Category: North Edinburgh News

Enjoy the fireworks with MYDG

COUNTDOWN TO BONNIE WEEKEND IS ON! 🔥🎃👻

We’re taking young people from P7-S6 to Ratho on Friday 1st November, Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th November!

We are doing pick up points at a number of youth organisations in the local area (see poster).

If you would like to come please pop in to the MYDG office in Craigroyston Community High School in the next few days to pick up a form or speak to your local youth organisation that you attend (GYC, Fetlor, Spartans and MYDG) – spaces are filling up!

We would love to see as many of you along for Halloween and Bonfire night celebrations!

Muirhouse Youth Development Group

Edinburgh Association of Community Councils AGM

EACC Annual General Meeting –  Thursday 21st November 2019

The 2019 Annual General Meeting will take place on

Thursday 21st November 2019 at 7 pm.

Venue: European Room, City Chambers, Edinburgh EH1 1YJ

The Minutes of the 2018 AGM and provisional Agenda along with the accounts for 2018-19 can be downloaded on the website at EACC Documents. Nomination papers for Office Bearer positions are also available at the same URL in EACC Documents in two formats and can be scanned and emailed or posted to the Secretary.

Nominations for Office Bearer posts will close at 7pm on Thursday 19th November 2019.

Announcement of Candidates for Office Bearer posts will be made on Tuesday 19th November immediately after close of the nomination period.

Notice of AOCB items to the Secretary as soon as possible and at least 24 hrs prior to the meeting. It will be at the Chair’s discretion to discuss these items. We really want to hear from our representatives on issues they consider important to all Community Councils.

It is also important to ensure your nominated representative is correct.

Their names are on the Members list at http://www.edinburghcommunitycouncils.org.uk/members 

If this has changed please inform the Secretary at secretary@edinburghcommunitycouncils.org.ukas soon as possible.

Please RSVP to secretary@edinburghcommunitycouncils.org.uk

Masquerade ‘eye’Ball raises funds for Guide Dogs Scotland

A local eye hospital has held its largest ever fundraiser, raising £5,000 for charity. The Edinburgh Clinic, a specialist private hospital in Colinton, held the event – a masquerade ‘eyeball’ – on Saturday.

More than 90 opticians and consultants attended the glitzy celebrations at the Balmoral Hotel, which raised a total of £5,000 for Guide Dogs Scotland. Continue reading Masquerade ‘eye’Ball raises funds for Guide Dogs Scotland

Peer mentors initiative to tackle crime culture coming to Edinburgh

  • Former young offenders acting as ‘peer mentors’ to help children escape from a life of serious organised crime
  • Edinburgh, Newcastle and Cardiff identified for roll out following successful project in Glasgow
  • Two thirds of teenagers supported by Glasgow project have significantly improved their offending behaviour
  • Analysis shows a £½m city council saving by ‘diverting’ high risk young people from secure care
  • According to UK Government, organised crime – including money laundering and drug trafficking – bigger threat to UK than terrorism
  • Run by UK charity Action for Children and funded with £4.6m from The National Lottery Community Fund, project will now target ‘high-risk’ 11-18-year-olds across the UK.

A ground-breaking programme diverting young people away from a life of serious organised crime is to be rolled out to a number of cities across the UK.

Action for Children’s Serious Organised Crime Early Intervention service has been running in Glasgow since 2013 and will now be rolled out to Edinburgh, Newcastle and Cardiff, funded by £4.6 million from The National Lottery Community Fund. Continue reading Peer mentors initiative to tackle crime culture coming to Edinburgh

Scottish Welfare Fund has helped more than 347,000 ‘struggling’ Scottish households

poverty family JRF

Nearly £210 million has been paid to 347,045 low income households by the Scottish Welfare Fund since it was established in 2013, latest figures show.

Crisis grant applications to the fund for basic essentials such as food and heating increased by 12% from April to June compared to the same period last year.

In addition, for the first time exceptional pressure is the main reason for Community Care Grant applications. Previously, the biggest reason for these applications was helping people to stay in their community.

The fund, which enables local authorities to provide grants for people on low incomes, is part of the Scottish Government’s mitigation efforts for UK Government welfare cuts. Estimates suggest social security spending in Scotland is set to reduce by £3.7 billion per year by 2021.

Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “These are yet more signals of how much families are struggling.

“In the face of UK Government cuts and with the threat of a ‘no deal’ Brexit still alive – the risk is real that tens of thousands more people could be pushed into poverty in Scotland.

“The Scottish Government will not stand by and let people who are already struggling continue to face a reliance on food banks and the stress of debt and rent arrears.

“We will continue to spend at least £100 million each year to mitigate the worst effects of the UK government welfare cuts – part of the £1.4 billion we spent last year to support low income households.

“This is money we should be able to invest elsewhere to help pull people out of poverty but we instead we need to use to protect the poorest and most vulnerable in our country.

“And we are introducing the Scottish Child Payment to tackle child poverty head on. But there is no doubt that without the cuts inflicted on families by the UK Government this could go so much further.”