Day: March 27, 2025

Lorna Slater adds her name to SELECT’s Wall of Support as backing for recognition for electricians continues to grow

Green Party co-leader also joins 25 other politicians backing motion congratulating trade body on 125 years of fighting for the profession

Scotland’s largest construction trade association, SELECT, continues to draw cross-party support for its activities in its 125th year, with another prominent MSP publicly supporting its campaign for protection of title for electricians.

Scottish Green Party co-leader and former Minister for Green Skills, the Circular Economy and Biodiversity Lorna Slater is the latest politician to add her name to the campaigning trade body’s Wall of Support.

Showing her support with a virtual ‘brick’, the MSP for Lothian Region said: “Currently within Scotland, due to a lack of regulation anyone can claim to be an electrician and carry out electrical work without proper qualification or oversight.

“The installation of electrical work by unqualified or inadequately trained individuals is a major safety concern and risks potential harm to people and businesses.

“I therefore welcome SELECT’s campaign for the regulation of the electrical industry and to make electrician a protected title to aid the protection of the people and the profession.”

Ms Slater – who was born in Canada and worked in Scotland as an engineer in the renewables sector – has also joined 25 MSPs from across the political divide who have backed the recent tabling of a special motion in the Scottish Parliament, congratulating SELECT on representing the electrical industry since 1900.

The motion was lodged by Monica Lennon, Labour MSP for Central Scotland, who also singled out the ongoing contribution of SELECT and its members to renewable technology and apprenticeships and training.

Other MSPs now backing it are the SNP’s Karen Adam, Clare Adamson, Colin Beattie, Stephanie Callaghan, Kenneth Gibson, Bill Kidd, Gordon MacDonald, Fulton MacGregor, Ruth Maguire, Stuart McMillan, Kevin Stewart, Michelle Thomson and David Torrance.

Conservatives Jeremy Balfour, Miles Briggs, Murdo Fraser, Craig Hoy, Edward Mountain, Annie Wells and Brian Whittle have also added their support, along with Labour’s Jackie Baillie, Foysol Choudhury, Alex Rowley, Paul Sweeney, Mercedes Villalba and Independent John Mason.

SELECT Managing Director Alan Wilson said: “As we celebrate our 125th anniversary as the world’s oldest electrical trade body, it is gratifying to see our ongoing work being supported by such a large cross-section of politicians.

“We very much welcome Ms Slater’s expression of solidarity for our campaign for regulation of the electrical industry. It has been a long, hard road but we will continue to focus all our efforts in bringing it to a successful conclusion.

“We are also very grateful to the MSPs who have backed Ms Lennon’s special motion highlighting just how much SELECT has done to promote the cause of public safety and the contribution the electrical sector makes to it.”

As well as a number of MSPs, other bodies that have contributed a brick to the Wall of Support include the Scottish Joint Industry Board, Unite the Union, Electrical Safety First, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Scottish Association of Landlords, the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ Group and the Energy Saving Trust. 

SELECT has been campaigning for years with other leading industry bodies, such as the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust and the SJIB to make sure that those who work in the industry do so in a safe and competent manner.

Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home launches cattery crowdfunder

Crippling energy price rises has seen costs at the Home soar and funds are desperately needed to enable the cattery roof to be replaced

The Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home has today launched a crowdfunder to raise vital funds to replace their cattery roof which is in great need of repair.  Rising energy prices has seen costs at the Home rocket and so they hope to install solar panels on their new roof which will make a saving of over £2,600 in energy costs every year.

The cattery roof is in urgent need of repair and the team at the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home hope to raise nearly £13,000 to fund a new one and install solar panels.  Currently the outdoor section of the cat pen has a mesh area through which bird poo can fall, which is incredibly dangerous to the cats, putting them at risk of giardia infection. 

The new roof will be solid to keep the cats safe, preventing bird droppings from falling through, which previously required a great deal of time to clean. The improvement means the cats will now have year-round access to the outdoor cattery.

Solar Panels on the new roof would effectively cover the electricity to the Home’s entire cattery and clinic, creating a more sustainable future for the Home and for the environment. With solar panels installed, over five years the Home would save £13,070 – enough to vaccinate 1,378 cats.

Many of the Home’s resident cats, like Mickey who had spent about 6 months with them, enjoyed spending time outside whatever the weather. Mickey loved to sit in his outdoor area, hoping that passing team members would stop to say hi to him (of course, they always would!) The outdoor pens provide important stimulation and enrichment for cats like Mickey, but at the moment they can’t be used year-round due to infection concerns.

Lindsay Fyffe Jardine, CEO of Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, said: “Repairing the roof and installing the solar panels above this section of the cattery will provide much needed shelter and create a safer play area for the cats in our care.

“Not only will we benefit from much needed energy savings, we’ll also improve our carbon footprint. Installing these solar panels means that two tons of CO2 emissions will be avoided every year. Over the panels’ lifetime, this is the equivalent of 69,690 car kms avoided, 50 long haul flights avoided, or planting 448 trees.

“Installing solar panels will not only give essential cover to our cattery, but will generate enough green energy for all the electricity in our cattery and our clinic.

“The welfare of the animals in our care is always at the forefront of our operations. Operating sustainably is essential in our ability to continue to deliver on our mission.”

To make a donation to the Cattery Crowdfunder please visit: 

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/light-up-our-home

North Edinburgh Community Benefits Fund is OPEN

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS is FRIDAY 25th APRIL

YESTERDAY (Wednesday 26 March) we launched the first North Edinburgh Community Benefits Fund. This is a flexible fund aimed at local third sector organisations working in North Edinburgh to help support their services.

There is a total of £10,000 available which has been provided by Cruden Group as part of their contract to deliver the Silverlea development, which will see 143 new homes for social and mid-market rent built on a site off Muirhouse Parkway.

Application Deadline: Friday 25 April 2025

You can find out more on the fund page: https://yourvoice.edinburgh.gov.uk

Or attend one of our drop in sessions either in person or online:

Tuesday 1 April, 2.00pm – 4.00pm – Application Support Drop in – Granton Library

Tuesday 22 April, 10.00am – 11.00am – Online information session – Please email Granton.Waterfront@edinburgh.gov.uk for an online link.

Tuesday 22 April, 6.00pm – 7.00pm – Online information session – Please email Granton.Waterfront@edinburgh.gov.uk for an online link.

Thank you to R2 for their support and guidance in setting up this fund.

Two-way traffic returns to North Bridge tomorrow

Northbound traffic will return to North Bridge from tomorrow (Friday 28 March) at 10am.

The northbound closure in mid-February has allowed for essential resurfacing works to be carried out on both the southbound approach to the bridge (both lanes outside Waverley Gate toward Princes Street) and the southbound departure of the bridge (both lanes from the entrance to the Hilton Edinburgh Carlton on North Bridge to the junction at High Street).

Work had been due to finish next week but the project team has completed the resurfacing ahead of schedule.

The wider work on the Category A Listed Structure in the heart of the city centre, has included structural steelwork repairs, installing cathodic protection and structural health monitoring systems to the reinforced concrete deck and fitting permanent platforms to improve access provisions for future inspection and minor maintenance. These are just a few of the host of other improvements.

Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Stephen Jenkinson said: “I’m pleased that we’ve been able to complete these works slightly ahead of schedule.

“I appreciate that this temporary closure will have been frustrating for our residents and businesses, and I want to thank them once again for their patience.   

“We’re now in the final phase of the project and, while I acknowledge that it’s taken longer than we first anticipated, we’re preserving this majestic and hugely complex structure for future generations, and we owe it to them to make sure the job is completed to a high standard.”