The East Retail Crime Task Force has launched following increased offending against retailers.
Two women (both 42) arrested in separate incidents will appear in court facing 25 charges including theft, police assault, breach of bail and offences against retail workers.
Health Secretary Neil Gray has set out how the Scottish Government plans to improve access to treatment, reduce waiting times and shift the balance of care from hospitals to primary care through the publication of the Operational Improvement Plan.
Through the additional £200 million investment contained in the Budget to reduce waiting times and improve flow through hospital, we will create 150,000 extra appointments and procedures using greater use of regional and national working.
By introducing a seven-day service in radiology, using mobile scanning units and additional recruitment, 95% of referrals will be seen within six weeks by March 2026, reducing backlogs in MRI, CT, ultrasound and endoscopy procedures.
To improve flow in acute hospitals and support increases in community care, we will expand Hospital at Home to at least 2,000 beds by the end of 2026, meaning the service, which provides hospital level care in the comfort of the patients home, will become the biggest hospital in Scotland.
By this summer there will be specialist staff in frailty teams in every A&E department in Scotland. Flow Navigation Centres, which direct patients to the most appropriate service for their condition, will be able to refer patients to more services, reducing the number of people who have to wait in A&E.
Investment in primary care will make it easier for people to see a doctor, dentist, optometrist or community pharmacist, and £10.5 million will be invested in general practice to take targeted action to prevent heart disease and frailty.
Digital services will be expanded to modernise services and improve efficiency, with the Digital Front Door app launching in Lanarkshire in December. This launch will be followed by a national roll-out in 2026, allowing people to securely access their hospital appointments, receive communications and find local services. Over time it will be expanded to include social care and community health services.
On a visit to Kirklands Hospital’s Flow Navigation Centre, Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “This plan details how the Scottish Government will deliver a more accessible NHS, with reductions to long-waits and the pressures we currently see. It shows how we will use the £21.7 billion health and social care investment in the 2025-26 Budget to deliver significant improvements for patients.
“We want to increase the number of appointments, speed up treatment and make it easier to see a doctor. By better using digital technology, we will embrace innovation and increase efficiencies.
“This plan is ambitious but realistic, and builds on the incredible work of our amazing health and social care staff across our health boards, to deliver real change.”
Community Council Elections 2025 – 2nd call for nominations
Nomination forms can be downloaded by clicking on the community council name above (an example completed nomination form is available here)
Local Interest Group Nomination Form are also available here (an example completed Local Interest Group nomination form is available here)
Completed nomination forms can be returned by:
The quickest method to return completed nomination forms is by email to the Governance Team at community.councils@edinburgh.gov.uk
If candidates choose to return by hand or by post please ensure sufficient time is allowed for the nomination form to be received before the deadline at 4pm on Thursday 17 April 2025.
Nominations close at 4pm on Thursday 17 April 2025.
Our webpages have been updated with the Notice of Community Council Election 2025.
Please share with your networks to encourage nominations for the above 8 Community Councils.
Completing a nomination form
Please review the example Nomination Paper for Community Council Elected Representative and the example Local Interest Group Registration and Nomination Form. All sections in yellow must be completed.
Declaration of Acceptance
If successful, candidates will be required to sign a Declaration of Acceptance at the first community council meeting declaring that, having been elected to the office of Community Councillor they
A copy of the Declaration of Acceptance can be viewed on our website.
Community Council election timescales (for the above 8 Community Councils)
Here is a breakdown of the important dates:
Nominations are for the 8 community councils agreed in the new Scheme for Community Councils and new boundaries which were approved by Council on 26 September 2024. The Scheme and Boundaries agreed on 26 September 2024 took effect on 28 March 2025.
The other 39 community councils in Edinburgh received sufficient nominations to form during the previous nomination period and have had their election results published and will establish once the new terms starts on 28 March 2025.
CEC Governance Team
Staff and residents at Strachan House and sister home, Queens Manor in Edinburgh are celebrating because their wonderful Regional Directors, Wendy McGowan and Dannie Tsoneva, from Barchester’s North East and Scotland Division, are stepping completely out of their comfort zones to compete in the Barchester Charitable Foundation Cook Off 2025.
Swapping their business suits for chefs’ whites, Dannie and Wendy are going head-to-head with two Regional Directors from each of Barchester’s four other divisions to cook up a storm and raise a vital funds for Barchester’s Charitable Foundation.
The Foundation helps connect vulnerable people and those living with a disability to community groups in their local area by providing grants to improve mobility and quality of life.
Each year the Foundation distributes thousands of pounds to individuals, small community groups and charities across England, Scotland and Wales. In 2024 the Foundation achieved a donation milestone of £335,000 which enabled the charity to provide vital help to a staggering 239 small groups and charities, plus 104 individuals in one year alone.
Wendy and Dannie are keeping their cards very close to their chests regarding what they will be cooking but they have been practising hard!
Wendy comments: “Dannie and I are passionate about the Foundation and we’re both relishing the chance to be able to raise funds and give back.
“I’d class myself as a solid home cook so I think we’ll go for a classic menu and all will be well!”
General Manager of Strachan House care home, Fran Fisher said: “We are all so proud of Wendy and Dannie for taking part in this challenge, they really are amazing – is there nothing they can’t do! They will raise so much money for the Foundation, we think they are absolute super stars!
To support Wendy & Dannie visit: Dannie & Wendy’s JustGiving page
Edinburgh restaurant Eve, based in the heart of the Cowgate, is launching an authentically Italian dining experience in the city, with a new concept created by its head chef who was born and raised in Rome.
The venue, located within in the heart of the city’s Old Town, is embarking on the exciting new chapter with the brand new menu filled with a handpicked list of mouthwatering classic dishes “just like Nonna used to make”.
All featuring prestigious, authentical Italian ingredients, they include the signature “Eve carbonara”, this indulgent dish is made for sharing and will leave diners wanting more.
The new concept is the brainchild of the restaurant’s Head Chef Giulio Morroni, who was taught to cook by his family, including his grandmother, in the Italian capital.
He deepened and refined his skills by attending a cookery-focused school in the city from the age of 13 to 18, boosted by his travels around Italian eateries. After completing his catering diploma, he secured a prestigious job as chef in the Vatican City cooking for the Pope.
Chef Giulio came to Scotland in 2009, with his now wife, and in 2022 he joined Virgin Hotels, at its Edinburgh location that had embarked on a soft launch earlier that year.
The culinary expert, who has led kitchens at various high-end names in Scottish hospitality, has now put together the new menu for Eve that will officially debut on Friday 28 March. It marks a more focused concept for the restaurant that previously offered a global range of dishes.
Diners will be transported on a journey spanning the regions of Italy. Ingredients include Gorgonzola cheese from the north of the Mediterranean country, and Njuda from Calabria in the South.
Pasta at Eve will be made fresh on the premises, including homemade ravioli with ricotta, lemon zest, chives, and butter sauce.
Head Chef Giulio Morroni said: “When I was about six, Nonna used to make ravioli, and it was the meal on Sunday that brought the family together.”
The Eve carbonara, made with mafaldine (curly ribbon) pasta, guanciale (pork cheek), pecorino, and egg yolk, and designed to share, also has strong sentimental attachment for the chef.
He said: “Eve will be cooking with the traditional three ingredients – just like my Nonna used to make – and the only way to do it, in my opinion. It’s the signature dish, we have on Sunday, all together.
“In Rome, pasta carbonara is like a religion. It’s just what we do.”
Other proudly Roman dishes on the menu include roast pork belly, slow cooked with rosemary, fennel seeds, and garlic. “It reminds me of my childhood, and Mamma and Nonna cooking in the kitchen,” says Giulio.
Among dessert options is tiramisu served in a moka pot, another example of the chef’s signature twists on classic dishes.
Learning the art of a perfect tiramisu is in fact one of the restaurant’s fun group classes on offer, also including pasta-making and cheese-tasting.
Regarding the launch of the new restaurant concept at Eve, Morroni said: “I am extremely excited to be launching this menu that connects my native Italy with my adopted home of Scotland.
“Becoming a chef just happened – it’s not just a job for me, it’s a passion – I am so happy and proud to be able to share this with you.
“I’m so happy, I can bring my food to Cowgate. I really love this menu, it tastes like home. I’m so proud.
Eve’s main entrance is on the Cowgate in Edinburgh’s Old Town.
For more information on how to book and to view the full menu please see website: https://eveedinburgh.com/.
A young teen from Scotland has been named winner of the RSPCA’s Young Photographer People’s Choice Award after securing over 1,000 votes.
15 images were shortlisted in the awards from children and young people across the UK who were all vying for the public vote. Eilidh Shannon, 13, from Inverurie, was the stand-out winner with her photo ‘Keeping a Look Out’ which shows spaniel Lexie poking her head out of the cat flap.
Eilidh said: “I’m so pleased to have won the People’s Choice Award. It’s an incredible feeling! My dogs are like best friends and I find that you can just sit next to them and whether happy or sad they’re there for you, they’re so lovely and kind. Lexie always likes to know what’s going on. If I go out into the garden without her she can’t bear it if she is not allowed to come too. She uses the cat flap to keep a close eye on me!”
Andrew Forsyth, RSPCA photographer and judge of the RSPCA’s Young Photographer Awards, added: “This photo captured the hearts of the public and captured Lexie’s personality and her love for Eilidh perfectly. The image is a very worthy winner!
“We’d urge all budding young photographers to please keep an eye out for the opening of submissions to the competition this year, or you can register your interest now at YPA25@rspca.org.uk and we’ll send you full information when we launch.”
The other shortlisted images were:
Entries for the main RSPCA Young Photographer Awards 2025 will open on Tuesday, 6 May and will be judged by a panel of photographic experts.
For more information visit: https://young.rspca.org.uk/ypa/home
POLICE are continuing to appeal for information to help trace Coen Bust, two weeks on since he was reported missing.
Mr Bust, 47, travelled to the Dunkeld area by train from Edinburgh on Thursday, 13 March. There have been no confirmed sightings since he arrived at Dunkeld train station at 10.18am.
Police officers were at Edinburgh Waverley and Dunkeld train stations yesterday to speak to commuters and try to get more information about Mr Bust’s whereabouts. Anyone who has any information is urged to get in touch.
Mr Bust is described as white, of heavy build, with a long, grey beard. He is thought to be wearing a mustard-yellow jacket and carrying a rucksack and a red/orange metal water bottle.
Inspector James Longden, Blairgowrie Police Office, said: “Since Mr Bust was reported missing, we have carried out extensive and specialist searches and enquiries across the area, but unfortunately, we have not yet been able to trace him.
“Two weeks on these searches continue in the Dunkeld and Birnam areas and we are continuing to ask for any information that could help us locate him.
“Anyone with any information of where Mr Bust is or could be should call Police Scotland on 101 and quote reference 2616 of Thursday, 13 March.”
Following the news of the sad passing of Christina McKelvie MSP, the Scottish Government Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy, the First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney MSP, said: “I am devastated to learn of the passing of Christina McKelvie – one of the kindest and most generous people I have ever met in my life.
“In all the years since I first met Christina, I have been so grateful to call her my friend and colleague and to benefit from her warmth and loyalty.
“Christina was fiercely proud of her Easterhouse roots, and she often spoke of how injustices her family experienced in her childhood had inspired her to join the trade union movement and enter elected politics.
“In her almost two decades as a Member of the Scottish Parliament, Christina put her values into action. Whether it was helping her constituents in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, serving as a highly-respected committee convenor, or in the Ministerial posts she held, Christina was always a fierce champion for equality, social justice, for Scottish independence and for a better world.
“But for all her many political achievements, Christina was first and foremost deeply committed to her family. Everyone could see the joy that she and her partner Keith brought to each other’s lives, and she spoke so often over the years of her pride for her sons, and more recently her immense joy at becoming a granny.
“In recent years, when Christina returned to Parliament after treatment for breast cancer, she was determined to help those around her – using her platform to encourage women to check themselves and go to screening appointments.
“The Scottish National Party has lost one of its finest, and I have lost an outstanding Minister in my government. I know her loss will be felt right across the Parliament and among the countless constituents she supported over the years. Christina was such a big-hearted woman, with compassion and social justice at her core. Her political allies and opponents would agree – she truly was a force of nature.
“Today, my thoughts and prayers are with Keith, her sons Jack and Lewis and her wider family and many friends.”
Charities due to lose funding from the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) will be able to apply for emergency support from the City of Edinburgh Council.
A one-off Third Sector Resilience Fund will launch tomorrow (Friday 28 March) and will remain open for two weeks. It will only be open to organisations in Edinburgh directly impacted by the closure of the EIJB’s third sector grants programme and applications must be made by 12 noon on Friday 11 April.
This package of support will include a funded programme worth £1m to allow third sector advice providers to continue to offer income maximisation, debt, and welfare advice services previously funded by the EIJB grants programme.
Applications will be reviewed and reported to a special meeting of the Policy and Sustainability Committee on Monday 12 May, with the intention of releasing funds in June.
Further work is progressing to review the relationship between the public sector and third sector in Edinburgh, to improve funding certainty in future years.
Council Leader, Jane Meagher, said: “Many of these local charities are at the forefront of helping those in our city with the greatest need. We’ve urgently been working to provide a lifeline to those affected by the closure of the previous grants programme, and I’m really pleased that we’ve found a way forward.
“This fund should provide enough money to potentially support all 64 affected organisations for up to nine months. It must be said that this is a one-off emergency fund – we need to act quickly, and I urge applications to be made as soon as possible.
“Alongside this we must develop a stronger way of supporting the third sector in our city. We recognise that the EIJB, like the Council, is under significant financial pressure and there needs to be longer-term change.
“Tackling poverty and inequality is one of the biggest challenges we’ve set ourselves as a city and this will be a really important piece of work – for us, for our partners and for the whole third sector.”
Benjamin Napier, CEO of Citizens Advice Edinburgh, is a member of the third sector reference group which the Council has set up as it reviews the funding relationship the city has with charities.
Benjamin said: “We welcome this investment in the third sector and hope it will go some way to providing resilience, while we continue our work with colleagues across the Council to find a longer-term solution.
“We recognise the pressures on public funding and thank the Council for their efforts in securing this funding. The third sector in Edinburgh plays a vital and very cost-effective role in supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.
“We look forward to strengthening the relationship between the Council and the third sector. By working together in this way, we can create real and lasting change for our citizens.”
The City of Edinburgh Council Third Sector Resilience Fund is a short term, one off, draw down resource using reserves agreed for use during 2025/26.
The fund aims to:
Towards these aims:
Please email policyandinsight@edinburgh.gov.uk for the full criteria for the fund and to apply.
A diverse manufacturing business which is leading the way in sustainable industrialised construction to meet the UK’s housing needs hosted more than 60 secondary school students who presented their ideas on how to tackle society’s key challenges.
Eco Group, led by founder and MD Eddie Black, specialises in Contract Manufacturing, Organic Brand Manufacturing, and Services to Manufacturing in a range of industries across the UK from its base in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway.
Eco’s VASO Build Solutions, construction panels made from mostly recycled glass, is one of a range of world-first decarbonisation technologies and carbon mitigation strategies developed by the pioneering business.
On Monday (March 17), Eddie and Eco Group Opportunity Strategist Gary Robertson, and Eco colleagues, hosted S5 students from Annan Academy as part of the forward-thinking Powering Futures programme involving 1,300 pupils in 86 schools across Scotland.
Powering Futures, which is supported by 47 Scottish businesses and organisations, “prepares the workforce of the future for the jobs of the future”, educating the workforce of the future in over 100 Scottish secondary schools, and training the workforce of the future in large employers across the country.
The SCQF level 6 accredited programme equips learners with critical meta-skills that employers are looking for while gaining an understanding of sustainability knowledge.
The event at Eco on Monday kicked off a programme throughout Scotland over the next two weeks where students will be making their final presentations to businesses in boardrooms, from the Borders to Inverness, to mark the culmination of their 30-week challenge.
Eddie Black, one of the judges at Monday’s event, said: “Investing our time, energy and expertise in the next generation is something I have been passionate about ever since the day we set up our business more than 15 years ago.
“With the way Eco has grown and diversified, we were delighted to host the Annan Academy students at our headquarters and hopefully give them a taste of what a sustainable business environment looks and feels like.
“It was fabulous to see and listen to their challenge presentations. It was a privilege to be in the room with group of young people with such inquiring minds.
“We were genuinely blown away by the thinking and research they had done to come up with their solutions to some of society’s major challenges.
“All the students showed impressive problem-solving skills. We know all too well how much adaptability, collaboration and resilience they will have had to show to get to this presentation stage – we have even named one of our businesses Resilience because we know what an important quality that is in today’s fast-changing society. Congratulations to all the students – you were amazing.
“Big thanks must also go to all the teachers and staff at Annan Academy for giving our young people the support and opportunity to take part, and to the team at Powering Futures for making these experiences happen which will stand the students in such good stead today for embarking on the careers of tomorrow.”
Participants in the Powering Futures Schools Programme engage in hands-on learning as they collaborate to find a solution to real-life sustainability challenges that have been set for this 2024-2025 academic year.
Industry partners are embedded in the delivery of the curriculum programme, which is designed to systematically create a pipeline of talent to businesses involved in delivering the transition to net zero.
Annan Academy is one of only four schools nationally to have enrolled an entire year group in the SCQF level 6 programme, the same level of Higher or modern and foundation apprenticeships.
Annan Academy Headteacher Ewan Murray said: “By integrating the Powering Futures Challenge into the whole year group instead of as an optional course, we ensured that all our students could benefit from learning these essential meta-skills, including teamwork, problem-solving, and organisation.”
Powering Futures Co-Founder David Reid said: “The teams demonstrated the new skills that they have developed over the past 30 weeks around team building, collaboration, problem solving and now presentation skills, all attributes that they need for a great career and a job in the future.
“So much so that Eco, our hosts, have already identified two or three individuals that they would like to speak more to about vacancies that they have, because they were so impressed.
“By fostering essential meta-skills that are highly valued by employers, the Powering Futures Schools Programme not only prepares students for their careers but also empowers them to navigate all aspects of life beyond education.
“They have helped the studentsgain the experience and confidence needed to navigate an evolving job market and contribute meaningfully to their industries.
“As a result, the students are not just preparing for the future – they are actively shaping it.
“Thank you also to all the team at Annan Academy for their support. We’re excited to continue collaborating with the academy to guide young people toward a brighter, more prosperous future.”
