Scotland’s first Citizens’ Assembly has published its report setting out a shared vision and 60 recommendations for the country’s future.
The vision and recommendations were agreed by an overwhelming consensus of members, and cover a wide range of areas including future Citizens’ Assemblies, incomes and poverty, tax and the economy, health and wellbeing, support for young people, sustainability and further powers for the Scottish Parliament.
Doing Politics Differently: The Report of the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland can be read online at www.citizensassembly.scot
This report has been submitted to the Scottish Government and Parliament. It will be laid in Parliament for debate, with an action plan from the Scottish Government to follow.
To accompany the report, a short film on the Vision and Recommendations agreed by the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland, and featuring the voices of members is here: Our Vision and Recommendations – YouTube
All of the materials including evidence from previous weekends, an interim report and range of supporting papers covering previous work and articles and videos about the impact of COVID-19 are available on the Assembly website
Over 50,000 working mums respond to new TUC survey on challenges of managing work and childcare during lockdown
Working mums report huge levels of anxiety and stress following school closures
TUC calls for an emergency temporary right to furlough for working parents – and for government to promote this new right to mums and dads
Nearly three-quarters (71%) of working mums who have applied for furlough following the latest school closures have had their requests turned down, according to a new TUC survey carried out in the past week and published today (Thursday).
The job retention scheme currently allows bosses to furlough parents who can’t work due to a lack of childcare.
But the TUC says many mums are missing out on this financial lifeline as the scheme is not promoted to parents.
The union body is also concerned some employers are refusing to furlough those who request it, leaving mums in an impossible situation where they are forced to reduce their hours at work, take unpaid leave and annual leave to cope, or leave their job altogether.
TUC survey
Last week, the TUC and campaigner Mother Pukka launched a call for evidence for working mums to share their experiences of how they are managing their work and childcare commitments during lockdown.
More than 50,000 mums got in touch – an unprecedented response to a survey of this kind.
Of those working mums who contacted the TUC:
Nearly three-quarters (71%) who asked for furlough had their requests refused.
Most (78%) hadn’t been offered furlough by their employers.
And 2 in 5 (40%) of all mums who replied were unaware that the furlough scheme was available to parents affected by school or nursery closures.
Impact on working mums
Working mums told the TUC they were struggling with the strain of being expected to carry out their jobs as normal, while balancing childcare and home-schooling. They were also concerned about being treated badly by their employers as a result:
Nearly all (90%) of those who replied said that their anxiety and stress levels had increased during this latest lockdown.
And almost half (48%) were worried about being treated negatively by their employers because of their childcare responsibilities.
Financial strain
Around half (44%) of mums told the TUC they were worried about the impact having to take time off work would have on their household finances.
A quarter (25%) of mums were using annual leave to manage their childcare – but nearly 1 in 5 (18%) had been forced to reduce their working hours and around 1 in 14 (7%) were taking unpaid leave from work and receiving no income.
An emergency right to furlough
The TUC says that the UK’s inadequate system of parental leave and woefully low level of sick pay is leaving parents in impossible situations, where they risk losing their job or facing a catastrophic loss of income.
To support these workers, the TUC is calling on ministers to introduce a temporary right to furlough for groups who cannot work because of coronavirus restrictions – both parents and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and required to shield. And ministers should clarify that furlough can be used by both private and public sector employers for these purposes.
The union body says employers should first explore with parents and those shielding whether other measures – such as offering additional paid leave, changes to working hours or other flexibilities like working from home, and offering alternative work – could help the worker balance their responsibilities, but that as a last resort, workers should have the right to be furloughed.
Ministers should encourage employers to use the furlough scheme for parents and those shielding where other arrangements cannot be made, and run a major advertising campaign so that parents and shielders understand that they can use furlough.
The TUC says this situation results from the UK’s failure to help families balance paid work and childcare. Alongside a temporary right to furlough, it is calling on the government to introduce:
Ten days’ paid carers leave, from day one in a job, for all parents. Currently parents have no statutory right to paid leave to look after their children.
A right to flexible work for all parents. Flexible working can take lots of different forms, including having predictable or set hours, working from home, job-sharing, compressed hours and term-time working.
An increase in sick pay to at least the level of the real Living Wage, for everyone in work, to ensure workers can afford to self-isolate if they need to.
Newly self-employed parents to have access the self-employment income support scheme (SEISS).
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:“The safety of school staff and children must always come first. But the government’s lack of support for working parents is causing huge financial hardship and stress – and hitting low-paid mums and single parents hardest.
“Just like in the first lockdown, mums are shouldering the majority of childcare. Tens of thousands of mums have told us they are despairing. It’s neither possible nor sustainable for them to work as normal, while looking after their children and supervising schoolwork.
“Making staff take weeks of unpaid leave isn’t the answer. Bosses must do the right thing and offer maximum flexibility to mums and dads who can’t work because of childcare. And as a last resort, parents must have a temporary right to be furloughed where their boss will not agree.
“The UK’s parental leave system is one of the worst in Europe. It’s time for the government to give all parents the right to work flexibly, plus at least ten days’ paid carers leave each year.”
Founder of Mother Pukka Anna Whitehouse said: “What working parents have been tasked with in lockdown is not humanly possible. You’re looking at an average eight hour working day, six hour school day, 12 hours of parenting wrapped around that – that’s 26 hours in a 24 hour day. And I’m hearing daily from women who are stepping back, standing down and logging off because they’re burning out.
“Some are quitting out of choice, many not. Because who looks after kids home-schooling? Who looks after pandemic patients when out of hospital? Who takes a Tesco shop to elderly neighbours? Who runs community What’s App groups making sure everyone has everything they need?
“This unpaid labour is mainly strapped to female shoulders because – for all the International Women’s Days Sellotaped together – that’s the current working world we live in.
“One thing that can change right now is seeing the Government supporting all businesses to enable them to offer a much more flexible solution and furlough. The system needs to step up for parents before we step back to the 1950s.”
Founder and CEO of Pregnant Then Screwed Joeli Brearley said: “The parents of young children are currently being asked to either sacrifice their income or their child’s education and care; placing them in an impossible situation.
“We know that this burden is predominantly falling to mothers, and the consequences for maternal employment will be disastrous.
“What we are seeing here is a cry for help on a massive scale. Our advice lines are awash with mothers who have no idea how to care for their children and maintain their paid employment when their employer is refusing to furlough them.
“This is an emergency and if the government doesn’t step in soon there will be a generational roll back in maternal employment that will take us decades to repair.”
Further measures to help stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and limit non-essential contact will be introduced this weekend.
Nobody who lives in a Level 4 area should leave or remain outside their home except for essential purposes.
Working from home arrangements will be strengthened through updated statutory guidance. Working from home should now be the default position for all businesses and services, and only those who cannot do their job from home should be asked to go to the workplace.
From Saturday non-essential click and collect retail services will be prohibited in Level 4 areas and further changes will be put in place to how services open for essential purposes operate.
Timeslots will be required for collection and people should not enter a store to collect an item.
Businesses providing takeaway food will also operate on a ‘non-entry’ basis only, meaning customers cannot enter the premises when placing or collecting orders.
Restrictions banning the consumption of alcohol in public places will also be introduced.
In a statement to Parliament, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The situation we face in relation to the virus remains extremely serious.
“We must continue to do everything possible to reduce case numbers – this is essential to relieve the pressure on our NHS and to save lives.
“Both individually and collectively, these additional measures – in further reducing the interactions that allow the virus to spread – will help our essential efforts to suppress it.
“At this critical and dangerous moment, please: Stay Home. Protect the NHS. Save lives.”
The new regulations apply to all parts of Scotland currently in lockdown and will come into effect at 00.01 on Saturday
Responding to the latest announcements, David Lonsdale, Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “The situation with the pandemic is fast moving and we fully recognise government wants people to stay home. However these further revenue-crushing restrictions and the fresh complexity they bring, together with constant chopping and changing to the Covid Strategic Framework, are disconcerting and come at an incredibly difficult time for retail.
“Firms operating click and collect or food-to-go takeaway have taken every reasonable step to make their operations as safe as possible, complying with every twist and turn to government guidance and often at pitifully short notice. They have demonstrated they can operate safely and have invested significantly to make their premises Covid-secure, and it appears no evidence to the contrary has accompanied this announcement.
“The businesses affected – who have already lost much of their income during the crisis – are trying to make the best fist possible of the current severely curtailed trading conditions, and that just got even harder as a result of this decision which will add to their cash flow woes.
“The blunt reality is that the taxpayer-funded grant support on offer won’t make up for lost sales and firms’ mounting bills and debt during this pandemic. Even when we eventually emerge from lockdown shops will be unable to trade at capacity due to physical distancing and caps on numbers in stores, while the threat of a return to full business rates liability in April still looms. Decisive action is urgently required to extend rates relief into 2021-22 and avoid April’s reverse cliff edge which will see 100% reinstatement of business rates.”
“It’s vital shoppers continue to play their part, by shopping considerately, where possible alone, wearing face coverings, and following in-store signage. These are incredibly difficult times and it’s up to everyone to follow the rules to keep us safe and the virus at bay.”
Dr Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:“Today’s announcement will be very disappointing to those who have carefully adapted their businesses to be COVID safe and continue the trading that has kept them afloat up to this point.
“The lack of any certainty over when currently closed shops would be allowed to re-open added to the importance of Click and Collect services propping up many small and independent retailers.
“The Scottish Government must provide detailed evidence on how these new measures will support public health restrictions and urgently provide sufficient finance to support Scottish businesses if they are to get through yet more rules suddenly imposed upon them without prior consultation.
“Otherwise, it will only add to the growing desperation of businesses who have put finance and time aside to make their business COVID compliant, only to have to close anyway, with no clear route back to reopening.’’
STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer has voiced union frustration at the absence of definitive new restrictions to meet the upsurge in infection risk and new virus strain.
She condemned the refusal to require closure of non-essential manufacturing and construction. The STUC welcomed the pledge to strengthen the obligation on employers to allow their staff to work from home whenever possible but said it would seek urgent engagement on how this will be implemented.
Roz Foyer said: “It is becoming increasingly clear that the Government has a blind-spot in some sectors when it comes to introducing similar safeguards to last year’s first lockdown. This is causing confusion for workers and, in too many cases, allowing employers to play fast and loose with government advice.
“We have been contacted with a wide range of worker concerns about employers who are choosing to interpret the government’s position to allow them to stay open and/or require staff to attend work rather than operate from home.
“We will be urgently seeking details on how the Government intends to legislate for employers to default to home working.”
CAMRA’s Scotland Director Joe Crawford said: “Pubs are a force for good in our communities and they deserve to be supported through these latest restrictions, which have dealt another devastating blow to trade for hospitality businesses. When this nightmare is over, pubs and social clubs will be vital to the nation’s healing process – so long as they are still standing.
“Whilst no one wants to see irresponsible drinking in the streets during a lockdown, it is good that the Scottish Government is allowing pubs and breweries to continue selling alcohol in sealed containers for people to take home. This helps pubs, clubs and brewers to compete with the large supermarkets, and means that people can still get cask beer, which is under threat due to months of forced pub closures.
“I’d encourage everyone to safely and responsibly support their local breweries, clubs and pubs where they are still able to act as an off-licence and sell beer and cider to enjoy at home.”
Industry representatives wrote to the Scottish Government on Tuesday, insistingtakeaways should remain permitted. Some had feared the worst, so yesterday’s announcement offers at least some respite.
Ten representative organisations from across Scotland’s Food and Drink industry wrote a joint letter to the Scottish Government’s Rural Economy Secretary, Fergus Ewing MSP, to request that food and drink takeaway services be permitted to continue.
The letter stated:-
“Dear Mr Ewing,
Potential Restrictions on Food and Drink Takeaway
Last Thursday the First Minister stated she wanted takeaway businesses to switch to delivery where possible, and we understand from subsequent media reports Ministers are considering prohibiting food takeaway activity from taking place.
Food and drink, hospitality, and catering businesses are concerned at the move away from the transparency and certainty which the Government was able to provide in the final months of last year through the Strategic Framework.
It is worrying we appear to be returning to a less considered approach – one which doesn’t effectively engage affected businesses in advance – which is less likely to provide the benefits of consultation and rounded decision making provided by the earlier approach.
It goes without saying food and drink businesses are facing an incredibly difficult time. The desired outcome of the current restrictions, with people broadly staying at home, means footfall for businesses has collapsed.
The inability to offer sit-in facilities should hopefully help prevent the spread of Covid – but it comes at a very high economic price. In the context of a very uncertain economic outlook, these are very challenging trading conditions.
One of the few chinks of light in this dim outlook has been the ability for food and drink businesses to provide takeaway and click/telephone and collect services to customers. These services allow local businesses and suppliers to keep colleagues employed, provides a service to people – many of whom now are essential workers doing vital tasks – and of course are easy for smaller businesses to operate and establish. Limiting trade to home delivery only will force some businesses to close – and also ensure customers are more likely to purchase food and drink from grocers – ensuring more people are congregating in a smaller number of places.
Beyond this we are concerned at how any measures would be implemented into legislation. From our point of view how you would distinguish between a sandwich or sausage roll or hot or cold drink sold from a pub, bakery, café, restaurant, carry-out, newsagent, petrol station, or grocery store seems impossible to ascertain, but all are providing fundamentally the same service. The same applies across hundreds of product categories and thousands of businesses.
With these points in mind we remain very concerned at the suggestion this commercial activity could be suspended – especially as there is no indication when these businesses will be able to return to normal trading. Our members undertaking these services have complied with every change to government guidance and put in place many mitigation measures and invested significantly to keep shoppers and workers as safe as possible. They are providing an important service in difficult circumstances, helping to support key workers as well as the Scottish food and drink industry.
Of course, we all support every effort to tackle Covid. If there is clear and unequivocal evidence measures in this area will proportionately suppress the virus we would recognise that. However, we haven’t been sighted on any data or public health evidence as to why takeaway services are a risk. As such, forced closure seems somewhat arbitrary and marginal in terms of contributing to the suppression of the virus – not least as the new ‘stay at home’ order has just come into effect and is substantially reducing footfall.
Finally, it is only a week since the First Minister announced the new stay at home restrictions, which explicitly allowed takeaway businesses to trade. It’s very difficult for businesses to plan in any sense when government announcements emerge without warning, providing a metaphorical damoclean sword above any business trading right now.
These are very difficult circumstances for government. We want to work with you and your officials to continue to develop and deliver the proportionate measures which will suppress Covid and keep everyone safe. We hope you will look to engage constructively with us over the next few months.
Yours sincerely
Alasdair Smith, Chief Executive, Scottish Bakers
Colin Wilkinson, Managing Director; Scottish Licensed Trade Association
Ewan MacDonald-Russell, Head of Policy; Scottish Retail Consortium Jim Winship, Director; The British Sandwich & Food to Go Association
Jim Winship, Director; The Pizza Pasta & Italian Food Association
Marc Crothall, Chief Executive; Scottish Tourism Alliance
Paul Togneri, Senior Policy Manager; Scottish Beer & Pub Association
Dr Pete Cheema OBE, Chief Executive; Scottish Grocers’ Federation Stuart Reddish, National President; NFRN
Willie Macleod, Executive Director, Scotland; UK Hospitality
An Amber warning for snow has been issued for parts of Scotland and north east England.
There is also a yellow national severe weather warning in place for snow and ice across large parts of England and Scotland.
The Amber snow warning is valid until 10am this morning (Thursday).
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Rain will turn to snow, initially on high ground this afternoon, but increasingly to lower levels. The risk of snow will extend southwards into northern parts of England this evening. 10 to 20 cm of snow could accumulate above 200 metres within the warning area and some places at lower levels could see 5 to 10 cm of snow by Thursday morning. Snow is likely to slowly die out through tomorrow afternoon.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Paul Gundersen, said; “There is cold air from the north pushing down the east side of the UK and warm air moving in from the west. Where these two air masses meet a weather front is bringing some heavy rain which is turning to snow in places.”
The current, more widespread, yellow warning for snow and ice is valid until 9pm tonight. It covers the risk of snow and sleet this afternoon across large parts of northern England and Scotland, as well as the risk of ice with rain falling on frozen surfaces overnight tonight and tomorrow morning.
There is a continued risk of wintry, unsettled weather into next week as warm and cold air continue to battle it out above the UK and weather fronts try to make headway across the country.
A yellow snow and ice warning has already be issued for Saturday covering large parts of Scotland and northern and central England.
Keep up to date with the latest weather warnings and the forecast for your area using the warning and forecast pages on the Met Office website.
The serious neurological condition Myalgic Encephalomylitis (M.E.) will sadly be all too familiar to some of your readers: at least 20,000 children and adults in Scotland live with M.E., also diagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or M.E./CFS).
Many face barriers in accessing health and social care services that meet their needs, and some professionals still don’t understand the impact of M.E. and its symptoms.
UK charity Action for M.E. is trying to change this by offering people with M.E. across Scotland one-to-one advocacy, via phone and email, to help them be heard, understand their rights and access support.
We want to expand this much-needed service, and are seeking enthusiastic volunteers in Scotland who can make the most of our online advocate training programme to develop their skills, gain valuable experience, and help improve the lives of vulnerable people with M.E., all from home.
Anyone who is interested in finding out more can call, email or visit our website – we would love to hear from good listeners who can spare two hours a week.
SCOTLAND’S largest dental group has announced it will continue to provide its patients with essential dental care treatments throughout the second national lockdown.
Clyde Munro Dental Group has reassured its patients they will be able to receive fundamental care in all 45 of the group’s practices, with the exception of a few treatments.
The group’s three Edinburgh practices, Earl Grey Dental Practice, Gilmore Dental and Bellstane Dental Care, will remain open throughout lockdown for essential dental work.
Essential travel, including leaving home for healthcare, has been permitted by the Scottish Government meaning patients can travel to their dental surgery for a scheduled appointment.
Patient safety is deemed Clyde Munro’s number one priority with measures introduced throughout all of its practices.
Jim Hall, founder and Chief Executive of Clyde Munro, said: “Once again we have gone into national lockdown in order to keep our loved ones safe, but we would like to reassure all our patients that our practices will remain open during this period and our practices will be available to carry out essential dental care throughout this lockdown.
“The safety of our staff and patients is our top priority and we have worked hard to ensure we have in place all the necessary precautions to safely provide the essential care our patients need during this challenging time.
“Please contact your local Clyde Munro practice to find out what treatments are available to you.”
Those attending their practice are asked to observe a wide range of safety procedures which include, filling in forms digitally before attending, using on site sanitising stations, observing strict social distancing, and paying by contactless methods where possible.
Virtual consultations with dentists are also available for patients using a video link prior to visiting the practice.
Patients with dental emergencies are also being encouraged to call their practice during opening hours, or contact NHS 24 on 111 out with opening hours.
Clyde Munro was founded by Jim Hall in 2015 with the acquisition of seven practices. Since then, it has enjoyed rapid growth through acquisition and has plans to continue expanding.
It now comprises 45 practices across Scotland, with more than 200 dentists, 350 staff and 400,000 patients. The group’s ambition is to become Scotland’s “local dentist”, operating an expanding network of family dentists across Scotland, with each devoted to providing the best dental care, while reflecting the needs and character of its community.
Communities across Scotland will face unavoidable and damaging consequences if Local Government does not receive a fair funding settlement in this year’s Budget, COSLA has warned.
COSLA said that the trend of recent settlements for Local Government needs to change because on top of existing pressures, the COVID pandemic has placed unprecedented strain on the finances of Scotland’s Councils this year.
the costs of COVID-19 to Local Government and the need for these to be met,
flexibility on how the budget allocated to Councils is spent and
an increased budget allocation to address the reduction in funding to Councils over recent settlements.
Speaking as she launched the document yesterday, COSLA Resources Spokesperson, Councillor Gail Macgregor, said: “This year, across every community in Scotland, Local Government’s essential role has been magnified and once again we have delivered for our communities.
“Nobody in Scotland has been unaffected by this pandemic and the financial impacts of COVID-19 are severe. Individuals, families and businesses have all felt the effects and continue to look to Councils for support every day.
“Sustaining this lifeline support is placing extreme pressure on already strained budgets and without fair funding for Local Government this year, the consequences for the most vulnerable in our communities would be unacceptable.
“That is why we need fair funding for 2021/22 that respects our communities. Without this, there will be further cuts to services, reductions in spending locally, increases in the inequalities exposed by the pandemic and a much slower recovery.”
Echoing these concerns, COSLA President, Councillor Alison Evison, said: “Local Government’s role on behalf of our communities cannot be underestimated anymore. The COVID pandemic has shown exactly how much the public rely on us as leaders and as providers of vital services.
“The reality is that in recent budgets, the Scottish Government has chosen not to provide enough funding for the essential services that communities rely on day in day out.
“On top of this, this year we have had to contend with COVID-19 which has seen the inequality in our society grow.
“Our ability to recover from this and continue to deliver for Scotland’s communities depends on a change of emphasis from Scottish Government that provides fair funding for Council services.
“If we are to truly recover from this pandemic then Local Authorities must receive a fair settlement.”
Six charities based in Scotland have won a £1,000 Christmas gift thanks to nominations from the public.
The charities were nominated to win a share of £120,000 as part of specialist insurer Ecclesiastical’s annual 12 days of giving Christmas campaign.
Simpson’s Memory Box Appeal (SiMBA) based in Dalkeith, which offers support to anyone affected by the loss of a baby, and REACH Lanarkshire Autism, which provides support to families who have a young person with an Autism Spectrum Condition living within the authority of South Lanarkshire, are among the local charities set to benefit from the money following overwhelming public support in the country.
27,648 Scotland residents nominated a cause close to their hearts, with 247 charitable causes in the country receiving votes. The 120 winning charities across the UK were picked at random from those nominated.
Thanking supporters in Scotland, Mark Hews, Group CEO at Ecclesiastical, said: “Owned by a charity, here at Ecclesiastical our core purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society, so charitable giving is at the heart of our business.
“We know that £1,000 can make a huge difference to the incredible work that charities do, and we’re looking forward to seeing how this financial boost will change lives for the better. We hope these donations can bring a positive end to a difficult year and a promising start to 2021.”
A representative from Simpson’s Memory Box Appeal said: “Ecclesiastical’s donation will allow us to provide all of our core services including donating Memory Boxes to bereaved families allowing them to create memories of their much-wanted baby that will last a lifetime.
“It will mean we can continue to provide our Safe Space virtual support groups, and when it is safe to do so, our monthly Support Groups. It will also enable us to continue to refurbish our Family Rooms and to install our memorial Trees of Tranquillity offering bereaved families the opportunity to honour their baby in a very special way.
“In short, it will allow us to continue to be here and for that we are so very grateful.”
Last year, Ecclesiastical launched its latest Impact Report to celebrate some of the many good causes it has helped.
Forth and Inverleith Voluntary Sector Forum meets tomorrow (Thursday 14 January) at 10:30am via Zoom.
We look forward to hearing updates from the group and also welcoming Jim O’Rorke from Ash Scotland who will do a short presentation on smoking and deprivation.
Also, forum member, Kate Wimpress of North Edinburgh Arts will give the group an update on the planned development of the MacMillan hub community space off Pennywell Road.
The latest data from the NSPCC shows there has been an increase in contacts about this issue from children aged 12 to 15, across the country, since the end of March last year.
In the latter nine months of 2020, the average monthly number of contacts from this age group was 100 compared to 88 in the first three months of the year.
Across the UK, the service has now delivered a total of 54,926 counselling sessions to children of all ages on this issue from April to the end of December against the backdrop of the pandemic.
Childline counselling is delivered by volunteers and in response to these latest worrying figures and with COVID restrictions continuing, the service is urgently appealing to those who can spare four hours one evening a week or at the weekend to volunteer at either our Glasgow or Aberdeen base, so Childline can be here for children when they need us the most.
With schools closed to the majority of pupils until at least February and the whole of mainland Scotland in lockdown, Childline has never been more important as a source of support for young people who are struggling. Now more than ever, it is essential that children are not left isolated, alone and unsupported.
Over the past ten months, the NSPCC-run service’s trained counsellors have heard first-hand the devastating impact that the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic have had on young people’s mental health.
Children who contacted Childline’s trained counsellors about their mental health spoke about concerns including loneliness, low mood, low self-esteem, depression and anxiety.
Some have been feeling isolated and overwhelmed due to concerns about family members catching the virus, or school closures and cancelled exams – while others have felt cut off from support networks and are missing family and friends.
One girl aged 16 who contacted Childline said: “I feel really sad and lonely. I need to talk to someone because I don’t really have anyone right now.
“I am really struggling with the whole isolation thing. Most days I find myself just lost in my own thoughts and feeling numb. I am classed as a vulnerable person, so my isolation lasts for 12 weeks, which seems like a lifetime.”
Since the first lockdown last year, mental health has remained the top concern that children and young people talked to Childline about.
The service has delivered an average of 346 counselling sessions every month on this issue with the numbers fluctuating throughout the year as the situation changes and Covid restrictions were lifted and re-imposed. Since the latest national lockdown many children have been reaching out and talking about this and Childline is continuing to support them with their worries.
During the pandemic, Childline has continued to adapt to ensure it can still be here for children including developing online training so volunteers can answer emails from young people remotely. However, despite this, since last March volunteer numbers have dropped by 40%.
Despite, the latest national lockdown, Childline will remain open and staff and volunteers have been given key worker status to continue their vital work. Sparing a few hours, one evening a week or at the weekend volunteering at a local Childline base can help ensure Childline continues to support children who often have nowhere to turn.
But there is also a range of other ways to support the charity, including taking on a sponsored challenge, Kick the Caffeine, or fundraising in the community.
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Childline Founder and President, Dame Esther Rantzen said:“With schools now shut again and children spending more time behind closed doors, it is absolutely imperative that Childline is there for them.
“Many young people, especially those in unsafe homes, are feeling desperately anxious and depressed. School can be the only safe haven they know, and without that support they feel entirely alone. For them, Childline is literally a life-line.
“But the service urgently needs more volunteers to listen to and support children, and more funds to pay for their calls and on-line contacts, and for that we depend upon the generosity and compassion of the public.
“It is the NSPCC’s mission to make 2021 a better year for children, and with your help we can make this dream a reality.”
Lou Bewick, who is a Childline volunteer counsellor in the Glasgow base, said:“Each shift I work, I hear from children and young people about how this pandemic has affected their life, and how it has impacted their mental and emotional health.
“Childline is here for children, and will continue to offer support from trained counsellors when they contact us about anything that worries them.
“However, we currently can’t answer every child so, if you can, please sign up and volunteer for Childline and help us reach every child who needs our support.”
The NSPCC has been supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery who provided crucial funding of £1,000,000 to Childline last year, the equivalent of running the service for an entire month.
Children can call Childline on 0800 11 11 from 7.30am to 3.30 am from Monday to Friday or 9am to 3.30am at weekends.
