People with gambling issues are more likely to be turning to the activity this festive period than last year, according to new research from the gambling support charity, GamCare.
In a recent survey from YouGov of over 4,000 UK adults*, commissioned by the charity, three-fifths (59%) of those who experience problems due to their gambling** say they are more likely to gamble at Christmas than other times of the year – up from 37% last year.
Advisers on GamCare’s National Gambling Helpline are highlighting how the festive period can be a testing time for those struggling with their gambling, as well as family and friends affected.
Last December, the Helpline saw a 39% increase in calls and online chats compared to the same month in the previous year, making it the busiest Christmas period on record.
Additionally, the survey highlights:
Over half (53%) of people gambling at harmful levels say they have spent money intended for presents, food, or other seasonal expenses on gambling.
Nearly three in five people gambling at harmful levels (59%) are more likely to gamble during the festive season compared to just 6% of people who gamble without issues.
For those gambling at harmful levels more than half (53%) reporting increased feelings of stress or anxiety due to gambling and 56% said that gambling made them feel more isolated.
Two in three (65%) people gambling at harmful levels have concerns someone in their family or household might overspend on gambling during the festive period. This compares to one in 25 (4%) of those who are not.
Mark Weiss, Deputy Chief Executive, at GamCare said: “The festive period can be a difficult time for those struggling with gambling, but it can also provide a good opportunity to open up about the issues you’re facing.
“Our new research shows that there has been an increase in people who already have gambling issues saying they are more likely to gamble over the festive period than at other times of the year.
“GamCare’s National Gambling Helpline provides free confidential support 24/7, 365 days of the year – including Christmas Day and the whole of the festive season.
“There are many ways you can get support, whether it’s calling an Adviser or using our live chat and WhatsApp features in case you are concerned about privacy while family and friends are around.”
GamCare Helpline Advisers often hear about the financial strain caused by early December paydays. One Helpline Adviser said:“An extra temptation to gamble can stem from most people having an early December payday.
“This, alongside the added financial pressures associated with Christmas, the influence of alcohol, changes in routine, and high-profile sporting events, can conflate the struggles someone with gambling harms may already be going through.”
Another Helpline Adviser said: “There’s a lot of image consciousness around Christmas and people feel the pressure to go further than they can financially afford. Whether it’s presents, food, or family spending, all of these things can lead to debt.
“The anxieties and pressures of Christmas creates a drive to find additional funds. Therefore, some people may be thinking about using gambling to fund the financial pressures that Christmas brings.”
GamCare’s Helpline Advisers are available one-to-one over the phone or on live chat 24 hours a day on 0808 8020 133.
People can also get free one-to-one support sessions through the National Gambling Support Network, wherever they are in Great Britain.
First Minister John Swinney commented on the anniversary of the Lockerbie bombing
Scottish Secretary Ian Murray has also spoken about the Lockerbie bombing, on the 36th anniversary of the atrocity yesterday [21 December 2024]
Mr Murray said: “Thirty six years on from the terrible tragedy of the Lockerbie bombing, it is right that we take time to remember those who lost their lives, and indeed all those affected by what happened that night.
“Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the 270 who perished in the air and on the ground, and all those in the town who saw such devastation rain down on them.
“I know that there are strong and enduring links between the Lockerbie community and Syracuse University, and it is heartening to know that something positive has come out of such unimaginable horror.”
Preliminary Notice of Anti Cuts Conference – Saturday 18th January 2025
Augustine United Church – George IV Bridge Edinburgh
9.30 am – Doors Open – Tea/Coffee and Biscuits
10.00am – 1pm Conference
The Conference is being convened by Edinburgh Trade Union Council and the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC).
The purpose of the Conference is to consider how best to fight the social care and health service cuts that are being planned by the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB).
Crucial budget decisions are going to be made by the Scottish Government and the City Council over the next two or three months which will determine the level of cuts.
The conference will discuss how best to lobby to obtain the resources needed to meet service demands. This will include the services provided by the 64 third sector organisations Edinburgh that are threatened with cuts and redundancies.
The conference is open to the public. The agenda will be an introductory session, workshops and a final plenary session. The conference will have input from speakers from the STUC. We will invite a speaker from amongst the Councillors on the EIJB and a speaker representative of Edinburgh community health organisations.
We hope the conference will be able to draw up a City wide plan for lobbying and campaigning.
More details of the conference will be circulated on Monday 6th January 2025. Any comments or queries in the meantime will be responded to on 23/12/24 and 27/12/24.
Consultation launched on improving safety in the sector
The public is being asked for their views on how best to further regulate non-surgical cosmetic procedures to improve client safety.
Independent healthcare clinics in Scotland are already regulated by Healthcare Improvement Scotland, but the sector across the UK is not fully regulated.
The number of procedures which pierce and penetrate the skin is increasing and the Scottish Government is considering what requirements can be put in place to reduce the potential for harm from riskier procedures.
The new consultation builds on a previous one in 2020 and puts forward more detailed proposals for what that further regulation could look like.
Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health Jenni Minto said: “It is distressing to hear of cases where people have suffered as a result of non-surgical cosmetic procedures going wrong.
“The current gaps in regulation means that anyone can perform most of these procedures without the need for any formal training or qualifications and this consultation aims to gather a wide range of views on how best to address this.
“We want to make sure procedures are carried out by appropriately qualified and skilled practitioners so that clients have peace of mind. We are aware of the potential impact on businesses and we are working with a range of stakeholders to make sure we get those details right.
“Ultimately, our goal is to ensure that robust and proportionate regulation is introduced to ensure that people who choose to have these procedures, can do so with the confidence they will be safe so please let us know your views.”
Chair of the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners, Professor David Sines CBE said: “I warmly welcome the Scottish Government’s decision to consult on this new, proposed scheme of regulation and licensing.
“In my opinion the proposals included in this consultation document will dramatically improve consumer safety and reduce the risk of injury and harm arising from improperly performed cosmetic treatments. Nothing is more important than public protection and patient safety.
“I would urge everybody to support this move towards sensible and proportionate regulation in this important sector.”
JOSEPH ROWNTREE FOUNDATION’s COST OF LIVING TRACKER – WINTER 2024
The Government must tackle stagnant levels of hardship as part of their mission for growth, with worse living standards to come if no action is taken.
As Rachel Reeves unveiled her first budget for the new Labour Government, the 7th wave of our cost of living tracker captured the experiences of low-income households in the UK.
Collected between 8 and 31 October, surveying 4,065 households in the bottom 40% of incomes, our key measures of hardship remain entirely unchanged from 6 months ago, despite some key economic conditions easing. We find in October 2024 (see Figure 1):
7 million low-income households (60%) were going without the essentials in the previous 6 months, including 5.4 million experiencing food insecurity in the previous 30 days
4.3 million low-income households (37%) were in arrears on at least one household bill or credit commitment.
We also find around a 3rd of households (34% or 4 million households) held a loan they originally took out to pay for food, housing or essential bills worth around £9.6 billion in October 2024.
These findings of stalled progress track with our microsimulation modelling, which shows that disposable incomes after housing costs are forecast to fall over the rest of this parliament. Households in the bottom 40% of incomes are projected to be £440 worse off per year in real terms by October 2029, compared to October 2024.
If the Government are serious about ending the need for emergency food parcels, tackling child poverty and growing the economy, they must take bold action to prevent living standards from deteriorating further, and build strong foundations for household economic security for the future.
Economic context: flatlining disposable incomes
Our modelling shows that disposable incomes after housing costs for households in the bottom 40% of incomes fell in October 2021 and have flatlined since (see Figure 2).
This is caused by a complex economic picture of high prices and recovering wages:
Inflation has returned broadly to target since April 2024, at around 2%, however high inflation since the end of 2021 has baked in higher prices in areas such as food, and other costs such as energy are rising again.
Private rents have continued to increase ahead of inflation, up 8.7% in the year to October 2024.
Interest rates have now seen two cuts, to 4.75%, but the full impact of elevated interest rates is still feeding through to mortgage costs.
Real earnings growth returned from mid-2023, but has slowed this year, while the National Living Wage increased by 9.8% in April 2024.
From April 2024, benefit rates were uprated by 6.7%, and LHA was unfrozen with an average annual increase of £785 per household, so our data reflects several months of these uprated payments.
Going without essentials
The number of low-income households going without essentials like food, heating and showers remains at 7 million in October 2024, entirely unchanged from 6 months ago. This number has not dropped below 7 million since October 2022, showing persistent and embedded hardship in the UK (see Figure 3a).
Low-income households are routinely going without enough food, with 5.4 million unable to afford enough food in the 30 days prior to the survey in October 2024 (46%). This includes 5.2 million families cutting down or skipping meals (44%), and 3.8 million going hungry (32%) (see Figure 3b). While food insecurity is down from a peak of 5.9 million households, or half of all low-income households in October 2023, it is unchanged from May 2024 (46%).
Some groups within low-income households continue to face very high risk of going without essentials. In October 2024, 86% of low-income households on Universal Credit (UC) went without essentials and 82% of low-income private renters in receipt of housing benefits.
Neither group has seen any improvement since the last survey, with uprating and unfreezing of housing benefits in April 2024 only maintaining existing levels of hardship. Other demographics at high risk of going without essentials include 87% of lone parents and 85% of families with 3 or more children, around 8 in 10 households with a black respondent (81%) and around three quarters of private (76%) and social renters (75%) (see Figure 3c).
For the first time, we can report on families in receipt of different health and disability related elements of UC, who will be amongst those subject to the Government’s benefit reform.
We find around 9 in 10 low-income households receiving the Limited Capability for Work element (90%) and Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity element (88%) were going without essentials in October 2024.
The recent Get Britain Working white paper signalled a welcome reset in approach to supporting disabled people into work. But making arbitrary cost savings of £3 billion the starting point for reforms risks undermining this and leaves uncertainty hanging over disabled people at greatest risk of hardship.
We have also seen no progress on the depth of hardship, with the number of essentials households are going without flatlining. Of those who are going without essentials, we have consistently seen around a 3rd going without 4 or more essentials in every wave of the survey (see Figure 3d). Families on Universal Credit are almost twice as likely to be going without 4 or more essentials than families not on any benefits in October 2024 (45% compared to 24%).
There has been no progress on the number of households in arrears, with 4.3 million low-income households (37%) behind on at least one household bill or credit commitment in October 2024, completely unchanged from the 6 months before (see Figure 4a).
Overall low-income households owe around £6.1 billion in arrears across all household bills and credit commitments. £2.3 billion of this is owed on bills with high consequences if you fall behind, including council tax, rent or mortgage payments and energy bills. For example, falling behind on council tax bills could make you liable to pay a years’ worth of council tax immediately. In October 2024 12% of low-income families are in arrears on their council tax, owing an average amount of £540.
Around 1.5 million low-income households (13%) are currently in arrears on their energy bills before we even head into winter. Those who are behind owe an average of around £500, and 58% of these households are in arrears with 4 or more different bills. A member of JRF’s Grassroots Poverty Action Group told us how normally over the summer period they are able to get on top of energy bills they have fallen behind on during the winter, but this summer that wasn’t possible.
Rent arrears also remain stubbornly high, with 18% of renters behind on their rent, largely unchanged since October 2021. They owe an average of £620 in arrears for rent alone. We find 13% of renters prioritised their housing bills over their other bills in the last 12 months, but 38% of those who did that were unfortunately still in arrears with their rent, showing that many low-income renters are out of options. Arrears for mortgage holders have improved however, with 12% in arrears in October 2024 compared to 16% a year ago in October 2023.
Within low-income families, some groups experience far greater risk of being in arrears. Families where someone has caring responsibilities are almost twice as likely to be behind on their bills compared to families where there are no carers (55% compared to 29%), and are unsurprisingly more likely to be going without essentials too (76% compared to 53%).
Other groups continue to be at elevated risk of being behind on their bills, including 66% of households with a black respondent, and 6 in 10 families with 3 or more children (62%) (see Figure 4b).
However there are some positive trends with some of the most at-risk groups seeing a sustained fall in the proportion in arrears, including households with respondents aged 18-24, families on Universal Credit and lone parents. While still incredibly high, these are at least moving in the right direction.
As with the overall picture of arrears, progress on the depth of arrears has stalled. There had been a steady downwards trend in the amount of money families owed following a peak in October 2022 of £1,630, but this had stopped in October 2024. Of those in arrears, the average amount owed was around £1,430.
In May 2024 we saw a promising sign of the proportion of households behind on 4 or more bills falling, however this hasn’t continued in October 2024 with 3 in 10 or 1.3 million families who are in arrears behind on 4 or more bills (31%) (see Figure 4c). Being behind on multiple lending commitments and bills to different providers negatively impacts people’s credit file and their ability to borrow in future.
Being behind on your bills is one type of debt, while another is where families have used credit to pay for things. Taking on a loan in and of itself isn’t a bad thing, however it becomes concerning when families rely on credit to cover essentials, can only access high-cost credit, or fall behind on repayments.
While many of our key measures of hardship have remained unchanged, the proportion of low-income families who hold loans they took out to pay for essential costs has moved in the wrong direction. In October 2024, 4 million low-income households (34%) held £9.6 billion of loans they originally took out to pay for food, housing or essential bills like council tax or energy (see Figure 5a).
This is very similar to a year ago, when 3.8 million low-income households (32%) owed £9.2 billion for these essentials loans. Taking on debt to pay for essentials has not been enough to prevent hardship, with nearly 9 in 10 of these families going without essentials in October 2024 (88%) and 7 in 10 behind on their bills (71%).
In October 2024, 2.2 million low-income families (19%) held high-cost credit loans, from unregulated lenders (loan sharks), doorstop lenders, payday lenders or pawnshops (see Figure 5b). The proportion who hold these loans had been falling since October 2022, but it has now risen for the first time. While the value of high-cost credit and unregulated loans has increased to £3.2 billion in October 2024, it is still lower than a year ago, at £4.1 billion in October 2023.
The total amount of debt across all unsecured loans and credit (see methodology note) currently held by low-income households has also increased in October 2024 to £23 billion, up from £19 billion in May 2024 (see Figure 5c). While still less than the £26 billion peak in October 2022, debt levels are now back to levels seen in October 2023 (£22 billion). The proportion of families who hold each type of debt in October 2024 mirror our findings in October 2023. It is largely the proportion of households holding each type of loan which has driven the total amount of debt held back up, rather than the amount of debt held for each loan type increasing.
During the cost of living crisis there was a tightening in the availability of affordable credit, due to stricter eligibility requirements, high interest rates and regulatory changes. These factors are likely to have contributed to the fall in loans between October 2022 and May 2024. As interest rates now ease, the availability of unsecured credit now appears to be increasing according to lenders surveyed by the Bank of England.
The proportion of low-income families who applied for loans or credit stayed the same from May to October 2024 at 55%, with three quarters of those who applied approved (75%). However there was a decrease in the proportion of those who applied and were declined in the previous 6 months, down from 14% in May 2024 to 9% in October 2024. We will continue to monitor this, a greater availability of credit may allow more families to take on loans, as seen in the reduction in families being refused credit in the last 6 months.
The October 2024 Budget was big in terms of the increased tax take and investment, but in reality will deliver very little change for low-income households. There were some positive changes such as restoring spending on public services, reducing the amount of deductions from benefits and extending the Household Support Fund (albeit at a lowered level). However our modelling shows these changes will only have limited impact for low-income families and Government must go much further to meaningfully shift the dial on hardship.
Using microsimulation modelling we converted macroeconomic forecasts from the OBR into household-level impacts for the bottom 40% of incomes to show the outlook over the rest of this parliament1. We find that average disposable incomes after housing costs are projected to be £440 per year lower in real terms in 2029, than they are in October 2024. This is largely being driven by rising housing costs, which we can see (from Figure 6a) means that relatively flat gross incomes lead to declining net (post-tax, disposable) incomes once housing costs are taken into account.
Our latest modelling shows the variation in experiences for households across the income distribution. While households across the income distribution are forecast to see their living standards fall throughout the rest of the parliament, households in the bottom 20% of incomes see a significantly larger proportional drop (see Figure 6b).
This story has yet again set out the embedded levels of hardship facing low-income households in the UK, alongside modelling which shows a stark warning that things are projected to get much worse over the rest of this parliament.
JRF is calling for the Government to place economic security for households at the centre of their mission for growth, to place growth on a surer footing and ensure change is felt by households who need it the most.
Firstly, the Government must make immediate progress on bringing down hardship by:
introducing a protected minimum amount of support 15% below Universal Credit’s current basic rate, as a first step towards an Essentials Guarantee – this would restrict the amount of reductions to benefit payments, including from debt repayments and the benefit cap
reforming the Household Support Fund and Local Welfare Assistance in England so everyone has somewhere to turn for immediate cash help in a crisis
unfreezing LHA and permanently relinking it to local rents
expanding the Warm Home’s Discount, to increase the level of support and widen eligibility to include people in receipt of disability benefits
increasing the rate of means tested benefits for carers, to help protect those on the lowest incomes from poverty
from 2025, not pursuing similar cuts to those planned by the previous Government, and committed to by Labour, to Universal Credit’s Work Capability Assessment ‘activities and descriptors’
scrapping the ‘two-child limit’ on support for children in Universal Credit and tax credits.
Secondly, the Government must also build the foundations of a stronger social settlement that can provide real economic security for families now and in the future. This would mean an Essentials Guarantee in Universal Credit to ensure everyone has a protected minimum amount of support to afford essentials like food and household bills.
It would also mean reform to the housing system, including increased funding for social house building. It would mean introducing an energy social tariff, that will support low- and middle-income households through the transition to net zero, by targeting the high and rising energy costs families are facing.
It would mean reducing risks for disabled people wanting to work and improving trust in the social security system, by working with disabled people to develop a replacement for the Work Capability Assessment and implementing a comprehensive Work Transition Guarantee.
And finally, a rethink of our care infrastructure so that parents have access to the right kind of childcare that allows them to work if they want to, as well as proper financial support for people who need to temporarily step away from work to help care for a loved one.
Together, these changes build strong foundations in the social security system to build lasting economic security for all, so that we can finally stop reporting that 7 million low-income households are going without essentials.
Households across all continents wasted over 1 billion meals a day in 2022, while 783 million people were affected by hunger and a third of humanity faced food insecurity. Food waste continues to hurt the global economy and fuel climate change, nature loss, and pollution.
These are the key findings of a UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report published today, ahead of the International Day of Zero Waste.
The UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024, co-authored with WRAP,provides the most accurate global estimate on food waste at retail and consumer levels. It provides guidance for countries on improving data collection and suggests best practices in moving from measuring to reducing food waste.
In 2022 there were 1.05 billion tonnes of food waste generated (including inedible parts), amounting to 132 kilograms per capita and almost one-fifth of all food available to consumers. Out of the total food wasted in 2022, 60 per cent happened at the household level, with food services responsible for 28 per cent and retail 12 per cent.
“Food waste is a global tragedy. Millions will go hungry today as food is wasted across the world,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.
“Not only is this a major development issue, but the impacts of such unnecessary waste are causing substantial costs to the climate and nature. The good news is we know if countries prioritise this issue, they can significantly reverse food loss and waste, reduce climate impacts and economic losses, and accelerate progress on global goals.”
Since 2021, there’s been a strengthening of the data infrastructure with more studies tracking food waste. Globally, the number of data points at the household level almost doubled. Nevertheless, many low- and middle-income countries continue to lack adequate systems for tracking progress to meet Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 of halving food waste by 2030, particularly in retail and food services.
Only four G20 countries (Australia, Japan, UK, the USA) and the European Union have food waste estimates suitable for tracking progress to 2030. Canada and Saudi Arabia have suitable household estimates, with Brazil’s estimate expected late 2024. In this context, the report serves as a practical guide for countries to consistently measure and report food waste.
The data confirms that food waste is not just a ‘rich country’ problem, with levels of household food waste differing in observed average levels for high-income, upper-middle, and lower-middle-income countries by just 7 kg per capita. At the same time, hotter countries appear to generate more food waste per capita in households, potentially due to higher consumption of fresh foods with substantial inedible parts and a lack of robust cold chains.
According to recent data, food loss and waste generates 8-10 per cent of annual global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – almost 5 times that of the aviation sector – and significant biodiversity loss by taking up the equivalent of almost a third of the world’s agricultural land. The toll of both food loss and waste on the global economy is estimated at roughly USD 1 trillion.
Urban areas are expected to particularly benefit from efforts to strengthen food waste reduction and circularity. Rural areas generally waste less food, with greater diversion of food scraps to pets, livestock, and home composting as likely explanations.
As of 2022, only 21 countries have included food loss and/or waste reduction in their national climate plans (NDCs). The 2025 NDCs revision process provides a key opportunity to raise climate ambition by integrating food loss and waste. The Food Waste Index Report underscores the urgency of addressing food waste at both individual and systemic levels.
Robust baselines and regular measurement are needed for countries to show changes over time. Thanks to implementation of policies and partnerships, countries such as Japan and the UK show that change at scale is possible, with reductions of 31 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.
“With the huge cost to the environment, society, and global economies caused by food waste, we need greater coordinated action across continents and supply chains. We support UNEP in calling for more G20 countries to measure food waste and work towards SDG12.3,” said Harriet Lamb, CEO of WRAP.
“This is critical to ensuring food feeds people, not landfills. Public-Private Partnerships are one key tool delivering results today, but they require support: whether philanthropic, business, or governmental, actors must rally behind programmes addressing the enormous impact wasting food has on food security, our climate, and our wallets.”
UNEP maintains tracking country-level progress to halve food waste by 2030, with a growing focus on solutions beyond measurement towards reduction. One such solution is systemic action through public-private partnerships (PPPs): Bringing the public sector, private sector and non-government to work together, identify bottlenecks, co-develop solutions, and drive progress.
Appropriate financing can enable PPPs to deliver farm-to-fork reductions in food waste, drive down GHGs emissions and water stress, while sharing best practices and encouraging innovation for long-term, holistic change. PPPs on food loss and waste are growing worldwide, including in Australia, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, and in the UK where they have helped cut over a quarter of household food waste per capita from 2007-18.
To catalyse essential action towards reducing food waste and achieving SDG 12.3, it’s imperative to grasp the extent of food waste.
Measuring food waste allows countries to comprehend the magnitude of the issue, thereby revealing the size of the opportunity, while establishing a baseline for tracking progress.
The Food Waste Index Report 2021 marked a pivotal moment in understanding global food waste across retail, food service, and household sectors. It unveiled a greater availability of food waste data than anticipated, particularly at the household level, and revealed that per capita household food waste generation was more consistent worldwide than previously thought.
The Food Waste Index Report 2024 builds upon its predecessor in three key ways: Firstly, it incorporates vastly expanded data points from around the world, providing a significantly more robust global and national estimates, detailed in Chapter 2 of the main report. Secondly, it expands on the SDG 12.3 food waste measurement methodology introduced in the 2021 report, offering enhanced guidance on measurement across retail, food service, and household sectors.
This additional guidance delves into various methodologies, their strengths and limitations, and strategies for prioritising sub-sectors for measurement, as explored in Chapter 3. Lastly, the report transitions from focusing solely on food waste measurement to exploring solutions for food waste reduction. The chapter examines effective approaches to reducing food waste globally, with a spotlight on public-private partnerships in this 2024 report.
Quarter variant flies off the shelves with Edinburgh residents
Dobbies Edinburgh has introduced a new ‘Bakery to Go’ offering for local customers, just in time for the festive rush.
The new range, which is freshly baked in-store by the expert in-house team, offers a premium selection of cakes ideal for festive hosting and gifting.
Housed in convenient to-go boxes, Dobbies is offering a curated range featuring coffee and walnut; chocolate; lemon; and the classic Victoria sponge. However, since landing in the store, it is the quarter variant, which offers all four cake varieties in one, which has proven a huge hit with customers.
Customers can pick up a box from £8.99 for a single flavour or £9.99 for a mixed variant – perfect for sharing around the Christmas table, treating the family during the festive season, or gifting a sweet surprise to loved ones.
Amy Siergiejew, Head of General Merchandise at Dobbies Garden Centre, said: “We are really excited to introduce ‘Bakery to Go’ as part of our ongoing efforts to elevate the customer experience in Edinburgh.
“This offering delivers the exceptional quality and attention to detail that Dobbies is known for, in a format that suits the busy lifestyles of our customers.
“Combining the quality and freshness our customers expect, with the added convenience of a grab-and-go format, this reflects our commitment to delivering the best possible products for our customers – and our freshly baked cakes are ideal for the festive period.”
Now available at the Edinburgh and 16 stores across the UK.
An Edinburgh school student has been named a winner in the STEM Next global essay competition organised by the Scottish charity Techfest, which encouraged students to share their ideas about the future of industries in energy, medicine, and science.
TechFest is transforming STEM education and delivering a new generation of talent. STEM Next encouraged young people across the world to consider their future in Energy in Action, Medicine & Life Sciences, and Chemistry & Biological Sciences.
The competition inspired students worldwide, with winners across a variety of categories and nations including England, Scotland and South Korea.
Martha Gavan, Deputy Managing Director of TechFest, said: “STEM Next empowers young people to explore careers in STEM, helping them chart a path towards innovation and preparing them to lead in the industries of tomorrow.”
An Edinburgh school student has been named a winner in the STEM Next global essay competition organised by the Scottish charity Techfest, which encouraged students to share their ideas about the future of industries in energy, medicine, and science.
TechFest is a charity focused on making STEM education more engaging and inclusive in schools throughout the country whilst helping to connect STEM to various sectors.
STEM Next was a solo digital project that required independent research and writing, open to students aged 16 – 18 across the world.
Participants were invited to submit an essay between 1000-3000 words that addressed one of the provided essay questions, with three categories available: Energy in Action, Medicine & Life Sciences and Chemistry & Biological Sciences.
The competition aimed to inspire students worldwide, drawing winners from London, Kent, Edinburgh, and Dwight Seoul in South Korea.
Samantha van Rooyen from Wimbledon High School, Earl Xavier Fornillos from St. Bonaventure’s RC School, and Ishan Madhok from St. Paul’s School triumphed as 1st place winners, each taking home a £200 Amazon voucher.
Martha Gavan, Deputy Managing Director of TechFest, said: “STEM Next is a challenge designed in partnership with industry and education to help shape the future workforce.
“The competition is a fantastic chance for industry to connect with brilliant young minds and discover the next generation of STEM leaders.
“Early industry relationships can ignite a passion that shapes the future problem solvers in STEM. STEM Next offers an exciting opportunity for industry leaders to connect with the next generation of innovators.”
The project enabled TechFest to make introductions that provided entrants with valuable career insights while also helping to shape their interviewing skills as part of the research requirements.
Young people who competed in the STEM Next competition are eligible for CREST Awards, providing an opportunity for students to add additional achievements to their UCAS application.
In addition to developing their researching and writing skills, STEM Next also connects young people with industry professionals to learn first-hand about their chosen industry.
STEM Next is a collaboration with various partners including: Airswift, CNOOC International, Ocean Winds and Thistle Wind Partners (TWP).
Ruth Cameron, Managed Services Director EMEA at Airswift , said: “STEM Next is shaping the skilled workforce needed to tackle future challenges. This aligns with Airswift’s goal of transforming lives through workforce solutions in STEM industries.”
Victoria Allan, Buzzard Onshore Mechanical Support Engineer at CNOOC International, said: “At CNOOC International, our focus on delivering safe and sustainable energy aligned perfectly with STEM Next, which showcased bold and practical solutions from the world’s top young thinkers this year.”
Roger McMichael, Stakeholder Manager at Ocean Winds, said: “Ocean Winds is leading the global energy transition into a greener future, and we believe STEM Next provided extraordinary insight from the fresh perspectives of young people.”
Kirsty Macaulay, Stakeholder Engagement Manager at Thistle Wind Partners, said: “At TWP, we are committed to encouraging the next generation to explore STEM subjects and have been delighted supporting TechFest’s STEM Next competition. Congratulations to all of the winners!”
TechFest is interested in increasing industry partners for this project, if you are interested in sponsorship or volunteering, please get in touch via:
POLICE have released images of two more men officers believe might be able to assist with enquiries into an incident on Tuesday, 5 November, at Captains Road, in the Gracemount area.
The first male is described as a white, between 20 and 22-years-old, 5ft 4ins tall with a slim build. He was wearing a black baggy jumper with the hood up, a black Canada Goose puffer jacket with a logo on the left arm and dark trousers.
The second male is described as a white, between 20 and 25-years-old with fair/blond hair. He was wearing a grey North Face jacket with black sleeves to the elbows, then grey from elbow to wrists, a red hoodie underneath, black Nike trousers and black Nike trainers with white soles.
Detective Sergeant Steven Dick said: “We are keen to talk to these males as we believe they may have information which could assist with our enquiries. The males pictured, or anyone who may recognise them, are asked to please contact us.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact 101 quoting Gracemount incident dated 5 November 2024. Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Fifth Doctor Who, Peter Davison and Outlander actor, Graham McTavish are among the first stars to sign up for the tenth Capital Sci-Fi Con, due to take place in Edinburgh in February 2025.
The hugely popular convention, which has raised an incredible £430,634. for Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) over the last decade, will take place on February 15 and 16 at the O2 Academy.
The event brings together figures and fans from the world of film and television, comic book writers and artists, traders as well as fun movie set props and attracts thousands of visitors from all over Scotland with all profits going directly to CHAS.
This will be Pete Davison’s second outing the Con, having been a guest back in 2019. Janet Fielding, who played his companion Tegan in the hit TV show, will join him at the event.
As well as Outlander, Graham McTavish is well known for starring in The Hobbit film trilogy.
Other big names to also sign up for CSFC 2025 include Tamaryn Payne, the voice actress from Baldurs Gate 3 and Star Wars Outlaws and Amy Manson from HBO sci-fi thriller The Nevers and Once Upon A Time.
Laura Campbell, Head of Community Fundraising and Retail at CHAS said, “We’re delighted to announce Peter Davison, Graham McTavish, Janet Fielding, Tamryn Payne and Amy Manson as our first fantastic guests for our special tenth anniversary Capital Sci-Fi Con in 2025.
“With the event taking place in the new year we’re encouraging people to buy tickets as Christmas gifts this year while raising funds for vulnerable children across Scotland at the same time.
“We will be announcing more guests and also some very exciting props for photo opportunities over the coming weeks so stay tuned to the Capital Sci-Fi Con website and Facebook page.”
To find out more about Capital Sci-Fi Con 2025 and buy tickets visit:
