Author: davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer

Scots urged to take up energy advice for free

lightbulbPeople across Scotland are being urged to take advantage of a new offer to seek assistance to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, helping to reduce household energy bills.   

Energy Minister Fergus Ewing today announced that from July 1, households can apply for a free Green Deal assessment which, once completed will provide advice on how homes can be made greener and more energy efficient and qualify households for a Green Homes Cashback voucher.

Getting loft insulation, for example, can reduce energy bills by up to £175 per year, while replacing single-glazed windows with double glazed ones could save the average home around £165 per year.

And taking simple steps to draught-proof can cut £55 per year off the average property’s energy bill, while getting a new, energy efficient boiler could save a three bedroom home owner up to £300 annually.

Mr Ewing (pictured below) said: “It is my belief that everyone in Scotland should live in a warm and safe home that doesn’t cost the earth to heat.  In these current economic times, it is more important than ever that people take advantage of money saving opportunities like these when they can.

“There is a wide range of financial support and offers available to Scottish households to support them when it comes to making the decision that is right for them.  And from today, households can apply for a voucher for a free home energy assessment.

“I would urge anyone who would like to reduce their energy bills to contact the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Scotland hotline line as soon as possible to find out about how to get a Green Deal assessment and to find out about the offers available to them.”

Fergus Ewing

More information on the Green Deal assessment and on how to apply  for a Green Homes Cashback voucher can be found at  www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland or by telephoning the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Scotland hotline -free – on 0808 808 2282

 

Scottish universities ‘leading the way’

Education Secretary Michael Russell has welcomed figures which show graduates of Scottish universities are entering professional jobs more quickly and earning higher starting salaries than graduates in the rest of the UK.

Today’s publication by the Higher Education Statistics Agency outlines 90 per cent of Scottish university graduates go into either employment, further study or a combination of the two after leaving, putting Scotland ahead of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The figures also show:

  • The average salary for first degree graduates in full time employment in Scotland was £21,000, compared to £20,000 from English universities, £19,000 for qualifiers from Welsh universities and £20,000 for qualifiers from Northern Irish universities.
  • 16 per cent of Scottish university leavers went into further study, compared to 13 per cent in English universities, 15 per cent for Welsh universities and 10 per cent for Northern Irish universities.
  • Six per cent of Scottish university leavers were unemployed six months after graduating, compared to seven per cent from England universities, seven per cent from Welsh universities and eight per cent from Northern Irish universities.

Mr Russell said:

“Today’s figures demonstrate the advantages of a Scottish degree. As these figures show, our universities are leading the way, with graduates more likely to go on to further study or employment, to have a higher starting salary and to be in a professional occupation than graduates from other parts of the UK.

“While I strongly welcome these figures, we recognise the continuing challenges of securing employment and avoiding underemployment.  That’s why we are continually engaging with the higher education sector and employers to improve employment opportunities. For example, we fully support Universities Scotland working closely with small and medium sized businesses to open up more paid work opportunities for graduates. As a Government, our strong message to employers is to make young people your business.

“We have provided over £1 million over the last three years to support high quality, paid graduate placement and recruitment programmes. We fully intend to support the coherent provision of graduate opportunities again this year and will announce our plans in due course.”

Napier University graduates celebrate their awards
Napier University graduates celebrate their awards

Have your say on poverty and inequality in North Edinburgh

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povertyNorth Edinburgh residents have an opportunity to have their say on how best to tackle the growing gulf between rich and poor at a session in the City Chambers next week.

The city council is to host a ‘tackling poverty and inequality’ workshop session, specifically for North Edinburgh residents, on Wednesday 3 July from 10am – 12.30pm at the Business Centre, Centre Chambers.

The city council’s Tracy Boxall explained: “This workshop has been  organised by the Poverty and Inequality Theme Group, part of the  Edinburgh Partnership’s community planning arrangements in the city.  The  Theme Group currently has four main work streams, one of which is considering actions or interventions  to tackle poverty and inequality in the  city.

A sub-group of city  partners, headed up by Dr Margaret Douglas from NHS Lothian, is progressing the  development of a ‘framework’ of actions, with the aim of shaping future  work to tackle poverty and inequality.  The sub-group is now seeking  wider input to the framework’s development.  The workshop you have been  invited to is part of this process.  It will be facilitated by the  independent organisation, Poverty Alliance.

Workshop participants  (local people and other representatives from Neighbourhood Partnerships) will be  asked to work together, firstly by considering the causes of poverty and  inequality.  The workshop will then explore what actions are  needed to address the issues; the extent to which the actions are in place  already in the city; their impact; and what more might be  done.

The outputs from the  workshop will be written up and passed back to the Poverty and Inequality Theme  Group, to help inform their future work and that of city partners.  The  overall findings will also be shared with you as soon as possible.

Prior to the session, a  background paper on poverty in the city will be circulated for your  information. I hope that you are able  to attend to help with this important work.“

Interested? Please RSVP to tracy.boxall@edinburgh.gov.uk

Conference

poor

Green light for City Park development

cropped-top-logo1[1]A local campaign to stop the development of City Park has failed. At a meeting of the city council’s Development Management Sub-Committee of the Planning Committee this morning councillors accepted officer recommendations to approve a substantial housing development on the site off Ferry Road.

The decision will be a huge blow to local residents who have fought a long campaign against the redevelopment of the site which was formerly home to Spartans. campaigners argued for the need to retain open green space in a heavily developed area, but councillors gave the go-ahead for the new residential development which will consist of seven apartment buildings with associated car parking.CIDDYEarlier this month Save City Park campaigners thanked local people for their support. In a statement on their website, the group said: ‘Thank you all for your support of our campaign to Save City Park. We submitted a petition with almost 1000 signatures to the Council and approximately 300 comments were received by the planning office regarding the proposed residential development of City Park/West Winnelstrae. This was a superb effort by all and your ongoing support is very much appreciated. Our next step is to secure the long-term future of City Park as public green open space.’

It now appears that the long-term future of City Park will not be green, but housing.

CITY PARK

 

Letter: Warning – pensions under attack

Dear Editor

Pensioners of today and tomorrow, be aware: the government is laying the ground for further attacks on pensions and pensioners benefits.

First, they have to divide opposition, for example by saying they wish to be fair by stopping the wealthy getting the winter heating allowance. It sounds fine, but does that mean the introduction of a means test for everyone to qualify? And who sets the level?

Other benefits, such as travel passes, television licence and free medicine prescriptions – things to help pensioners maintain some quality of life – are threatened: the government is looking to see if the nation can ‘afford’ them.

The campaign of setting one section of people against another is well-prepared, with millions of words and pictures; every person working or retired is the target. Just a few figures:

  • 31% of the population are of retiring age; not all get a full pension as many qualifying conditions apply
  • The government is raising the age of retirement for women from 60 to 65 by 2018 and for both men ad women to 66 by 2020, with increases to 67 and 68 later on
  • The ‘full’ state pension is only approximately one sixth of the average age
  • The amount paid out in pensions from the total wealth produced in one year is approximately 5%, yet the percentage of the population’s pensioners is 31% (and most have contributed to a pension scheme throughout their working lives).

Just two further points: today’s working population, who now produce all the nation’s wealth, were raised, loved and cared for by our pensioners. Today’s working population and pensioners combined have massive voting power: use it!

Tony Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens

 

 

 

Edinburgh College students guaranteed NHS employment

EdCollEdinburgh College Health and Social Care students will soon be guaranteed employment on successful completion of their course, thanks to a new partnership with NHS Lothian.

The NHS NC in Health and Social Care will be delivered at Edinburgh College, where students will learn a high standard of care to be job-ready for employment in the NHS and social care sectors.

The ground-breaking course is the first of its kind at the College to offer a guaranteed position for graduates who successfully complete the course, giving them a head start in the Health and Social Care industry.  Course topics will include psychology and sociology as well as mental health, health promotion and understanding older people.

Mandy Exley, Edinburgh College Principal, says: “This course is yet another example of Edinburgh College’s commitment to producing students who, on completion of their studies, are well trained and highly employable. We are pleased to be working in partnership with NHS Lothian in training the healthcare professionals of the future.”

Melanie Hornett, Nurse Director, NHS Lothian, said: “We are committed to working with communities to support local people into employment. This innovative partnership provides individuals with the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills needed to compassionately care for the people of Lothian in our hospitals and communities.”

To apply for the course, applicants must have a minimum of four passes at SCQF Level 5 (SVQ2, Intermediate 2 or Credit Standard grade) including English. Adults without formal qualifications will also be considered however they will need to demonstrate their ability to work at Higher Level.

Students who complete the course successfully and have a satisfactory college reference are guaranteed entry level employment within NHS Lothian, as long as they meet the essential criteria of the post.

For further course information, please visit www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk.

19/06/2013

Living in Harmony update

harmony1Pilton Community Health Project’s Anita Aggarwal gives an update on a key local initiative:

Since the closure of Community Organisation for Racial Equality (CORE), PCHP, Community Learning and Development (CLD) and Edinburgh Lothian Regional Equalities Council (ELREC) have been working together to try to minimise the impact of the loss of this important organisation.

The City of Edinburgh Council commissioned a report which examined the ongoing needs of BME communities in the area.  This highlighted the difficulties people have integrating with the local population, as well as a host of other issues.

You’ll find that report here:  Living in harmony 13

At this point it was felt important to involve other agencies and more local people in this process, and so we pulled together an action planning session on 31 May.

Over 30 people attended this event, representing a wide range of local people and organisations.  At this event we identified actions to be taken and many committed to take these forward.

These actions are recorded in this document:  action plan 31.5.13 final

If you weren’t able to be at the event and have ideas about how you or your organisations can contribute please add them in to the plan.  This document is an aid to action, not a fixed strategy document to sit on a shelf and get dusty!

We agreed to come back to discuss next steps at another meeting, when we will look at what progress is being made and how we resource some of the ideas on the action plan.

The next meeting will take place at the

Spartans Community Football Academy on Friday 19 July from 10 – 12.

This meeting is open to anyone – please contact me on 0131 551 1671 if you need crèche.

Anita Aggarwal

PCHP