Join us for Treasure Island, our next family theatre performance at Lauriston Castle, on Thursday 23 July.
Join plucky Jim Hawkins and his crew of salty old sea dogs on their search for buried treasure in Quantum Theatre’s exciting adaptation of the pirate adventure classic, Treasure Island.
An action-packed show for all the family!
Abstractors are being urged to plan ahead as the risk of water scarcity across the east of Scotland remains.
The latest weekly water scarcity report from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) shows Findhorn has reached Moderate Scarcity with the Dee (Aberdeen) raised to Alert level.
This takes the number of areas in Moderate Scarcity to two; Findhorn and Tyne (Lothian) and the number of Alert levels to eight; Deveron, Ythan, Don (Aberdeenshire), Dee (Aberdeen), Firth of Tay, Firth of Forth, Almond and Tweed catchments.
SEPA publishes weekly water scarcity reports throughout the summer to provide abstractors with up-to-date information on conditions across the country. Reporting is designed to provide advance notice of developing conditions to support sustainable water use and help users plan ahead.
Despite the recent unsettled weather, the eastern coastal areas are experiencing more long-term dry conditions, following on from a dry spring, with wetter conditions experienced in the west.
As river flows are low to very low across eastern areas for this time of year with ground conditions particularly in the east and northeast becoming very dry, we will be contacting local abstractors regarding the situation giving them as much notice as possible to prepare ahead.
SEPA continues to monitor conditions closely through its national water scarcity reporting.
SEPA’s drought risk assessment tool provides up-to-date local information on river flows and potential water scarcity risk to help abstractors monitor conditions and support planning ahead.
Eilidh Johnston, Senior Leader in Compliance, said: “With warm and dry weather continuing in the east of the country, we are now starting to see the impacts of water scarcity with additional areas moving to Moderate Scarcity and Alert level.
“Several eastern catchments are experiencing drier than normal conditions and river flows are low to very low for this time of year there. As a result, there remains a risk of water scarcity developing into summer, particularly across the east, if summer rainfall is lower than normal.
“SEPA’s water scarcity reporting provides abstractors and other water users with advance notice of changing conditions so they can review water use, check equipment is operating effectively and plan ahead if needed.
“We would encourage abstractors to make use of SEPA’s drought risk assessment tools and guidance to help understand local conditions, increase their resilience to the impacts of prolonged dry conditions and support sustainable water use during dry periods.”
Further information on water scarcity levels, guidance and weekly reports is available on SEPA’s website.
COMMUNITY MEETING at BLACKHALL MOSQUE
WEDNESDAY 15th JULY at 6.30pm
A Young Ambassador with the charity Action for Children spent an afternoon in the presence of the King and Queen at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh this week.
Jack Nisbett, 20, from Haddington, East Lothian, attended a Royal Garden Party on Tuesday in recognition of his outstanding voluntary work.
Jack sits on Action for Children’s Young Ambassadors Board made up of volunteers aged between 14-25 from around the UK.
The board gets involved in the charity’s work, and campaigns to influence decision-making to ensure it reflects the views of young people.
Jack has ADHD and autism and has been supported by an Action for Children housing support service for just under two years.
Action for Children representatives are nominated to attend Royal Garden Parties each year through its Patron the Princess of Wales.
Reflecting on the experience, Jack said: “I absolutely loved it. It was a brilliant day and I enjoyed every minute. I also got the chance to meet First Minister John Swinney.”
“I chose to become a Young Ambassador to help young people without a voice. I want to help make a change in the lives of other young people who go through similar situations to mine and make the world better for young people across the UK.”
Jack and Robert Inglis, Locality Services Manager at Action for Children, mingled with hundreds of guests at the garden party, which was also attended by the Duke of Edinburgh and the Princess Royal.
Robert has worked at Action for Children since 2003 and supported almost 500 young people experiencing homelessness during that time.
Robert said: “Jack is an incredible young man who uses his personality and kindness to always try and improve the lives of others.
“He has so much to offer as a Young Ambassador, and recently travelled to Glasgow with young people from other voluntary organisations to write a letter to the Scottish Government outlining key priorities for young people that politicians should be addressing.”
Jack is one of around 30,000 children, young people and families supported each year by Action for Children in Scotland, through 90 services across 30 Scottish local authorities.
Action for Children, formerly known as National Children’s Homes (NCH), opened its first Scottish service in 1955 in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire. Since then, it has expanded to offer residential homes, disability support, youth justice, and family support services across the country.
A recent statement issued by Scotland’s thirty-two Chief Social Work Officers has highlighted an acute shortage of available fostering homes in Scotland, with children as young as three being placed in residential homes.
Whilst a shortage of foster carers across the UK has been a long-standing issue, children under five years of age being placed in residential homes alongside much older young people is alarming. Local authority foster carers are historically approached first for very young children. Therefore children being housed in residential homes is less about a change of approach for local authorities, and more about a decrease in foster carers generally.
This should be triggering an urgent ‘call to action’ for the government and fostering providers to increase carer recruitment efforts.
Andy Elvin, TACT Fostering CEO and Chair of The Fairer Fostering Partnership, an umbrella group of charitable fostering providers, said: “With the recent statement issued by Scotland’s thirty-two Chief Social Work Officers with regards to the acute shortage of available fostering homes, it is clear that this is a care emergency. Children as young as three being placed in residential homes isn’t acceptable or in the best interests of children.
“Here at TACT Fostering, we’ve introduced a number of financial wellbeing initiatives to help make fostering viable for more people. We’ve also introduced our ‘making spaces’ program centred around increasing our carers’ spare bedroom capacity to provide additional care, particularly to help bring siblings together.
“However, we do need more action at a governmental level as a matter of urgency to bring more people to fostering across Scotland. We would happily work with our Scottish local authority colleagues and the Scottish government in a national foster carer recruitment effort.
“It is clear that we need to work together in concert to address this emergency. The new legislation requiring that all Independent Fostering Providers are charities is an excellent opportunity to promote fostering across Scotland.”
Whilst the initial response needs to be finding suitable foster homes for under fives that are being placed in residential environments, local authorities and independent fostering providers need to prioritise carer recruitment strategies.
Organisations should also be looking to nurture and upskill their current foster carers, where possible.
Moving forward, it does seem that there needs to be a general change in the way local authorities approach the foster carer/family finding process for under fives and, in fact, all young people. Most independent fostering providers prepare and nurture their foster carers to match the care need in each region, and usually this does not include very young children.
If all requests for care were to call on both in-house local authority and external agency carers simultaneously, with the ‘best match’ being the goal in every scenario, all fostering providers would be in a better position to respond to care emergencies such as this.
Ultimately it would help to create a wider pool of foster carers able to care for children of all ages and with differing needs.
Find out more about fostering:
https://tactfostering.org.uk/location/fostering-in-scotland/
Joanne Smith, NSPCC Scotland policy and public affairs manager, said: “It is deeply concerning to hear from social work professionals that Scotland’s care system is in a state of emergency. The situations they describe highlight how overstretched the system has become.
“Every child who cannot live safely at home must have access to safe, consistent, nurturing and responsive care as early as possible. We have overwhelming evidence that failing to provide timely, high-quality care for children who have experienced early adversity can have devastating and lifelong consequences.
“The acute shortage of suitable homes and carers means that babies and children are left in unsafe, unstable, or inappropriate situations that harm their wellbeing immediately and can have lasting effects on their mental health, relationships and life chances.
“This must be a turning point. We need urgent action to increase the number of suitable foster placements, ensure better support for professionals and carers, and invest in early help so that fewer families reach crisis point in the first place.
“The Scottish Government has committed to keeping The Promise. To deliver its ambitions we must see much greater recognition that how we treat children at the start of their care journey could massively impact their life chances. Without immediate and sustained investment, we risk failing those children who are most vulnerable and need our protection the most.”
Scottish Book Trust has delivered books and toys to young patients at The Royal Hospital for Children and Young People.
The national reading and writing charity donated twenty of their popular Squishy Bookbug Reading Cushions, which are normally sold through Scottish Book Trust’s online shop to raise funds for the charity.
These squishy cushions will be given to young patients, allowing them to enjoy books and Bookbug sessions in comfort during their hospital stay.
Scottish Book Trust also donated two boxes of brand-new books for children and young people to enjoy while at the hospital. These included engaging stories for primary school ages and flap books for early years. Books are so popular at the Hospital that donations always go quickly.
The supplies were distributed with the help of Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity, which supports the children who are admitted to the children’s hospital at Little France, and their families.
With support from Scottish Book Trust, Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity has been running Bookbug Sessions in the Hospital Hub and on the wards to share stories, songs and rhymes with the children during their stay. These sessions are loved by children, young people and their families.
In this National Year of Reading, it’s more important than ever to promote the power of reading to children, and to inspire them through a love of stories and songs.
Catriona McIntyre, Arts and Wellbeing Manager at Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity said: ‘Scottish Book Trust supports families within the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in a huge variety of ways.
“The books that are so kindly donated help moments of connection during challenging times, supports bedtime routines, aids imagination and curiosity. Books are such an important part of our Wellbeing Hub, highlighting that this is a space for fun and enjoyment, just for them.
‘Bookbug is incredibly popular and ECHC is delighted to be able to host such a familiar event for families that would normally be going to in their local libraries and bring a little piece of normality.
“Our Bookbug sessions are facilitated by our lovely volunteer, Alison. Alison’s sessions have been such a hit in the hospital that she recently won a Volunteer Edinburgh Inspiring Volunteer Awards for her work volunteering in The Hub.’
Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: ‘We were delighted to be able to donate our Bookbug reading cushions and books to Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity, and we are pleased to hear just how much enjoyment they will give children and young people who have been admitted to hospital.
‘Book gifting is a vital part of our mission at Scottish Book Trust. We aim to help everyone in Scotland access books and all the benefits they bring through reading and writing. All proceeds from our shop help fund our charity to do more of its life-changing work.’
With the Scottish Government aiming to deliver average savings of £0.5bn a year to public services over the next three years, Holyrood’s Public Service Reform Committee is seeking views on how achievable the proposed public sector reforms are.
The Committee has today launched a consultation asking how barriers to progress with reform can be overcome; how preventative approaches to spending can be promoted; and how the delivery of public services can be simplified.
As part of its pre-budget scrutiny work, the Committee will also consider whether there is sufficient clarity around how front-line roles, which are to be protected, are defined.
Speaking as the call for views launched, Committee Convener Bob Doris MSP, said: “A Spending Review demanding £1.5bn worth of public sector efficiencies, lays bare the need for us to understand the detail of how these savings are to be made and fundamentally, how they will shape public service delivery.
“Funds designated for prevention must also be put to good use and the simplification of services must lead to positive outcomes for both the provision of services and expenditure.
“We’d like to hear from those who lead, deliver, and rely on public services about what steps can be taken to remove barriers to more progress with reform, support preventative approaches, and ensure that efficiencies do not undermine frontline delivery.
“Our scrutiny will help shape the Scottish Budget before it is finalised, so contributions at this stage are especially valuable.”
The Committee is keen to hear from leaders in the public sector; community planning partnerships; trade unions; academics and think tanks; third sector representatives and staff who deliver services within or on behalf of the public sector.
The call for views closes on Friday 14 August 2026 after which the Committee plans to take oral evidence, before reporting to Parliament late October/early November this year.
Read the questions and submit your views on Citizen Space
QUESTIONS
Attractions across Edinburgh and the east of Scotland are embracing the UK Government’s Great British Summer Savings scheme – making family days out more affordable.
The initiative, which cut VAT from 20% to 5% on children’s tickets on a variety of attractions and days out, and on children’s menu meals in restaurants, is now in operation and will run until 1 September.
UK Government Minister for Scotland Kirsty McNeill said: “Now schools are out for the summer across the east of Scotland, we want families to make the most of their time together.
“That’s why this summer, the UK Government is cutting the cost of a family day out with the Great British Summer Savings VAT reduction – helping families across the UK make the most of the summer break.
“Businesses will also feel the benefits with increased visitor numbers and more people discovering the wonderful range of activities and attractions we have throughout Scotland and the whole of the UK.
“Too many parents feel they have to hold back on treats or days out together because of cost of living pressures so the UK Government is slashing the VAT on a range of kids’ activities so families can afford more time together.”
One Edinburgh attraction supporting the savings for families is Camera Obscura and World of Illusions, which has already refunded the price difference to 1200 pre-paid tickets.
Tony Millar, Camera Obscura and World of Illusion’s manager, said: “We’re delighted to be part of the Great British Summer Savings initiative and to pass the benefit directly on to visitors. The summer holidays are an important time for families to make memories together, but we know the cost of days out can add up.
“By passing on the VAT reduction and reducing our ticket prices over the summer, we hope to make it easier for families, tourists and local visitors to enjoy a fun, memorable and great-value day out in the heart of Edinburgh.”
The VAT rate on eligible activities will be cut from 20% to 5% and applies across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The reduced rate will apply to:
This money-saving package supports families, while also supporting businesses through increased footfall. The government expects businesses to pass on VAT savings to customers.
Guidance for businesses in scope of the policy has been published by HMRC which outlines how businesses can operate the scheme.
For more information, see HM Treasury’s press release.
DESPICABLE THEFTS FROM ELDERLY WOMEN
A teenager has been arrested and charged in connection with the robbery of two elderly women in Edinburgh.
Around 2.10pm on Sunday, 14 June, a 93-year-old woman was approached by a man on Stevenson Road and robbed of jewellery.
A second incident happened during the same afternoon in Shandon Place, where a 78-year-old woman was approached, asked for directions, and subsequently robbed of jewellery.
A 17-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with both incidents. He was due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday – Friday, 3 July, 2026.
Detective Constable Lindsay Johnston said: “I would like to thank those members of the public who assisted the victims at the time and for their support during our investigation.
“As a direct result of our public appeal into the Stevenson Road incident, a second complainer came forward to report what happened to them in extremely similar circumstances in the Shandon Place area.
“We remain committed to tackling crimes of dishonesty and bring offenders before the courts.”
Queen Margaret University (QMU) is celebrating the success of a dynamic filmmaking initiative that has opened up the world of cinema to Edinburgh secondary school pupils – empowering them to develop their skills, build confidence and premiere their own short films.
Delivered in partnership with leading film and education organisations, Our Cinema’s 2026 ‘Children Meet Cinema’ workshop brought together S2–S3 pupils from Broughton High School for an intensive two-week programme.
Through a series of hands-on workshops, pupils developed skills in storytelling, filming and editing, culminating in the production of three original short films – set to premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival this August.
The initiative reflects QMU’s commitment to widening access to creative education and supporting young people to develop confidence, skills and new ways of expressing their ideas. By working directly with experienced practitioners, pupils gained first-hand insight into the creative industries and the collaborative nature of filmmaking.
Produced by Scottish arts community Transgressive North, and jointly led by Robert Munro, QMU Senior Lecturer in Film and Media, and Jamie Chambers, Senior Lecturer in Film, from Edinburgh College of Art, the initiative has involved collaboration with creatives and educators across Scotland’s screen and education sectors, including independent filmmaker Duncan Cowles, and Maili Fraser from Edinburgh Filmhouse.
The programme was further enriched by mentorship from acclaimed director Scott Graham, who helped shape a series of practical exercises designed to guide pupils through every stage of the filmmaking journey.
Robert Munro said: “Creative projects like this are about opening up the world of cinema to young people and showing them that their stories matter.
“It’s been inspiring to see the creativity, enthusiasm and teamwork shown by the pupils at Broughton High School over the past two weeks. This kind of experience can be genuinely transformative – helping young people see new possibilities for themselves and their future.”
Nicola Daniel, Curriculum Leader of the English and Media Faculty at Broughton High School, was impressed with the impact that this creative film project had on both pupils and staff.
She explained: “Being part of this project was one of the most uplifting creative experiences of my career. Working alongside such talented practitioners brought a richness and authenticity to the process that the young people immediately responded to.
“The project opened up the full world of film for them – from shaping ideas and storyboarding to camera work, sound, editing, and performance – and their enthusiasm was nothing short of infectious.”
Nicola added: “Watching the young people take risks, collaborate with maturity, and produce films that were imaginative, polished and deeply personal was extraordinary. The final showcase was a moment of genuine pride – a celebration of their talent, their resilience, and the transformative power of creative partnership.”
What stood out most for the teaching staff was the impact on learners’ confidence and voice.
Nicola explained: “Alongside developing technical skills, the pupils grew in self-belief, communication and creative thinking, with many discovering new strengths in leadership and storytelling.
“The project also offered staff fresh insight into pupils’ abilities and highlighted the value of working in partnership with universities and industry. Film‑making brings together creativity, teamwork and critical thinking in a uniquely accessible way, and this collaboration showed just how powerful that can be in raising aspiration and helping young people feel seen and heard.”
Lead Filmmaker Scott Graham added: “The ‘Children Meet Cinema’ project gives me hope for the future of filmmaking in Scotland.
“The young filmmakers from Broughton High School took the creative freedom we gave them and ran with it. They were a joy and an inspiration to work with and I can’t wait for their films to be unveiled at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival. Their work deserves to be presented on the biggest stage.”
Robert Munro concluded: “We’re now excited to share the pupils’ films with audiences at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on Monday 17 August. Showcasing their work on an international stage is a remarkable achievement and a powerful celebration of their creativity and hard work.”
QMU would like to thank the young people who took part, the staff at Broughton High School for their support, and St Stephen’s Comely Bank Church for providing space for the workshops. The project was inspired by Japan’s Children Meet Cinema, and the team would like to thank Etsuko Dohi for all her support.
The project was supported by funding from Queen Margaret University’s research impact and widening access funds.
Book tickets for the Edinburgh Film Festival at edfilmfest.org .
