Hundreds of local women will lose out as a result of the latest pension reforms, according to North and Leith MP Mark Lazarowicz.
House of Commons Library research has revealed the true cost of last week’s pension reforms to 500 women in Edinburgh North and Leith and 2,900 women in Edinburgh as a whole who are set to lose out. Five hundred local women born in 1952 and 1953 will not be eligible for the single tier pension since they are due to retire in 2017, before the state pension reforms come into effect. Men born during the same period, however, will qualify.
The news comes after the Government claimed that “we have to be absolutely transparent [about who will lose]” yet it has failed to make clear the full consequences of the planned reforms.
The unravelling of this latest pension announcement is the second time this government has been caught trying to hide the full impact of its changes for pensioners following the Granny Tax, according to Mr Lazarowicz.
He added: “Ministers have been caught red-handed hiding the truth on pension reforms. This government’s pension changes have hit hardworking women in Edinburgh time and again and these reforms are no different. 500 women will be nearly £2,000 worse off compared to men, but instead of being honest with the women that will lose out this government tried to bury the truth. Once again Ministers have been caught with their hands in pensioners’ pockets – it’s about time this government had the decency to be honest about who will lose out under their plans.”
A man was threatened with a knife before being bundled into a car and driven off.
The 45-year-old Chinese man was going into a common stair in Royston Main Crescent, Edinburgh at 5.30pm on Tuesday when three men went up to him.
The assaulted him before pulling out a knife and emptying his pockets. The man was then forced into the back of a black car which drove off towards Crewe Road North.
The car did not travel far before stopping at a walkway running between Morrisons and Ainslie Park Leisure Centre and the man was thrown out. He then tried to get help from passing cyclists before he was dragged back into the car.
The kidnappers then dropped him off back at Royston Mains Crescent before driving off.
The three men were white, in their 30s, of average height and wearing scarves over their faces.
Detective Sergeant Andy Macmillan said: “While the victim was not seriously injured, this was a terrifying ordeal for him to endure and he was left understandably distressed.
“Police are carrying out local enquiries to see if anyone remembers seeing anything suspicious in the area, or can help us identify the men responsible.
“We are particularly keen to speak to the cyclists who rode past the man after he exited the car. These individuals are asked to contact police immediately.
“Similarly, anyone with other information relevant to this investigation is also asked to come forward.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131 or through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Granton Community Gardeners are among the grassroots environmental projects in Edinburgh to received over £5,000 funding support from the Central Scotland Green Network’s (CSGN) Community Projects Fund, to improve their local greenspace and enhance the quality of their environment.
Supported by Forestry Commission Scotland, the CSGN Community Projects Fund is designed to help local communities get involved in delivering green network improvements on the ground to foster community pride in their local greenspaces.
In total, £5,826 was awarded to three projects in the Edinburgh area. The Granton Community Gardeners group has been awarded £2,000 to support North Edinburgh Harvest by purchasing a range of tools, so that the group can accomodate more people working in the garden. The funding will also be used to make access improvements to the garden for older or disabled people.
The Friends of Cammo group has been awarded £1,826 to carry out improvements to the Pinetum at the Cammo Estate in Edinburgh. This project is part of an ongoing series of works to improve the habitat and amenity of the Estate. The funding will be used to plant hedgerows, create areas of wildflowers and to commence management of the Pinetum by replacing trees, clearing scrub, and providing additional space for young “endangered” species of conifers.
Finally the GreenFerry Trust has been awarded £2,000 to improve the nature conservation value of Hopetoun Road Community Woodland and to provide a high quality landscape that the local community can experience and enjoy.
Keith Geddes, Chair of the Central Scotland Green Network Partnership Board, said: “After the positive response our Community Projects Fund received in its inaugural year, it is great to see the programme continue to go from strength to strength and cement our commitment to providing support to grass-roots environmental projects.”
“The CSGN Community Projects Fund aims to break down barriers and provide much needed support for projects that are delivering environmental improvements on the ground. It is these initiatives which are instrumental in achieving our goal of creating a high-quality green network across Central Scotland that will meet environmental, social and economic objectives and ultimately improve the quality of life for local communities.”
Thirty three environmental community projects throughout the CSGN area received a share of this year’s Community Projects Fund.
As one of the Scottish Government’s 14 ‘National Developments’ for Scotland in the second National Planning Framework, the CSGN will change the face of Central Scotland, by restoring, transforming and greening the landscape of an area stretching from Ayrshire and Inverclyde in the west, to Fife and the Lothians in the east.
The CSGN encompasses 19 local authorities across 10,000 sq km and has the potential to benefit 3.5million people, equating to 70 per cent of Scotland’s population. The network’s overarching vision is that by 2050, Central Scotland will be transformed into a place where the environment adds value to the economy and where people’s lives are enriched by its quality.
It could become the most hated piece of legislation to be inflicted on British people since the infamous Poll Tax. And it’s now only weeks away …
In April, a new measure is to be introduced that will apply to all tenants of working age – welfare reforms will cut the amount of benefit that people can get if they are deemed to have a spare bedroom in their council or housing association home.
Under the legislation, size criteria will restrict housing benefit to allow for one bedroom for each person or couple living as part of the household. Children under sixteen years old will be expected to share with others of the same gender, while children under ten will be expected to share regardless of gender.
Under the new legislation – labelled the bedroom tax – all claimants who are then deemed to have at least one spare bedroom will be affected and face an ‘under occupation’ penalty: a cut to their housing benefit.
The cut will be a fixed percentage of the Housing Benefit eligible rent, which the Westminster government has stated will be set at 14% for one extra bedroom and 25% for two or more extra bedrooms.
Those affected – around 660,000 working-age social housing tenants (over 30% of existing Housing Benefit claimants in the social sector) in the UK – will lose an average of £14 per week, with Housing Association tenants expected to lose around £16 per week.
The architect of the scheme is investment banker and Welfare Reform Minister Baron Freud of Eastry – who incidentally lives in an eight-bedroom Kent mansion when he is not staying in his four-bedroom townhouse in London’s Highgate. The noble Lord believes that ‘spare council house bedrooms are a luxury the country can no longer afford: “It’s not fair or affordable for people to continue to live in homes that are too large for their needs when, in England alone, there are around five million people on the social housing waiting list and over a quarter of a million tenants are living in overcrowded conditions. It’s only right that we bring fairness back to the system and make better use of the social housing stock.”
He went on: “Nearly a third of working-age social housing tenants on housing benefit are living in accommodation which is too big for their needs, in spite of the fact of severe overcrowding. We are stopping the practice of the state paying for rooms beyond claimant needs, and that should go in some way to help tackle the social housing shortage that has been blighting too many lives.”
Baron Freud
Lord Freud and his ministerial chums hope that more households will chose to ‘downsize’ to smaller, more affordable properties – and in the process slash £500 million from the Housing Benefit bill. So the government reduces the national debt and tenants get suitably-sized homes: a win, win situation, then – everybody’s happy?
Sadly not. There’s a desperate shortage of suitable, smaller accommodation, as Shelter Scotland Director Graeme Brown explained: “The UK Government is simply failing to listen to the voice of reason being put forward by housing professionals, social landlords, MSPs and individuals. Penalizing low-income people for having an extra room assumes that there is a ready supply of smaller properties for them to move to. This is simply not the case. So the only consequence will be people stuck in homes with mounting rent arrears and a further descent into debt. Even at this late stage, we urge the UK Government to modify its proposals.”
According to the latest Scottish government figures, there are 586,000 households in the social rented sector in Scotland, and 105,000 of these – roughly one in five – will be affected by the Bedroom Tax, each losing an average of around £50 per month.
Advice organisations have already seen a significant increase in demand for their services, and the imminent welfare reforms will inevitably lead to even more desperate cries for help.
Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) Chief Executive Margaret Lynch gave evidence about the impact of welfare changes on advice services at the Scottish Parliament earlier this month.
She said: “We expect demand for benefit advice, to increase even further along with an increased need for other areas of advice such as debt, housing, and budgeting due to changes in benefits. This increase in casework, as well as the increasing complexity and time-consuming nature or many issues, is of course having a knock-on effect on the ability of our service to help our clients.
“We are already at breaking point so desperately need to be adequately resourced to enable us to help those who need it most as we aim to mitigate the impact of welfare reform as much as possible. The recent benefits uprating bill debate highlighted the statistics showing how the poorest are paying the price for cuts. The evidence we are publishing today is not just statistics but is based on the real lives of real people. It is not just about the numbers of people affected, but the severity of the individual cases. We have seen a big rise in the number of people in crisis situations, either because of the direct impact of a benefit cut or because they have fallen through the gaps in the safety net that is meant to protect them.
“The evidence we are publishing shows who is really being hit hardest by current policies and it includes thousands of people who are genuinely sick, disabled, and vulnerable and deserve support. The impact of current policies don’t just hit the individual claimant but can also have a huge effect on children and others being cared for. Pushing people further into poverty and financial difficulties will lead to an increase in other problems such as homelessness, health inequalities, and family breakdown, as well as lead to rising debt and an increase for food hand-outs. Tackling these issues in future years will only add to the overall public spending bill, not reduce it. The UK government must heed this evidence and question whether they really want to continue on a track of devastating reforms which can only damage more lives.”
Shelter Scotland has issued advice to tenants likely to be hit by the imminent benefit cuts, and urge them to ACT NOW:
If you’re going to be affected by a deduction to your housing benefit then it’s very important that you prepare for the change before April 2013.
There are several things you can do:
take in a lodger – renting out a spare room would bring in extra income, but make sure you get the agreement of your landlord first and check whether this will affect any other benefits that you’re currently receiving
ask for a contribution to your rent – your family members may be able to pay more towards your rent
move to a smaller property – you may be able to transfer to a smaller property, speak to your council or the housing association you’re renting from to see if you can apply to do this
apply for a discretionary housing payment – your local council may be able to give you temporary support to help you stay in your home through a discretionary housing payment.
If you can’t pay all your rent after the reduction you may have to think about finding somewhere else to live or you will risk falling behind with your rent and possibly being evicted. Speak to an adviser in your area as soon as possible if you’re worried that this may happen to you.
For Local advice:
Granton Information Centre 134-138 West Granton Road. Telephone 552 0458 Email info@gic.org.uk
‘Power to the People’, an introduction to the history of protest in Scotland, restarted at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre this morning but a few spaces for new faces are available for the new session.
Community Learning and Development worker Lynn McCabe, who devised and supports the course, said: “The Power to the People course started back this morning (Tuesday 29 January) at 9.45 in Royston Wardieburn Community Centre, the first session of the second term which will cover the period 1800 – 1900. From now until the end of March we will be looking at the Radical War, Chartism, the Great Disruption, the Campaign for Home Rule and the birth of the Labour and Trade Union Movement. We have regular visits and have a few outside speakers each term – next week our guest speaker will be Alex Wood. We have a few spaces on the course at the moment and new people can join at any time.”
The first term proved to be very popular (pictures below), so if you’d like to learn more about the history of Scottish activism drop in to Royston Wardieburn Community Centre on Pilton Drive North (telephone 552 5700) on Tuesday mornings for a 9.45 start, or email lynn.mccabe@ea.edin.sch.uk for further information. It’s free – all welcome.
Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA) has appointed its first Welfare Rights Officer. Craig Samuel has joined the Association on a 14 month secondment from the City of Edinburgh Council’s Advice Shop.
Responsible for helping with the take-up of welfare state benefits and representation with tribunal work up to and including upper tier level, Craig will be on hand to offer expert guidance to PoLHA’s 3,500 tenants.
He said: I’m delighted to have joined PoLHA and the fact I was born in Leith made it an easy decision to take up this great opportunity to offer my help and to ensure PoLHA is well represented with our voice being heard within local government.”
Craig’s appointment has lead to the creation of PoLHA’s Welfare Rights Service, strengthening the Association’s existing advice services for help in managing debt, affordable warmth advice to help with fuel debt and advice and support to maintain tenancies.
Keith Anderson, Chief Executive of PoLHA, said: “Craig’s role and the creation of an additional service will greatly benefit our tenants at a time which is set to impact on them significantly.”
Staff at the only hostel in the Capital run by a social landlord have been praised following a recent care services inspection. Leith’s Dunedin Harbour Hostel has been awarded ‘very good’ grades after an inspection by the Care Inspectorate.
Managed by Dunedin Canmore Housing Group, the hostel – the only hostel service delivered by a Housing Association in Edinburgh – scored highly for the quality of care and support it provides to homeless people. Dunedin Harbour Hostel provides short term support of up to 12 weeks. The service also provides medium term support, up to six months, in self contained flats within the hostel accommodation. At the time of our inspection 35 people were using the service.
Staff have various areas of expertise, including mental health, drugs, alcohol and counselling. The team provides housing advice, emotional and practical support and help with independent living skills. And they work closely with each person to identify and work towards their personal goals, promote healthy lifestyles and build skills for work.
The report said the Parliament Street-based hostel service has been creative in helping people access support, working with a range of services to build relationships with people in the hostel that can continue after their stay.
Dunedin Canmore’s Sheltered Housing Division also scored ‘very good’ in the inspection. The Sheltered Housing Division provides a housing support service to around 340 tenants living in nine sheltered housing complexes across Edinburgh. Tenants have self contained flats and each complex has a communal lounge, kitchen and laundry facilities.
The report said, “The sheltered housing managers we met were enthusiastic about their role and committed to supporting tenants to live as independently as possible. Sheltered housing tenants were happy with the support they received from their sheltered housing manager. They were viewed as friendly, approachable and helpful and the “extra” help they gave was very much appreciated.”
Housing Manager Rhona McAdam said: “I am delighted with the Very Good Grade from the Care Inspectorate. This reflects the hard work of all the staff in the service and their commitment to providing an excellent service to the tenants in sheltered housing. I am very pleased by the many positive comments which the tenants made about their sheltered managers to the Care Inspector. Our Care Inspector also offered us some useful suggestions on how we might further improve our service, which we are currently implementing.”
We have two courses coming up at North Edinburgh Arts Centre:
Our Child Safety and storytelling courses as introductory childcare courses which benefit women looking for a career in childcare as well mothers interested in their own parenting.
Our Storyelling course is especially popular with students interested in child development and speech development in children. All students will receive a certificate for both courses.
The timebank singers, now called North Edinburgh Sings Together, want to recruit more members.
We meet Thursday mornings, 10-12 at North Edinburgh Arts. Everyone is welcome, you don’t have to be a great singer. It’s a relaxed informal way to enjoy singing, and we positively welcome new people dropping in. You don’t have to make any commitment, come along any Thursday when you can. We’re also keen that speakers of other languages get involved as we would like to learn songs from around the world.
We are also looking for a pianist to accompany the group on Thursday mornings. We can pay them for their time! So any local musician with time on a Thursday morning, let us know!
![Mark_Lazarowicz[1]](https://i0.wp.com/nen.press/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/mark_lazarowicz1.jpg?ssl=1)
