Category: North Edinburgh News

Latest COVID-19 funding allocations

Money for business support and vaccine programme

More than £1.8 billion of extra funding has been allocated to tackling the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland.

It covers areas including health, transport and business support, accounting for all but £330 million of the latest consequentials generated by UK Government spending. The remainder will be used to meet further urgent demands relating to both COVID-19 and Brexit up to the end of March 2021.

The funding is detailed in a letter from Finance Secretary Kate Forbes to the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Constitution Committee.

Ms Forbes said: “From the outset, I have ensured that the money we receive is distributed as quickly as possible to where it is needed most. Our decisions have provided vital additional resources to our NHS, schools and other public services, they have kept our transport system running and provided much needed financial support for businesses impacted by the pandemic.

“To provide full transparency, I detailed earlier allocations in the summer and autumn budget revisions. This latest round will deliver measures such as the COVID-19 vaccination programme, local business support packages and free school meals over the holidays.

“The UK Treasury has indicated that this funding covers the period up to March 2021, so I have allocated £330 million as a contingency to ensure we are in a position to provide further support to health and businesses, including for issues arising from Brexit, as it is required over the coming months.

“Our limited borrowing powers mean we do not have flexibility to increase spending to meet demand and therefore must manage our expenditure – much of which is demand led so cannot be accurately calculated in advance –  within the consequentials provided.”

The latest allocations include:

  • around £600 million for health and social care, wider public health initiatives and welfare support. This includes the COVID-19 vaccination programme, test and trace and the £500 bonus for health and social care workers. 
  • support for business and the wider economy totalling £570 million, including funding for the strategic framework, local business support packages, the newly self-employed hardship fund and local authority discretionary business funding
  • an estimated £139 million of previously announced funding for government, bringing the overall support package to councils to more than £1 billion
  • around £500 million to support transport services and cover pandemic-related income shortfalls within organisations such as Police Scotland, the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service

The latest COVID-19 consequentials bring the total received by the Scottish Government to £8.2 billion.

A further update on COVID-19 spending will be provided through the Spring Budget Revision in the New Year.

A copy of Ms Forbes’ letter to the Finance and Constitution Committee Convener Bruce Crawford is below:

Dear Bruce,

I am writing to update the Finance and Constitution Committee on usage and allocations to date of consequential funding received during 2020-21 as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.

We have drawn down and allocated this funding over the course of the year in response to what has been an exceptional and dynamic set of circumstances. I have updated Parliament on several occasions and, although a further update will be provided through the Spring Budget Revision in the New Year, I thought it would be helpful to provide further information in advance of that.

Around £6 billion of consequentials were allocated in the unprecedented Summer Budget Revision and as part of the Autumn Budget Revisions. Since then, consequentials provided have been increased to £8.2 billion.

I can confirm that thus far, further allocations have been provided as follows:

  • Around £600 million has been provided to health and social care, wider public health initiatives and welfare support. This funding supports the public health response to Covid including: vaccinations and test and trace; the £500 non-consolidated payment for health and social care staff; and the Winter Plan for Social Protection, which helps people pay for food, heating, warm clothing and shelter as well as free school meals over the school holidays and the self-isolation support grant.
  • Support for business and the wider economy of £570 million, including grants via the Strategic Framework, funding for local support packages, the newly self-employed hardship fund, digital support, Local Authority Discretionary Business Funding and remaining allocations from the £97 million support for culture and heritage.
  • Previously announced support for Local Government, relating to the estimated £90 million Lost Income Scheme as well as £49 million of additional funding confirmed to councils in September. Added to additional funding already committed, this brings the value of the overall support package to councils to more than £1 billion.
  • Around £500 million of funding to support continued provision of transport and funding for income shortfalls within our partner bodies including Police Scotland, the Scottish Funding Council, Registers of Scotland and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service in order to ensure that they can continue to deliver vital services, as well as mitigating shortfalls in devolved tax as a direct result of Covid-19.
  • Due to the nature of the Covid-19 outbreak, the potential asks for further demand led spend with regards strategic framework support for business in Scotland and additional demands on health, and the requirement that the funding provided to date will cover all costs until the end of March 2021, I have allocated £330 million of funding in order to support these asks. This is consistent with the terms of the funding guarantee provided by HM Treasury to the devolved administrations, which specified the funding was to cover the period until March 2021. This contingency is also required in order to support any additional funding requirements as a result of the end of the EU transition period.
  • The Scottish Government’s limited borrowing powers means we do not have flexibility to increase spending and therefore must manage demand-led expenditure risks within the consequentials provided.

The figures above remain a snapshot of a dynamic funding position. I will formally advise of final allocations as part of Spring Budget Revision, the last formal opportunity in the financial year to transfer budgets.

KATE FORBES

https://twitter.com/i/status/1337006754421501952

Businesses across Scotland will benefit from a new £185 million package of targeted coronavirus support.

The announcement follows discussions with business groups and sees a wide range of sectors benefiting, from taxi drivers and arts venues to travel agents and hospitality.

In addition, there will be additional one-off payments to hospitality businesses in January to help them deal with the traditional post-Christmas dip in demand. These will be of £2,000 or £3,000, depending on rateable value.

The package was announced by Finance Secretary Kate Forbes, who also said she had written to the Treasury calling for Scotland to receive its share of rates relief reimbursed by supermarkets “to ensure this is spent on those areas hardest hit as part of Scotland’s recovery from COVID-19”.

Ms Forbes said: “Today I am pleased to confirm an allocation of £185 million for new and additional business support in the new year. We have listened to businesses and this assistance will be provided on a sector-by-sector basis, targeted at those who need it most.

“We are developing grant schemes for hospitality, for the events sector, live music and cultural venues, for the arts, indoor football centres and for the food and drink sector, including £1.8 million for brewers.

“We will give £1.5 million to travelling show people ineligible for other support, while a new £19 million fund, plus a one-off grant, will help taxi drivers.

“I can also announce that further support of £60 million will be provided to the tourism sector, details of which will be developed in consultation with the industry.

“I am listening to the needs of business and we will continue to review and refine our COVID-19 support offer within the available resources.”

Specific support detailed in Wednesday’s announcement includes:

  • £15 million for the wedding sector and its supply chain, including photographers
  • one-off grants totalling £15 million for mobile close contact services, such as hairdressers
  • a £19 million fund and one-off grants for taxi drivers
  • £5 million for travel agents
  • almost £6 million for coach companies and tour operators
  • £1.5 million for visitor attractions.

More detail on the package will be announced in the coming days and businesses can expect to apply for all the new grant schemes in January.

Craigleith Homebase is among first in the country to host new kitchen range

Home and garden expert Homebase has teamed up with Country Living and House Beautiful magazines, published by Hearst UK, to create an exclusive range of kitchen designs – and Homebase Edinburgh Craigleith is amongst the first stores in the country to be fitted with this new and exciting range.

The collection consists of two Country Living kitchens and four House Beautiful kitchens. It brings together stylish designs, inspirational colours and trends with the practical, functional requirements customers need today in a kitchen that’s often used in a multitude of ways.  

Both design ranges are made in Yorkshire, and the units in the Country Living range are hand painted making it easier for the customer to request a more tailored, unique style and design, without compromising on clever storage designs.

Ian Penney, Room Solutions Business Unit Director for Homebase, says: “Kitchens are often at the centre of any home, and even more so today as they can be an office, a school and a zoom-hub as well as somewhere to cook and eat!

” The Country Living and House Beautiful ranges, along with our expert kitchen designers who provide virtual kitchen consultations, can help customers find a style, design and functionality that suits their way of living today without compromise, to deliver them a kitchen of their dreams.”

The Country Living range

The Country Living range comprises of two designs – The Country Living Whitstable which takes its influence from the popular ‘Shaker’ kitchen design, but with subtle modern touches such as adding copper coloured handles to darker units, to create a more modern yet timeless British-inspired design. 

Inspired by nature and named after British coastal towns, the range represents a more relaxed and simpler way of living, which embodies the ethos of the Country Living way of life.

The Country Living Whitstable in emerald green with copper coloured handles gives a modern look to a timeless classic design.

The Country Living Hastings kitchen has its design roots firmly in the farmhouse, countryside designs and is the epitome of English country chic. This kitchen mixes traditional styles with modern space saving ideas, offering the customer large larder cupboards and deep pan draws making it a very practical kitchen with a cosy feel

The Country Living Hastings is available in three natural colours: milk, biscuit and clotted cream.

The House Beautiful Kitchen Range

The four House Beautiful kitchens are well suited to today’s modern living. They’re beautifully modern, sleek, on-trend and incorporate a range of smart technology options. They also offer clever storage designs and soft close cupboards and drawers that can cope with the demands of any busy, family household.

The handleless House Beautiful Islington kitchen has a modern and elegant streamlined look, which is especially in the darker shades such as this Cocoa and Gunmetal with Copper Trim.

House Beautiful Islington makes a striking statement with its handleless doors and dark Cocoa cupboards, giving any kitchen a modern, sleek look.

The House Beautiful Camberwell is a contemporary style kitchen, blending high gloss doors with matt wood to create an ultra-modern finish. It’s a versatile design, as it has a wide range of finishes and handles that can be mixed and matched to complete the look. The range is available in six neutral tones that keep the style modern and sophisticated and offers plenty of storage options hidden away behind its sleek exterior.   

The House Beautiful Camberwell is available in six different shades: oyster, snow, mist, soft stone, milk and driftwood

The House Beautiful Bermondsey comes in a choice of five, high gloss neutral colours which go towards giving it a more relaxed, easy going look.  It’s available in the following shades: chalk, soft ivory, clay, ash and slate.

This kitchen can be easily mixed and matched with its integrated handles and unit colours creating more look options.  

The House Beautiful Westbourne has fused together the best of the classic ‘Shaker’ style with some very modern features, including integrated handles. Together with its differing paint options including a matt finish, this is a bespoke kitchen that can truly be tailored to any style and any space of kitchen.

Customers can choose to browse The Country Living and House Beautiful kitchens the instore or online. Customers can book an appointment to visit the store in a safe, socially distanced way, alternately, Homebase kitchen designers are available to host a virtual design consultation, where they can share their screen to create kitchen designs all from the comfort of your own home.

To find a Homebase showroom and kitchen designer near you, visit Homebase.co.uk/our-range/kitchens

Edinburgh faith community marks ‘Blue December’ during time of Covid

For many, the festive season each year is a difficult and challenging time. More so this year with Covid as many of us face losses arising from the pandemic: loss of employment; loss of financial certainty; loss of connection to others due to social restrictions; and the loss of loved ones whose lives were taken by the virus.

Unitarians in Edinburgh are holding a unique programme of online services acknowledging the challenges of the season.

The programme begins this Sunday 13 December, 11am, with an online gathering entitled ‘Blue December’ where time, space and care is given to honouring what we’re with. There will be candle lighting, readings, music, and an opportunity for your voice to be heard, to share how you are.

Minister of Unitarians in Edinburgh, Rev. Peter Fairbrother says: “So many of us put on a brave face during the festivities, bottling-up how we feel.

“This can be tremendously damaging both to ourselves and to those around us given that the eventual outcome is often meltdown or explosion. Unitarians in Edinburgh seek to create a safe space where individuals are seen and heard on their own terms, not judged nor ‘fixed’.

“We are a diverse community of spiritual explorers, drawn from many different backgrounds, and everyone is welcome to come to our free online services. Simply come as you are.”

Motion of support for Wardie Bay swimmers

We are deeply grateful and delighted to announce that Councillor Ellie Bird has proposed a motion in support of our #WardieBay4BathingWater campaign, which will be delivered to Full Council today.

The meeting will be webcast live from 10am. We are item 9.2 so will likely be a little later. You can watch at https://edinburgh.public-i.tv/core/portal/home

Please continue to share and support our petition for water quality monitoring at Wardie Beach. #coastalcommunities #marinepollution #sewage #wildswimming

KAREN BATES

Wardie Bay Beachwatch

Swinney sets out reasons for Capital’s Level 3 status

Deputy First Minister John Swinney has written to Council Leader Adam McVey to explain Tuesday’s controversial decision to keep Edinburgh in Level 3 of coronavirus restrictions.

The letter comes after Council Leaders reacted with ‘anger and dismay‘ to the news that the Capital would not be moving to Level 2, contrary to what had been anticipated and it follows a meeting between Mr Swinney and Cllr McVey on Tueday evening.

Fiirst Minister Nicola Sturgeon and National Clinical Director Jason Leitch also explained the rationale behind the decision during questions following yesterday’s daily media briefing.

In his letter, Mr Swinney says: ‘A move to Level 2 in Edinburgh would mean opening up significantly more services in our second biggest city in the two weeks before Christmas. So we wanted to have as much confidence as possible that the situation is as stable as possible before we make that move.

‘In that context, the recent rise in cases, while relatively slight, was a cause for concern when seen against the backdrop of a much slower reduction in cases and test positivity for Edinburgh over the last two weeks than for Scotland as a whole.

‘By the same token, while Scotland as a whole has seen declining test positivity, the test positivity for Edinburgh is rising. So, weighing the data in the wider context, we decided it was prudent to keep Edinburgh in Level 3 this week, monitor the position closely, and to review the level again next week.

Read the letter from the Deputy First Minister in full.

Council Leader Adam McVey and Depute Leader Cammy Day had been pressing the case for Edinburgh’s restrictions to be eased, in recognition of the city’s relatively low COVID case numbers and the care taken by residents and businesses keeping to the rules.

Responding to the First Minister’s announcement on Tuesday, Council Leader Adam McVey said: I’m extremely disappointed. Our numbers are stable and have now been consistently within the rates of level two for some time.

“We know what a dire situation local businesses continue to face and the latest news will be yet another blow in the lead-up to the Christmas period – which should be their busiest time of the year. I’ve been strongly pressing for Edinburgh’s case to move to a lower level of restrictions when safe to do so. The data suggest that time should have been now.

“It’s thanks to everyone following the guidance that our numbers have fallen and it’s why the Capital’s expectation was rightly that we would be moving to level two. I’ve asked to meet the Government as a matter of urgency to ensure they give a full explanation to the people of Edinburgh of the public health advice that they have based their decision on. I’ll also be pressing the case for additional financial support for our businesses who will need additional help following this decision.

“Despite this situation we need to continue to do everything we can over the coming week to continue to make progress – that means following the guidance, maintaining social distancing and washing hands and using sanitiser regularly.”

Depute Leader Cammy Day said: “This is an outrage and slap in the face for the many businesses, individuals and families who have so carefully stuck to restrictions over the winter so far, suffering significant losses and missing out on seeing one another over the festive period.

“It’s down to them that our cases per 100,000 are lower than many areas around the country, including some already in level two, so we completely understand those who are questioning today’s decision to retain the current restrictions in Edinburgh.

“We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure this is recognised by the Scottish Government, and will be calling for them to reconsider and reverse their decision.”

Councillors will debate an Emergency Motion by the ‘Capital Coalition’ at today’s Full Council meeting, calling on Council to agree to continue to lobby the Scottish Government and “insist the government follow scientific evidence and advice” that indicate that Edinburgh has been consistently in Level 2. 

It’s expected that Edinburgh will move to Level 2 when restrictions are reviewed next week.

Gas workers set to strike after COVID heroes offered ‘insulting’ Thank You badge

GMB members have put their own lives in danger to keep the country moving and the company afloat during this pandemic 

Gas workers are to be balloted for strike action after covid heroes were offered a pin badge to say thank you for their work during the pandemic. 

If it goes ahead, the industrial action will affect Air Products sites in Basingstoke, Bardon, Bargeddie, Stoke and Walkden in January. 

GMB members are angry that despite huge profits approaching £100 million over the past two years, the Company are imposing a pay increase. [1] rather than negotiate further. 

Meanwhile the drivers and bay operators, who have worked throughout the pandemic, have been offered a pin and £240 as a thankyou gesture. 

A recent consultative ballot saw an 82% of drivers and 90% of bay operators say they would take industrial action. 

The strike ballot opens on December 14 and closes on December 29. 

Eamon O’Hearn, GMB National Officer, said: “Our members are angry, and rightly so. They’ve put their own lives in danger to keep the country moving and the company afloat during this pandemic. 

“These members also deliver more profit, and cost less, than anyone else in the Company. Now they’ve been offered a thank you badge, a couple of hundred quid and a paltry pay rise for their efforts. It’s insulting. 

“We urge the company to get round the table, renegotiate and avoid this damaging industrial action.” 

War Child UK launches prize draw to support children in conflict

Win a royal tea with Emma Corrin & Josh O’Connor from ‘The Crown’ alongside items and experiences donated by Vanessa Kirby, Taylor Swift & many more

War Child UK have launched a series of exclusive prize draws with a range of unique celebrity items & experiences up for grabs to support their Torn From Home appeal, aimed at helping children affected by war in Afghanistan.

For just a £5 donation to War Child, the public will be able to enter a prize draw to win one of the many incredible items and experiences including:

  • The chance for you and a friend to have high tea with Emma Corrin and Josh O’Connor who play Prince Charles and Princess Diana in The Crown
  • Once in a lifetime chance for you and up to 3 friends to have lunch with Vanessa Kirby, as well as a private screening of her highly anticipated upcoming film, Pieces of a Woman
  • A signed t-shirt and vinyl copy of chart-topper Mabel’s incredible debut album ‘High Expectations’
  • A vinyl copy of War Child’s landmark record Help! Recently re-issued on special edition vinyl in celebration of the album’s 25th Anniversary – signed by the legendary, Paul Weller
  • A Tom Misch signed vinyl bundle featuring the ever popular ‘What Kinda Music’, ‘Geography’ and ‘Beat Tape 2’
  • A poster signed by critically acclaimed singer songwriter Celeste, from her very first headline show at Mirth, Marvel & Maud
  • A signed 12×12” test press by British rock band Enter Shikari of their album The Last Spark: Live At Ancienne Belgique, Brussels – one of only 20 copies made for the public
  • A signed ‘The Vaccines Make Me Feel Good’ T-shirt originally worn on stage by Justin Young
  • A signed double LP of Taylor Swift’s more recent album, Folklore.

Prize draws runs until 17th December 2020 at warchildwintershop.com, where for every three entries you will get a fourth free.

In addition to the prize draws, the War Child Winter Shop is also offering a range of bespoke creations from their friends across the arts and creative industries, meaning that the public can also get their hands on the likes of a specially designed jumper by designer Bella Freud, an Anthony Burrill shopper bag, and limited prints by renowned artists Rose Stallard, Adam Bridgland, Joe Cruz, Fee Greening and Supermundane.

Every prize draw entry, charity gift and donation made via the War Child Winter Shop website, is eligible for UK Aid match funding, meaning that for every £1 raised before 18 February 2021, the UK government will double this and help raise vital funds for the charity’s work in reuniting Children in Afghanistan with their families.

In Afghanistan, thousands of children, some as young as eight, are forced to leave home in search of work after decades of war have destroyed their family’s livelihoods.

War Child is on hand at the border working to provide emotional and psychosocial support from children before safely getting them home. The funds from this appeal will help reunite families and provide solutions to those problems that drove families and their children to embark on this perilous journey in the first place.

Vanessa Kirby, War Child UK ambassador said “I am really excited about being able to offer this prize to support this truly worthy appeal for this amazing charity.

“Until the 18th February, all your entries and all your donations will be matched by the UK government, helping keep families in Afghanistan together, and giving children real hope for a safer and more secure future”

Rob Williams, CEO of War Child UK said: “We are truly grateful to all of our incredible supporters for their generosity – we have some remarkable prizes available and feel very fortunate to be able to share those with the public.

“We are also very fortunate to have the support of the UK government through Aid Match, which will help funds raised from our Torn From Home appeal have an even greater impact on our work in Afghanistan, and to the lives of the children and families we are supporting there”

For more information, to enter a prize draw, or purchase gifts visit warchildwintershop.com/

Prize draw T&C’s available online

Max Richter’s VOICES to unite global audiences on Human Rights Day

Max Richter and Yulia Mahr © Mike Terry

To mark Human Rights Day tomorrow (Thursday 10th December), composer Max Richter’s groundbreaking recording project VOICES, inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, will be broadcast for the first time on BBC Radio 3 and 35 international radio stations in Europe, the US, Australia and beyond, in collaboration with the European Broadcasting Union.

Max Richter and his creative partner Yulia Mahr will also participate in a global Q&A with the United Nations to mark the day.

Also on 10th December, Decca Records will release a brand new EP featuring four international language narrations of ‘All Human Beings’ (the opening part of VOICES) in French, German, Spanish, Dutch and English.

At the heart of VOICES is a profound sense of global community, born out of Richter and Mahr’s career-long stance that creativity can play an activist role in our world. The album provides a place to think about the questions facing us through the prism of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In a time of dramatic global change, VOICES offers a musical message of hope.

Richter and Mahr invited people around the world to be part of the piece, crowd-sourcing readings of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to be interwoven into the work, which features an ‘upside-down’ orchestra. They received hundreds of submissions in over 70 languages. These readings form the aural landscape that the music flows through: they are the VOICES of the title.

Max Richter and Yulia Mahr say, “We are thrilled to have this opportunity to present VOICES once more. In these strange and challenging times it is more important than ever to keep the music playing and the message of the Universal Declaration alive. Thinking back now to the premiere of VOICES in February feels like visiting another world. In these strange and anxious times it is a great privilege to be able to mark Human Rights day by presenting the work again, in spite of the pandemic.”

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

Human Rights Day is an opportunity to reaffirm the importance of human rights in rebuilding the world we want, with global solidarity, interconnectedness and shared humanity.

As part of Human Rights Day 2020, Max Richter and Yulia Mahr will collaborate with the UN to amplify the message of the Declaration of Human Rights. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) will host a Q&A with Richter and Mahr to discuss VOICES, as part of their digital Human Rights Day events and Mahr’s breathtaking video of ‘All Human Beings’ will also be shown on the OHCHR website.

The powerful themes of humanitarianism running through VOICES were informed by Yulia’s own upbringing.

She explains, “I was born in Hungary at a time when it was a Communist country. I have such vivid memories of our street, where the buildings were still peppered with bullet holes from the revolution in 56, and where some were still in ruins from World War Two.

In those days each person was allocated a certain predetermined amount of living space, so every flat would contain multiple generations or sometimes even different families. I lived with my great grandfather, my grandmother, aunts, father and mother in three rooms.

My grandmother had fled persecution by the Nazis to the safety of Chile for 20 years – and so in the confines of our flat I was raised on stories of escape, persecution, community and hope. My grandmother remained a humanitarian throughout her life – helping refugees and being part of an international movement towards peace.

In the end my own convoluted story saw my mother and I replicating the large scale migrations of the 20th century and I arrived in the UK aged eight – lonely, confused and desperate for security.

While I could rarely see my grandmother after that – her spirit has never left me and it is this spirit that informed the conception and writing of VOICES.”

INTERNATIONAL NARRATIONS OF ‘ALL HUMAN BEINGS’

The voice of Eleanor Roosevelt, who served as the first chairperson of the UN Commission on Human Rights and played an instrumental role in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights can be heard at the start of ‘All Human Beings’, the opening track of VOICES.

Richter incorporates Roosevelt’s 1949 preamble reading of the Declaration into the piece alongside a narrator to convey a sense of youth and the future. On the album the narrator is acclaimed actor Kiki Layne (If Beale Street Could Talk, The Old Guard).

To mark Human Rights Day, Decca Records will release an exclusive EP of five new versions of ‘All Human Beings’ featuring multiple language narrations performed by acclaimed global artists.

Actor Nina Hoss (Yella, Homeland) reads in German, Iranian-born actor Golshifteh Farahani (Extraction, Paterson, About Elly) in French, author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld (winner of the 2020 International Booker prize or The Discomfort of Evening) in Dutch and María Valverde (Cracks, Exodus: Gods and Kings, Broken Horses) in Spanish. Olivier Award-winning actor Sheila Atim MBE, who will also perform in the BBC Radio 3 broadcast, narrates the new English version.

Richter says, “When I started thinking about how to present the Declaration, I came across a recording of Eleanor Roosevelt from 1949 reading the preamble. She’s so fundamental to the writing of the Declaration, it was really important to start with her.

“The narrators bring a sense of youth and potential in that performance because the Declaration is really about the future; it’s about the world we haven’t made yet. While the past is fixed, the future is yet unwritten, and the Declaration sets out an uplifting vision of a better and fairer world that is within our reach if we choose it. VOICES is a musical space to reconnect with these inspiring principles.”

BBC RADIO 3 AND GLOBAL EBU BROADCAST

The momentous global broadcast of VOICES will be recorded at BBC’s Maida Vale studios, presented by Elizabeth Alker. It will be presented in a new version for a 24-piece ensemble including strings, 4-member choir, electronics, solo soprano and narrator.

The BBC Radio 3 broadcast of VOICES features violinist Viktoria Mullova as soloist, soprano Grace Davidson, members of London-based vocal ensemble Tenebrae, the Max Richter ensemble – with Richter himself on keyboards and electronics – and Sheila Atim as the narrator.

36 European Broadcasting Union-associated radio stations in 34 countries will join the unique broadcast of VOICES, providing listeners across the globe with a renewed moment of hope and a moment of reflection in unprecedented times.

Max Richter and Yulia Mahr conclude, “We are thrilled about the partnership with the UN Human Rights Office, and the collaboration with BBC Radio 3 and the EBU which have made it possible to perform VOICES once more.

“In this challenging time in human history, the text of the Declaration is more important than ever.”

Writing the Times: a unique gift from North Edinburgh

Looking for that truly special Christmas gift? Your search may be over!

Writing the Times is an anthology created by local people during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic.

Over six weeks when the pandemic was at it’s height, the North Edinburgh Arts Writers worked with editor Stephanie Knight through Zoom sessions and emails to create stories based on the themes Fables for the Future, Stories to be Shared and Tales to be Told

Hopeful, reflective, poignant and comical, the writers share their thoughts recorded during these unprecedented times.

Something to look back on when the pandemic becomes a distant memory, Writing the Times would make a unique Christmas gift for friends and family.

Writing the Times is now available at North Edinburgh Arts, priced only £5. For further information email: admin@northedinburgharts.co.uk

Young Scot calls on Edinburgh to celebrate its young people

Young Scot is calling on people in Edinburgh to nominate the most inspirational young people in their lives and communities for the Sunday Mail Young Scot Awards 2021.

Now in its fifteenth year, the Awards recognises outstanding 11-26-year-olds from all backgrounds who are making a difference. The Sunday Mail Young Scot Awards 2021 are the most high-profile awards that highlight the contributions made by young people to all aspects of our communities – from sport and the arts, through to enterprise and volunteering.

Nominations are now open on youngscotawards.com, through until 14 February 2021.

Winners will be announced in April 2021 during a live online ceremony that will be broadcast live on Young Scot’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/YoungScotTV

The new Sunday Mail Young Scot Award 2021 winners will join a prestigious roll call of previous recipients including Sir Andy Murray, Olympian Laura Muir, and top vlogger Jamie Genevieve.

Recent winners include actor, Ncuti Gatwa from Neftlix’s Sex Education, singer-songwriter Be Charlotte and, overall winners, the phenomenal team behind the Scottish Youth Climate Strike.

Louise Macdonald OBE, Chief Executive, Young Scot, said: “The Sunday Mail Young Scot Awards is a way for us to celebrate the achievements of Scotland’s young people who’ve given so much to our communities recently.

“If you know a young person in Edinburgh who impresses you, or someone who’s gone above and beyond to help others, then we want to hear about them. Make your nomination today!” 

Esther Silverton, Young Scot of the Year 2020 winner, on behalf of the Scottish Youth Climate Strikers, said: “It was an honour to win the Sunday Mail Young Scot Award, there are so many people that do so many amazing things and fully deserve to get recognition for what they do.

“I’m hugely grateful and I hope that this shows everyone that you can fight for what you believe in because everyone has the power to help change the world.”

The 2021 awards will be made possible thanks to the generous support of its sponsors, with Skills Development Scotland returning as the sponsor of the Enhancing Education Award and Solace Scotland backing the Unsung Hero category once again.

sportscotland is also set to return as the sponsor of the Sport Award while the British Council Scotland has been announced as sponsor of the new International Award, marking its first year as an official partner.

To nominate a young person or to find out more about the awards, please visit: youngscotawards.com