We are thrilled that this year’s Edinburgh Festival Carnival will return to the streets!
Thanks to funding from the City of Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh Visitor Levy, the 2026 Carnival will see over 1,000 performers parading down The Mound and along Princes Street in a breath-taking display of music, dance and carnival costumes from local, national and international artists.
Following the parade, the party continues with performances across West Princes Street Gardens.
The Leith Collective launches free school uniform exchange to help families in need
They say your school days are the best days of your life. But for many pupils in Edinburgh, just making it to the school gates can be an issue, especially for those whose families are struggling to cover the cost of basic essentials such as a uniform.
And so, before the current term draws to a close, one local Community Interest Company is launching a free school uniform exchange, so every pupil can start the new academic year in August looking smart and feeling confident.
Back for the fourth year, The Leith Collective will open a free school uniform exchange within its Ocean Terminal and Fort Kinnaird stores in Edinburgh, as well as its store at the Overgate Centre in Dundee on Friday 26th June. Here, families in need can collect good quality uniforms, coats, gym kits, shoes, schoolbags and pencil cases, completely free of charge, no questions asked.
The aim of this initiative is to give all pupils an equal start to the school year, as The Leith Collective founder Sara Thomson explains; “Every day I see first-hand the huge inequality here in Edinburgh.
“Education has the power to provide a path out of poverty, but for some children, just accessing that education is fraught with obstacles. A lack of uniform is one of them.
“I hope that providing good quality items, no child will feel forced to skip school because they fear being judged for not having a uniform or for wearing ill-fitting or worn-out items. All children should start school on an equal footing, and uniforms shouldn’t hold anyone back.”
To ensure there are enough uniform items to meet demand, The Leith Collection is calling on locals to donate good quality pre-loved items, and businesses to donate surplus new stock.
People can donate and collect items at any of The Leith Collective stores during opening hours.
Did you know Girlguiding Scotland members aged 14-25 can register to stand as a candidate in the Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) elections?
If you’d like to represent Girlguiding members from across Scotland and advocate for the issues impacting them, SYP is where your voice can find its place!
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “A 36-year old man has been arrested following a series of incidents at a number of locations across the West of Edinburgh, and Leith, during the evening of Friday, 19 June, 2026.
“Four people were injured and taken to hospital for treatment.
“Enquiries are ongoing, however, we believe there to be no further risk to the public at this time.
“Members of the public are thanked for their assistance.”
£15 million to help low-income households pay for childcare
Third sector organisations across Scotland are being invited to apply for a grant as part of a new £15 million Childcare Support Fund to help low-income families manage the cost of childcare.
The fund will provide short-term, flexible childcare through registered childcare providers, supporting families living in, or at risk of, poverty. This will ease the financial pressures of childcare costs which can act as a barrier to employment, training or learning.
The new fund is one of a range of measures set out in the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, Bringing Hope, Building Futures, which will help drive further progress in eradicating child poverty.
This one-year fund is designed to top up existing support – rather than replace current entitlements such as free childcare hours and Universal Credit childcare payments.
Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise Siobhian Brown said: “Every family deserves the security of knowing their child is well cared for, but for too many low-income families the cost of childcare creates real pressure at already difficult times.
“The Childcare Support Fund will help families who are struggling with childcare costs at difficult times – such as a change in job or family circumstances, to support access to training, or during a major life event like bereavement or illness.
“Organisations which are successful in applying for grants will support families to find the right childcare and help cover the cost. The fund is open to help families with children aged from nine months to the end of primary school.
“I would urge relevant third sector organisations to apply, and I look forward to seeing this funding reach the families who need it most over the coming months.
“By the end of this Parliament we will be delivering a brand new offer of childcare for families 52 weeks a year. This will reduce the cost burden and ensure our childcare system is flexible to suit family life.”
We are excited to share a delicious BBQ with you. Friday’s BBQ will include meat and vegetarian options, and Halal sausages, along with homemade salads and desserts.
In true Scottish fashion, we’ll be enjoying our BBQ rain or shine – with an indoor option should the rain arrive!
Please check the boards or ask our volunteers about allergens. And just a heads-up, our food is served until it runs out!
Three-year investment to support prevention, treatment and recovery across Scotland
First Minister John Swinney will today call for a new collective approach to reduce deaths and harms from drugs and alcohol, as he addresses a summit on drugs deaths in Edinburgh.
It comes as a newAlcohol and Drugs Fund, which will provide £36.9 million to frontline services and organisations working with people affected by alcohol and drugs, is launched.
The summit, organised by Public Health Scotland, will bring together health board chief executives, local authority leaders, justice representatives and third-sector partners alongside people with experience of drug and alcohol use, including representatives from family organisations and recovery groups.
Speaking ahead of the event, the First Minister said: “This new fund will provide more than £36 million over the next three years, supporting prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery.
“It will reach organisations of all sizes – from grassroots groups to larger partnerships – with particular emphasis on improving support for children, young people, and families. I have heard from the third sector about the need for stability and longer-term support – this multi-year funding recognises that.
“We have increased residential rehab capacity, with funded placements now close to our 1,000 target, set new treatment standards, opened The Thistle – the UK’s first safer drug consumption facility – and improved surveillance of the most potent and dangerous drugs entering circulation.
“But it is clear we now require a different collective approach and we need to go further. I am determined we make the change and new ways of working needed – and I am focused on confronting the need for reform of how our public services deliver.
“I am clear there should be a ‘no wrong door’ approach. If someone needs help, our system should be easy and quick to navigate – wrapping around the person rather than making people fit into the system.”
The fund is open to third-sector organisations and public bodies working directly with people who use alcohol and drugs, people in recovery, and their children and families.
It supports delivery of the Alcohol and Drugs Strategic Plan 2026–35, a joint Scottish Government and COSLA initiative backed by more than £160 million in 2026–27, which sets out a 10-year approach to reducing deaths and harms caused by alcohol and drugs.
Corra Foundation Chief Executive Carolyn Sawers said: “It is a privilege for Corra to deliver this fund on behalf of the Scottish Government. High-quality support for people affected by drugs and alcohol is vital to collective efforts to reducing harms, realising rights and supporting recovery.
“Corra looks forward to working closely alongside people with lived and living experience of drugs and alcohol as we deliver this fund.”
Next step in programme to deliver UK’s most comprehensive health and care app
The MyCare.scot app can now be downloaded onto smartphones, giving people across Scotland direct access to their health information on their phone.
The first version of the free app will allow people to view their medications and allergies, check their vaccination history and use the national service finder to find local health and wellbeing services.
It follows the successful roll-out of a web-based service that began in NHS Lanarkshire in December 2025 and began roll-out nationally in April. The app will continue to develop through to 2030, to enable users to check appointments, provide information about themselves and receive digital letters through MyCare.scot. When fully delivered, it will provide the most comprehensive health and care app in the UK, integrating health and social care services into one space.
The long-term delivery of MyCare.scot will also support the Government’s ambitions to deliver a new NHS national booking system within this Parliamentary term.
Speaking on a visit to meet staff and patients using MyCare.scot in Lanarkshire, Health Secretary Angela Constance said: “The availability of MyCare.scot on the app store is an important milestone in this government’s programme to give people a single, secure digital access point to their personal health information.
“I am clear that our NHS in Scotland will never be for sale. That is why the app has been developed within the public sector, protecting the privacy of patient medical records and ensuring best value for the taxpayer.
“Over time, MyCare.scot will make it easier to manage appointments, reduce the need for patients to retell their story, order prescriptions, and gain access to the information they need to help them stay well and supported. It will also be integrated with Scotland’s social care and social work system.”
Karen Reid, Chief Executive of Public Services Delivery Scotland said: “MyCare.scot is about beginning to make it simpler for people in Scotland to access their own health and social care information, in a way that is secure and easy to use. The new mobile app is an important step forward, helping people find what they need quickly, to inform their care.
“Public Services Delivery Scotland is leading this work to bring information together in one place and create a more joined-up, consistent experience. We will continue to improve MyCare.scot based on what people tell us they need.”
COSLA Health and Social Care spokesperson Councillor Paul Kelly said: “The launch of the MyCare.scot mobile app is a significant step forward in our shared ambition with the Scottish Government to improve outcomes across health, social work and social care. Crucially, this is just the beginning.
“Work is already ongoing to expand MyCare.scot into social work and social care, advancing our vision of truly integrated, person-centred services. This will give people across Scotland greater choice and control over their care, helping to build a more sustainable system fit for the digital age.”
REMINDER – GRANTON WATERFRONT DROP-IN, MON 22 JUNE
Monday 22 June 2026, 4.00pm – 7.00pm
Granton Station
