Lockdown could lead to a spike in house fires this winter, with elderly people being particularly vulnerable, according to safety experts.
Health and safety experts at CE Safety have warned that the UK’s lockdown has led to an increased risk of house fires as people spend more time indoors.
In the period March 2019 to March 2020, 243 people died in fire related incidents in England, and 82% of these were in people’s homes.
Those over the age of 65 are particularly vulnerable of suffering a fire in their home, and the risk doubles for those over 80.
Winter sees an increase in house fires due to candles, Christmas decs, and Brits spending more time indoors.
The Home Office’s online Incident Recording System (IRS) report that the biggest culprits of igniting accidental fires within the home are cooking appliances, accounting for 48% of all fires, followed by smokers’ materials and other household appliances.
Now experts from CE Safety have warned families to be wary of the dangers, look out for their elderly relatives and make sure their electrical appliances are safe.
A spokesperson for CE Safety said “The coronavirus pandemic has brought the importance of safeguarding our fellow humans into sharp focus.
“As we head into a winter that could be awash with isolation and continued lockdown for some time yet, taking care of our families, friends and neighbours will remain at the forefront of our concerns.
“And the very real threat of accidental fires in the home are ever-more alarming as this year’s Home Office figures reveal that someone is more likely to die in a fire in their home if they’re elderly, and if they live alone.”
Here’s how to help the most vulnerable people avoid risk of fire in their homes. A short conversation might be all you need to have with an elderly or vulnerable person in order to get the fire safety message across and find out how at-risk they are.
Here are some of the most important questions to ask:
Have they got a smoke alarm?
This should be never overlooked, and Home Office statisticians have worked out that you are eight times more likely to die in a house fire if you do not have a working smoke alarm. So a smoke alarm should be working properly and be within range of the places a fire is most likely to start.
Check how they’re cooking
Impart general advice about cooking and fires within the kitchen. Help them understand the importance of double-checking if all appliances are off.
It’s also vital to keep flammables away from surfaces and open flames, and to throw away old oil in pans and crumbs in the toaster.
Do they own dangerous appliances?
Find out the make and models of their main household appliances and do a quick check online into whether they are the type that have had problems in recent years. Recently Whirlpool hit the headlines for faulty washing machines. A quick online check of the serial number can put minds at ease.
How are they living?
Have the conversation or around how they are living, and whether they could be any potential fire risks in their home. How is the wear and tear of their wiring? Are they keeping areas around plugs and electrics clutter-free? Even a build-up of dust close to sockets and heaters can ignite a flame.
Smoking
Smoking and ashtrays are the biggest killer from fires in the home. So we all need to stress the importance of being ultra-careful with smoking materials around the home. Watch out and make sure cigarettes are extinguished properly and talk to them about never smoking in bed.
Hidden dangers
It might be surprising to people that fires can start in the most obscure ways – from the sun having a magnifying effect from glass ornaments or vases on windowsill onto curtains or carpets, igniting a flame.
Hair styling tools being left on are also a danger, as is overloading sockets, leaving appliances running during the night or electric blankets being on for too long. It might seem obvious but it’s not to everyone.
The three Cs: Candles, chimneys and Christmas lights
We should all be reminded to be careful with the things we bring out exclusively in winter, when it’s cold outside. There’s very little ventilation and everyone tends to be indoors more. Candles, chimneys and Christmas lights are responsible for fires in homes every year, so let people know how important it is to be careful with them.
Plan an escape route
In the event the worst does happen, then there is far more likelihood of having a better outcome if a plan has been put in place beforehand. Knowing where to get help, who to contact, how to respond, what to do and how to keep calm will give everyone a little more peace of mind too.
A cat missing for nine months and presumed dead is reunited with a grieving young girl – and her reaction is priceless.
After nine months of searching for her beloved cat, 10-year-old Katya Harmon had reluctantly accepted that she wouldn’t see Timmy again. The pair had been inseparable since they bonded eight years previously and the loss made 2020 an even more difficult year for Katya.
Katya’s father Perry had died of cancer in the summer and the family was so overcome with grief that her mother Svitlana took extended leave from her role as a care home worker to come to terms with the loss and care for Katya.
In January the Surrey family moved from Chertsey to West End, Woking. Timmy was kept indoors for the first few weeks but, on only the second time being let out in his new neighbourhood, he failed to return home. They searched garages and sheds, knocked on doors and posted on social media, but no sightings were reported.
Katya was inconsolable for weeks, living in hope of his safe return. After being missing for nine months, mum Svitlana felt the time had come to accept that Timmy was gone for ever and she would need to help her daughter heal. The process started with Svitlana getting rid of Timmy’s toys and bedding, unaware that their luck was about to change.
Within days, Svitlana received a ground-shaking call while doing the school run. Incredibly, Timmy had been found safe and well and would be coming home, thanks to him being microchipped (https://youtu.be/moZDgX-dfEc).
Pauline Welch, Welfare Officer for Cats Protection’s Woking and District Branch said: “We had a report from a lady who had been feeding a suspected stray cat for a couple of months. I went round and scanned him for a microchip, which he had thankfully. While there I looked up the number on our system and saw that it had been registered to an address in Chertsey.”
Although Svitlana hadn’t updated their address on Timmy’s microchip, her mobile number remained the same and Woking’s Cats Protection team (www.cats.org.uk/woking) was able to call and break the happy news.
Pauline said: “The lady who answered was indeed missing her cat Timmy and was over the moon that he’d been found. Her daughter had been devastated when he went missing and had asked her mum that very morning if she’d ever see him again. It’s a heart wrenching story with a happy ending.
“It certainly brought a few tears to our eyes, that’s for sure!”
Relieved mum Svitlana was bowled over when she took the call. She said: “I had just taken Katya to school when I received a totally unexpected call from Cats Protection. I had given up hope of ever receiving such a call. Timmy was coming home. It was almost unbelievable.
“I knew that Katya would be overjoyed to see Timmy. That was when I hit on the idea of filming that special moment, to capture Katya’s reaction to finding Timmy hiding on her bed.”
No sooner had Pauline made the call than Timmy was delivered back to his home.
All the while Katya was at school and couldn’t imagine the surprise waiting for her on her return.
Thankfully, Svitlana captured that moment when Katya is reunited with her beloved cat on video: https://youtu.be/moZDgX-dfEc
The joyful return of Timmy went some way to improving a devastating year for Katya and her mum.
Svitlana said: “We’ve had it hard this year, like so many people. It has been hard to see any end to it. And then I had a miracle call from Cats Protection. It really brought some light back into our world.
“If it wasn’t for that microchip, we wouldn’t have Timmy home with us now. He won’t leave Katya’s side and she is besotted with him. He came back to us two days before my birthday; that really was the best present I could have hoped for this year.”
Cats Protection’s work is possible thanks to the generous donations of supporters and volunteers, especially during the COVID-19 crisis when fundraising has been hit hard.
Timmy’s story mirrors Cats Protection’s Christmas campaign featuring a tear-jerking animation created by multi award-winning Aardman Studios. The beautiful three-minute animation is inspired by the true story of a young boy and his missing cat, Casper, and highlights the value of microchips for pets.
According to Cats Protection’s CATS report 2020*, over a quarter (26%) of owned cats in the UK are not chipped. The charity is actively campaigning to change this by making it a legal requirement for cats to be microchipped, as it is for dogs.
Plans for a new mixed-used student and residential quarter in the Abbeyhill area of Edinburgh have been given the go ahead by the City of Edinburgh Council.
The Abbey Lane development brings together a 298-bed student complex with 66 new homes on the half-acre site, near London Road. Artisan Real Estate will deliver the homes, while Unite Students will develop the student accommodation.
Artisan bought the former industrial estate site in 2016 and Unite Students acquired the option to purchase the site in July this year. The estimated total cost for the development is in the region of £24 million.
Artisan will deliver 66 apartments including affordable homes and retail units built around a landscaped courtyard. The design includes a generous amount of green space, including a courtyard area, green roofs and roof gardens.
Welcoming the planning approval, Clive Wilding, Artisan’s Group Development Director, said: “This is part of a £90 million investment commitment by Artisan to raise the standards of sustainable living at several prime city centre brownfield sites across Edinburgh.
“Abbey Lane will be a great example of mixed-use living in a superb central location. As well as reducing urban sprawl by optimising the number of people living in well-designed, energy-efficient homes in low car-use locations well-served by public transport, we are also envisaging what people want from their living environment, post-Covid 19.
“Significant emphasis is placed on the quality of internal space and light to create enjoyable home-working environments, whilst accessible gardens and landscaping promote health and well-being by making nature and well-designed outdoor space integral to the day-to-day living experience.”
Nick Hayes, Group Property Director, added: “We welcome this decision to grant planning consent. We believe this development will enhance the on-going regeneration of an important part of Edinburgh city centre.
“Throughout the planning process, we have engaged with the local community and are looking forward to continuing that important work during the development phase of this project. Edinburgh has an undersupply of purpose-built student accommodation and we’re confident that this development will further improve the vibrant Abbeyhill area of the city.”
Charities in Scotland are among those sharing £37,730 in the latest round of funding from Leeds Building Society Foundation.
The Foundation, which works to support those who are disadvantaged, socially isolated or in vulnerable circumstances, is helping charities in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Airdrie, Fife and Auchindarroch.
Grants totalling £6,158 will:
Buy props and equipment for Indepen-dance in Glasgow, to allow disabled people to participate in remote dance and movement sessions
Provide two Merida Big Seven mountain bikes to the Preshal Trust in Glasgow, for its weekly cycling fitness programme
Purchase digital equipment and mobile phones for Bright Lights Relationship Counselling in Edinburgh, so remote counselling sessions can continue
Buy seven mini-portals for Firsthand Lothian in Edinburgh, to facilitate online games, art, craft and mindfulness sessions to support mental health
Furnish a new therapy room for those who have experienced abuse for the Moira Anderson Foundation in Airdrie
Provide laptops and iPods for Fife Young Carers to support young carers in keeping up with their education online
Purchase electronic tablets for Developing Potential SCIO in Auchindarroch, to enable mental health support workshops to continue running remotely
In the latest funding round, a total of 42 charities across the UK have benefitted from donations totalling £37,730.
“We’re pleased to be able to assist these charities supporting people in need in communities in Scotland,” says Gary Hetherington, the chairman of Leeds Building Society Foundation.
“The pandemic has presented many extra challenges for charitable organisations of all sizes.
“Whether revamping technology to provide more online facilities or investing in PPE to offer help to maintain more in-person services in a COVID secure environment, these grants will greatly assist the vital services offered within these local communities.”
The Foundation is funded by the Society and its members via the Your Interest in Theirs scheme*.
It primarily provides grants towards practical items that directly support those in need including those with disabilities, affected by homelessness, or with serious health issues.
Applications for grants can be submitted throughout the year and are reviewed by the Foundation quarterly. To find out more, charities should visit the Leeds Building Society website.
GMB slams “Shameful” Scottish Government update on Home Care Testing
Responding to Health Secretary Jeane Freeman’s statement to parliament yesterday, confirming that COVID-19 testing for home care workers will be ‘phased-in from mid-January’, Rhea Wolfson of GMB Scotland’s Women’s Campaign Unit said:“This is a shameful admission from the Scottish Government. Our members delivering home care services across the country will be outraged to be left at the back of the queue again.
“In all probability it will be March 2021 before every home care worker has testing at work and staff could very well be receiving their vaccinations before they ever receive a test.
“Last March the First Minister told us that Scotland was prepared for this pandemic and that Scotland had among the best testing capacity in the world. This was a tissue of lies.
“COVID has exposed how poorly Scotland’s carers are valued and today’s statement is the equivalent of kicking an exhausted workforce when they are already down.”
Statement given by Health Secretary Jeane Freeman to Parliament on Wednesday 25 November:
Last week in this chamber, I updated members on our plans to deliver COVID vaccinations. Today, I am grateful for the opportunity to update on our plans to significantly expand testing.
This further expansion is possible because of increases in our testing capacity – coming from the 3 new NHS regional hub laboratories, from Lighthouse laboratories, and from new testing options.
Yesterday the Glasgow Lighthouse Laboratory reached the remarkable milestone of 5 million tests processed. Work on our three new Regional Hubs in NHS Scotland is progressing and I want to thank our microbiology, virology and healthcare science workforces who have built the largest diagnostic capacity and are a critical part of Scotland’s COVID response
New options come from innovation in testing outside our labs – notably the new lateral flow devices – bringing us significantly greater capability to test more people, more often.
I will come on to how we will use this capability, but first, I would like to say a few words on these new tests.
Lateral Flow Devices are rapid turnaround tests, where samples are processed on site with no lab required and results are available in under half an hour. The type we are using first in our expansion – the Innova lateral flow test – has had extensive clinical validation by Public Health England and Oxford University.
This validation found the Innova lateral flow test has an overall sensitivity of 76.8% – meaning it will identify more than 7 in 10 positive cases of COVID. That rises to over 95% of those with high viral loads – those that are likely to be those most infectious.
Understanding this matters, because as we have said consistently from the outset, no test is 100% accurate, and testing on its own, does not reduce transmission. It only helps stop transmission through the actions taken following the result – to isolate if positive and give contact tracers all the information about where we have been in the period when you may have been infectious, so close contacts can be identified and told to isolate, all of that aimed at killing off the chain of transmission.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has announced plans to expand #coronavirus testing in Scotland’s health and social care sector, as well as across the wider community.
Testing is one layer of protection. All the others from reducing contacts, keeping our distance, wearing face coverings, enhanced infection prevention and control in our NHS and care settings to vaccines when they come all of them only work to greatest effect when they work together.
Our senior clinical and scientific advisers recently reviewed our Testing Strategy, and their advice was clear and unanimous: test people with symptoms, test for clinical care, and when capacity allows – prioritise to protect those most vulnerable from the worst harm. We now have that increased capacity and will extend testing now to many more people
By the start of December we will extend testing to all hospital admissions to emergency departments, acute assessment centres, maternity units and emergency mental health units. By mid-December we will extend that testing to all medical and surgical elective admissions.
We will extend our routine testing of healthcare workers. Everyone working in patient facing roles in all of our hospitals, the Scottish Ambulance Service, Covid Assessment Centres in the community and the healthcare professionals who visit care homes, will receive twice weekly testing.
The scale of this challenge is not to be underestimated – NHS Scotland employs over 170,000 people – and, while not all are in patient facing roles, the number who are is considerable.
We know our frontline NHS staff are at the highest risk of being exposed to COVID-19. We know when community transmission rises, so too does the risk of outbreaks in our hospitals.
So we will phase in this extension from the start of December, to be completed by the end of that month.
I know that all those NHS staff who continue to deliver an extraordinary service and understand so well all they need to do to protect themselves and the patients they care for will welcome this additional layer of protection.
We will extend testing in social care. There are up to 42,000 care home residents across Scotland, all of whom are entitled to a designated visitor. We will use lateral flow testing on the day of the visit, so that if that test is positive family members can take immediate action to isolate and avert the harm that could have arisen.
We will roll out lateral flow testing to up to 12 early adopter care homes across 4 local authority areas from 7th December. Learning from that we will roll out to a further number of homes across an additional 7 local authorities before the 21st December, with full roll out across all homes completed over January and early February.
Whilst this is positive progress and I hope it is good news, I am mindful of the approaching Christmas period and I do not want any resident or family member to be disadvantaged. So for those not included in the lateral flow early adopters before Christmas, we will provide access to PCR testing in the weeks beginning 21, 28 December and 4 January.
Family and loved ones know better than anyone that testing provides an additional layer of protection. On its own it doesn’t give risk-free visiting but combined with appropriate PPE and strict hand hygiene I hope it allows more relatives to visit their loved ones, reduces isolation and loneliness for care home residents and gives providers the additional confidence they need to facilitate more visits
There can be no question that the home care workforce do one of the most critical jobs – supporting and caring for people so they can continue to live as independently as possible in their own home.
From mid-January, we are extending our testing programme to them, including permanent and visiting staff and personal assistants to a person’s home and covering residential settings, sheltered housing and day care.
This is a large group of people doing very important jobs but the very nature of the job they do means they work individually in a number of different homes and settings.
The logistics of this are not straightforward and we will phase this in for care at home staff also from mid-January, starting in those local authority areas with the highest virus prevalence at the time and expanding out from there to cover the whole sector by March.
With the significant capability now available to us we are also extending asymptomatic testing to entire groups and communities – to help us find positive cases even before a person develops symptoms.
As members know, we are doing this first in partnership with our universities so that tens of thousands of students can travel to their family homes safely at the end of this term.
All students leaving their term-time address will be offered two lateral flow tests, three days apart, from next week.
And as part of the details to be set out shortly for the staggered return of University students in the New Year, testing will be put in place for them once more
All school staff can currently access testing if they are concerned they have been at risk from infection and we have enhanced surveillance in schools undertaken by PHS.
But I know that as transmission has risen or stayed stubbornly high in some of our communities, especially those now in Level 4, school staff may have had concerns about risk. We will maintain current access to asymptomatic testing but last week the Deputy First Minister also gave a clear commitment to explore extending testing further.
I am pleased to confirm that from the return of the school term in January, we will undertake a number of pathfinder testing programmes on deliverability in the school environment with the objective of establishing a sustainable programme of asymptomatic testing amongst school staff.
Our testing capability now enables us to work with local partners to trial whole community testing in exactly those areas where transmission has stayed stubbornly high. Next week we will be deploying up to six additional MTUs and 20,000 home test kits to support work in five local authority areas – Glasgow, Renfrewshire, East and South Ayrshire and Clackmannanshire.
We will also set up an asymptomatic test site using lateral flow testing in Johnstone in Renfrewshire, which has one of the highest new cases per 100,000 of any local authority in Scotland.
This centre will have the capacity to test up to 12,000 people over the course of the week. And we are actively planning wider targeted deployment for early January, including further asymptomatic test sites.
In deploying mobile units, home test kits and trialling the Asymptomatic Test site, we will work closely with local communities to harness their expertise to encourage high participation.
Presiding Officer, testing is undeniably important, but it is just one layer of protection. Many layers are needed to fight this virus.
Our increased capability now to test more people, more often is potentially powerful as we navigate our way through the coming months as safely as we can and alongside our nation-wide vaccination programme.
With the plans I have set out in this chamber today, we will move to testing hundreds of thousands of people without symptoms to actively find the virus and with the continuing cooperation of people across Scotland, prevent and break down chains of transmission before COVID-19 can cause the harm we know it is capable of.
Edinburgh College is providing businesses across Edinburgh and the Lothians an opportunity to access training aimed at promoting positive mental health among all employees.
Recent research conducted by the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH), published last week, shows that 50% of people with mental health problems have reported their mental health has been worse in the last few weeks than at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
And while this statistic cannot be solely attributed to the isolation caused by the mass shift to home and remote working, employers do have a responsibility to ensure their teams have a work environment which is healthy for all.
Indeed, a recent study carried out in the United States by FlexJobs and Mental Health America (MHA) found that 75% of workers have experienced burnout in 2020, with 40% citing it as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic with ongoing remote working appearing to be a contributing factor.
Edinburgh College’s Training and Development team is utilising financial support from the Scottish Government to offer free Mental Health and Resilience courses to businesses across Edinburgh and the Lothians to support their employees’ mental health – both inside and outside of the workplace.
Through the Flexible Workforce Development Fund, staff of all levels from firms of varying sizes can participate in courses including: Mental Health Awareness; Mental Health for Managers; Building Resilience; Understanding Depression and Anxiety, among many others. Bespoke training packages comprising elements from various courses can also be created to meet clients’ needs.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, these courses would have been delivered on campus or at client offices, however the College’s Training and Development team has adapted to deliver courses via Zoom and Microsoft Teams – following the launch of its Virtual Professional Training Prospectus.
Edinburgh College has delivered 200 mental health training sessions in 2020. Since the start of term 2020/21 – August 2020 – 765 students have enrolled on mental health courses.
Edinburgh College Head of Commercial Jane Grant said: “Positive mental health is vital in all settings, including the workplace.
“Our team of expert trainers and lecturers are here to deliver training to support employers and employees in maintaining positive mental health across the organisation, particularly in the current times where teams and individuals are working in new and remote circumstances.”
Find out more about the Flexible Workforce Development Fund
Edinburgh College’s Training and Development team is holding an event to showcase the free training and development opportunities available to thousands of businesses across Edinburgh and the Lothians.
The virtual event will give businesses an introduction to the Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF) – a fund which apprenticeship levy-paying businesses across the public, private and third sectors, can access to secure a wide range of training courses to help them to upskill and reskill their staff.
The event, which is taking place online via Zoom, is being held on Tuesday 1 December 2020 from 8.30-9.15am.
The College’s Training and Development team will deliver a short presentation on the fund before engaging in a question and answer session. Delegates will also hear from Kelly Cunningham of East Lothian Care and Accommodation Project (ELCAP) who will talk about her experience of utilising the FWDF to upskill and reskill her team.
Through the FWDF, businesses can apply for varying levels of funding towards training for their employees – up to £15k for apprenticeship levy-payers, and up to £5k for SMEs. This funding can be used by businesses of all different types.
Register your place for the Virtual Flexible Workforce Development Fund event here:
The Edinburgh Scrapstore is having a Winter Open Day this Sunday 29th November between 11-2pm. Come along to stock up on your crafty bits and pieces for the winter. Why not try some of the lovely scrap fabrics available to wrap presents this holiday season?
As the weather is getting colder the open day will happen inside the hub. Therefore, to maintain physical distancing we will have 30 minute time slots available to book for free. Each time slot will be limited to a certain number of people.
The time slots available are:
11.00 – 11.30
11.30 – 12.00
12.00 – 12.30
12.30 – 13.00
13.00 – 13.30
13.30 – 14.00
To book a time slot, please e-mail Toni at community@grantonhub.org with your preferred time slot (and if a household or bubble how many people are attending). Toni will then confirm with you if your chosen time slot is available.
Cash only for purchases please. We are operating a one-way system within the hub. Please use the original main entrance (white door pictured below) to enter the hub. If you are able to, please wear a face mask inside and use hand sanitiser prior to entering the hub.
Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House on Wednesday 25 November:
Good afternoon. Thanks for joining us. I will give you today’s statistics first of all as usual.
There were 880 positive cases reported yesterday which is 6.8% of the total number of tests that were carried out. That means the total number of confirmed cases so far throughout the entire pandemic is 90,961.
260 of the new cases were in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 190 in Lanarkshire, 122 in Grampian and 94 in Lothian.
The remaining cases were across 8 other health board areas. 1,161 people are currently in hospital – that is 36 fewer than yesterday. 84 people are in intensive care, that’s the same as yesterday.
And finally, I regret to report that 44 additional deaths have been registered in the past 24 hours of patients who first tested positive in the previous 28 day period. The total number of deaths under this measurement that we use on a daily basis is now 3,588.
However, National Records of Scotland, as it does every Wednesday, has just published its weekly update, that you will recall includes cases where COVID is a suspected or contributory cause of death in addition to those that we report daily where COVID has been confirmed through a test.
Today’s update shows that by Sunday just past, the total number of registered deaths linked to COVID under that wider definition, was 5,380.
244 of those deaths were registered over the course of the last week, that is actually 35 fewer than in the week before.
And that is the first decrease in the weekly number of deaths that we have seen since the end of September. Any reduction in the number of people dying is of course good news, but any feeling of relief that we feel about that must be tempered by a recognition that the number of deaths is still far too high.
160 of last week’s deaths occurred in hospitals, 67 occurred in care homes, and 17 at home or in another non-institutional setting.
Now every single one of those deaths was of an individual who will be right now mourned by friends and family. So again today, as it is important to do every day, I want to convey my condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one as a result of this virus.
Now I have a couple of issues I want to cover today before I, with Professor Leitch, will take questions from the media.
The first is that literally as we will be speaking here today the Chancellor of the Exchequer will, in the House of Commons, be delivering his autumn statement.
Over the course of this pandemic, the Scottish Government and the UK Government have worked together constructively on many issues and I will come on to talk about arrangements for the Christmas period in a moment and that is one of those issues.
But we have also welcomed several of the Chancellor’s recent decisions; for example the extension of the Job Retention Scheme until the spring.
But we do believe there are several areas where families and businesses are likely, as a result of the pandemic, to continue to need help even after April of next year and that’s when many of the current support mechanisms are scheduled to end.
Now the kind of areas I am talking about would include rates relief for businesses, and the uplift to universal credit for households and individuals.
So we are very much hoping that today’s statement brings clarity and positive news on these issues.
That would be very important in providing certainty as all of us continue to cope with the immediate impact of COVID. And of course it would provide the Scottish Government with greater clarity as we prepare our own budget which will be presented to the Scottish Parliament in January – and that budget will provide more details of the support we are able to provide for businesses and individuals into the next financial year so the more clarity we have from the Chancellor about the overall spending envelope would be very welcome.
Now the second issue I want to cover and perhaps take a few moments to dwell on today is yesterday’s announcement about arrangements for the forthcoming Festive period.
Let me tell you that the Scottish Government will be publishing more detailed guidance fleshing out what we said yesterday, we will do that later this week, hopefully tomorrow (Thursday), and I will set out some further details in Parliament ahead of the weekly session of First Minister’s questions.
The festive period will be different for us all this year.
Watch our video on the changes we’re making to address isolation and loneliness ⬇️
Remember, just because you will be able to meet people indoors doesn’t mean you have to.
However as you will undoubtedly have heard yesterday the four UK nations decided that for a five day window over Christmas – that means from 23 December to 27 December inclusive – we will relax slightly the current rules on travel and household meetings.
This relaxation will enable you – if you feel it is necessary and that is a point I want to stress and I will come back to that point shortly – if you feel it is necessary the relaxation will enable you to form a bubble of up to three households over that five day period.
Now let me stress, if you choose to do that, it has to be just one bubble. You can’t chop and change it over the 5 day period. And none of the households in a bubble can form another bubble with other households.
Now, as is the case with most of these COVID decisions, some of you will think this a reasonable decision that we have arrived at, others of you will think it doesn’t go far enough, and many of you will think it is a terrible decision and it goes way too far and my email inbox has all of these views expressed within it today.
But I think that just reflects a reality that none of what we are dealing with right now, none of what we are seeking to steer and navigate our way through, is straightforward. And speaking as First Minister, as head of the Scottish Government, we agonise over all of these decisions and often we are trying to balance all sorts of different factors and come to, not a perfect outcome, because in a pandemic I am not sure there is such a thing, but come to the outcome that balances best all of these competing factors and desires that people have.
And on this particular occasion what we are trying to do is reflect a reality that for some people, whether I like it or not, sticking rigidly to the current rules over Christmas – if that means, for example, leaving loved ones on their own – is something that some people might not be prepared to do.
So rather than just leave everyone to try navigate that themselves and decide their own boundaries, we came to a decision to try to set out some outer limits and some boundaries that we are asking people to work within.
But and this is the key point. Notwithstanding that decision which is trying to recognise a reality that I have just set out, that does not mean that we are positively encouraging people to get together.
I want to stress today that just because we are allowing people to create a bubble it does not mean you have to do it. And, if you do choose to do it at all you don’t have to do it the maximum permitted.
We are relying on people, as we have been throughout this entire pandemic, but maybe particularly over these next few weeks, we are relying on people across the country, to make informed choices about whether or not to come together at all over the Christmas period.
We recognise that for many people, supporting others and their families by being with them, will be something that they feel is essential. But for others, it won’t be essential, and you might choose this year therefore to mark Christmas very differently to how you normally would.
Because the virus will not have gone away by Christmas and it is really important that I am very straight with you about that and we know bringing people together at home, carries risk.
That is why we are asking people not to meet in each other’s homes right now. And of course after 8 months of very hard and very painful sacrifice, of keeping loved ones as safe as possible, and now that we are so close to a possible vaccine, we all have to ask ourselves if that is a risk we personally want to take.
So as I say we will produce guidance to help you come to these decisions and to minimise risks for those of you who do choose to come together albeit in a limited way over the Christmas period.
As I said before we will set out more detail tomorrow. But let me repeat some key points which you will no doubt hear me reiterate over the weeks between now and Christmas.
The first point is this. If you can get through this Christmas staying in your own home, within your own household, please do so. That would be the safest decision and that I guess is the default advice that I am giving to people.
However, If you feel you need to see somebody from another household, please limit that as much as possible.
Remember what I said about the five days, three households. That is the outer limits. That should be seen as a maximum. Stay as far within that as you possibly can.
And if you feel it is essential to see others, think about how you do that think about whether you could do that differently to how most of us traditionally celebrate Christmas, particularly Christmas Day.
So for example and I know this is something I am thinking in my own personal circumstances, instead of meeting indoors for Christmas go for a family walk together, exchange presents on the way, see each other outside. All of this sounds difficult and strange, but we are living in difficult and strange times.
And of course if you are indoors with people from other households during this limited window, keep the literal windows open. Follow all the hygiene rules. It will be difficult to remember that I know, but wash your hands, clean the hard surfaces in the house that you are in and keep a physical distance as much as you can.
That will be the hardest thing of all if you are with loved ones. Not hugging them. And trying to keep apart, but it is really important we all remember and don’t allow to go by the wayside these really important rules we have been living by.
The fact that I am stressing all of this, despite the announcement we have made yesterday, underlines that yesterday’s decision was not an easy one in fact it was a really difficult one I am sure for all of the governments involved.
We know that the festive period means a lot to people, it means a lot to us as well as individuals, and we know in particular it can be an especially difficult time to be alone or to feel isolated.
Because of that, many people – in seeking to do the right thing over Christmas – will come to the view that for them that means spending some time with friends and loved ones.
And it is for that reason that we have decided to provide some rules and guidance that will minimise the risks of that. But these rules, if you exercise the flexibility they give you, still have a risk attached to them.
We know that people can be infectious without having symptoms of COVID, so all of us find it really hard to fathom and believe and comprehend that it might be our family gathering that is the one that has a risk attached to it. But it may well be, particularly if you are bringing together people in different generations that risk to vulnerable people can be great and that is exacerbated indoors.
So all of this is difficult. Governments agonise over these decisions and I am sure families will be coming to very difficult decisions as well. We are trying to give a framework in which we can all reach these decisions, but I will continue to ask you to err on the side of caution, to think about the safety of loved ones and not to forget how close we may now be to an end of this pandemic and if you have been making painful sacrifices for eight months to keep those you love safe then think about whether you want to take a risk with their safety at this eleventh hour in this horrible journey that we are all going through.
And one final point I want to stress before moving on to questions is this one.
While we are all thinking about Christmas as is inevitably the case as we get towards December Christmas is still four weeks away and the most important thing we can all do right now – to make not just Christmas as safe as possible but the period after Christmas as safe as possible – is to reduce the number of people that are infectious now and for all of us that means sticking to all of the rules and guidance that is in place right now.
This afternoon Muirhouse Living Rent members will be highlighting Edinburgh council’s home repairs failures in chalk outside Pennywell Road shops before hand delivering their demands regarding the repairs process within Edinburgh Council properties to council buildings on West Pilton Gardens
This action comes after repeated instances of residents’ repairs’ needs being ignored, delayed or delivered to a poor standard and seeks to call Edinburgh council’s attention to the wider repairs system
Tenants demand that Edinburgh city council introduce measure to improve delays, satisfaction and communication regarding repairs
Today, from 1pm – 3.30pm, Living Rent members from Muirhouse will gather to protest the failure of Edinburgh City Council to provide an adequate standard of repairs to council properties in the area.
Members’ will write a wall of complaints in chalk complying with social distancing measures to bring the council’s attention to the significant delays, lack of communication, and poor quality repairs across these properties which have left many residents living with long-term mould, damp, drafts, and leaks.
Information received from a Freedom of Information request shows that despite there being less than 5,000 council properties in the North West locality of the city, to date there are 1,390 uncompleted repairs jobs.
Residents also learned that in the last year alone, the council received over 2,815 repairs complaints relating to heating systems and 1,472 relating to plumbing works with the average time taken for a repair to be completed being 35 days – this is despite a 2019 Edinburgh council report revealing that 90% of homes in Muirhouse required repairs [1].
Ongoing issues with severe damp, mould, and leaks in Muirhouse residents’ homes is contributing to respiratory health problems with one resident being told by her doctor that her mould-ridden property was no longer safe for her and her child to live in.
Edinburgh council advice to residents suffering with extreme mould and damp is to ventilate and heat the property, but owing to the structural insulation problems across many of the blocks, heating the properties sufficiently is a costly process.
Some families across the blocks estimate their winter heating costs to be as high as £50/week – adding to problems of fuel poverty in an area where one in three children live in poverty [2].
Amidst a global pandemic, accessing secure, safe and quality housing is more important than ever, and residents fear that the upcoming winter will exacerbate the consequences of unaddressed repairs issues.
Following the chalk wall of shame on Pennywell Road, tenants will proceed to march down to the West Pilton Gardens Council offices where they plan to deliver their letter of demands by hand.
These demands include:
– A new system by which tenants must sign-off on all repairs jobs prior to the council closing the case – Tenants to be given ‘repairs process’ satisfaction forms after the completion of each repair – Having a named council employee who works in the repairs department who is designated to be responsible for all repairs cases across Muirhouse – Tenants to be given a deadline for any second repairs visits within 24 hours of the first visit by a tradesperson or council worker – Tenants request Edinburgh council provide a reasonable timescale within which all repairs should be resolved
Muirhouse tenant and Living Rent member, Shafiq, said: “I have been waiting for over nine months for a leak repair. My home is permanently damp and causing respiratory problems during a pandemic – and I’m not even living in the worst flat in my building!”
Another Muirhouse-based Living Rent member highlighted that “this type of behaviour by Edinburgh council shows the need for an in depth review of their system which is clearly failing tenants in the middle of a pandemic, when access to warm, secure and quality housing is crucial to health”.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled a Spending Review ‘for the whole of the UK’ as he laid out plans to help every corner of Scotland to build back better and fight coronavirus.
The Chancellor announced that Scotland will receive £2.4bn of new funding from the UK Government in 2021/22 through the Barnett formula for devolved areas such as health and social care, education and housing.
This is double the £1.2bn new funding provided for 2020/21 at the 2019 Spending Round.
It is also in addition to the £8.2bn guaranteed to the Scottish Government in 2020/21, above the funding allocated at the Spring Budget earlier this year, in the face of the coronavirus and its impact on the economy.
Scotland will also receive a significant boost from more than £100bn of capital investment across the UK in 2021/22, improving connectivity and productivity.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: This Spending Review will help people in every corner of Scotland. It will provide billions of pounds to fight coronavirus, deliver the peoples’ priorities and drive the UK’s recovery.
“The Treasury is, has been, and will always be the Treasury for the whole of the United Kingdom. And this is a Spending Review for the whole of the United Kingdom”.
Speaking after the Chancellor delivered the UK Government’s Spending Review, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: “The UK Government’s Spending Review delivers for all parts of the UK at this challenging time. Never before has the strength of the Union, and the role of the UK Treasury, been more important.
“The UK Government pledged to bring funding decisions back from Brussels, and our plans for a new UK Shared Prosperity Fund will deliver on this promise. Communities across the UK have been hit hard by Covid, so I welcome the Chancellor’s announcement today of £220 million in additional funding in the coming financial year. This will be delivered by the UK Government across the UK, working in partnership with local authorities and communities.
“We made a commitment to maintain funding for our vital rural and coastal communities and are fulfilling that through £570 million to support farmers and our rural economy, and £14 million to support Scottish fisheries. Additional funding for broadband will help boost the economies of some of Scotland’s most remote communities.
“Accelerating the Tay, Moray, Borderlands and Islands growth deals is great news. It will help support jobs and drive economic recovery across swathes of Scotland.
“The new UK Infrastructure Bank will help support our post-covid economic recovery. A billion pounds for our net zero climate change target will ensure the UK remains a world leader in climate action, ahead of us bringing the world to Glasgow for COP26 next year. And the new counter-terrorism operations centre will help keep people in all parts of the UK safe from global threats.
“The Scottish Government will receive an additional £2.4 billion in Barnett Consequentials. This is over and above the £8.2 billion they have already been allocated since March this year. This additional funding will help support jobs and public services in Scotland while we fight the pandemic.
“The UK Government will continue to do all it can to support people in all parts of the United Kingdom.”
The Chancellor used the Spending Review to reaffirm his commitment to growth across Scotland – announcing an £11m acceleration of City and Growth Deal funding over each year remaining in four Scotland Deals.
Tay Cities, Borderlands (Scotland), Moray and the Scottish Islands will be funded over 10 years, rather than 15 years, releasing funding more quickly to enable projects to come online sooner.
By bringing forward the investment, Tay Cities will receive an additional £6.3m each year, Borderlands (Scotland) an extra £2.1m, Moray an extra £1.1m and the Scottish Islands an additional £1.7m.
Projects announced today include the Gigabit and Shared Rural Network programmes for better mobile coverage.
The Gigabit programme subsidises the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband in the most difficult to reach 20% of the UK, while the Shared Rural Network programme is a partnership with industry that will deliver high-quality 4G mobile coverage across 95% of the UK by 2025.
Investment in new green industries will support green growth clusters, offshore wind capacity, port infrastructure, Carbon Capture and Storage and low carbon hydrogen.
The global underwater hub, funded by £1.3m announced at today’s Spending Review, will eventually comprise of physical presences in the existing underwater engineering cluster in North East Scotland.
Separately, institutions and companies in Scotland will also be able to access a £14.6bn UK-wide research and development fund.
The Government today confirmed funding for the next stage of the Plan for Jobs – including £1.6bn for the landmark Kickstart scheme in 2021/22, which will see the creation of up to 250,000 government-subsidised jobs for young people.
The apprenticeship hiring incentive that launched in August will also be extended to 31 March 2021, offering employers up to £2,000 for every new apprentice they hire.
Investment from EU Structural Funds is increasing in each of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 21-22 compared to this financial year.
The Spending Review provides additional UK funding to help local areas prepare over 2021-22 for the introduction of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Further details will be published in the New Year.
The UK Government has delivered on its manifesto commitment to maintain funding by providing £570m to support farmers, land managers and the rural economy, and £14m to support fisheries in Scotland.
The Government committed to boost local economies by establishing at least one Freeport in each of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with locations to be jointly decided by the UK Government and the devolved administrations.
And on the cultural front the Government announced £29.1m for Festival UK with projects expected across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The UK Government’s recent announcement of record spending on defence will also directly benefit Scotland as it finances the UK’s order of 8 Type 26 and 5 Type 31 frigates, which are currently being constructed on the Clyde, creating thousands of jobs.
At this Spending Review Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will benefit from UK-wide coronavirus support in health, including £15bn for Test and Trace with Barnett funding provided for England-only elements of the programme.
RESPONSES
Responding to Rishi Sunak’s Spending Review, Roz Foyer, STUC General Secretary, said: “This Spending Review is a kick in the teeth to those very same workers Rishi Sunak was clapping months ago.
“Despite thousands of workers in the private sector surviving on furlough pay at 80%, Rishi Sunak choose to attack public sector pay. This is a levelling down agenda, not a levelling up one.
“Very few people will be fooled by his attempts to pit care workers against shop workers or low paid council workers against low paid cleaners. All need a decent pay increase, and they all need it now. If the Chancellor wants to equalise public sector and private sector pay, he should have ensured that workers cannot be furloughed on less than the minimum wage and increased the minimum wage to at least £10 per hour. 18 pence on the minimum wage is pennies, when we need pounds.
“£250 for lower paid public sector workers is the exact same policy introduced by George Osborne in 2010 and still amounts to a pay cut for many.”
Ms Foyer also criticised other funding announcements: “This was the moment to announce a massive fiscal stimulus to drive a green recovery and the Chancellor totally missed it.
“While we await details for the new National Infrastructure Bank and funding for the devolved administrations, the figures announced come nowhere near the amount needed.
“Moreover, instead of devolving funding and power to local communities, the Levelling Up Fund centralises control in Whitehall and enables the Treasury to pick and choose which pet projects it will support.
“Cutting international development funding to 0.5% of GDP shows that for all its talk of global Britain, this Government doesn’t really care for world’s most vulnerable.
“The Chancellor’s statement also did nothing to address the gaping holes in our social safety net. With unemployment likely to rise to 7.6% next year, the Government must commit, as a minimum, to continuing the £20 uplift in Universal Credit so people can weather that storm while they look for work.
“Workers in Scotland know that key workers deserve a pay rise. They will see through Rishi Sunak’s con trick.”
Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive of Local Government Information Unit Scotland,said: “Scotland now knows the amount of the block grant that it will receive. Those parts of the Spending Review that apply to Scotland show that the UK Government is not learning the lessons of the pandemic and that they remain wedded to an over-centralised approach.
“Many will be struck by what was absent from Mr Sunak’s statement. For Scottish local government, it’s the big picture that matters as they wait to hear what Scottish Government allocations will be as each council decides on their budget priorities. How will the Shared Prosperity Fund be allocated? How will the impact of Brexit on local economies be mitigated? On these issues we have learnt nothing.
“When it comes to infrastructure, the centralising tendency of the British state was on full display today. The £4 bn levelling up fund is to be administered by the Treasury, MHCLG and Department for Transport. Local areas will bid against each other and Whitehall will pick the winners. Proposals must have the support of their MP, but local government once again doesn’t seem to be part of the picture.”
Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said: “The chancellor Rishi Sunak has delivered a body blow to the public sector workers he has targeted to bear the brunt of the costs of the pandemic with a pay freeze – his so-called ‘pause’.
“It is doubly disappointing that the chancellor has adopted ‘divide and rule’ tactics over public sector pay with an award for NHS staff, but a freeze on pay for millions of others, such as teaching assistants, who are already low paid.
“The sop of £250 to the two million public sector workers earning under £24,000-a-year is insulting and compares badly with the inflated sums that the government has wasted on PPE contracts for those with links to the Tory establishment.
“This mainly female workforce already juggle work commitments, childcare responsibilities and care for elderly relatives yet kept vital services running throughout the pandemic, at times due to government failures in PPE provision, risking their own health in the service of others.
“It is also a blow to local economies and high streets where public sector workers spend a large proportion of their wages.
“The prime minister’s ‘levelling up’ agenda is in tatters as a result of the chancellor’s divisive pay announcement which does nothing to restore the ‘lost’ pay in real terms from a decade of austerity.”
Andrew Carter, Chief Executive of Centre for Cities said:“The Chancellor’s ambition to level up the country is welcome, as is the clarity on infrastructure in the national strategy.
“But for levelling up to succeed, it needs to be about more than infrastructure and one-off funds. We need to see sustained, multi-year investment and decisions like those announced by the Chancellor today – on skills, transport and housing – devolved and joined up at a local level.”
