Poet and author Dr Peter Mackay has been appointed as Scotland’s next Makar
First Minister John Swinney has announced Scotland’s next Makar will be Dr Peter Mackay.
The role of Makar involves taking a leadership role in promoting poetry nationally, as well as producing work relating to significant national events.
Dr Mackay was appointed by the First Minister on the recommendation of an expert panel representing Scotland’s literary sector. He has chosen to serve for a three-year term.
He is the fifth person to hold the role since it was established by the Scottish Parliament in 2004, following in the footsteps of Kathleen Jamie, Jackie Kay, Liz Lochhead, and Edwin Morgan.
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First Minister John Swinney said:“I am very pleased that Scotland’s new Makar is Gaelic-speaking poet, Peter Mackay.
“Peter published his first collection Gu Leor/Galore in 2015. Since then, he has attracted a wide audience, and many accolades, through his originality, playfulness and willingness to take risks with language.
“With his keen understanding of how different languages interact with one another, Peter is well equipped to help forge strong connections between different linguistic communities across both Scotland and the rest of the world.
“I have no doubt that his passion and dynamism will allow him to excel at helping to promote both poetry and our wider cultural heritage.”
Dr Peter Mackay said:“It is an honour and a pleasure to be appointed as Scotland’s new Makar. I’m very grateful to the panel for their faith in me, and to the First Minister for his support, and especially his enthusiasm about a Gaelic poet taking on the role.
“I have grown up reading the work of and learning from the previous holders of this post and it is a privilege to follow in their footsteps. I hope to do justice to their example: their warmth and support for other writers, their gifts for laughter and the right phrase, their advocacy for poetry as being central to Scottish life, as a medium that can tell truths slant, be a shape-shifter, and help us see and come to terms with the world anew.
“I love that Scotland has a ‘Makar’, not a poet laureate: the act of ‘making’ is central to the role, and that the title is in Scots adds a particular distinctive grounding.
“Part of my task, as I see it, is to encourage people to make things in all the different languages of Scotland, the dozens of languages spoken in this country: to see what kinds of conversations, games, debates can be sparked between them. I can’t wait.”
POLICE are appealing for information following the serious assault of a teenager in Edinburgh last night .
Around 8pm on Monday, 2 December, 2024, a 14-year-old boy sustained serious injuries when he was assaulted by a group of youths at Slateford Green.
The group of youths involved seven males and three females, aged in their mid to late teens.
The boy was taken to the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, where he remains in a stable condition.
Detective Sergeant Kimberly Tennant said: “This incident saw a teenager sustain serious injuries in an unprovoked attack and it is vital we trace all the individuals responsible.
“Extensive enquiries are ongoing and I am appealing for anyone with any information which may assist us to get in touch.
“We believe one of the suspects involved in the attack has also been injured, and has made his way to Westfield Road, Edinburgh, following the incident. We are appealing to anyone who may have seen this injured male in the Westfield Road area to get in touch with us.
“I would also ask anyone who was in the area at the time and may have dashcam or private CCTV footage to contact us.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Police Scotland via 101 quoting incident 2315 of 2 December, 2024.
Best performance since national target was set – but charities say targets are still being missed
Almost 90% of children and young people accessing mental health services started treatment within 18 weeks of referral from July to September – the best performance since a national target was introduced a decade ago.
Latest Public Health statistics show 89.1% of those who were assessed as suitable for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) were seen within 18 weeks – the Scottish Government target is 90%.
The figure is up five percentage points on the previous quarter and 13.5 percentage points on the same quarter the previous year.
Mental Wellbeing Minister Maree Todd said: “We are working hard to ensure that everyone gets the support they need, when they need it, so the continued improvement in CAMHS waiting times is very welcome.
“These positive figures are testament to the dedication of the staff who work so hard to help the children and young people they care for. While the national standard applies only to each quarter, it is also encouraging that the highest ever monthly performance – 91.3% was recorded in September.
“However we know there is still more to do, which is why we have provided local authorities with more than £65 million, since 2020, to develop and deliver community-based mental health support for children, young people and their families. We have also invested £16 million a year to work towards ensuring every secondary school in Scotland has access to school counselling services.”
Children 1st Chief Executive, Mary Glasgow.
Responding to the latest CAMHS quarterly waiting list figures, Children First chief executive Mary Glasgow said: “Today’s figures show thousands of children are still in desperate need of support.
“It’s a decade since the Scottish Government committed to 90 percent of CAMHS referrals being seen within 18 weeks. This target has still not been met.
“Our teams across Scotland are supporting young people who are frightened, worried, anxious and need help now. The fact remains that children are often not getting support until they are in severe distress. This must stop.
“Ahead of tomorrow’s budget, the Scottish Government must invest more in early help and support to prevent children reaching crisis point.
“We want to see more funding so that families can quickly get support for their children when they need it.”
The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), an alliance of leading providers of specialist care and education to vulnerable children and young people, is calling on the Scottish Government to deliver a budget for mental health tomorrow (4th December).
The call comes as the latest waiting time figures from Public Health Scotland published today (3rd December), indicate that 115 children and young people had been waiting over a year for treatment from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in the quarter ending September 2024.1
The figures also show that a total of 4,231 children and young people were still stuck on waiting lists to start treatment at the end of that quarter.
This comes against the background of an increasing level of violent incidents in the classroom, a result in part due to the current mental health emergency, exacerbated by the long shadow of the Covid lockdown and cost-of-living crisis.
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, cases of poor mental health in children and young people were at unprecedented levels, with under-resourced services struggling to keep pace with growing demand, leaving an increasing number of vulnerable individuals unable to access support
However, it should be noted that despite this challenging situation, only 0.75 per cent of the total NHS budget was spent on CAMHS in the 2023/23 financial year.2
Indeed, spend on mental health services generally has declined by 4.5 per cent in real terms over the past three years.
The SCSC is calling the Scottish Government to up its game in the budget and make the treatment of mental health issues a key national priority, prioritising spending and avoiding a potential lost generation of children and young people with mental health problems.
A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: “The latest figures highlighting that more than 4,200 children and young people are still waiting for treatment from mental health services, with 115 waiting over a year, is extremely alarming.
“We are facing a mental health emergency and many of our children and young people are at breaking point, with stress and anxiety reaching alarming levels as they battle with the long shadow of lockdown and the rising cost of living. This is also having a major effect on classroom behaviour, impacting the young people concerned, their fellow pupils and staff.
“Each one of these statistics is an individual, and we would urge the Scottish Government to up its game and make the adequate resourcing of mental health services for our children and young people an absolute priority in the forthcoming budget.”
The Eric Liddell Community launches ‘Belonging at Christmas’ Appeal to help support its dementia care and community hub, with The Big Give doubling all donations (up to £4000) made in the first week.
The Eric Liddell Community, an Edinburgh-based care charity, has today launched its Christmas Appeal for 2024, ‘Belonging at Christmas’. This year’s appeal will help support the charity’s year-round dementia care services and community hub, providing a lifeline to many who rely on its support to combat loneliness and isolation.
The festive period can be particularly difficult for those experiencing loneliness. The Eric Liddell Community provides a safe and welcoming space where individuals can find connections and companionship. The charity is calling on the public’s generosity to help its continued efforts to create meaningful connections and essential support for those in need.
From Tuesday, December 3rd, to Tuesday December 10th, donations to the ‘Belonging at Christmas’ appeal through BigGive.org will be matched by The Big Give (up to £4000). This partnership offers an incredible opportunity to make a real difference for the many individuals who depend on The Eric Liddell Community’s support.
Anna Beauchamp, Fundraising Relationships Officer at The Eric Liddell Community, highlighted the importance of the Christmas Appeal:“As we seek the support of the local community during the festive period, we feel it is important to highlight the people whose lives we have positively impacted throughout 2024.
“The Eric Liddell Community has welcomed over 6,000 people through its doors monthly, providing over 2,500 hours of companionship and 300 support classes for those suffering from isolation.
“With your support, we look to grow these numbers even further in 2025 and beyond, providing a warm, safe community for those that need it most.”
Over the next 25 years the number of people in Edinburgh living with dementia is set to double, touching more lives with loneliness and isolation. It can take up to 12 months to receive a diagnosis from the NHS leaving a staggering number of people waiting to receive specialised support.
This not only affects those on their dementia journey, but their family and loved ones too. The Eric Liddell Community seeks to end this critical gap and provides vital care and support to those affected by this wait time.
John MacMillan, CEO of The Eric Liddell Community, added:“Eric Liddell lived his life prioritising and caring for others. As a charity, The Eric Liddell Community works hard to live up to his legacy, putting the local community first in everything that we do.
“The festive season is often the loneliest time of the year for many, and as we continue supporting our service users throughout the holidays, we appeal to your generosity to help sustain these vital services for Edinburgh’s community.”
To donate to The Eric Liddell Community’s ‘Belonging at Christmas’ Appeal please visit Belonging at Christmas between the 3rd to 10th of December.
After the 10th of December, to contribute directly to the appeal, please visit The Eric Liddell Community website at ericliddell.org.
Young Enterprise Scotland will continue to deliver enterprise and financial education with significantly reduced team
Young Enterprise Scotland, the national charity that has delivered enterprise education to schools and colleges for over 30 years, has confirmed it has made 17 members of staff redundant after failing to secure Scottish Government funding in October.
The national charity will now operate on a significantly reduced staff team of no more than a dozen people after being denied funding from the Scottish Government’s new Entrepreneurial Education Fund.
YE Scotland’s funding has historically come from a combination of a core continuity grant from the Scottish Government, an ongoing pipeline of support from Trusts and Foundations and, to a lesser extent, support from the private sector.
In July this year, YE Scotland was advised the grant process would now cease with immediate effect, replaced with a competitive process which subsequently opened in August. The new fund awarded seven organisations with a share of £829,346, with YE Scotland being unsuccessful in this round of funding.
The charity was granted emergency funding of £285,000 which covered its existing costs for this financial year, allowing YE Scotland to avoid closure.
Young Enterprise Scotland CEO Emma Soanes said: “It is a huge relief that we have been able to avoid a complete closure of Young Enterprise Scotland and we are grateful to the Scottish Government for providing us with emergency funding which prevented our worst case scenario becoming reality.
“Sadly however, this will provide little consolation to the 17 valued members of our team who have lost their jobs just weeks before Christmas.
“Losing our major income source has been an enormously unsettling and upsetting time for everyone involved, and while we try to remain positive there is no doubt there will be challenging times ahead as we refocus and prioritise what programmes we deliver within schools and colleges on such a reduced staff model.”
Last year, YE Scotland supported over 18,000 school and college students through its enterprise programmes, including its flagship Company Programme, which many entrepreneurs credit with setting them on a successful business career.
In the past three years, more than 1,000 students have gained a YE Scotland enterprise qualification (SCQF Level 6) to prepare them for further education, work and life.
Emma Soanesadded: “We will definitely be engaging our own entrepreneurial mindsets in the coming weeks and months as we reposition ourselves within the education ecosystem and continue with our commitment to deliver financial and enterprise education from primary one and early years, right through to S6”.
The National Museum of Rural Life has released a group of rare festive photographs from the Scottish Life Archive. The five historic photographs will be available to download for free for the first time, as a set of Christmas cards.
The photographs, each over 100 years old, include record-breaking snowy scenes, an eccentric Father Christmas from Fife and a family portrait by one of Scotland’s earliest woman photographers.
The Christmas cards are free to download from nms.ac.uk/ScottishLifeArchive, just in time for the festive season. Each one offers a unique glimpse of Scottish Christmases past.
Lady Henrietta Gilmour took up photography after the birth of her seventh and last child. She became a pioneer of the medium, capturing over a thousand images of Scottish country life, including a tender portrait of her children sledging in the grounds of Montrave House, Fife, in 1900.
Also from Fife, Mr Henry Watson posed as a characterful Father Christmas in Burntisland in 1909, wearing a fake beard and long, fur- trimmed coat decorated with dolls and toy animals. Two snowy scenes capture the extreme winter of 1895, when Braemar in Aberdeenshire captured the lowest ever recorded temperature in the UK at minus 27.2°C.
The Scottish Life Archive was established in 1959 as a way of preserving and documenting material culture and histories relating to rural life in Scotland. In later years it expanded to include evidence of not only country life, but maritime, urban and industrial life.
It contains a large collection of photographic negatives, slides and prints. It can be viewed by the public upon appointment.
Dr Ailsa Hutton, Curator of Modern and Rural History at National Museums Scotland, said: “The Scottish Life Archive offers remarkable insight into all aspects of Scottish life, with 300 years of documentary and illustrative material.
“I am thrilled to have an opportunity to shine a light on this rich resource, and Scotland’s fascinating rural history, through these magical festive photographs. Whether it’s a quirky Santa Claus or a record-breaking snowy winter, I hope people enjoy sharing a little bit of Scottish rural history this Christmas.”
The National Museum of Rural Life in East Kilbride consists of a museum, historic farmhouse and working farm, telling the story of the land, people and ways of working that have shaped Scotland’s rural history.
On display in the museum is Scotland’s largest collection of tractors, combine harvesters and farming machinery, while the farm is home to Ayrshire, Aberdeen Angus and Highland cattle, Tamworth pigs, sheep, hens and Clydesdale horses.
Lanarkshire’s Reid family lived in the Georgian farmhouse for ten generations, and rooms are as they would have been in the 1950s.
The Scottish Government needs a delivery plan that clearly explains to the public how it will reform the NHS and address the pressures on services.
Despite increasing funding and staffing, the NHS in Scotland is still seeing fewer patients than before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Auditors found that:
commitments to reducing waiting lists and times have not been met
the number of people remaining in hospital because their discharge has been delayed is the highest on record
and NHS initiatives to improve productivity and patient outcomes have yet to have an impact and lack clear progress reporting.
Health accounts for about 40 per cent of the Scottish budget. Funding grew again in 2023/24 but has mostly been used to cover pay commitments and inflation. Costs are forecast to continue rising and making savings remains challenging. Work to build new healthcare facilities also remains paused.
The Scottish Government’s restated vision for health and social care is not clear on how these operational pressures on the NHS will be addressed or how reform will be prioritised. It needs to work with NHS staff, partners and the public to set out a clear delivery plan and make tough decisions about how it may change or potentially even stop some services.
Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “To safeguard the NHS, a fundamental change in how services are provided remains urgent. The Scottish Government needs to set out clearly to the public and the health service how it will deliver reform, including how progress will be measured and monitored.
“Difficult decisions are needed about making services more efficient or, potentially, withdrawing those services with more limited clinical value to allow funding to be re-directed. Taking those steps will require greater leadership from Scottish Government and NHS leaders than we’ve seen to date.”
256 New Low-Carbon Homes and Commercial Space to be Created at Ferry Road Site – Construction Starts Summer 2025
Regeneration specialist Artisan Real Estate is progressing with the demolition of the former Deutsche Bank House at 525 Ferry Road, Edinburgh, making way for a spectacular homes-led redevelopment of the site.
Planning approval was granted in March 2024 for Artisan together with fund manager REInvest Asset Management S.A. to create a low-carbon residential community on the vacant site near the Crewe Toll roundabout in the northwest of the city centre.
Known as ‘525 Park View’, the new neighbourhood will provide 256 sustainable homes, 25% of which will be for affordable housing.
Flexible commercial space facing on to Ferry Road will provide potential for cafes, shops and shared workspaces.
The 110,000 sq. ft Deutsch Bank House was an office and data-processing centre and was formerly the Scottish base for State Street Bank until the building was vacated in 2018. The phased demolition programme, led by specialist contractor Metropolitan Demolition Ltd, will last up to six months before construction of 525 Park View begins in summer 2025.
Welcoming the start of demolition, Artisan’s Regional Director for Scotland, David Westwater, said: “This is a hugely exciting opportunity to breathe new life into an underused site, whilst ensuring its long-term future by delivering a new sustainable community to an accessible city centre location, underlining Artisan’s long-term commitment to future investment in Edinburgh.
“We have a long-standing working relationship with our specialist demolition contractor who have significant UK-wide experience of carrying out complex demolition programmes in sensitive city centre areas. Priority will be given to ensuring minimal disruption to both our immediate residential neighbours and the surrounding business community.”
He added: “As a regeneration specialist, Artisan has an established track record in transforming sensitive urban spaces into vibrant living environments. As part of our award-winning commitment to sustainability, we will ensure that as much material as possible from the demolition will be recycled on site and used for the new development.
“To this end, we are forging an innovative partnership with Edinburgh-based social enterprise EALA Impacts to help manage the salvaging and reusing of materials from the existing building.”
Designed by Edinburgh-based 7N Architects, 525 Park View will raise the bar for sustainable city-centre living. More than two thirds of the development area will be made up of high-quality green spaces – including a large central communal garden as well as biodiverse green roofs and a ‘wetland’ area which enhances local ecology whilst contributing to the wider sustainable urban drainage system.
Smart technology such as individual air source heat pumps for each home also means no fossil fuels will be used, emphasising Artisan’s commitment to sustainable low carbon development and delivering low energy costs for occupiers. Artisan Real Estate has a strong track record in delivering complex residential and mixed-use regeneration projects in sensitive city centre environments across the UK and won the inaugural ‘Excellence in Sustainability’ award at last year’s Scottish Homes Awards.
Development partner REInvest Asset Management S.A. was founded in Luxembourg as a specialist for future-facing investment ideas and currently manages and develops properties across Europe with a value in excess of EUR 2.3 billion. 525 Park View is held in a progressive property fund within a pan-European portfolio managed on behalf of a German insurance group.
For more information and to register interest in 525 Park View visit:
Donations at Santa’s Grotto set to benefit South Leith Foodbank this weekend
Families are invited to swing by Utilita’s Energy Hub in Newkirkgate Shopping Centre this Saturday (7 December) between 11:30am and 3pm for a fun and free festive experience.
Visiting children will be given a gift completely free of charge and can take a selfie with Santa – thanks to the UK’s leading Smart PAYG energy supplier, Utilita.
In the spirit of giving, Utilita is asking every family to bring a non-perishable food item with them if they can, which will be distributed to South Leith Foodbank – part of Edinburgh North East Foodbank.
Natasha Baillie, Manager at the Leith Energy Hub, is looking forward to welcoming families and children to the hub on Saturday, 7 December. She said: “We’re excited in the countdown to Christmas to have a very special visitor coming to our high street energy hub.
“As well as giving youngsters the opportunity to take selfies with Santa Claus and receive a free gift, their grown-ups can also benefit from free and simple energy advice to help make their energy spend go further this winter. So why not swing by this Saturday for a cuppa and some festive cheer?”
Utilita’s high street hubs make it super simple to manage your energy – no phone lines or online dashboards, just a friendly face to speak to.
Whether you’re looking for account support, help to manage your spend or energy-saving advice, Utilita’s Energy Experts are on hand to help.
In the period 2020 to 2023, 1 in 4 children in Scotland were growing up in poverty. Poverty strips away the opportunities for children and young people to learn, grow and develop fully, and have happy and thriving childhoods.
As well as harming children and families, poverty harms Scotland’s economy to the cost of at least £2.4 billion per year. This isn’t acceptable, and change is possible.
We welcome progress on action to drive down child poverty, especially through investment in the Scottish Child Payment, a powerful intervention for putting money directly in the pockets of low income families.
However, while tackling child poverty is the Scottish Government’s and the First Minister’s stated “first priority”, this priority must be better reflected in budget decisions.
That is why the End Child Poverty Coalition is calling on the Scottish Government to ensure the 2025-26 Scottish Budget allocates the necessary additional resources to address the root causes of child poverty.
The 2025-26 budget should resource action across social security, employment, housing and whole-family support.
It is vital that the Scottish Government raises the resources in this budget – including through the ambitious and bold use of devolved taxation and Barnett consequentials flowing from the recent UK Budget – to fund the action needed to deliver on the First Minister’s number one priority of ending child poverty.
