Sehar Mashiyat, a volunteer braille tutor with leading sight loss charity RNIB, has an impressive story to tell, this Volunteers Week [1st – 7th June].
Sehar volunteers as RNIB Scotland’s braille tutor, teaching the skill of reading and using braille- a system in which characters are represented by patterns of raised dots that are felt with the fingertips.
Sehar’s extraordinary journey of empathy and connection with visually impaired individuals began with her late father, Captain Mashiyat Ur Rehman Malik. The captain, who was blind and lost his hands while serving in the Pakistan Army, fostered a deep bond with his daughter and nurtured in her a profound appreciation for the visually impaired community.
Rooted in her family’s commitment to making a difference, Sehar wholeheartedly embraced the cause during her educational pursuits.
Alongside her family members, she volunteered at “Al-Faisal Markaz Nabina,” an institution founded by her late father in Faisalabad, Pakistan—a renowned industrial city in Punjab.
Capt. Malik, who also maintained a close connection with RNIB, served as a distinguished expert in special education and rehabilitation for the visually impaired community.
Inspired by her father’s passion, Sehar joined Bahira Special School in Islamabad as a braille teacher, dedicating a decade of her life to supporting and empowering visually impaired students.
In her relentless pursuit of creating positive change, Sehar recently relocated to Edinburgh. Armed with her profound knowledge and experience in the field, she wasted no time in seeking out organisations that shared her mission.
Sehar’s search led her straight to RNIB, a charity whose work she was already well acquainted with. Eager to make a difference, she reached out to RNIB expressing her enthusiasm to volunteer.
Sehar’s dedication to the teaching of braille, stems not only from her childhood experiences of regularly visiting her father’s institution but also from her academic accomplishments—a Master’s in Special Education, specialising in visually impaired and braille studies.
She firmly believes in the power of volunteering and its profound impact on both the volunteer and the community they serve. Her advocacy extends beyond her own efforts,
“I have a very strong belief in volunteering work,” Sehar says. “I have always encouraged my friends, family, and others to volunteer and serve. I feel proud to be a volunteer with RNIB Scotland.”
From delicious cakes to yummy biscuits, homemade goodies always go down a treat. With the cost of living continuing to put households across the UK under more and more pressure, baking your own treats from scratch is a great way to keep the costs down – but it is important not to forget about your four-legged family members!
The vets at the UK’s largest veterinary charity PDSA have revealed the paw-fect dog-friendly recipe for easy-to-make gingerbread biscuits so dig out your mixer, pop on your apron and get your bake on.
Recipe from PDSA Vet Nurse Nina Downing
You will need:
300g flour
60g smooth dog safe peanut butter. Be extra careful to make sure your peanut butter doesn’t contain Xylitol (also called Birch sugar), as this is toxic to dogs. Check the ingredients before you start – the higher percentage of peanuts, the better!
1 apple, peeled and grated (or very finely chopped if you don’t have a grater!)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp blackstrap molasses (black treacle)
120ml water
5cm x 4cm gingerbread template or cookie cutters
Instructions
Preheat your oven to gas mark 4 or 180°C (160°C for a fan oven) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Add all the ingredients to a large bowl and mix thoroughly. We recommend sifting the flour for a smoother mixture, although this isn’t necessary!
Once your mixture has formed a dough, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about ¼ inch thick.
Cut out your biscuits and place them on your lined baking tray.
Cook biscuits in the oven for 20 minutes or until they are golden.
Let the biscuits cool and voila – your pooch’s treats are ready to enjoy!
PDSA Vet Nurse Nina Downing said: “We’re sure your dog will enjoy this special treat but remember not to give them too many.
“At 5cm x 4cm these biscuits are a decent size and include molasses, so a bit of a sweet treat! We suggest feeding just one biscuit per day for smaller dogs (below 10kg) and two per day for your bigger dogs (above 10kg). These biscuits can be stored in a treat tin and enjoyed for the days following, so no need for your dog to scoff them all at once!
“Treats should make up no more than 10% of your dog’s daily food intake, and you’ll need to reduce their normal daily food to account for their gingerbread biscuits – you don’t want your pup to pile on the pounds.
“This recipe does make quite a few, so if you’re planning to make these just for your pooch, we’d recommend reducing the ingredients by half. Or freeze the leftover mixture so it doesn’t go to waste!”
THIS week the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance Shona Robison presented her first major fiscal statement to parliament (writes Fraser of Allander Institute’s MAIRI SPOWAGE).
For the uninitiated, the Scottish Government’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) is a document that outlines its financial plans and priorities over the next five years. The strategy aims to provide a framework for fiscal decisions, resource allocation, and economic management in Scotland. It takes into account various factors such as economic forecasts, revenue projections, spending priorities, and the government’s policy objectives.
The MTFS was introduced following the Budget Process Review Group’s final report, which recommended a number of changes to the budgetary process at Holyrood so the parliament could move to year-round budgeting. The idea is that this sets out the context at this time of year, to allow Committees to plan their pre-budget scrutiny in the Autumn, feeding into the Budget which comes towards the end of the year.
It’s fair to say that this hasn’t always looked like a particularly strategic document: perhaps in the past setting out possible challenges, without engaging with what might need to be in response. It is clear from what the DFM said yesterday that she is trying to highlight and engage with the challenges to outlook presents, which is to be welcomed.
A chunky document at 117 pages – we’ve read it so you don’t have to!
Funding Commitments are outstripping the funds available
The big headline from the MTFS is that public spending in Scotland is currently projected to outstrip the funds available by significant amounts of money from the next fiscal year (2024-25). The document says:
Our modelling indicates that our resource spending requirements could exceed our central funding projections by 2% (£1 billion) in 2024- 25 rising to 4% (£1.9 billion) in 2027-28.
The funding gap has been presented in the media this morning using that dreaded phrase “black hole”. Of course, this gap cannot be allowed to manifest itself in reality. For context, this £1 billion gap is bigger than the whole of the Rural Affairs and Islands budget; or about the same as we spend on prisons and courts combined.
Given the Scottish Government has to present a balanced budget, and if the funding coming from both Westminster and devolved taxes is as expected, what this means in practice is that difficult decisions are going to have to be made about spending. Of course, there are also options to raise taxes – but let’s come back to that.
Opposition politicians were quick to criticise the Government for saying that they were prepared to take tough decisions to deal with this challenge – but not setting out what these tough decisions were, i.e. where the axe might fall if it needs to.
To be fair, this is not the first one of these documents to highlight a potential funding gap if things continue as they have been. The difference was that DFM was very upfront about the fact that this was going to mean tough decisions were necessary. The financial statement yesterday was not a budget, and we should not have expected detailed allocation announcements.
So while we can see the uncertainty that this causes for service providers in terms of what is coming in December, to a certain extent the MTFS has done what it is supposed to do: to set the context for the start of the year-round budgeting process in Holyrood.
However, having said that, there are a number of commitments the Government has already made that are not included in this – such as the expansion of childcare provision, or further investment in the National Care Service. Therefore Ministers will have to be clear over the Summer and in the Programme for Government that they are acknowledging the tough decision environment when policy announcements are being made.
The DFM was fond of saying to opposition parties that they need to set out where cuts should happen if they are asking for more to be spent on particular areas – therefore the Government needs to hold themselves to the same standard.
A large income tax reconciliation still looks likely – but won’t be confirmed until the Summer
One of the issues that is contributing to the difficult outlook for the next financial year is a large income tax reconciliation.
When the Scottish Budget is set, funding from Scottish income tax for the financial year is based on forecasts and does not change during the year. Only when outturn information on income tax revenues becomes available is funding brought in line with outturn and a reconciliation applied to the following Scottish Budget. We can derive indicative estimates of future income tax reconciliations by comparing our latest forecasts and the latest forecast Block Grant Adjustments (BGAs) to those used in the Budget setting forecasts.
As we have highlighted in recent publications, we continue to expect a large and negative income tax reconciliation for the Budget year 2021-22. Comparing our and the OBR’s latest forecasts indicates a large negative reconciliation for 2021-22 of -£712 million. Final outturn data should be available in July 2023, with the resulting reconciliation being applied to the Scottish Budget for 2024-25.
So, we will know in July to what extent this reconciliation emerges in practice. This feature of the operation of the fiscal framework highlights the complexity of the arrangements that now determine the Scottish Budget.
Some of the coverage of this reconciliation have been characterised (by the IFS on socials for example) as a result of “over-optimism on tax receipts”. Let’s break down what is causing the reconciliation.
The forecasts for which the 21-22 budgets were set were still in the middle of the pandemic (Jan 2021), and the reconciliations are a function of both the view of the OBR of the rest of UK tax receipts and the SFC’s view on Scottish Income tax. Both of these figures were quite far out (the OBR’s more than the SFC’s) but it is absolutely to be expected given the uncertainty.
So, the current view of Scottish Income Tax is that it will be 9% higher than was forecast at the time of the 21-22 budget; but the current view of the Block Grant Adjustment is that it will be 15% higher than was forecast at the time of the 21-22 budget, hence the negative reconciliation.
To characterise this situation as “over-optimism” doesn’t seem very fair.
The outlook for the public sector workforce is assumed to be quite different in the document compared to the Resource Spending Review last year
When the Resource Spending Review was presented in May 2022, one of the main things that stood out was the analysis of the public sector workforce. The suggestion was in aggregate that the public sector workforce had increased significantly over the period of the pandemic, and that one of the ways that the tight fiscal environment could be dealt with was to manage down the public sector to its pre-pandemic size.
What wasn’t set out last year, or indeed anytime since, was how this would be achieved and in which areas the workforce would be managed down.
The MTFS does present different scenarios for the evolution of public sector pay settlements and the size of workforce. However, none of these assume that the public sector is to reduce overall. The scenarios the government examines in the document are:
Low Scenario – 2% pay award in 2023-24, and 1% pay award from 2024-25 onwards, 0.3% workforce growth
Central scenario – 3.5% pay award in 2023-24, and 2% pay award from 2024-25 onwards, 1.1% workforce growth
High Scenario – 5% pay award in 2023-24, and 3% pay award from 2024-25 onwards, 2.2% workforce growth
The document still indicates that reductions may be required in some areas of the public service, but it seems clear that this will be driven by the budget allocations that will be dished out:
Where a reduction in workforce is required for a public body to remain sustainable, we would expect this to be through natural turnover wherever possible and we restated our commitment to no compulsory redundancies in this year’s Public Sector Pay Strategy.
Let’s talk about talking about tax
The Deputy First Minister has announced that an external tax stakeholder group will be established this Summer. The document says:
This group will build on the Government’s inclusive approach to tax policymaking and will consider how best to engage with the public and other stakeholders on the future direction of tax policy, including whether a “national conversation” on tax is required.
It is hard not to be cynical about this announcement: those of us in the tax policy field have been invited to many conversations and round tables about tax over the years, but engagement is only meaningful if feedback and suggestions are taken on board. This sounds a little like a group to talk about how to talk to the public about tax. Not bad in itself, but it’s not clear how this is going to feed not many of the announcements that have already been made about taxation by this refreshed administration.
The idea is that this engagement will shape a refreshed tax strategy from the Scottish Government. A couple of things that we would say (if we are asked of course!) –
Discussions about wealth taxes look very difficult in a devolved context. However, completely within the gift of the Scottish Government is the reform Council Tax, something the SNP have said they wanted to do since coming to power in 2007. Given the number of commissions and groups that have discussed this over the years, another one is not required to set out the issues with CT, or indeed to set out options for replacement. Meaningful discussions about replacements and the political bravery to recognise there will be losers, as well as winners, will be required.
Further additions to the higher and top rates of income tax are unlikely to be able to yield large amounts of revenue. For example, there is the suggestion from the new FM (which had been put forward by the STUC) to introduce a new band at 75,000 and up the rate by 2p. The new ready reckoners published by the Scottish Government yesterday show that even if the whole of the Higher Rate Tax band is upped by 2p, this will raise £176m – not an insignificant amount of money, but not enough to deal with the funding gap outlined in the MTFS.
Tax rises are not cost-free. If engagement is to be meaningful, it is important that the SG engage with those who can see some of the costs as well as the benefits to either (i) more complexity in the tax system (ii) more divergence from the rest of the UK and (iii) higher tax burden overall.
Multi-year Funding envelopes will be set out with the 2024-25 budget (so probably in December)
The Government have committed to publish refreshed multi-year spending envelopes alongside the Budget for 2024-25. Given everything that has changed since the Resource Spending Review was published in May 2022, this is to be welcomed – although given the difficulties overall it is unlikely to be good news for many areas.
Hello? Is it MSPs you’re looking for?
Given the importance of the statement yesterday, we were quite surprised at both the time the was given in the chamber but mostly by the lack of MSPs who were in the chamber to hear the statement.
This is basically the equivalent of the Autumn Statement at Westminster – not the budget, no, but it gives clear signals of the context for the budget to come. This sets off the Budget process, and highlights that really difficult decisions are going to have to be made in the 2024-25 budget.
Engagement from across the chamber will no doubt increase as we get to the sharp end of the budget process – let’s hope it’s more meaningful than it was yesterday.
Everyone is welcome to join us on this fun family day!
Gala Queen, Rosie Cruikshank, and Fisher King, Thom Pryde, with their entourage, will arrive by boat in Newhaven Harbour around 11:00 am and make their way up to The Heart of Newhaven where they will be crowned by Newhaven Heritage’s Dougie Ratcliffe.
Victoria Primary P1 and P7 children will be at the harbour to meet our Gala Queen and Fisher King wearing traditional costumes.
Our theme for the Gala this year will be pirates and everyone is welcome to dress up and join the procession from Newhaven Harbour to The Heart of Newhaven (dressing up is optional).
After the coronation, there will be games and stalls, hot food and ice cream, as well as tea and coffee.
With the UK set for scorching sunshine this upcoming bank holiday and people heading off for the long weekend, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has warned people to stay safe around water and on the road.
The reminder comes as three young people have died this week in the UK’s canals and multiple road collisions have taken place on its roads.
Keeping safe around water
Carlene McAvoy, Leisure Safety Manager at The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA),said: “While the riverside may seem like a natural beauty spot, we do unfortunately see around 70 people a year drown in UK rivers. What’s more, data shows us that almost half of people who drown in the UK have no intention of being in the water at all.
“Open waters pose a risk all year round, though in winter we see more slippery riverbanks, icier paths and freezing cold waters which are often less than 15 degrees. And with that, comes the risk of cold water shock.
“Cold water shock is often a precursor to drowning and causes the blood vessels in the skin to close. This then increases blood pressure and makes the heart work much harder and can overpower even the strongest of swimmers.
“The cold water can also cause an involuntary gasp for breath and cause your breathing rate to increase dramatically. In this scenario, the chances of inhaling water into the lungs increases – and sadly, even a small amount of water is enough to take an adult’s life.”
Staying safe on the road
Rebecca Guy, Road Safety Manager at RoSPA, said:“Bank holiday weekends are a fantastic opportunity for people to catch up with their loved ones and enjoy some time away from home. But for some families, this turns into tragedy on our roads.
“Ahead of the bank holiday weekend, we urge all drivers to make a few basic vehicle checks that could end up saving their life, and to take an ample supply of food and drink should they get stuck on the motorway for a long time.”
“We advise people do a ‘POWDER check’ before they set off, which includes petrol or other fuel, oil, water, damage, electrics, and rubber (tyres).
Fuel
Before setting out, check your fuel or charge levels and make sure you have enough to get to your destination.
Engine oil
Use your dipstick to check oil regularly and before any long journey, and top up if needed. Take your car back to the garage if you’re topping up more than usual.
Water or screenwash
To ensure you have good visibility, always keep your screen wash topped up so you can clear debris or dirt off your windscreen. Check all fluid levels, including coolant.
Vehicle damage
Look out for any damage to your vehicle such as broken mirrors.
Electrics including lights
If your indicators, hazard lights, headlights, fog lights, reverse lights or brake lights are not functioning properly, you are putting yourself and your family at risk. In addition, light malfunctions can be a reason for your vehicle to fail its MOT. If a bulb has failed, change it at the first opportunity.
Rubber/tyres
Before setting off on a long journey, check your tyre pressures are suitable for the load and the condition of your tyres, including the spare.
Look out for cuts or wear and make sure that you change your tyres at 3mm because while tyres should have a minimum tread depth of 1.6mm, which is the legal limit., changing them ahead of that point is always good practice. Tyres under 3mm of tread will not perform as well in the wet.
Finally, before every journey, ensure that you are fit to drive. Make sure that you are well-rested, are feeling calm and are well. If you are taking any medication, read the leaflet and if you experience any side effects that could affect your ability to drive safely.
Earlier this week Karen McDonnell, Head of RoSPA Scotland, commented on the latest release of provisional road casualty statistics:
“RoSPA recognise that the Key Reported Road Casualties Scotland 2022 present total casualty figures that are the third lowest since records began, indeed since 2000, the number of people killed on Scotland’s roads had decreased by 47%. However, there are 33 more families and communities with empty seats at their tables here in 2022.
“Whilst in compared to 2021, pedal cyclist casualties fell by 7%, pedestrian casualties increased by 17%, car casualties increased by 9% and motorcyclists by 2%.
“Scotland’s roads are a shared space, road users with greater power have greater responsibility, people walking, people cycling and people on motorcycles are vulnerable.
“Through the Scottish Occupational Road Safety Alliance, RoSPA will continue to be part of the National Conversation about Road Safety from a Driving and Riding for work perspective.
“Encouraging over 600 member organisations and their drivers and riders to take ownership of road safety and manage driving risk as they would any other risk to their organisation towards the vision of Scotland having the best road safety performance in the world by 2030.”
Cut of £1,870 per pupil since 2012/13 on spending for those identified with ASN
Postcode lottery of spending between local authorities on ASN
Near doubling in the number of pupils with ASN from 2012
Cut in the number of ASN teachers by more than 500
An alliance of leading providers of specialist children’s services, the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), has called for greater resourcing to support children and young people with additional support needs (ASN), such as autism, dyslexia and mental health problems.
The call comes as new figures contained in a parliamentary answer to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, Jenny Gilruth MSP. This reveals that spending supporting those pupils with ASN has slumped by over a third.It comes against a backdrop of the number of pupils with ASN increasing dramatically and the number of specialist teachers supporting them dropping to a new low.
While the SCSC supports a presumption of mainstreamingfor pupils with ASN, meaning that they are educated in a mainstream school unless exceptional circumstances, without adequate resourcing there is an obvious impact on those with ASN, fellow pupils and teachers.
The SCSC is calling on the Scottish Government to increase funding to support the needs of vulnerable children and young people, including greater provision of specialist ASN teachers, educational psychologists and classroom assistants.
The figures highlight that average spending per pupil on additional support for learning by councils in Scotland (primary, secondary and special education) has fallen from £5,381 in the 2012/13 financial year to £3,511 in 2021/22 (in real terms). This amounts to an overall cut in spending of £1,870 per pupil, representing a 34.8 per cent drop.
This fall is against the backdrop of a 97.2 per cent increase between 2012 and 2021 in the number of pupils identified with ASN, from 118,011 to 232,753, amounting to 114,742 individuals. Those with ASNcurrently represent around a third of all pupils (33.0 per cent).
Between 2012 and 2021 the number of full-time equivalent ASN teachers (publicly funded primary, secondary, special and centrally employed) has fallen from 3,389 to an all-time low of 2,886, a decrease of 503 teachers, representing a cut in numbers of 14.8 per cent.
Against the background of Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis, with its disproportionate impact on those with ASN, the SCSC has called for greater resourcing from both the Scottish Government and councils to ensure that those with ASN receive the care and support they need, provided in an equitable manner across Scotland.
A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: “It is vital that those with ASN get the care and support they need, when they need it, especially given the impacts of the Covid-19 and cost-of-living crisis.
“This is also key if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap, as we know that those with ASN are disproportionately drawn from poorer neighbourhoods.
“We are in a mental health emergency and have also witnessed dramatic increases in classroom disruption, impacting on pupils and teachers alike. This is in part due to increased levels of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties post-lockdown.
“Given this, it is disappointing to note cuts in spending supporting those with ASN and we would urge the Scottish Government to adequately resource the provision of the likes of specialist teachers, educational psychologists and classroom assistants.
“Councils and the Scottish Government must work together to provide an adequately resourced and equitable system of support across Scotland for those children and young people with ASN, representing some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society. “
Citadel’s Arts Group’s 12th foray into Leith Festival is an exploration of the atmospheric North Leith Burial Ground. Their playwrights workshop wondered what lies beneath Coburg Street and found a number of big characters interred in this small cemetery.
Seven members of Citadel’s group of older writers each chose to research the story behind one of the graves.
There are people whose achievements and eccentricities will be dramatized in a play, The Ghosts of North Leith. Using music, humour and poetry, the drama will raise awareness of this fascinating area of Leith history.
In the Coburg Street Burial Ground lies Lady Anne Mackintosh nicknamed the ‘Colonel’. Playwright Rhona McAdam explains she was drawn to her ‘as she seemed a strong, independent woman, taking part in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745.
“Her husband, Sir Angus, chief of Clan Mackintosh, was a Captain in the government troops. Since he was unable, or unwilling, to raise the clan to fight for Bonnie Prince Charlie, Lady Anne did it instead.
“When the Jacobites won the Battle of Prestonpans, Sir Angus surrendered to his wife. After the Battle of Culloden, when the Jacobites were defeated, Lady Anne surrendered to her husband.’
Jim Brown took on the poet, Robert NicolI, heralded as the next Robert Burns. Jim said: ‘I became fascinated by Robert Nicoll because he was a poet, writer and radical newspaper man born in 1814, who packed so much into his short life. He died aged 23.’
No stone marks the burial place of 12-year-old Matilda Molesworth, but burial records indicate the spot. She features in the real-life story of the Trinity poltergeist. One of the collection of unexplained happenings in Catherine Crowe’s 1848 book “The Night Side of Nature“, it has popped up in anthologies of uncanny happenings ever since.
Another member of Citadel’s playwrights’ workshop, novelist Hilary Spiers explains: ” I’ve long been interested in the history of slavery in Scotland.
“While John Gladstones (buried in North Leith graveyard) and his grandson William Gladstone are better known, I felt John’s wife Nellie (who was known to be a very capable woman) might well have held views at odds with the men in her family. Women were a strong if largely unsung force in the abolitionist movement’.
Elaine Campbell came across the North Leith gravestone of three children and told us: ‘I was intrigued. Who were these three bairns so lovingly remembered?
“In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries when the Millar children lived and died, infant mortality was ferociously high. Sadly all attempts to locate the children in church records proved fruitless.
“There were Millars living in Leith at the time. I have assumed Peter, John and Archibald were part of this extended, prosperous family of merchants. Although the “Three Cherubs” is my fictional account, I drew on historical material to describe their short lives and untimely deaths.
“By telling their story I hope to have given voice to the countless children who lie long forgotten in North Leith Graveyard’.
Was it chance or Divine intervention that led writers Carolyn and Brian Lincoln to the gravestone of the Rev. Dr. David Johnston? Previous attempts at finding the grave of this pillar of the North Leith community had proved fruitless.
The Lincolns were paying one last visit to the Coburg Street churchyard, when they noticed the letters D.D. poking through the moss. D.D. Doctor of Divinity. They scraped away some moss and there was the name. David Johnston (1735-1824) served the parish for nearly 60 years, a strong leader when Leith was seriously threatened by the ships of John Paul Jones, who supported the breakaway American colonies.
The play, which includes all these stories, and more, will be given a trial performed reading in North Leith Parish Church on 15 June. Citadel Arts Group seeks feedback from this first audience at Leith Festival with a view to staging a full performance of the play later in the year in the same venue.
North Leith Parish Church in Madeira Street welcomes Citadel Arts Group’s interest in the burial ground, and the church building which was to have been the keystone of Leith’s ‘New Town’.
Tim Bell told us: ‘I welcome the play as a chance for local and Edinburgh people to see this beautiful Georgian Church before it is released from the Church of Scotland estate in 2024’.
Venue: North Leith Parish Church, 51 Madeira Street EH6 4AU
Associated event: Hilary Spiers will lead a free guided tour of North Leith Burial Ground in Coburg Street on Monday June 12th at 2pm. Places are limited. Book from Liz Hare
Writers: Carolyn and Brian Lincoln, Jim Brown, John Lamb, Hilary Spiers, Elaine Campbell and Rhona McAdam.
Cast: Mark Kydd, Deborah Whyte, Chelsea Grace, Gregor Davidson, Dale McQueen.
Director: Liz Hare
Sound: Stewart Emm
Citadel Arts Group (SC 034687) is a Leith-based theatre company which specialises in creating new plays based on local stories, memories, and history.
Tax-Free Childcare has saved 38,495 families in Scotland on their childcare costs during the 2022 to 2023 tax year, an increase of more than 9,300 from the previous year according to the latest statistics released by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) today (24 May 2023).
With thousands more families benefitting from the UK Government top up year on year, HMRC is reminding eligible working families of the financial support available to pay for approved childcare including holiday clubs, breakfast and after school clubs, child minders and nurseries. Last year, £533 million in government cash was shared by families across the UK who saved money on their childcare bills.
Working families, with children up to the age of 11, or 16 if their child has a disability, can save up to £2,000 a year per child or £4,000 a year if their child is disabled.
For every £8 paid into a Tax-Free Childcare account, families automatically receive an additional government top up of £2. Families can save up to £500 every 3 months for each child or £1,000 if their child is disabled.
This is one of many ways the UK Government is easing cost of living for people across the country, whilst taking action to halve inflation this year which is currently adding pressure to household budgets.
Victoria Atkins, The Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said: “While thousands more working families are benefitting from Tax-Free Childcare, which is making a real difference to their childcare bills, many more are missing out on the help they’re entitled to.
“Parents should check their eligibility and apply online, the top-up could make a big difference to working families at a time they need it most.”
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said:
“Tax-Free Childcare is a flexible benefit for families, allowing them to save towards the cost of childcare throughout the year and use when they need it. It can be a real boost to the household budget of working families. Search ‘Tax-Free Childcare’ on GOV.UK and sign up today.”
More than one million families could be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare. Families who haven’t signed up should check their eligibility and sign up to start saving today.
Opening a Tax-Free Childcare account is straightforward and can be done online in about 20 minutes. Money can be deposited at any time at any time of the year to be used straight away, or whenever it is needed. Unused money in the account can be withdrawn at any time.
Nearly 40 MSPs visited a Holyrood exhibition held by the charity Cats Protection to highlight how cats – and the people who care for them – can be better protected in law.
The exhibition, sponsored by Marie McNair MSP, was attended by 38 politicians and was a chance to discuss measures to improve feline welfare in Scotland, including the introduction of compulsory microchipping for pet cats and increasing the availability of cat-friendly rented housing.
Cats Protection’s Advocacy & Government Relations Officer for Scotland Alice Palombo said: “Scotland is a nation of pet lovers and cats are a particularly popular pet, with nearly one in four households owning one. So it was great to see so many politicians coming along to find out what they can do to ensure cats receive the protection in law that they deserve.
“Among the key measures we discussed was the need for compulsory microchipping of pet cats in Scotland. This is something which will soon be introduced for cats in England and it’s important that Scottish cats are not left behind.
“We also talked about what MSPs can do to ensure there is more cat-friendly housing available in the private and social rented sectors. So many people now rent their homes yet too many are being denied the chance to own a pet cat and we believe this must change.”
As well as discussing the charity’s campaigns, politicians also found out more about its hands-on work to support cats and the people who care about them, with staff from Cats Protection’s Veterinary, Behaviour and Community Engagement teams on hand to answer questions.
Cats Protection, the UK’s leading feline welfare charity, has a Scottish network of 24 volunteer-run branches, three adoption centres and nine charity shops, which also offer advice on cat care.
In 2022, the charity rehomed 2,500 cats in Scotland and helped neuter 11,100 cats and microchip 4,400 cats.
To find out more about Cats Protection, please visit www.cats.org.uk
Cramond care home committed to improving the lives of elderly residents
A TOP Edinburgh care home has ensured the wellbeing of its elderly residents by organising visits from a local GP twice weekly.
The initiative has ensured that residents at Cramond Residence have access to healthcare on a private basis to help them with accessibility and to prevent potential issues before they occur.
The GP visits are included within the home’s current rates and have been designed to complement each resident’s personal care plans, bringing together all aspects of a person’s wellbeing – from nutritional advice and emotional welfare to physiotherapy and organised activities.
Christian Daraio, Client Liaison Manager at the 74-bedroom home, said: “Some of our residents are frail and lack mobility, making getting to the doctor’s a stressful and daunting experience.
“That is why we were exceptionally keen to offer our residents access to a GP without having to leave the comfort of their own homes.
“We set up a special clinic in the home where our visiting GP holds twice weekly private consultations for routine check-ups and residents can advise our onsite care team if they would like an appointment.
“The collaborative approach has been offered since we first opened in 2018 and is a unique feature that is much appreciated by residents and their family members. It gives peace of mind that a loved one has direct access to expert health professionals – on top of our day-to-day care.”
This feature is provided alongside the home’s exclusive partnership with Balanced, Edinburgh’s leading team of physiotherapists, who work with residents individually to improve mobility and increase activity.
Cramond Residence is located to the north of the city and adopts a small-group living philosophy spread across three floors. That means groups of eight rooms form distinct “houses”, where residents are encouraged to eat and socialise together.
The home provides a range of activities specially designed to give residents a richer and more satisfying life, with specialist facilities and trained staff on hand to provide support & relief.
