The second annual Printmakers of Scotland (PoS) Festival, held recently at Stirling University, proved to be a great success with over 1400 visitors attending the two day event.
The festival, organised by the PoS artists’ collective, resulted in the sale of about £50,000 worth of prints and saw 28 prizes and certificates being awarded to many of the 45 participating printmakers.
The event also featured ten different demonstrations of printmaking that offered festival visitors the chance to participate.
Organiser Deb Wing commented: “Our second festival has gone very well with an increase in visitors on last year and outstanding feedback from both visitors and all of the 45 artists who were on show.
“Positive comments from visitors included ‘The range of printmaking styles and techniques is amazing,’ to ‘A beautiful selection of different print styles. It was lovely to meet the artists.’
“Some members of the public benefitted for our Quiet Hour first thing in the morning when there was restricted access for us to welcome visitors who face particular challenges in a crowded event. This reflects Printmakers of Scotland’s ongoing commitment to inclusion in our events.
“We will soon begin the process of planning our third festival in 2026 and can only see the event going from strength to strength.”
With 194 screenings, 34 Industry and panel events, the Festival welcomed over 300 filmmakers, producers and distributors to present their films
A total in person attendance over 16500
Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) 2025 draws to a close following a seven-day programme of sold-out premieres, illuminating talks, retrospectives and well-received industry events which continues to build on last year’s successful Festival reboot.
The Festival ran from 14 – 20 August with 43 new feature films, 18 of which were World Premieres including 10 World Premieres competing for TheSean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence, this year won by Abdolreza Kahani’s Mortican, and 6 short film programmes including The Thelma Schoonmaker Prize for Short Filmmaking Excellence competition, this year won by Joanna Vymeris’s Mother Goose.
The Festival presented special retrospectives including Sacred Bonds, the 6 original James Bond films starring Sean Connery, introduced by members of the Connery family and special guests, and Budd Boetticher’s The Ranown Cycle presented in partnership with Edinburgh Film Guild, alongside 6 special retrospective screenings with introductions from special guests including Andrea Arnold, Kevin Macdonald, Nia DaCosta and David Hayman.
In Conversation events with major film talent took place, with legendary film editor Thelma Schoonmaker discussing Michael Powell, Ken Loach, Paul Laverty and Rebecca O’Brien, Jeremy Thomas and Mark Cousins, Eva Victor and Adele Romanski, Nia DaCosta, Ben Wheatley and Andy Starke, Andrea Arnold, and Kevin Macdonald and Andrew Macdonald, in partnership with BAFTA Scotland. Hosts included Director of BFI Filmmaking Fund Mia Bays, Variety Film Critic Guy Lodge, Director of Edinburgh TV Festival Rowan Woods, Edinburgh Comedy Award Winning Comedian, Actor & Writer Rose Matafeo, 90 Minutes or Less Podcaster Sam Clements and We Are Parable Co-Founder and Creative Director Anthony Andrews.
The Festival kicked off on 14 August with the UK Premiere of Eva Victor’s acclaimed breakout hit Sorry, Baby and presented a selection of compelling new and established voices in cinema including 39 World Premieres and 48 UK Premieres across features and shorts.
The Festival platformed new talent in Scotland with World Premieres of new shortform work from the inaugural NFTS Sean Connery Talent Lab and new Bridging the Gap documentary shorts in partnership with the Scottish Documentary Institute.
Closing the Festival was the World Premiere of Paul Sng’s brilliantly inventive Irvine Welsh documentary Reality Is Not Enough, rounding off a programme with a strong presence for Scotland-based filmmakers and Scottish talent.
The Festival programme showcased new work from filmmakers from 36 countries including Scotland, UK, US, Ireland, Canada, Spain, Greece, Denmark, Croatia, France, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Iran, Argentina, South Africa and beyond.
EIFF also continued to thrill audiences with its Midnight Madness strand beginning with the World Premiere of Ben Wheatley’s visionary Bulk and ending with Macon Blair’s new take on The Toxic Avenger.
The Festival worked with venue partners including the newly reopened Filmhouse alongside Cameo Cinema, Vue Omni, Monkey Barrel Comedy and a new pop-up cinema at the National Galleries of Scotland’s Hawthornden Theatre in partnership with Assembly Festival, once again placing EIFF at the heart of the Fringe and August’s unparalleled Festival landscape.
Tollcross Central Hall served as the Festival Hub, open throughout the Festival to industry and press delegates for industry panels and networking events, alongside informal meeting and working spaces.
With 194 screenings and 34 Industry and panel events, the Festival saw a total in person admissions at public events of over 16,500. All of which added up to the seven-day celebration of world-class new cinema championing a new generation of UK and international talent and seeing audiences, press and industry engage with the best of Edinburgh’s other arts and cultural Festivals.
The Industry Programme ran across the whole of the Festival and was very well received by attending guests with praise for EIFF championing both the spirit of independent cinema globally and locally and cross-arts conversations. Press and industry delegates experienced a wealth of programming including talks and panels discussing disability inclusion and access within film projects with CODE, OSKA Bright and BFI; a case study on Development to Distribution of The Outrun with BBC Film, StudioCanal, Brock Media,Protagonist and Edinburgh International Book Festival; Crafting Fear Through Games and Film with Screen Burn Interactive and Nia DaCosta; an overview of the animation sector in Scotland with Animation Scotland and Animated Women UK; a Screenwriting in Scotland discussion event in association with Writers Guild of Great Britain with Andrea Gibb, Paul Laverty, Paul Sng and Kelly Macdonald; a panel on How Female Creators Are Using TikTok to Break Into the Exclusive World of Film.
A Scottish/Irish Co-Production Opportunities event was hosted with Enterprise Ireland, Filming in Limerick and Screen Scotland, and Screen Scotland delivered an informative session on the new Talent Builder development project.
Other Networking Brunches and Networking Drinks were delivered in partnership with WFTV, Production Guild of Great Britain, Screen Fringe, BBC Film, Screen Academy Scotland, Animation Scotland, Animated Women UK and Writers Guild of Great Britain.
As part of a new partnership with production company Unified led by BAFTA winning producer Amy Jackson (The Nest, Aftersun) and BAFTA winning producer Lauren Dark (TheFather, Enys Men), the Festival hosted industry talks from Interim Head of Creative at Film4 Farhana Bhula; Oscar-nominated producer David Hinojosa (Past Lives, The Brutalist, EIFF 2025 title After This Death); Oscar-winning producer Adele Romanski (Moonlight, Aftersun); Director of BBC Film Eva Yates; A24’s Rose Garnett, former Director of BBC Film and Film4; Oscar-nominated producer Finola Dwyer (An Education, Brooklyn), BFI Director of Video Games and Certification Anna Mansi and Executive Director of Screen Scotland Isabel Davis.
Every screening and event at the Festival was introduced by a member of the EIFF team, and BSL interpretation was offered at 33 screenings that were presented with HOH Descriptive Subtitles. Audio Description was provided where possible and live captioning was provided at In Conversation events and panels.
The Festival welcomed over 300 filmmakers, producers and distributors to present their films, over 250 industry delegates including buyers, sales agents, commissioners and festival programmers including Eugene Hernandez, Head of Sundance Film Festival & Public Programming, and Jacqueline Lyanga, Co-Director of Film Programming at Berlinale, and over 170 press delegates.
Filmmakers and actors attending the Festival included Thelma Schoonmaker, Ken Loach, Renée Zellweger, Andrea Arnold, Jeremy Thomas, Kevin Macdonald, Andrew Macdonald, Nia DaCosta, David Hayman, Kate Dickie, Paul Laverty, Rebecca O’Brien, Kelly Macdonald, Eva Victor, Ben Wheatley, Eddie Marsan, Burn Gorman, Rose Matafeo, Jane Horrocks, Golda Roshuevel, Paul Andrew Williams, Brenda Blethyn, John McPhail, Andrew Kötting, Simon Rumley, Stacy Martin, Sam Riley, Alexandra Maria Lara, Noah Taylor, Gerard Johnson, Polly Maberly, Julie Pacino, Nadia Fall, Reed Birney, Constantine Costi, Barry Ward, Lorne MacFadyen, Steve Oram, Steven Saltzman, Douglas Mackinnon, Abdolreza Kahani, Gola and many more.
EIFF Director, Paul Ridd has said: “We are extremely proud of all the exceptional films we launched, as well as all the filmmakers, cinematic legends and audiences we welcomed to Edinburgh this past week.
“Our competitions continue to thrive, with buzzy titles provoking, entertaining and moving audiences, and our wider programme of features, shorts, events and talks signal our place in a global film culture that is alive and exciting.
“Putting it all together has been the collaborative work of many organisations, teams and individuals, and we owe them all an immense debt of gratitude. We cannot wait for EIFF 2026.”
Isabel Davis, Executive Director, Screen Scotland has said: “Filmmakers, audiences, and industry have been brought together thanks to a very strong proposition from Paul and the team at EIFF: the world premiere feature and short competitions, extraordinary insight from some of the most exciting filmmakers working today, and opportunities to network across the festival including with the Fringe being some of the highlights.
“With Cameo, the newly re-opened Filmhouse, Vue and the National Gallery all screening films and with Tollcross Central Hall now the recognized industry place to be and events venue, the festival has taken another confident step forward.”
EIFF 2025 is supported by Screen Scotland and the BFI Audience Projects Fund, awarding National Lottery funding, EventScotland part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate, and the industry programme is backed by EXPO funding from the Scottish Government through Creative Scotland.
Edinburgh International Film Festival ran from Thursday 14 to Wednesday 20 August 2025.
Helmed by Festival Director Paul Ridd and Festival Producer Emma Boa, the EIFF team aims to create a world-class showcase for independent film and filmmaking talent.
Former Acquisitions Executive Ridd is supported by EIFF Board, including Chair Andrew Macdonald of DNA Films, producer of the iconic Edinburgh-based film Trainspotting; Peter Rice, former Chairman of General Entertainment at Disney and President of 21st Century Fox; and Vice Chair Amy Jackson, producer of award-winning indie, Aftersun; Teresa Moneo, Former Director of UK Film, Netflix; Isla Macgillivray, Partner at Saffrey; and Romana Ramzan, Producer at Screen Burn Interactive.
According to new data, 12 is the age when children in Scotland are given independence, with most parents granting new freedoms, including being responsible for a pet, going to the local shop alone, and having a mobile phone, at this age.
The research, which was conducted amongst UK parents by name label manufacturer My Nametags, found that children in Scotland are granted some freedoms earlier than the rest of the nation.
At 11, children in the country are allowed to walk to school alone but children in the rest of the UK must wait until age 12.
Similarly, children in Scotland are trusted to stay home alone, use the internet without supervision, and have their own bank card by age 12, a year earlier than the national average.
The data also shows differences between families living in a city compared with those in the countryside. Across the UK, children living in the countryside experience freedom a year earlier than those in urban areas, on average. For instance, children in rural areas can play outside alone by age 11, whilst those in cities must wait until age 12.
The research also investigated the impact of mobile phones on modern children’s independence. Whilst 51% of parents in the UK feel more comfortable allowing their children independence outside of the home because they carry a phone, the vast majority of parents are afraid of the risks posed by unsupervised mobile use. In fact, online bullying (80%) and online predators (83%) are now the top risks feared by parents.
Online habits are also the most likely to lead to regret, with personal mobiles and social media access the top freedoms parents wish they had waited longer to allow. This is often due to pressure from other families, with one in six feeling pushed into granting independence earlier than they feel comfortable by other parents.
Yet, despite concerns about the risks involved, 75% of parents aim to give their children independence at the same age or younger than they did when they were a child.
Lars B. Andersen, Managing Director at My Nametags, commented: “We support parents as they prepare their children for new milestones, from starting nursery as toddlers, to heading off to secondary school. So, we were interested to find out more about attitudes towards independence amongst UK families.
“The data shows that many parents opt to grant their children more freedom around the time they start secondary school. But, it’s clear this isn’t an easy decision, with families weighing up the risks and benefits, whilst also grappling with external pressures.
“And it’s no surprise, granting a child independence is one of the most challenging aspects of parenthood. But it’s also one of the most rewarding. We hope this research makes parents feel less alone as they embark on this journey, and offers some useful insight to help them make the right decision for their family.”
CRUSE SCOTLAND AND GRIEVING FAMILY COLLABORATE TO OFFER FREE SUPPORT
Cruse Scotland, the Nation’s leading bereavement support experts, have joined forces with a family-run charity, Lewis Leap, to launch a new support service for children, young people and adults bereaved by a sudden and traumatic death.
Lewis Leap was founded following the tragic death of 13-year-old Lewis Johnson on a family holiday in 2019. The family from Edinburgh wanted to honour the life and spirit of Lewis and help others who unfortunately find themselves facing such a devastating loss under challenging circumstances.
The Lewis Leap Sudden and Traumatic Bereavement Support Service has been shaped by those with lived experience, including some of Lewis’ family members.
This new service was launched at the charity’s annual fundraising event in the Cammo Estate yesterday (Sunday 24 August 2025), surrounded by Lewis’ family, friends and community as well as members of the Cruse Scotland staff and volunteer team.
Lewis’ mum, Elizabeth Johnson, said, “The impact of Lewis’ death on our family and friends was overwhelming, and we struggled to process what had happened and why it had happened to us.
“The support we so desperately wanted didn’t seem to be available. We committed to work with Cruse Scotland to shape a specialist support service for others to access in the early stages of grief who had experienced a sudden and traumatic death.”
“I’m so proud that the service is named after Lewis, as he was always so kind and generous to friends and strangers alike. Through this service, his selfless spirit lives on.”
Specialist support can be accessed via any of the existing Cruse Scotland routes:
Fiona Arnott-Barron,Cruse Scotland Chief Executive, said, “We are delighted to launch this vital service after three years of hard work and collaboration with Lewis Leap.
“Having members of the Johnson family and many other bereaved people help us shape this support service, which has been extremely valuable in ensuring it will provide the most appropriate support at the right time.
“Although Cruse Scotland had already taken some steps to address the gap in support for people struggling in the early days and weeks following a death, we knew there were still significant gaps for those who had been catapulted into a new and unwelcomed reality following an unexpected and traumatic death.
“For those requiring support with their grief after such a sudden loss, Cruse Scotland is here, and I would like to thank the Johnson family sincerely for their support in making it possible.”
If you need support with your grief, no matter how recent or long ago the death occurred, or your relationship to them, you can find the support that’s right for you at www.crusescotland.org.uk
With 469 shows, 3,357 artists, and 188,000 tickets, theSpaceUK has helped new artists and audiences experience the Fringe
theSpaceUK is one of the largest venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with 19 theatres across 6 venues. Every genre in the Fringe programme is represented, with a strong focus on new-writing and new companies, alongside a wide range of support provided for artists bringing work to the Fringe for the first time.
187,913 tickets were issued for shows at theSpaceUK this year, demonstrating both the resilience of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the strong platform of shows at theSpaceUK.
This year saw 469 shows featuring 3357 artists at theSpaceUK, representing over 13 different countries. Each day of the 2025 Fringe saw an average of over 8162 audience members watching shows at theSpaceUK with an average of 54% of seats filled per show.
Two artists at theSpaceUK garnered critical acclaim and were awarded the prestigious Broadway Baby Bobby Award; Sam Sherman’s Kaddish (How to be a Sanctuary), a reflection on Jewish-American life, and Baffin Productions’ In the Black, which subtly navigated systemic and institutional conflicts.
The latter was also shortlisted for the BBC’s Popcorn Award for outstanding new writing and won the Binge Fringe’s Black Performers’ Award.
Our Asian Arts season was also celebrated for its diverse range of exciting work, with Cathy Lamb’s Dots and Ah-Ma being nominated for the Holden Street Theatres Award and the Brighton Fringe Award, respectively. Sole to Soul from the We ART together Foundation and The Boy From Bantay from Bantay Productions were also awarded Asian Arts Awards.
Artists at theSpaceUK were recognised for their work with Cornermen winning the coveted Theatre Scotland Bright Spark Award. Ghosted! A New Musical and I was a Teenage She-Devil, were the winners and runners up of Best Musical for this year’s Spookies, from The Edinburgh Horror Festival. Roadkill Bambi by Mal MacKenzie picked up the Queer Writing Award at Binge Fringe’s Queer Performers’ Awards, or ‘Queeries‘, which celebrate excellence in shows that champion LGBTQIA+ perspectives.
Finally, Here Comes Gudong by Roarrr Theatre is a sensory-rich puppetry adventure and won Theatre Weekly’s Best Family Show, whilst Entertainment Now WoW Award for Best Theatre has been awarded to When We Were Young by Geezabreak Productions. This production was acclaimed for it’s powerful and hilarious story about the realities of gang culture in Glasgow during the 90s.
Charles Pamment, Artistic Director of theSpaceUK said: “In contrast to much of the concerns pre this year’s festival theSpaceUK has again enjoyed a fabulous month. Presenting a record number of shows, entertaining near on 200,000 audience members and boasting an array of major festival awards.
“Our unrivalled locations, focus on programming work from across all genres, sensible and affordable ticket prices, all driven by the ethos of this festival as a platform for all, will continue to give those visiting this fabulous event the experiences they will want to repeat year on year.
“Thank you to all who participated in and watched shows at our venues. We look forward to hosting you all again in 2026 and beyond!”
Deaf children across Scotland are still falling through the cracks and missing out on vital support despite two years passing since a damning report laid bare the inadequacies of NHS Scotland’s audiology services, the National Deaf Children’s Society is warning.
Today marks two years to the day that the Independent Review of Audiology Services in Scotland (IRASS), identified “multiple systemic problems” in NHS Scotland’s hearing services for both children and adults.
The most urgent recommendations were around the quality of auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing, carried out to identify deafness in very young children. Issues were identified in the quality of ABR testing at every single health board across Scotland. This is particularly concerning for young children, where delays or inaccuracies in testing can have lifelong impacts.
Other issues flagged by IRASS were audiology services facing barriers with recruiting new staff and addressing long waiting times.
Information obtained by the National Deaf Children’s Society reveals waiting times to be referred to audiology services in Scotland are unacceptably long. In some cases, children who should be seen within 42 days were waiting up to 600 days, posing a serious risk to early identification and intervention.
One mother shared with the National Deaf Children’s Society the “heartbreaking” impact that her son’s unidentified deafness, coupled with a lack of support and intervention, has had on their family.
Melanie Wright suspected her son Dawson was deaf when he was six, despite him having recently had a hearing test, which revealed no deafness. Dawson, from Dunbar, East Lothian, then had to wait three years before his deafness was finally identified, aged nine, despite Melanie’s repeated calls for a follow-up hearing test.
Dawson’s family were told he required grommets surgery but there would be a two-year wait unless they paid to go privately, which was not an option.
Melanie recalled how exhausting it was for Dawson to keep up with conversations at home and his frustration when he couldn’t join in.
At school, Dawson missed key parts of lessons because he could not hear what was said, which made learning harder and knocked his confidence.
Melanie said: “It’s heartbreaking watching your child work twice as hard just to keep up, knowing it didn’t have to be this way.”
Dawson’s deafness also impacted on friendships, and he often felt excluded.
When the Scottish Government committed to accept all the IRASS recommendations in December 2023, it was hoped there would be a root and branch reform of Scotland’s struggling audiology services.
But progress has been painfully slow, and despite the Scottish Government previously pledging to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are “front and centre” these individuals have since been sidelined, as have deaf charities, despite their direct experience on the frontline.
Melanie continued: “This isn’t about special treatment, it’s about making sure children get the care and support they were promised, when they need it.
“This delay is costing children their education, their confidence, and their future — and no one is taking responsibility.
“I’m exhausted and totally broken by the experience.”
A coalition of charities, spearheaded by the National Deaf Children’s Society, has written an open letter to Scotland’s Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health Jenni Minto MSP, expressing concern at the lack of progress made by the Scottish Government since the publication of IRASS.
The charities warn the Minister that delayed hearing tests and inadequate care means that countless other babies and young children, like Dawson, will have unidentified deafness and lack support during this crucial period of their life. This can “severely impact a child’s ability to acquire language – whether spoken, signed or a combination of both”, the letter reads.
IRASS also found an absence of national leadership, strategic planning and workforce planning at audiology departments across Scotland and that there has been no quality assurance of services in recent years.
In their letter to the Minister the charities express their disappointment that action taken by the Scottish Government since the publication of IRASS is “yet to deliver the transformative change so urgently needed” while other recommendations “remain partially or completely incomplete”.
The charities urge the Minister to “equip audiology services with the resources, workforce, and leadership necessary to deliver the best possible outcomes for deaf children and adults”.
The Minister is warned by the charities that without “more ambitious and decisive action…we fear the current system will continue to fall short”.
The charities urge action in three key areas:
Evidence of independent safety checks.
Clear accountability for workforce planning.
Transparent reporting on waiting times.
“When every moment counts, it is time for action – not words” the letter to the Minster concludes.
IRASS was commissioned after significant failures were uncovered at NHS Lothian involving more than 150 children over nine years. Some children suffered life-changing consequences, including developmental delays in their communication, learning and social skills.
This was because their deafness was identified too late for them to receive cochlear implant surgery, or the communications support they needed.
A new independent body will be set up to speed up decision making on asylum appeal cases
Asylum appeals will be overhauled and speeded up to clear the backlog, accelerate returns and end hotel use under some of the most significant changes to the asylum system in decades.
As part of efforts to fix the broken asylum system the government inherited and end the use of asylum hotels, a new independent body to deal with asylum appeals made up of independent professional adjudicators, will be established to hear cases more quickly.
The proposals, driven jointly by the Home Office and Ministry of Justice, will reduce the number of asylum appeal cases in the system by ensuring cases awaiting decision can be heard faster, in turn reducing the backlog and creating a more efficient system. They are driven by serious concerns among Ministers that existing measures including increased investment in court sitting days are not delivering the pace of change needed to clear the asylum appeal backlog.
The new body will be fully independent of government with safeguards to ensure high standards and is expected to use the expertise of independent professionally trained adjudicators focusing particularly on asylum appeals, and will allow capacity to be surged so cases can be cleared. It will have statutory powers to prioritise cases from those in asylum accommodation and foreign national offenders.
Currently, there is a backlog of 106,000 cases waiting to be heard by the First-Tier Tribunal, including at least 51,000 asylum appeals. Wait times are increasing, with an average wait time of 53 weeks.
As initial asylum decisions have accelerated, court delays over appeals are now the biggest cause of pressure in the asylum accommodation system which is costing the taxpayer billions of pounds each year.
Doubling of asylum decisions since the election means that the number of asylum seekers waiting for an initial decision has gone down 24% in the space of 12 months and is falling further. However, the number of failed asylum seekers now waiting in the appeal system has increased substantially as most failed asylum seekers then appeal and decisions even on a first appeal can take more than a year to be made.
To relieve pressure on the system, the government has provided funding to increase the number of sitting days in the First-tier Tribunal, with the aim of ensuring it operates at maximum capacity. However, the tribunal cannot keep up with fluctuating and increasing demand, so an alternative approach is needed that can provide wider and more flexible capacity.
Ministers are also introducing a new legal requirement for a 24-week timeframe for the First Tier Tribunal to determine asylum appeals by those receiving asylum accommodation support and appeals by foreign offenders.
But the current tribunal system is still failing to keep up with the particular requirements to clear the asylum system so that failed asylum seekers can be returned as swiftly as possible. Nor can it accommodate a fast track system for safe countries.
The government will set out further details of their plans to fast-track cases in the asylum system this autumn.
Lessons are also being learned from other European countries who have faster appeal systems including countries which run independent appeal bodies rather than absorbing appeals entirely into the main courts and judicial systems.
Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP, said: “We inherited an asylum system in complete chaos with a soaring backlog of asylum cases and a broken appeals system with thousands of people in the system for years on end. That is why we are taking practical steps to fix the foundations and restore control and order to the system.
“We are determined to substantially reduce the number of people in the asylum system as part of our plan to end asylum hotels. Already since the election we have reduced the backlog of people waiting for initial decisions by 24% and increased failed asylum returns by 30%.
“But we cannot carry on with these completely unacceptable delays in appeals as a result of the system we have inherited which mean that failed asylum seekers stay in the system for years on end at huge cost to the taxpayer. Overhauling the appeals system so that it is swift, fair and independent, with high standards in place, is a central part of our Plan for Change.”
Since taking office, this government has taken immediate action to fix the asylum system to start exiting hotels and surging returns of more than 35,000 people with no right to be here, including more than 5,000 foreign national offenders.
At its peak under the last government over 400 asylum hotels were open in summer 2023, costing almost £9 million a day. There are now just over 200 and better use of the hotels of the ones we must use have helped cut asylum costs by 11%.
The government has surged asylum decision-making capacity, delivering over 31,000 initial decisions to people per quarter – triple the average under the previous government.
The case backlog is down 18%, with the number of people waiting decisions down by 24% and we’ve achieved the third-highest quarterly decision rate since records began in 2002.
The Immigration White Paper announced in May also details plans to introduce legislation that tightens the application of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights on such appeals.
Campaigners have long argued for swifter progress, citing safety concerns on a road that regularly changes from single to dual carriageway. There has been political criticism of the Scottish Govenment’s failure to deliver on their original promise.
Tragically, there has all too often been the grief and pain that accompanies the loss of a loved one on what has become a notorious stretch of road.
Ronnie Weir’s house in the village of Dowally in Perthshire is a mere 25 meters from an undualled section of the A9. In April 2017, Ronnie suffered serious leg injuries on the same stretch when a car travelling in the opposite direction hit his vehicle head on. The female driver of the other car died at the wheel.
Speaking to Eòrpa, he told how the trauma follows him to this day: “You’re always concerned whether it is near the home or anywhere because the trauma which an accident causes is horrendous.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to speak about it because of that and it brings back memories about how insensitive some people were about the whole accident. They just wanted to keep on the road and don’t care.”
Lorry driver Elaine MacKenzie, whose job means frequent journeys up and down the section of the A9 that’s now due to be dualled by 2035, told Eòrpa: “People don’t understand that the signs say 50mph for lorries but not for cars.
“Everything slows down. Those behind me can’t get past, they get impatient, and they don’t understand that there’s people in front of me, and then they try to get past me in dangerous places. This is every day. I pray every time I go on the A9.”
Dualling is set to gather pace ahead of the 2035 deadline. Farmer Pamela Laird’s family has run East Dowally farm in Perthshire for generations. Speaking on camera for the first time about her situation, she told Eòrpa she’s set to lose a quarter of her land to the A9 under Scottish Government compulsory purchase powers.
So far she doesn’t know how much she’ll get: “We’re losing a hundred acres. In some areas they’re stripping the topsoil off and lowering it.
So it’s very invasive, very invasive. Flooding is number one worry for us. I don’t believe that the swales and suds and any mitigation that they have put into place will cope with the Tay when it is in full flow.
“I think when the river rises it’s just going to rip through everything.”
Transport Scotland told Eòrpa mitigation measures have been taken, including culverts to allow waters to drain.
The Scottish Government’s commitment is now for completion of dualling between Perth and Inverness by 2035.
Pressed on continuing safety concerns about sections yet to be dualled, Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop MSP said: “Any loss of a life on the A9 or indeed other roads in Scotland is a tragedy in and of itself.
“Road safety is something as Cabinet Secretary for Transport I take extremely seriously and in terms of the A9 we’ve also invested five million pounds on interim shorter term road safety issues.
“We’re not waiting just for the dualling. The dualling in and of itself will help on road safety and that’s one of the reasons that clearly we’ve embarked on it.”
Inverness-based reporter Andrew MacKinnon: “The Scottish Government’s new deadline of 2035 can be seen as bitter-sweet. Progress is being made, and Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop has given her assurances that 2035 will be met.
“However, those who point to a need for the section to be dualled for safety reasons are faced with another 10 years before that’ll be done. And those who have suffered the tragic loss of loved ones will continue to grieve.”
Eòrpa: The A9 | An A9 premieres on BBC ALBA TONIGHT Monday 25 August at 9pm, and on iPlayer from 6am the same day.
