on Pp 54–58 of the report.
