POCHEMU? Student documents Ukraine conflict

‘I don’t know if you can prepare yourself for what you see and hear’ – photographer Monica Holkova

An Edinburgh College photography student is staging an exhibition of images she shot of Ukrainian rebel fighters and refugees while covering the conflict as part of her course.

Monika Holkova’s exhibition is a documentary of time spent in and around Donetsk last year to record the effects of the conflict on the people of Ukraine. During her spell with rebel fighters in the war-ravaged area, Monica herself came under fire from government troops.

The exhibition – Pochemu? – Russian for ‘why’ – launches this Friday at the Creative Exchange in Leith. It features 36 black-and-white images of Ukrainian refugees and rebels, showing how they are living through a period of turmoil.

Monika, originally from Slovakia, wanted to cover the events in Ukraine for her BA Professional Photography course project, so arranged to visit Russia and Ukraine over two trips in October and November. She visited a refugee camp in Russia where Ukrainian people were living after fleeing the conflict. She spent time with refugee families, hearing their stories and taking their photos.

She also spent a week in Donetsk with a group of humanitarian workers as part of an aid effort for residents. Monika travelled with the group as it went round the city to deliver food and supplies, capturing images as she went.

The noise of bombs falling outside the city formed the soundtrack to Monica’s time in Donetsk, a city in which some areas were decimated.

Monika said: “I don’t know if you can prepare yourself for what you see and hear. All the time we were in Ukraine you could hear the sound of bombing outside the city. Most of the time it was far away but one day we were in the supermarket and the bombs sounded much closer. Everyone stopped what they were doing to listen but then started shopping again right after. For the people that was normal. They just had to live with it as part of their daily lives.”

Monika also spent time with rebel fighters, and was with a group in a small village a couple of hours from Donetsk when they came under fire from army forces. Army snipers pinned them down for almost three hours, and the group was unable to move from a safe position behind a house. The village and the surrounding area were also being bombed throughout this time.

She said: “Ten minutes after arriving in the village the fighting started and we came under fire from snipers. The rebels and the army were shooting at each other and the group I was with couldn’t move. We were safe hiding behind a house but we couldn’t even move a few metres to get into the house. We could see tracer bullets flying past. It wasn’t scary as you just have to make yourself think logically, and we knew they couldn’t reach us.”

The trip had a profound effect on Monika, who says she was treated with immense kindness by refugees and rebels.

Monika said: “It was hard to listen to some of the stories. People had lost everything, including friends and family. Their homes were destroyed and they didn’t know when the fighting would end. The people didn’t understand why there needed to be a war and they just wanted it to end. One older woman I spoke to remembered the Second World War and thought she’d never have to live through something like that again. Sometimes hearing their stories was too much to bear so I just had to switch off and concentrate on the photos.”

Monika is keen to go back to Ukraine to continue her work and may head out over the next couple of months. And when she graduates she intends to become a war photographer.

“I’m really proud of the photos I took and I’m pleased to tell the stories of these people. When you hear about the people affected by war on the news you don’t always remember that for every statistic there are stories behind every single person, and it’s important to try and show this.”

Pochemu? is on at the Creative Exchange from Friday until March 27 at Creative Exchange, 29 Constitution Street, Leith. Admission is free.

Women leaders unite behind Living Wage campaign

Women behind the Living Wage on International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day on 8 March is a chance to celebrate the achievements of women all around the world especially those calling for greater equality.

To celebrate IWD 2015 Living Wage Foundation would like to introduce you to some of our favourite women. Women that have not only made paying the Living Wage a reality in their own organisation, but also provide strong support for the work LWF does:

Ann Budge, Chairwoman & Chief Executive – Heart of Midlothian Football Club

“As a student of psychology, I learned some 45 years ago (Aargh!) that while money is a factor in motivating employees it is by no means the most important factor.

As a manager and employer for over 40 years (…Aargh…again!), I can definitely confirm that the text books and the behavioural theorists are 100% correct in this assertion.

To be fulfilled and to give of their best, employees need to feel valued; they need to feel respected; they need to feel appreciated. Staff loyalty and commitment… one of the most important factors in any successful business… comes from being treated fairly by employers… and yes, one measure of that fairness is, of course, being paid a fair rate for the job. It is not the only thing, but it is essential.

I know it can be difficult for many businesses, especially small/medium enterprises, to manage costs, especially in times of recession when winning business is hard and the pressures on pricing can be severe. Every business enterprise must assess these things for themselves. However, the business benefits of looking after your employees and treating them fairly should not be underestimated.

Since implementing the Living Wage at Hearts, we have been universally praised and have benefited in business terms in a number of ways.

Employees who, for a number of years, had their goodwill taken advantage of are truly appreciative and are even more willing “to go that extra mile”.
Supporters, many of whom are themselves supporting the Club financially, have been quick to show their approval. They are proud to be associated with a club that demonstrates strong values which is helping the Club’s revenues enormously.
The Business Community … Our hospitality suites, not just on match-days but also on non-match days, have never been busier… have demonstrated that they too are proud to support and be associated with the way the Club is being managed. Another boost for our revenues!
Contractors… our part-time/casual staff, who work for a number of different businesses, are actively choosing us in preference to others. This means we are getting the best staff and can, therefore, offer the best service.

On this International Women’s Day, it would be remiss of me not to mention the gender imbalance in relation to payment of the Living Wage. Sadly, a number of the sectors where particularly low wages are paid, have a very high percentage of women in the workforce; and yet, so often, these women are doing jobs which are not only emotionally and physically draining but also hugely important to all of us.

Care workers, who provide an invaluable service to the community, helping to look after the elderly, the infirm, the lonely, are some of the lowest paid workers in our society. This cannot be right.

So to conclude! Why do I believe in the Living Wage? Because… it is the right thing to do.

Every worker deserves to be paid a fair rate for a day’s work, regardless of colour, creed or gender. Every working man or woman deserves to be sufficiently rewarded to enable them to provide a decent quality of life for themselves and their families. The Living Wage makes a real difference to people’s lives”.

Professor Jane Wills, Professor of Human Geography – Queen Mary University of London | Member of the Living Wage Foundation’s Policy Group

“I have been tracking the development of the Living Wage campaign since it was launched by London Citizens in Walthamstow, east London, in 2001. During that time, the campaign has spread to the national scale and is now led by the Living Wage Foundation.”

The links below take you to web pages and files where you can find out more and explore Jane’s work:

Jane Wills talks about the Living Wage for the Queen Mary media team in 2014.
Data tracking the impact of the Living Wage in London.
Data tracking the impact of the national Living Wage Foundation.
A report into the impact of the Living Wage in organisations accredited by the Living Wage Foundation, across the UK, November 2013.
A short film features workers, their managers, employers, politicians and civil society leaders saying why they support the living wage. Made to support Living Wage Week 2013, the film was produced by Mile End Films and funded by the Centre for Public Engagement (both at Queen Mary University of London) with the full support of the Living Wage Foundation.
A report mapping the costs and benefits of the London Living Wage, written with Brian Linneker, for Trust for London in 2012.
A report into the experience of Queen Mary being the first Living Wage campus in the UK, published in 2009.
A list of these and additional publications capturing experience of the Living Wage in the UK.
A short history of the living wage campaign
Mapping the gap between the National Minimum Wage, the London and UK Living Wage rates 2003-2012
A short chronology of the early Living Wage campaign in London.
A summary of the research project completed as part of the ESRC’s Identity and Social Action research programme, exploring the coalition behind the Living Wage campaign and workers’ experiences of the campaign.
A series of pictures by Chris Clunn, commissioned as part of the ESRC’s Identity and Social Action research programme.

Sarah Bentley, CEO- The Building Futures Group | Member of the Living Wage Foundation’s Leadership Group for the Service Provider Programme

“As the CEO of The Building Futures Group, I am proud that we are a Living Wage Employer for many reasons. Firstly, many of our members involved in Cleaning and Facilities Management are Living Wage Employers and it made perfect sense for The Building Futures Group to become an accredited Living Wage employer. It is also especially important as Living Wage enables hard working people to be able to work to live, not live to work. One only needs to read the case studies on the Living Wage website to see the benefits to workers paid the Living Wage, they no longer have to take on two or more jobs to put food on the table and pay the bills, even enjoying leisure activities and treats for their children.

Sadly, unequal pay still exists in our society with women being paid less than men, according to the Fawcett Society, in In 2012, comparing all work, women earned 18.6% less per hour than men. Comparing those in full-time work, women earned an average of 14.9% less per hour than men – this means that for every £1 a man takes home, a woman takes home 85p. Whilst the Living Wage will not directly lead to equal pay for men and women in the UK, it is a major force for good, and as women are more likely to be employed in low paid work, Living Wage employers ensure that these women can support their families and themselves.

Living Wage isn’t just good for those individuals, it’s a common good for society – employing people on a Living Wage enables them to reduce any reliance on social security benefits and pay tax. This extra revenue can be used by the State to pay for Schools, Hospitals and other essential services we all need and rely on. Paying the Living Wage means that everyone can contribute to our society.

So the Living Wage initiative is good for individual employees, the State and Society, but is it good for the business? In a word – Yes. It may seem counter-intuitive to think that employers who pay a higher wage and national insurance to their employees would believe that Living Wage is good for them, but it is; paying the Living Wage leads to improved recruitment, retention and staff satisfaction.

These are just some of the main reasons why I as an individual and The Building Futures Group supports the moral, economic and social reasons to pay the Living Wage”.

Follow Sarah Bentley on Twitter

Sara Turnbull, CEO & Company Secretary – Bootstrap Company Limited

“I recently chaired an event for London Councils on the Living Wage and was surprised to learn from one, that according to their research one in five of their borough residents is not receiving the minimum wage.

That really put the finding that 1 in 5 people aren’t receiving the Living Wage in perspective for me. That’s a tough figure to start with, but when you add to the fact that a further 20% of people aren’t even in the figures, as their employer isn’t even meeting the legal minimum, then the truth of low pay Britain starts to reveal itself.

Paying as little as you can get away with, is part of the culture in many industries. Especially those where margins are low and staff costs are a high proportion of overheads such as the retail, cleaning and care professions. All these industries have a high proportion of women employees, women are disproportionately affected by low pay.

A lot is spoken about in the media of increasing board presence of women or evening up the pay gap, and these are parts of the puzzle. But we hear very little about women in low paid jobs and low paid industries, struggling to make ends meet and feed their families, with little prospect of change any time soon.

This situation is not only bad for women. It’s costing tax payers money. Anyone who earns over £10k a year is paying tax on their income. A proportion of which is allocated to in work benefits, such as tax credits, for people who are working, but their income is so low that they still need support.

A lot of time is spent of vilyfing these people and digging out bizarre examples of people with lots of children or lots of horses who are somehow ‘robbing’ us all by claiming benefits.

It’s weird that very little time and certainly no headlines I have seen are focussing on the real issue here. Our income tax is subsidising companies who are not paying their workers what they need to maintain a passable existence. Earlier in my career I had a senior management role, earned the average wage in Wales and yet still needed to claim housing benefit to afford to live.

It irked me as a manager that I wasn’t being paid enough not to need benefit. It bothered me that I was paying tax to contribute to my own benefit. The whole thing seemed bizarre.

My personal circumstances have changed, I now live in London and run Bootstrap, a charity that works to create a cohesive socially enterprising community by providing workspace, enterprise support and events in Hackney.

One of the first things I did as CEO was to achieve London Living Wage accreditation for Bootstrap. Now we are committed to paying all our staff the Living Wage. All our cleaners, bar staff, security, receptionist – our entire staff team is paid the Living Wage. When I go to events now, I ask the staff if they know about the Living Wage. I am evangelical about it because it’s good business sense to start by paying people a Living Wage so they don’t have to work two jobs which means they are unable to perform as well for you.

I am happy to be a tax payer and happy to contribute to a system that supports those in need as I have been. However as an employer, an employee and a tax payer I think the conversation needs to shift. There is a perverseness to of all of us working to pay tax, which is used to pay benefits, to subsidise employers who don’t pay a fair living wage to their employees. I’d love to see the figures on how much the economy as a whole would benefit if the living wage was adopted by all employers.

It’s more than a women’s issue, it’s an issue for us all”.

Lazarowicz welcomes plan to close education gap

Mark Lazarowicz MP has welcomed the plan announced at the Scottish Labour conference to use funding from Labour’s cut in pension tax relief for highest earners to set aside £125m extra for the Scottish education budget to close the educational attainment gap between children from rich and poor backgrounds.

The cut in pension tax relief will also provide funding for school leavers to ensure more students from the most deprived backgrounds have the chance to go to university and all young people start their working lives on a secure footing.

The extra £125m is only part of the plan which would also:

require Ministers and local councils to report annually on progress in reducing inequality in education

see all local authorities appoint a chief education officer to lead the work to close the gap in attainment

create a National Centre of Excellence of Education to enable best practice to be shared

double the number of teaching assistants in those primary schools that send children to the 20 secondary schools where there is most concern over attainment

Labour also plans to introduce

better grants for poorer students, worth over £1000 to enable more students from deprived backgrounds to attend university

a fund worth £1,600 each to support young people who don’t go on to college or university or an apprenticeship to pay the cost of training, setting up a small business or expenses like driving lessons

Mark Lazarowicz said: “This funding from taxing highest earners will enable us to really tackle the gap in attainment between children from the richest and poorest backgrounds which has been too often neglected.

“It will also ensure young people who don’t go on to study at a college or university or gain an apprenticeship are not forgotten by helping them with the cost of training or other expenses as they start their working lives.

“Educational opportunity at every level should be our aim and we must do much more to make that a reality to give all our young people the chance they deserve.”

The Scottish Labour leader, Jim Murphy, has reaffirmed that there will be no tuition fees at Scottish universities if Labour wins the next Scottish Parliament elections but he also went on to highlight the need to widen access so that students from the most deprived backgrounds have the chance to study at university in much greater numbers.

Independent studies show that Scotland currently has the lowest proportion of university students from the most deprived backgrounds in the UK.

The funding would come from the funding that the Scottish Government would receive from Labour’s cut in pension tax relief for highest earners. That would cut

the rate of pension tax relief for people earning over £150,000 a year to the basic rate;
the annual limit on pension contributions free of tax from £40,000 to £30,000;
the lifetime allowance from £1.5 million to £1 million.

Making the most of apprenticeships

UK businesses could gain additional £18bn revenue from apprenticeships

A new report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has revealed that consumers prefer to do business with businesses employing apprentices.

The report, launched to mark the start of National Apprenticeship Week, is part of a national drive to promote the benefits of apprenticeships. Events across the country will celebrate the success of apprenticeships that have been transformed over recent years so they are more responsive to the needs of employers and learners.

The Benefits of Apprenticeships to Businesses study finds that offering apprenticeships were perceived by two-thirds of the public as contributing to society and providing opportunities for young people, with 5 million consumers more likely to make a purchase from an apprentice employer.

One in four consumers say they would go as far as even paying more for goods and services offered by companies that employ apprentices. Aggregated across key sectors in the economy, this price-premium would equate to an additional £18 billion a year in consumer spending.

National Apprenticeship Week will also see the launch of a new mentoring service for small businesses interested in taking on apprentices will be launched by small business champion Jason Holt CBE.

Today’s research also highlights a number of other financial benefits firms employing apprentices can enjoy, such as increased long-term productivity. A typical apprentice delivers productivity gains of over £10,000 per annum, rising to almost double that in the construction and planning, and engineering and manufacturing sectors.

Moreover, the research demonstrates that even before an apprentice is fully qualified, many businesses will see economic benefits of offering apprenticeships. The figures show that while training, each apprentice in England is estimated to deliver an average positive net gain of £1,670 per annum to their employers.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “In launching National Apprenticeship Week we are celebrating the 2.1 million apprenticeship starts since 2010 and the positive impact they are having on businesses around the country.

“The benefits of apprenticeships are clear – they make a vital contribution to the economy, boost business productivity and give people the skills they need to get on in the world of work.

“As this research shows, there has been an important shift in the attitudes towards apprenticeships with businesses, consumers, and young people recognising the significant opportunities they can offer.

Skills Minister Nick Boles said: “This research is further proof that apprenticeships deliver for businesses as well as providing life changing opportunities for young people.

“National Apprenticeship Week gives us the opportunity to raise the profile of apprenticeships and traineeships, and to celebrate the important role they play in our economy. I encourage people of all ages and employers of all shapes and sizes to find out more about apprenticeships and how they can deliver for them.”

The CEBR report examines the benefits that apprentices offer businesses both while they are training and long after they have completed their apprenticeships:

A quarter (25%) of consumers said that they would be more likely to pay more for goods and services offered by businesses employing apprentices, with the most popular services to pay a premium on being a plumbers’ visit, a meal or a haircut
Consumers are prepared to pay between 1.2% and 2.0% extra as a price premium –the aggregate gain in consumer spending if these premiums are realised is £18 billion per annum
The benefit to an employer of hiring an apprentice is the value of the economic output produced by an apprentice, plus any subsidies received, less wage and training costs. This equates to an average of £1,670 per annum for the average apprentice in England but can rise as high as £13,824 and £9,721 for team leadership and management, and business administration apprentices respectively
Productivity gains from employing an apprentice long-term average at £214 per week, ranging from £83 in the retail sector and £114 in health, public services and care, up to £401 in construction and planning, and £414 per in engineering and manufacturing

Scott Corfe, co-author of the report The Benefits of Apprenticeships to Businesses, said: “Previous Cebr research has demonstrated the impact of apprenticeships to the economy and the country as a whole, but this report proves that hiring apprentices has a hugely positive impact on employers themselves. Not only do apprentices contribute to the productivity of a company from day one, but consumers are more likely to switch to brands and firms that employ apprentices.”

As part of National Apprenticeship Week, employers are being encouraged to share their reasons for employing apprentices on social media, with #100reasonswhy.

HR and Training Manager, Steve Starling from Suffolk based JEB Engineering Design has already taken part and commented: “We’ve been recruiting apprentices for over 35 years. Many staff members in senior positions here started out as apprentices, including our Managing Director. We believe our future success is dependent on a strong, sustainable apprenticeship programme.”

To find out more about National Apprenticeship Week go to

www.gov.uk/naw2015.

Not in front of the children: Minister urges ad ban

Ads for alcohol and fatty foods should be adult viewing only

Alcohol and junk food advertising should be prohibited before the 9pm watershed in order to protect children, Public Health Minister Maureen Watt said yesterday.

Ms Watt has written to UK Government ministers arguing that the move would protect children from exposure to powerful marketing messages and branding. Control over broadcast advertising is currently reserved to Westminster.

Adverts for alcohol and high fat, salt and sugar foods are not permitted during children’s programming. But they are allowed during early evening shows that are watched by large numbers of young people.

Stronger restrictions are supported by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), the British Medical Association (BMA) and Alcohol Focus Scotland.

The latest piece of research commissioned by the British Heart Foundation shows that many parents believe that broadcast advertising for high fat, salt and sugar foods remains a significant barrier which makes it more difficult for their children to adopt a healthy diet. According to their research that figure is highest in Scotland at 43 per cent. Extra restrictions on advertising for these types of food are also supported by Which?.

Maureen Watt, Minister for Public Health, said: “In recent years the rate of obesity has been relatively stable, but still unaccepbtably high, and there have been some reductions in alcohol-related harm. But we still, in general, have diets that are far too high in fat, sugar and salt, and levels of alcohol-related harm which are significantly higher than they were just a few decades ago.

“If we are to tackle the significant public health problems we face, we need bold solutions. We need a culture change in the way we think about alcohol and food high in fat, salt and sugar. There is a wealth of research which shows that children seeing these adverts while they are watching their favourite family programmes respond positively towards them and they affect their behaviour. That’s something that needs to be addressed.”

Dr Peter Bennie, Chairman of the BMA Scotland, said: “The regulation of alcohol and junk food advertising in this country is far too weak, largely because these industries have been allowed to regulate themselves. Despite the serious health harms associated with excessive alcohol consumption and obesity in the UK, these industries use marketing to promote consumption of their products.

“The cost of alcohol to our society is significant and inevitably, the NHS picks up the pieces. Obesity rates too are worryingly high, driven by the promotion and availability of unhealthy foods. Obesity brings with it increased risk of a wide range of serious life threatening and chronic diseases. While doctors have a role to play in supporting overweight patients, there is a limit to what they can do.

“The UK Government could take decisive action to change the culture of excess that the junk food and alcohol industry promotes, and tougher regulation of advertising would be a positive first step.”

Barbara O’Donnell, Deputy Chief Executive at Alcohol Focus Scotland, said: “Existing advertising codes fail to prevent under 18s from being exposed to alcohol advertising. Although current rules prohibit alcohol advertising around children’s programmes, alcohol adverts are allowed during early evening family viewing when the largest number of children watch television. As a result, 10 to 15 year olds in the UK see more alcohol adverts on television, per hour of television watched, than adults. Indeed, a survey just published by Alcohol Focus Scotland found that 10 and 11 year olds were more familiar with alcohol brands than leading brands of biscuits, crisps and ice cream.

“The bottom line is that we are failing to protect children and young people from alcohol harm. More effective controls are urgently needed to ensure alcohol marketing messages only reach adult audiences.”

Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive at the BHF, said: “Regulations for TV and online advertising in the UK are too weak, allowing companies to exploit loopholes in the system at the expense of our children’s health. Every day millions of children are being bombarded with sophisticated marketing techniques encouraging unhealthy eating habits.

“Evidence shows that junk food adverts can influence children’s food preferences and consumption hampering parents’ efforts to get their children to eat healthily. In the UK over 30 per cent of children are overweight or obese and dietary surveys show that children are eating too much salt, sugar and saturated fat.

“The Government must act now to ban junk food marketing before the 9pm watershed to help give children a stronger chance of preventing future heart disease.”

Making it clear: Holyrood committee proposes improved transparency of MSPs financial interests

‘This is a piece of work that our Committee has been examining over the course of this session and before developments elsewhere have come to light.’ – Stewart Stevenson MSP

Measures to improve the transparency of information about MSPs’ financial interests are today being proposed by the Scottish Parliament’s Standards Procedures and Public Appointments Committee.

The report comes just two weeks after former Foreign Secretaries Jack Straw and Malcolm Rifkind were suspended by their respective political parties at Westminster following allegations of financial wrongdoing – but Holyrood committee chair Stewart Stevenson stressed that his committee had been working on the report long before the Westminster revelations surfaced.

In its report, the result of a detailed inquiry conducted over the course of this session, the Committee proposes a committee bill to amend the Interests of Members of the Scottish Parliament Act 2006 which sets out requirements for Members to register and declare certain financial interests.

The new bill is aimed at streamlining the reporting requirements for MSPs so that all their registrable financial interests are reported in one place, in the Parliament’s register of interest. Currently MSPs have to report financial interests both to the Electoral Commission and to the Parliament.

The proposals would also strengthen the sanctions available to the Parliament to deal with breaches to Members’ interests rules as well as widening the definition of paid advocacy.

Committee Convener, Stewart Stevenson MSP said: “The Scottish Parliament prides itself on its openness and accountability and nowhere is this more important than in relation to the conduct of its Members. Our proposed bill will not only build on the existing robust regime, but will also streamline reporting for MSPs, ensuring all information about MSPs’ financial interests is in one easily accessible place for the public.”

“We have also suggested broadening the definition of paid advocacy. Whilst no MSP has ever been found to have breached the current rules, the Committee is clear of the gravity with which paid advocacy should be treated. This is why our Committee is proposing an expansion to the scope of the criminal offence.”

Mr Stevenson added: “This is a piece of work that our Committee has been examining over the course of this session and before developments elsewhere have come to light.”

Other recommendations contained within the Committee’s report include:

Lowering the threshold limit for registering gifts to 0.5% of a member’s salary (currently 1% or £570)
Amending the threshold for registering remuneration received solely as expenses from 1% to 0.5% of a member’s salary.
Increasing the range of sanctions available if a member breaches the Interests Act, to include withdrawal of salary or privileges as well as exclusion from Parliamentary proceedings.

Scottish Children’s Book Awards shortlist announced

The Scottish Children’s Book Awards 2015 are on 4 March in Edinburgh. Check out who made this year’s shortlist:

http://bit.ly/SCBA_15.

The shortlisting panel also wanted to recommend the following titles as Highly Commended. When you’ve read the shortlist why not take a look at these too?

Bookbug Readers (3-7 years)

Lollipop and Grandpa’s Dinosaur Hunt by Penelope Harper, illustrated by Cate James

Share by Sally Anne Garland

Younger Readers (8-11 years)

The Day the World Went Loki by Robert J Harris

Winter’s Tales by Lari Don

Circus of Thieves and the Raffle of Doom by William Sutcliffe

Older Readers (12-16 years)

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Mind Blind by Lari Don

Redhall Walled Garden Easter Open Day

Here you go … our first mention of Easter!

Easter Open Day – 5th April 2015

Edinburgh Compact: Time for Action?

Compact Partnership – The Next Ten Years: Time for Action

Help us shape a forward strategy for the Edinburgh Compact Partnership – to help make YOUR ambitions reality.

Ten years since the launch of the Edinburgh Compact Partnership, we are developing a new forward strategy – to enable the Third Sector and the Public Sector to grow Social Value together. Join us for a panel discussion to consider the draft strategy and how the Compact Partnership might support your work for the next ten years.

Find more information and book your place now.

Compact: The Next 10 Years

Take this opportunity to have a say on an early draft of the new Edinburgh Compact Partnership Strategy at this panel discussion with input from Shulah Allan, David Jack and Geoff Pearson.

Over the last 5 months, Compact 10 have consulted with over 120 Third Sector organisations to hear their hopes for the future, and their view of Compact’s role in this future. This event is your chance to see how the new strategy is shaping up, and have your views on it heard.

This will be the premier Edinburgh Compact Partnership annual event, which will open up the work of the Partnership for discussion with Edinburgh’s Third Sector.

We think the strategy reflects our shared ambitions, but come and see what YOU think.

Date: Tuesday 3 March 2015, 5-8pm

Venue: King Khalid Symposium Hall, Hill Square, EH8 9DS

Contact Sarah Wade (sarah.wade@evoc.org.uk) for more details or click here to book your place.

Motorists: Waverley Bridge diversions from Tuesday

Waverley Bridge one way only for four weeks

Vehicles heading south will be diverted away from Waverley Bridge from next week so that further work can begin on pedestrian access improvements around Waverley Station. For four weeks from 6am on Tuesday (24 February), Waverley Bridge will become one way to northbound traffic only.

This is to allow the construction of a setted raised table, or an elevated section of road, on Waverley Bridge between the north and south ramps of Waverley Station.

The works are part of a £1 million programme to improve pedestrian access around Waverley Station.

The first phase of works on Market Street was completed in mid-2014 and included the creation of a temporary taxi rank, new loading areas and a cycle lane.

The second phase, which is ongoing, involves carriageway resurfacing and the widening of footways on Waverley Bridge, as well as the installation of upgraded drainage, kerb realignment, laying of sandstone and Caithness paving and improved pedestrian crossing facilities.

The raised table is designed to act as an informal or uncontrolled pedestrian crossing, encouraging traffic to slow down and making it much easier for pedestrians to cross the Bridge to and from the Station ramps.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, Transport Convener, said: “We appreciate that these works will inevitably cause some inconvenience for traffic heading south and we would ask for the public’s patience while we get this much-needed improvement work completed.

“The new raised section will create an informal pedestrian crossing so that people leaving or arriving at the Station on foot can feel much safer about crossing Waverley Bridge.”

Diversion routes will come into effect for southbound traffic, namely:

Princes Street – North Bridge – High Street – Jeffrey Street – Market Street

Princes Street – South St David Street – Queen Street – Hanover Street – The Mound – Market Street

Advance warning signs have been installed on site informing the public of the upcoming works and local businesses have been informed.

The Airlink bus service will remain on Waverley Bridge and the tour buses will be relocated to Market Street.

The taxi rank on Waverley Bridge will remain in its current position with access and egress only in a northbound direction.