Grease is the word! The original West End production of the electrifying musical, Grease, lights up the UK once again and visits the Edinburgh Playhouse from 11 – 16 September. The cast will be led by international pop star Tom Parker (The Wanted) in his first ever theatrical role, heart-throb Danny Zuko. Continue reading Edinburgh to welcome Grease The Musical
URLAR ART EXHIBITION EDINBURGH SKI CLUB, 2 HOWE ST.
2nd – 14th Sept 2017
Visit us: https://www.facebook.com/UrlarArtExhibition/
‘Ùrlar’ begins this Saturday the 2nd – 14th Sept at the Edinburgh Ski Club, 2 Howe St. New paintings by artists Jan Coventry from Portobello and Susan Dawson from the Isle of Skye. Ùrlar is Gaelic for ‘ground’ or ‘returning to a theme’.
Susan and Jan draw inspiration from the Scottish landscape near Edinburgh and in the West Highlands, continuously examining the themes of land and sea. They last exhibited together in Edinburgh in 1997 at the Patriothall Gallery, Stockbridge, so this is a special event which demonstrates the maturing of two artists, both working outdoors against the backdrop of the land and seascapes of Scotland, during the first decades of the 21st century.
A groundbreaking initiative which helps people overcome their addictions has celebrated helping its 600th graduate. Edinburgh resident Angie Dunn is the latest person to complete the Lothian and Edinburgh Abstinence Programme (LEAP), and she joined staff and NHS Lothian Chair Brian Houston to mark the event. Continue reading LEAP of joy: pioneering programme celebrates 600th success story
City council publishes £165.2 million business case to extend tram line to Leith and Newhaven
The Outline Business Case (OBC) for taking Edinburgh’s tram service down to Leith and Newhaven has been published. The news will not be met with unrestrained joy: the proposed tram line extension would see Leith Walk cut down to just ONE LANE for eighteen months if the £165.2 million project is approved. Continue reading Taking the tram to Newhaven?
Increasing number of potential victims being identified in Scotland
Human trafficking may be closer than most Scots think, a new awareness campaign has revealed. For the first time, the locations where victims of human trafficking have been identified over the last five years have been pinpointed to challenge perceptions that the crime is confined to Scotland’s major towns and cities. Continue reading Modern slavery: it could be closer than you think …
Continue reading Fringe organisers reflect on ‘very special year’
Universities and colleges across Scotland are gearing up for the arrival of students in the next couple of weeks. It is a busy time of year and students are being encouraged to add health care to the list of things they need to think about before starting their course. Continue reading Students urged: learn to look after your health
Minister for Employability and Training Jamie Hepburn said: “People affected by homelessness, who have criminal convictions or suffer from mental ill-health face significant barriers to finding work, and it can be challenging to balance the search for a job with the need to access other important services.
“These 13 new projects will join together employability and skills support with health and social care, housing, and justice services which will improve the quality of localised support available for people across the country.
“The work of these projects ties in with the fairer approach we are taking to deliver our newly devolved employment services, where we have removed the threat of sanctions and are providing support that is more flexible, tailored and responsive to people’s needs.”
Mr Hepburn announced the investment in Dundee. Funding of around £275,000 will go to a Tayside regional project to integrate employability and skills with housing, healthy living and community justice across Dundee, Perth and Kinross and Angus.
John Alexander leader of Dundee City Council said: “I am delighted that our joint bid to support people across the Angus, Dundee and Perth and Kinross area has been successful.
“We know that not having a job is only part of the challenge facing some people and this money will allow us to help them to overcome other issues around getting into employment including health, debt and housing.
“Specialist staff will be on hand to give support and advice as part of a 13-week programme, backed by the councils in Angus, Dundee and Perth and Kinross, while people are also learning new skills in applying for jobs, such as digital applications and improved interview techniques.”
Edinburgh’s initiative is the Joined Up for Jobs Integration Project, which will be operated by the city council’s arms-length employability organisation Capital City Partnership.
The project aims to ‘integrate the work of health and social care, housing and criminal justice by having a one year localities integration team to co-ordinate all activity working with a social care team, targeting social housing residents to engage with employability services, and implementing framework around Community in Motion pilot which aims to address the problems of low persistent re-offending’.
Deidre Brock MP has called for an urgent rethink of council plans to close Leith Registrar’s Office. Ms Brock only heard of the plans recently from a constituent who was making enquiries about booking a wedding there, with services set to be moved up to the City Chambers from October this year. Continue reading Leith Registrar’s office closure: Brock calls for rethink
NAWRA (National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers) is coming to Edinburgh and we are in the process of making our final arrangements for our quarterly meeting on 8th September 2017, which doubles as our annual Scottish conference (writes CRAIG SAMUEL, NAWRA Scotland representative).
Our conference this year is being held at Edinburgh City Chambers and whilst our membership covers many welfare rights services I am reaching out to all community groups to invite them to get in touch as more and more community groups are being asked to deal with queries on income and many occasions state benefits.
In case you are reading this and are unfamiliar with our work at NAWRA our aims and objectives include challenging, influencing and to improve welfare rights policy and legislation and we are involved with various government stakeholder groups whereby we recognize and challenge discriminatory legislation and we promote welfare rights issues and encourage effective partnership working.
I am ever so proud to have been asked to represent NAWRA in Scotland and part of my role is to attend stakeholder’s meetings for the roll out of PIP (Personal Independence Payment) and I also represent NAWRA at our stakeholders meeting with SCoWR (Scottish Campaign on Welfare Reform) whereby we continue to feedback in relation to Social Security.
Whilst I am proud to have been asked to represent NAWRA in Scotland – and I am extremely proud – but what really drives me and my organisation is the help we can provide our communities in fighting inequalities and these communities, don’t forget, also includes our friends, neighbours and families.
At NAWRA we encourage community groups to get involved and I will be happy to discuss with any community group that may be interested in attending or indeed joining NAWRA as throughout United Kingdom we know that representation is becoming more difficult to find due to budget cuts both locally and nationally.
NAWRA can support any community group and assist with issues that may be relevant, for example we know families who were already vulnerable to losing their homes now face further cuts since UK government changed the benefit cap level at the end of 2016 and placing a freeze on many benefits.
Welfare rights is not just about providing a foundation through income but through providing hope and allowing potential to be realized as at the minute opportunity is scarce as we can see with our friends at Sheffield Hallam University producing a recent academic paper looking at the destruction of industrial Britain.
We can see the destruction of traditional industrial areas and these have been decimated over the last 40 years and I am not alone but I personally remember watching in awe of dockers, miners and in my own experience of watching my grandfather’s work with the gas industry or indeed my father in the wire works and Scottish gas.
Having used their bodies to build our country do we see any protection towards these workers. Well what we see is industries lost, jobs lost and people left with disabilities having put their bodies on the line for their community and country.
Is there protection? Well for some yes but due to the design of PIP (personal independence payment) and implementation we can see since the transfer from DLA (disability living allowance) over 1 million PIP claims have been refused and people who need it most are losing out and when in their hour of need and when needing it most they are being dismissed and left with no foundation to move forward.
At our conference, we shall have speakers and workshops throughout the day and our conferences continue to be offered without charge to our members and our memberships, which start as little as £40.00 per year, is per organisation making it accessible and economical to all organisations.
I hope you agree with me in acknowledging how important our conferences are and how important it is to receive the best advice and how every situation is different and intricate so I look forward to seeing you at our meeting on 8th September 2017 or being contacted beforehand at craig@nawra.org.uk – our agenda can be seen at www.nawra.org.uk
CRAIG SAMUEL, NAWRA Scotland representative
