Sight Scotland and Hearts and Minds are delighted to announce the launch of Play and Connect, an innovative play-based service designed for children aged 0-3 with vision impairments and their families.
This pioneering programme, currently piloting in Edinburgh and Glasgow, provides a supportive and engaging environment tailored to address the unique challenges faced by these children and their parents.
Play and Connect combines the expertise of Sight Scotland’s specialist QVTI teachers and habilitation experts with Hearts and Minds’ renowned Clowndoctor approach.
This collaboration, which draws on over a decade of partnership between the two organisations, creates a nurturing space where families can engage in sensory play, involving rhythm, music, stories, and sounds.
The sessions focus on building confidence in non-verbal communication and creative play, while also fostering connection and support among families.
At the end of each session, a debrief is provided, giving parents the chance to reflect on the session, discuss any concerns, and receive practical tools to support their child’s development at home.
Lucy Chetty, Head of Learning at the Royal Blind School, comments: “This service is a crucial step in ensuring that children with vision impairments and their families receive the early support they need.
“Scotland has over 4,500 young people with vision impairments, yet the condition is often misunderstood, especially in preschool children. Early intervention is vital for these children’s development, as it helps lay the foundation for their future education, social interaction, and well-being.
“Parents of children with vision impairments often feel overwhelmed and isolated, which can be exacerbated when attending traditional baby and toddler groups. These families frequently face feelings of loneliness and a lack of support. Play and Connect offers an inclusive, relaxed environment where families can bond, share experiences, and feel understood. The sessions are tailored to each child’s needs, providing them with specialised stimulation and creative play to thrive.”
Lucy Chetty adds: “The feedback we’ve received so far has been incredible. Parents have been emotional when they see their child beginning to interact with their environment differently, recognising sounds, responding to stimulation, and improving communication skills.
“It is so heartening to watch the children grow in confidence and engage with their surroundings. There’s nothing else quite like this available in Scotland; there is no pressure, no stress, just a relaxed atmosphere where all interaction is led by the child’s preferences and what stimulates them.”
Lucy McGreal from Hearts and Minds says: “Hearts & Minds are delighted to have the Clowndoctors work with Sight Scotland on the pilot project, Play & Connect.
“Clowndoctor visits offer authentic connection and imaginative engagement, responding to how the child or young person is feeling at that moment.
“Throughout our long-standing relationship with the Royal Blind School, they have seen first-hand the impact that the Clowndoctors have had with their young people and together we identified an opportunity for preschool children with visual Impairment and their families to engage with a Clowndoctor visit.
“Clowndoctor visits are accessible to children of all ages and abilities and are performed on their terms. The space that has been created during the start of Play & Connect has highlighted the opportunity for their unique voice, unique humour, unique imagination and their unique self to be valued, validated and amplified at times when they might be feeling powerless, anxious, lonely, or bored.
“This has also been seen within the families that have attended the sessions.”
The Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland is delighted to announce full details of its fourth Pomegranates Festival which will run from Friday 25 to Wednesday 30 April 2025 at various venues across Edinburgh.
The Pomegranates Festival in partnership with TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland) and Moray House School of Education and Sport, at the University of Edinburgh celebrates Scottish traditional dance alongside world traditional dance practised by New Scots and cultural migrant communities across Scotland.
It is supported by Creative Scotland and includes exhibitions, ceilidhs, workshops, walking tours, and talks about traditional dance from Scotland and around the world. Every year the Pomegranates Festival explores the intrinsic links of traditional dance with live music, film, fashion, poetry, art and heritage craft.
This year’s festival theme is masks invitingfestival-goers to experience the power of masks used in different traditions; and reflect on the significance, beauty and mystery of masks and mask-making in traditional dance from antiquity to modern days.
The festival opens on Friday 25 April with a packed programme of short films of traditional dance followed by a Q&A with featured creatives, including the award-winning filmmakers Marlene Millar and Mare Tralla. Marlene’s films include To Begin the Dance Once More(2023) which tells the story of displacement and water crisis reimagined through the mythological world by three climate refugees from Scotland and Egypt; and Bhairava (2018) filmed on location in India which evokes Shiva, the Lord of Dance as both the destroyer of evil driving out terrible deeds, and the guardian of time.
Also screening is Mare Tralla’s new screen dance The Bright Fabric of Life (2024) which tenderly addresses the life-altering injuries sustained by women in labour, told using traditional African dance and music; Home (2023, Dir. Kes Tagney) which explores the deep connection people have for the place they call home featuring Scottish Step dancer Sophie Stephenson;Crowned by Flame (2024, Dir. Lyuxian Yu) about the Chinese Yi ethnic community’s Cigarette Box dance; Armea (2024. Dir. Letila Mitchell)which chronicles the homecoming of the dancers and musicians of the Pacific island of Rotuma; On Canada Day(2024, Dir. Gurdeep Pandher) reflecting on Canada’s past through a dance fusion of Punjabi and Celtic traditions; and Autocorrect (2022, Dir. Jonzi D) inspired by the COVID-19 face masks, set to the spoken word of Saul Williams and commissioned by Sadler’s Wells.
Hip-hop dance theatre artist, choreographer and dancer Jonzi D returns to the festival as this year’s choreographer-in-residence and will be working with traditional dance artists based in Scotland to create this year’s masked festival finaleHidden Faces which will premiere on the International Day of Dance (29 April 2025).
Other highlights include:
● The premiere sharing of not for glory – a skirling new dance-theatre performance of bodies and bagpipes, and rebellious unravelling of traditional dance and music by Jack Anderson, Charlotte Mclean and in collaboration with musician Malin Lewis.
● The premiere sharing of Sequins – a new hip hop dance theatre solo show by Kalubi Mukangela-Jacoby set to the Pomegranates Festival spoken word commission of Sequins of Poems to Dance To by Ian McMillan.
● An evening of poetry, dance and discussion focusing on Intangible Cultural Heritage and its relationship with Scottish traditional dance.
● A new exhibition of masks (3 Apr-12 May) by Pomegranates Festival artist-in-residence Lorraine Pritchard – anEdinburgh-based mask maker, costume-designer and fashion model, plus the only Scottish artist performing at the Venice Carnival 2025. Lorraine’s first solo exhibition, especially curated for the festival, zooms on the relationship between the heritage craft of mask-making and traditional dance and features masks, photographs, films and books, including Lorraine’s new Venetian Carnival masks which ahead of the exhibition will be premiered and modelled by the artist at this year’s Carnevale in Venice 21 February – 4 March.
● A day of walking tours led by dance historians Alena Shmakova and Agnes Ness about the role of women in traditional dance past and present, with focus on the role of Mary, Queen of Scots.
● A dance theatre matinee which is the culmination of Pomegranates dance artists-in-residence at Edinburgh’s Abbeyhill and Royal Mile Primary Schools. Over 20 resident dancers – all postgraduate students in Dance Science and Education at the University of Edinburgh will perform alongside the Scot Polish musician-in-residence Aga Idczak. The choreography of the Scot Cypriot artist Sotirios Panagoulias and the costume design by the New York born Scot Polish designer Gerry Gapinski are co-created with over fifty pupils aged 10-11 years. The matinee is the outcome of an unique co-devising method of Socratic Circles, weaving in the children’s ideas, drawings and poems about the wee objects selected by each pupil to represent their diverse heritage.
In the lead up to the start of the festival there will also be a podcast released on 8 March to celebrate International Women’s Day, previewing the story of Mary, Queen of Scots in Edinburgh and her passion for dance, with New Scot Alena Shmakova.
Plus, there will be a Ceilidh Plus mixing Scottish, Bulgarian and Irish traditional dancing on 21 March to celebrate 10 years of the Bulgarian traditional dance school in Edinburgh and St Patrick’s Day on 17 March.
This popular event is part of the festival’s year-round programme of Ceilidh Plus evenings held at the Kings Hall that combine Scottish dancing with traditional dances from the migrant and diaspora communities in Scotland.
During the festival the Ceilidh Plus event will showcase a mix of Scottish, Polish and Hungarian dance styles.
All festival events are presented on a free or affordable ‘pay what you can‘ basis.
Wendy Timmons and Iliyana Nedkova, Festival Co-curators said:“In 2025 when we celebrate Edinburgh’s 900 years journey from the 12th Century City of David to the 21st City of Diversity, we are very proud to present the fourth edition of Pomegranates – Edinburgh’s festival of diversity in traditional dance, the festival that has already made it to the #ListHot100 as one of the 100 most influential cultural events of the year.
“Expect a flair of mystery as this year our festival artists will don their dance masks and take on whole new personalities honouring their traditions and our global living heritage.”
John Ravenscroft, Head of the Centre for Research in Education, Inclusion and Diversity (CREID) at Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh said: “I am very pleased to continue to forge our strategic academic partnership with the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland which dates back to 2018. Great to see the return of the Pomegranates Festival choreographer-in-residence Jonzi D who delivered the seminal Decolonising the Curriculum keynote lecture at Moray House School of Education and Sport as part of last year’s festival.
“I am also excited about the opening matinee which is part of the wider campaign advocating for the diverse forms of world traditional dance becoming a primary ingredient of our children’s primary education.
“This campaign is run by the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland in conjunction with our Centre and our School while the matinee is funded by the University of Edinburgh through the Edinburgh Local Community Fund.”
MC, Jonzi D, hip hop dance theatre artist and choreographer-in-residence at this year’s Festival, said: “Following my Pomegranates festival debut last year, I am really honoured to be invited back as this year’s choreographer-in-residence, plus I am particularly partial to the new festival theme of masks.
“Traditional dance is important, including masked dance, because it represents living heritage while celebrating difference. I think we’ve reached a period in society where our differences are being used against us; our differences are being used to keep us separated; our differences are being used as judgmental tools. Manufactured polarisation. But our infinite differences define our identities, and still we have more in common than we have apart. Pomegranates festival celebrates our differences.”
Vanessa Boyd, Interim Head of Dance at Creative Scotland says: “Pomegranates Festival continues to be an important platform celebrating Scotland’s rich traditional dance heritage alongside the diverse influences that shape our communities today.
“This year’s focus on masks highlights a powerful symbol that has been used in dance for centuries, transforming performers and deepening storytelling across cultures.
“Audiences can look forward to experiencing new work and exploring the rich and diverse traditional dance forms that the Pomegranates Festival has to offer across a packed programme of live performance, screen, workshops and community gatherings.”
The Pomegranates Festival (25 – 30 Apr) is the annual platform for the diverse 250+ individual and organisational members of the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland to teach, learn and perform in new dance theatre and screen dance shows, as well as new productions and residencies.
This is the fourth edition of Scotland’s annual festival of international traditional dance, initiated, curated and produced by the Traditional DanceForum of Scotland.
It is presented in partnership with TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland), Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Central Library, Dance Base and the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
In 2025 the Pomegranates Festival is funded by Creative Scotland Multi-Year Funding through TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland); the City of Edinburgh Council and University of Edinburgh through the Edinburgh Local Community Fund.
Please see above a poster from our Parents who attended and delivered the deputation to the Councillors yesterday. We had some mums in the gallery who behaved extremely well but were disheartened by the sheer ignorance of over half the councillors who didn’t look up nor listen to many of the deputations being delivered.
They feel they have no choice but to ask for community support and a petition to ask for funding to keep their centre open not just for one year but for longer term funding for us and other community-owned community centres who are delivering some amazing work.
We have enough funding to the end of the year and depend on room hire and fundraising to keep us open.
Why do we have to every few years have to go cap in hand to the councillors we elected to ask for funding for vital resources based within our community?
We hope to have some councillors to sit on a panel and answer some questions but if they do not come we will have a panel of local people who will take questions and make sure these are sent to our local councillors and politicians.
Look forward to seeing you next week.
Thank you
The Parents from LIFT@ Muirhouse Millennium Centre
Cancer death rates are around 80% higher for people living in the most deprived areas of Scotland compared to the least deprived, a new report from Cancer Research UK reveals.
The report, titled Cancer in the UK 2025: Socioeconomic Deprivation, found that there are around 4,300 extra cancer deaths in Scotland each year linked to socioeconomic inequality. This equates to 12 additional deaths each day – around a quarter of all deaths from cancer.
Almost half of these additional deaths are caused by lung cancer, where the death rate for the most deprived areas is almost three and a half times that of the least deprived areas of Scotland.
More than a tenth of all cancer diagnoses in Scotland are linked to deprivation. Many of these cases are caused by preventable risk factors such as smoking.
Smoking is the biggest cause of cancer in Scotland, and rates in the most deprived parts of the country are more than four times those in the least deprived.
In publishing the report, Cancer Research UK is calling for urgent action to tackle these stark inequalities.
One vital opportunity to do so is the upcoming vote in Scotland for new legislation which will see an increase in the age of sale of tobacco.
If MSPs vote for the new Tobacco and Vapes Bill, it would become illegal to sell tobacco to anyone born after 1st January 2009.
This vote will pave the way for the Bill to become law in Scotland, as well as the rest of the UK.
Dr Sorcha Hume, Cancer Research UK’s public affairs manager in Scotland, said: “Where you live shouldn’t increase your risk of dying from this devastating disease.These figures are shocking and unacceptable and crucially many of these cancer deaths are avoidable.
“With almost half of the additional deaths being caused by lung cancer, it’s clear that action on smoking is needed urgently.
“Smoking remains the leading cause of lung cancer, a disease that is often diagnosed late when treatment options are more limited.
“One of the ways we can prevent lung cancer is to deter people from ever taking up smoking in the first place.
“If MSPs vote in support of the age of sale legislation in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, it could be one of the most impactful public health interventions in living memory, helping people to live longer, better lives, no matter where they live in Scotland.”
Introducing a lung cancer screening programme in Scotland would also help address these inequalities.
The UK National Screening Committee has recommended that all UK nations move towards implementing a national lung cancer screening programme to target those considered to be of high risk of developing lung cancer – people aged between 55 and 74 who either smoke or used to smoke.
A targeted lung screening programme is being introduced in England, but no such commitment has been made by the Scottish Government.
If lung screening were to be introduced, around 400 extra cases each year in Scotland could be diagnosed at an early stage (stages 1 and 2) rather than a late stage (stages 3 and 4).
Dr Hume added: “Lung screening matters because it means more people can be diagnosed at an earlier stage, when treatment is more likely to be successful.
“Research has consistently shown that lung screening is effective at reducing deaths from cancer so it’s essential a Scotland-wide programme is introduced here as soon as possible.”
Councillors agree record spend on primary schools and extra support for social care
Millions of pounds will be spent on protecting and improving schools and crucial frontline services in Edinburgh.
Setting Edinburgh’s budget today (Thursday 20 February) councillors identified a £1.8bn spending programme focused on investing in services for children, older residents and those most in need of support.
Labour’s Budget plans were passed with Conservative and Lib Dem support.
An increase in Council Tax rates will be used to balance the budget and to increase spending on frontline services like education, social care and road safety around schools; in direct response to calls from local residents during extensive budget consultation.
Council Leader Jane Meagher said: “Together we’ve been able to deliver a balanced budget and prioritise spend on the areas residents have told us they care about most, while staying true to the Council’s core commitments of tackling poverty and climate change and ‘getting the basics right’.
“We’ve updated our plans at every step, taking stock of the thousands of responses gathered during our public consultation calling for us to invest in our frontline services.
“Residents and community groups have been loud and clear that people want spending on schools and roads to be protected, sharing concerns about the local impact of the national social care crisis, and that they’d be willing to see Council Tax raised to make this happen.
“We’ve listened and we’ve gone further – agreeing record spend on over a dozen new and existing school buildings, specific funding for road safety around schools and substantial extra money for the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership.
“We’ll be tackling Edinburgh’s housing and homelessness emergencies and investing in our communities, including money towards roads and a new Blackhall Library.
“For all that, we have had to make many difficult decisions to make substantial savings and I’m grateful to all Councillors for their input. We remain the lowest funded local authority in Scotland, and I will continue to call for fairer funding for Edinburgh.”
Finance and Resources Convener Cllr Mandy Watt said: “Residents are aware of the financial challenges we face following years of underfunding, and they’ve told us in their thousands that they want to see vital services protected and enhanced. I’m pleased that we’ll be able to use the £26 million raised from an 8% increase in Council Tax to protect and improve these services.
“Huge pressures on health and social care and housing remain unaddressed nationally and while this Budget does everything within our power to protect local services, we need greater action to be taken at a government level.
“A huge amount of work has taken place to consider our budget options, with detailed proposals reported to Committees and tweaked in the months leading up to today’s final decision. I’d like to thank Council officers for all their work on this.”
Lib-Dem votes ensured the Labour budget was passed. Group leader Cllr Kevin Lang said after the meeting: “Very proud of what the LibDems on Edinburgh Council have just achieved.
“Thanks to us , cuts to teachers and pupil support have been stopped, there’s a record budget for road safety projects and SNP plans to cut money for road and pavement repairs have been blocked (again).”
The SNP criticised the administration’s budget as lacking any vision for Edinburgh. SNP group leader Simita Kumar said before the meeting: “It’s pretty damning.
“Labour are just rubber-stamping officer proposals without adding any political direction, what’s the point of them being in power? Zero accountability, zero vision, and zero leadership.”
Substantial spend on schools
In the highest spending on school buildings in recent years, £296m will be invested towards five new campuses (Granton Waterfront, Newcraighall, St Catherine’s, Gilmerton Station and Builyeon), five extensions (Hillwood, Queensferry and Frogston primaries, plus Castlebrae and Craigmount high schools), plus a replacement building for Fox Covert.
The council will invest an additional £30m towards upgrading special needs schools, with improvements designed to allow as many pupils as possible to see their needs met locally.
An additional £6.6m will be spent on road safety, particularly around schools. A further £0.5m will be used to drive improvements in educational attainment and £1m will be invested in Holiday Hubs, with options to make this scheme more sustainable to be explored.
Funding will also be protected around enhanced pupil support bases, pathways for pupil support assistants, transition teachers and devolved school budgets.
Extra support for social care
Up to £66m will be spent on Health and Social Care facilities in light of increasing demands for services, a growing and aging population and the rising costs to the EIJB of delivering these services.
As part of this, councillors have agreed to set up a new Innovation and Transformation Fund – subject to match-funding by NHS Lothian – to leverage additional capital investment worth up to £16m.
Additional funding will provide support for Adult Health and Social Care worth £14m plus £5.6m will be put towards adaptations, to help people to live in their own homes independently.
Up to £2.5m from a Reform Reserve will be allocated to third sector support, plus income maximisation of £1m, following challenges with reduced funding available to charities and voluntary organisations from the EIJB.
More budget spent on roads
Responding to the results of the council’s budget consultation – where people said they’d like to see money spent on roads, Edinburgh will spend £40m on roads and transport in the year ahead.
Focusing on areas identified by a Women’s Safety survey, where certain parts of the city were described as feeling unsafe, as part of this spend the council will invest £12.5m this year and next improving roads, pavements, streetlights.
A further £6.6m will be invested in Safer Routes to School and travelling safely.
Prioritising our communities and climate
Councillors have committed to climate remaining a key priority and over the next 12 months and an additional £2.9m will support actions with city partners to address Edinburgh’s climate and nature emergencies.
Supporting a Just Transition, affordable, net zero housing including 3,500 new, sustainable homes in the £1.3bn transformation of Granton Waterfront will be taken forward.
An additional £15m is planned to sustainably replace Blackhall Library, which has been closed due to RAAC, while £0.5m will be used to increase enforcement to keep the city cleaner and safer. Around £0.5m will also be used to create better data to support local decision making.
Focused poverty prevention
Councillors have committed to accelerate the work of the End Poverty Edinburgh Action Plan, tackle the city’s Housing Emergency and review the way the council supports the third sector in Edinburgh.
Councillors agreed to continue to support the Regenerative Futures Fund which will help local communities to lead poverty prevention and deliver change.
The council will invest £50m in purchasing and building suitable temporary accommodation for people experiencing homelessness.
Following agreement of the Housing Revenue Account budget, Edinburgh will continue work to retrofit high rise blocks and spend £14.8m towards new affordable housing and upgrades to void properties, to get them back into use as homes.
Council rents will be raised by 7% to raise much needed new funds to upgrade housing, with Councillors also agreeing to increase the city’s Tenant Hardship Fund by 7% in line with this rent rise.
Changes to Council Tax
All Council Tax rates will rise by 8% from April 2025 to allow the above investment to take place. The new rates will be:
Chief Constable public update to the Scottish Police Authority
Chief Constable Jo Farrell today said the service is reviewing its recruitment plans as part of savings to cover potential additional National Insurance costs in 2025-26.
Speaking at a Scottish Police Authority Board meeting in Glasgow, Chief Constable Farrell said that, following a planned officer intake in March, recruitment would require to be reduced during the coming financial year if additional costs, totalling £25.3m, were not fully funded.
Chief Constable Farrell said: “We remain in close and constructive discussions with the Scottish Government, including this week, and the current indication is we will be supported with 50 per cent of the costs.
“I previously welcomed their budget proposals, which enabled us to progress the vision and business plan, which was endorsed by the Authority, while also maintaining our workforce.
“At the same time, I was explicit that additional employer National Insurance costs facing Police Scotland in 2025-26, following an announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in October, should be met in full.
“Through hard reform already achieved, including large workforce reductions, policing in Scotland has removed over £200m from the annual cost base compared to legacy arrangements, while protecting and improving service.
“Our efficiency means over 86 per cent of our revenue costs is spent on workforce pay.
“Policing in Scotland’s record of fiscal discipline and rigour has been an important component of stability and credibility in recent years and delivering a balanced budget is a priority for me.
“The 2025-26 budget for policing is very challenging, and already includes a requirement to achieve £9m of efficiencies.
“We must also anticipate pay award costs and further costs associated with the Public Inquiry into the death of Sheku Bayoh.
“There are very few levers to achieve further savings, other than reducing the workforce.
“As outlined in my report, we are committed to another recruitment intake next month, but we are reviewing our recruitment profile for the coming financial year.
“My commitment to ongoing reform is evidenced through our 2030 vision and our three year business plan. We are turning over every rock to achieve further efficiencies to build an effective and sustainable operating model which delivers for communities.
“Constraints on funding will slow the progress of work that’s started and which is planned.”
Read the Chief’s update in full:
The disruption and devastating effects of Storm Eowyn continue to be felt by communities across Scotland, including the tragic death of 19-year-old Calum Carmichael in Ayrshire.
During the storm, police officers, staff and volunteers, demonstrated professionalism and bravery to ensure policing played its important part in the emergency response, along with blue light partners, the Scottish Government, local authorities, health colleagues, SEPA, the third sector, and others.
I want to thank everyone who contributed to efforts to preserve life and support those affected by the adverse weather.
Chair, your report outlines discussions last month with Councillors Shona Morrison and Maureen Chalmers, respectively the president and community wellbeing spokesperson for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.
The meeting was an important opportunity to identify and pursue collaborative approaches to delivering for communities and improving people’s lives.
At the same time, the joint response during the storm underlined that strong and vital relationships are maintained at strategic and operational levels.
I greatly value the scrutiny of, and support for, policing which councils and councillors right across Scotland undertake every day.
Returning to my report, I outline the policing response to the horrific murder of six-year-old Hope Gordon. Hope’s murder is a shocking and deeply upsetting crime and utterly devastating for the families involved. My thoughts, and the thoughts of everyone at Police Scotland, are with Hope’s loved ones.
Such a tragedy also has a wider effect on the local community in West Calder, as well as across Scotland, including for the officers and staff who responded and I’m grateful for their support and co-operation as enquiries continue.
I highlight the search for Henrietta and Eliza Huszti, which sadly concluded with the discovery of their bodies and I offer their family my condolences.
Since my last report, there have been a number of important court outcomes following police investigations, some of which I outline in this update. These include the life sentence of 41-year-old Finlay MacDonald for murder and attempted murders on Skye and in Wester Ross in August 2022 and the conviction and sentencing of child sexual exploitation and human trafficking offenders.
I also highlight a County Lines intensification week which ended in December and during which officers made 81 arrests, safeguarded 66 vulnerable people and seized illegal drugs, cash and offensive weapons during a crackdown on drug dealers who exploit vulnerable young people.
My report details the results of our campaign of enforcement, education, and communication around drink and drug driving. Officers engaged with more than 25,000 drivers and detected over 1,300 offences as policing plays our part in a crucial partnership approach to reducing road fatalities and injuries.
It’s a very clear message. Do not drive after drinking alcohol or taking drugs. If you know someone who is going to drive after drinking alcohol or taking drugs, please speak to them and contact police if appropriate. Officers are on our road networks day in, day out and we relentlessly target offenders.
The breadth of police work described, from multi-agency emergency responses, major investigations and action to reduce harm and safeguard the vulnerable underlines the diverse and often challenging nature of policing and the huge value our officers, staff and volunteers deliver right across Scotland, every day.
Next week, we’ll pause to recognise and celebrate some of the incredible work of police officers, staff, and volunteers, as well as the contribution of members of the public who stepped forward at times of crisis, during our annual Bravery and Excellence Awards.
Reading the nominations has been a great privilege and a powerful experience. I am continually blown away by the professionalism, skill and dedication of our people and I greatly look forward to congratulating and thanking nominees and winners in person.
The great value of policing must be for all communities. People from all communities must know that when the police talk about keeping people safe, we mean them. All communities must feel able to speak to the police, to report a crime, share information or consider policing as a career.
This month, we’ve been recognising and celebrating important milestones as part of our Policing Together programme, including Race Equality Week and LGBT History Month, and during Race Equality week, the Force Executive participated in an anti-racist learning session to continue and lead Police Scotland’s learning in this important area.
Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton continues to develop the Policing Together programme through face-to-face learning and enhanced community engagement to put Policing Together into practice.
I want to thank DCC Alan Speirs, ACC Catriona Paton and others right across the organisation for their work, and reaffirm my commitment to building an anti-racist, anti-discriminatory, Service which serves all our communities, inside policing and across society.
As a Service, we are engaged with UK policing to share our experience and understand how others are responding to this legal and ethical duty
Policing Together is an important programme in delivering on our vision of safer communities, less crime, supported victims and a thriving workforce.
As we progress to 2025-26, we will enter year two of our first three-year business plan, which outlines the milestones we’ll prioritise to help realise our ambitions.
The vision and business plan consciously prioritises the frontline to support officers, staff and volunteers to deliver for our communities.
Of course, a key element of that support is securing the resources required to provide effective policing and we continue to monitor developments on the funding allocation available for 2025-26.
My report outlines that in January, our latest intake of 124 probationary constables maintained our officer establishment at just over 16,600. A further intake of officers is planned for March, which will continue to maintain officer numbers.
When the Scottish Budget proposals were announced in December, I welcomed the continued support for the second phase of police reform which enables policing to maintain a maximum officer establishment of 16,600 while we develop a sustainable and effective operating model and a modernised workforce.
I was also clear that a key component of that position was the requirement that over £25m of additional National Insurances costs are fully funded – this continues to be the case.
Workforce pay in Police Scotland accounts for over 86 per cent of our revenue spend, meaning there are very few levers to reduce costs other than through workforce numbers.
The uncertainty also underlines the ongoing challenge of recruitment planning without multi-year funding allocations.
Lastly, I provide updates on pay awards, including agreement on a headline 4.75% police staff offer and the decision to award police officers a 4.75% uplift to pay and relevant allowances following independent arbitration.
As illustrated throughout my report, police officers, staff and volunteers deliver huge service and value for our communities day in, day out. I am grateful for their skill, dedication and goodwill.
National Insurance costs
The matter of additional employer National Insurance costs could have an impact on progressing the next phase of police reform.
We remain in close and constructive discussions with the Scottish Government, including this week, and the current indication is we will be supported with 50 per cent of the costs.
I previously welcomed their budget proposals, which enabled us to progress the vision and business plan, which was endorsed by the Authority, while also maintaining our workforce.
At the same time, I was explicit that additional employer National Insurance costs facing Police Scotland in 2025-26, following an announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in October, should be met in full.
Through hard reform already achieved, including large workforce reductions, policing in Scotland has removed over £200m from the annual cost base compared to legacy arrangements, while continuing to protect and improve the service.
Our efficiency means over 86 per cent of our revenue costs is spent on workforce pay.
Policing in Scotland’s record of fiscal discipline and rigour has been an important component of stability and credibility in recent years and delivering a balanced budget is a priority for me.
The 2025-26 budget for policing is very challenging, and already includes a requirement to achieve £9m of efficiencies.
We must also anticipate pay award costs and further costs associated with the Public Inquiry into the death of Sheku Bayoh.
There are very few levers to achieve further savings, other than reducing the workforce.
As outlined in my report, we are committed to another recruitment intake next month, but we are reviewing our recruitment profile for the coming financial year.
My commitment to ongoing reform is evidenced through our 2030 vision and our 3 year business plan. We are turning over every rock to achieve further efficiencies to build an effective and sustainable operating model which delivers for communities.
Constraints on funding will slow the progress of work that’s started and which is planned.
As we come toward the end of the first year of our three-year business plan, we are making improvements and efficiencies for policing, including:
Driving improvements across criminal justice to deliver quicker and better outcomes for victims and witnesses and targeting resources to focus on the most serious and harmful offending.
Making changes to provide those in mental health crisis or distress the help they need and deserve from the right agency, while allowing police officers to return to core duties more quickly.
A strategic approach to which police buildings should be kept, improved, sold and built to share more spaces with partners and give our workforce better accommodation.
2025-26 is the second year of the business plan and we have been clear what we want to achieve, while also underlining the need for financial support.
This includes:
Further developing our strengthened community policing model to provide identifiable officers to local areas.
The establishment of a new cyber fraud command to tackle online crime and better support victims.
Invest in, and use of data and new technology, including artificial intelligence, to provide better systems for officers and staff, achieve efficiencies and develop further ways of targeting high harm offenders.
Continue to modernise our workforce through the right investment in non-warranted support to release officers to the frontline.
With partners planning the delivery of a safe and secure Commonwealth Games for 2026
I would also underline my desire to explore more flexibility in policing finances, for example certainty through multi-year settlements, exercising our borrowing powers and a mechanism to carry forward reserves all of which would greatly assist in longer-term strategic planning, decision making and best use of public money.
As Chief Constable ensuring Scotland continues to be a safe place to live and work is my commitment and priority.
105 years young! The Famous Spiegeltent celebrates her ‘centenary plus’ this summer by returning to St Andrew Square, Edinburgh
The trailblazing original travelling venue invites you to celebrate over a century of spellbinding entertainment and the 21st birthday of her notorious, multi-award-winning house show, La Clique!
This summer, having travelled to countless cities across the world, the iconic and internationally acclaimed venue that’s “just too good to be true” (IYKYK) returns in style to Edinburgh’s St Andrew Square after almost a decade away from her home turf. An iconic fixture at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for 20 years since 1996, The Famous Spiegeltent has been instrumental in promoting the international careers of variety, cabaret, independent music and new circus arts.
2025 marks both The Famous Spiegeltent’s 105th birthday as well as the 21st birthday of her notorious, multi-award-winning house show, La Clique!
Crafted from timber, canvas, velvet and kaleidoscopic leaded glass, with her bevelled mirrors, intimate booths, ornate bar and parquetry teak dance floor, The Famous Spiegeltent is the oldest peripatetic spiegeltent in circulation today, and has launched a myriad of multi-award-winning shows and the careers of countless artists* in its travels to the four corners of the globe.
Built in 1920 by master craftsmen Oscar Mols Dom and Louis Goor, The Famous Spiegeltent is the largest and most beautiful of the last-remaining antique Belgian mirror tents and has spent a lifetime appearing at festivals and village fairs throughout Europe, Australia and beyond, playing host to the world’s greatest cabaret performers and musicians.
Since Marlene Dietrich sang ‘Falling In Love Again’ on The Famous Spiegeltent’s stage in the 1930s, its magic mirrors have reflected images of raucous laughter, awestruck oohs & ahs and rapturous applause. And the dance floor has thrummed to the beat of her guests ‘tripping the light fantastic’ as indelible memories have been created for crowd after crowd of devotees and newcomers alike.
Since its inception in 2004 in The Famous Spiegeltent at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, La Clique has taken the world by storm.
A theatrical phenomenon, a unique and inspirational night of live entertainment, La Clique is ‘variety’ reinvented and redefined for the 21st century — an inspired mélange of cabaret, new burlesque, circus and modern vaudeville.
For the past two decades, this prestige show has played to sold-out audiences of over one million people in 21 cities across 11 countries, showcasing hundreds of the world’s greatest, most innovative variety performers, and winning countless awards along the way – including Olivier Awards for Best Entertainment in London’s West End.
La Clique embodies the Zeitgeist as the original and definitive Spiegeltent production, single-handedly reimagining a genre, inspiring an entire generation of intimate cabaret circus and birthing a multitude of shows in its wake.
In 2024, La Clique kicked off its international 20th anniversary tour at the Sydney Opera House, followed by London’s Leicester Square, and is spending the first part of 2025 traversing the Antipodes.
La Clique hits its 21st Birthday milestone upon the show’s return to Edinburgh this summer, coming back to where it all began, for an unprecedented six-week season inside The Famous Spiegeltent, after nearly a decade out of the nest. For this coming-of-age celebration, audiences are encouraged to frock up and find their inner Spiegel for a house party like no other!
The very essence of live entertainment, La Clique is a unique blend of daring acrobatics, jaw-dropping stunts, scintillating burlesque and raucous comedy. Visceral, ethereal and in-your-face, each act a masterpiece of artistry and athleticism, La Clique showcases a riotous troupe of crème de la crème artists from around the world.
This extra-special 21st Birthday edition of the show is a triumphant celebration of La Clique’s history, with a cast spanning generations; this is a season where legacy meets latest, with all performers at the very peak of their powers.
Creative producer and Spiegel maestro David Batessays: “Leave your troubles at the doors of The Famous Spiegeltent and step into our Edinburgh-born international sensation, La Clique.
“This will be the sexiest, funniest and most dangerous birthday party in town, and we are honoured to share this celebration with the people and the place that has forever changed all our lives.
“To our Edinburgh audience, we can’t wait to return and raise a glass with you for La Clique’s 21st Birthday! Over your head, under your skin, below the belt – hang onto your hat and strap yourself in, as we present … La Clique!”
“US now least reliable partner in NATO”, says MP Stephen Gethins
“The democracies of the world must work together”
SNP MP, and former professor of international relations at St Andrews University, Stephen Gethins says the USA is now the least reliable partner in the NATO alliance.
Speaking on Bylines Scotland Radio on 17 February, the MP said that the United States has dramatically changed the European security and defence environment.
He said there is a danger that Ukraine is hung out to dry by the US and Russia.
“The US is now the least reliable partner in NATO.”
Mr. Gethins compared current events in Ukraine with the appeasement of Germany in the run up to WW2, when the Nazis were allowed to take over large parts of what is now the Czech Republic.
Speaking about Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s forthcoming visit to President Trump, Gethins urged him to impress on Mr. Trump that the democracies of the world must work together.
“He should tell Donald Trump that if you believe you are a democrat you must work with your democratic partners. Not the Russians and the Chinese, who are bullies and aggressors. They don’t share our democratic values.“
Asked about Keir Starmer saying he was prepared to send UK troops to take part in peacekeeping in Ukraine, Gethins said: “You cannot possibly conceive it as the UK going it alone.”
Gethins believed it could not be a conventional peacekeeping force and argued it would have to act as a deterrent and be a multinational force. It could not be a NATO exercise. He suggested that putting together such an armed presence would have to overcome numerous political hurdles.
The MP argued that it is now imperative that the democracies of Europe, including the UK, Norway, and Ukraine who are not in the EU, unite to defend the continent from aggressors.
“No one individual state in Europe has the capacity to respond on its own to the threat from Russia. We must pull together as European democracies. That includes the UK getting over Brexit.”
He said Europe has the economic and manufacturing capacity to far outweigh that of Russia, but benefiting from those advantages means united action and the political and economic structures to enable that to happen.
The SNP politician argued that the UK can’t continue to be isolated from Europe, particularly given the unreliability of the US.
“The world of 2016, when the Brexit referendum took place, is not the world of today.”
He said security and defence are about much more than weapons and soldiers. There are vital issues like energy security and food supply.
“Because of EU cooperation, EU member states are now far more energy self-reliant.”
Gethins said that rising to the new defence challenges will be hard, but the UK rejoining the European Single Market and the Customs Union is the right thing to do.
“I’d rejoin the EU.” said the MP.
Towards the end of the interview, Gethins said we are now in a global political time when it is necessary that friends stick together.
“Ukraine is our friend. It is in desperate need of friends. We must stick with Ukraine.”
Stephen Gethins is a Vice President of the European Movement in Scotland and a Vice President of the European Movement UK.
Listen to the full interview on Bylines Scotland Radio.
The Revitalising Trusts project has so far released over £5 million for public good
The Revitalising Trusts project, a collaboration between The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and major funder, Foundation Scotland, has been working with legal teams the length and breadth of the country to release dormant charitable funds for public benefit.
Over 300 inactive charitable trusts of varying sizes and purposes have been identified to date with funds often lying dormant in accounts for several decades and in some cases well over a century. The project team notes that there’s significantly more to come.
Since its set up in 2005, OSCR has kept a record of the thousands of charitable trusts which exist across the country, with each charity required to submit an annual return. It is through these regulatory checks that inactive trusts are identified, where they have either had no income or expenditure or donated less than 30% of their total income over the last five years.
The Revitalising Trusts project team then makes contact to offer support and assistance to help reopen, repurpose or wind up the trust, all with the overarching aim to release the funds for public good. Foundation Scotland takes the time to work alongside trustees and legal teams to ensure that any inactive charitable funds are spent and make a difference in keeping with “the spirit” of the original intentions.
Foundation Scotland has over 25 years’ experience distributing funds which provide long-term benefit for communities.
As part of this national project, they are using their specialist expertise to support advisors and trustees to release inactive funds so that they can be redistributed to good causes across Scotland.
Alternatively, Foundation Scotland will provide the support needed to breathe new life into the charity, for example by changing charitable purpose to help address new needs in local communities.
The success of the Revitalising Trusts project relies on the cooperation of legal firms managing the hundreds of historic charitable trusts which exist across Scotland. The firm does not need to have a charity specialist as the project team undertakes the work required including the preparation of the reorganisation scheme and the application to OSCR, free of charge.
Locally the team have worked to help release funds from the Ronnie Williamson Trust, set up in 2005 in memory of the long-standing elder and member of Palmerston Place Church and The Edinburgh & Lothian Trust Fund (ELTF).
Steve Kent, Policy Manager at OSCR said: “Of the many things we have to do as a regulator, none is more rewarding than working with Foundation Scotland to track down historic underused charitable funds and find new ways of putting them to good use.
“The donors and philanthropists of the past may not always have been able to envision the challenges that would face future generations, but one thing we can be sure of is that they would have wished their money to make real differences to people’s lives. We are proudly and diligently helping to ensure this happens.
“The Revitalising Trusts Project works across the country and is often dependent on the support of local legal firms who manage a network of historic trusts set up years ago by clients with specific charitable wishes.
“We are confident that there is plenty more still to be found and would encourage legal firms across Edinburgh to get in touch, as we would be delighted to help support the revitalisation of any dormant Trusts they manage. Don’t wait for us to find you!”
Interested firms can contact Steve Kent, Policy Manager OSCR, directly at steve.kent@oscr.org.uk for free advice and to discuss next steps.
Street advertising specialists JACK ARTS Scotland have teamed up with the Edinburgh Festivals to share some of the many hidden community stories that sit behind the more well-known festival events – all displayed as an accessible street exhibition surrounding Meadowbank Sports Centre.
Festival City Stories highlights people involved in year-round partnerships between some of Edinburgh’s leading festivals and local community groups, schools and organisations – all captured by Edinburgh-based photographer Ellie Morag.
The resulting artwork of imagery and words celebrates a diverse range of projects – from children exploring what their rights mean to them, to music programmes sparking joyful connections for people living with dementia.
Amongst the Festival City Stories highlighted are:
Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society work with Oaklands additional needs school, on the creation of an interactive multi-sensory show drawing on the importance and exploration of objects
Edinburgh International Children’s Festival work with Forthview Primary School, in piloting their new Creative Encounters programme which takes a child’s rights-based approach to programming work
Edinburgh International Festival work with Space @ The Broomhouse Hub, on development of The Beacon Club which uses music to spark joyful connections with people living with dementia and facing social isolation
Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival work with Passion4Fusion and St Augustine’s RC High School, on HAIR, which centres on Black Hair stories, exploring key historical and political moments up until the present, and how these are diverse representations of ‘Blackness’/Black Culture.
Scottish International Storytelling Festival work on Sensing Stories, an inclusive series of storytelling sessions for groups interested in using storytelling as a wellbeing tool and for developing performance skills
Edinburgh Art Festival work with Rhubaba, on a co-created programme of free workshops and events to connect marginalised artists with creativity through film, theatre, photography, ceramics, writing, and more
Jim Cowan, Partnerships and Marketing Manager, JACK ARTS Scotland shares: ‘It’s a pleasure to use our shared street space to champion these vital community voices from year-round partnerships between some of Edinburgh’s leading festivals and local groups, schools and organisations.
“From inclusive storytelling sessions to workshops using the power of objects to unlock creativity – Festival City Stories helps share and celebrate their incredible work with a wider audience by showcasing these artworks on our city streets.’
The public gallery of artworks will be displayed on JACK ARTS Scotland’s poster sites surrounding the Meadowbank Sports Centre, on London Road and Wishaw Terrace, from 17 February to 2 March 2025.
