Stagecoach announces free travel for veterans and military personnel on Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday

  • Free travel for military and ex-military personnel on 11thand 14th November
  • Commitment will continue annually
  • New employee led Veterans Network key to Stagecoach commitment

    Stagecoach has confirmed its ongoing commitment to the armed forces by announcing that it will be offering free travel for veterans and military personnel on its bus and tram services right across the UK on Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday.

The commitment to free travel, which will be ongoing every year, comes on the back of Stagecoach’s newly launched employee led Veterans Network.

The network was launched to allow Stagecoach colleagues to come together as one voice to make change, raise awareness, help influence business decisions and introduce new ways of working to make the company even stronger.

The Veteran Network is also currently engaging with the armed forces on a recruitment campaign directly targeting those who are leaving the military to find job opportunities at Stagecoach.

As a cause that is close to the hearts of its employees and customers, Stagecoach has been a long-time supporter of the Poppy Appeal, and in addition to free travel on 11th and 14th November, Stagecoach will be operating a number of Poppy Buses across its network, including Merseyside & South Lancashire, Cumbria & North Lancashire, Portsmouth and Aldershot.

Poppies will also be displayed on the front of a number of buses across the country with some of the destination blinds showing the messaging “We will remember them”.

Employees across Stagecoach will also be asked to honour the minutes’ silence.

Stagecoach has also been a member of the Armed Force Covenant since March 2015, recognising the value of serving personnel, regular and reservists, veterans and military families to both the country and businesses across the country.

With Remembrance services planned at memorials across UK, it is hoped that people wishing to pay their respects will take up the offer to travel for free to the service of their choice.

This commitment from Stagecoach allows for the business to unite and offer the same great experience to all military and ex-military customers and it will continue each year on 11th November and the following Sunday* as well as Armed Forces Weekend.

Simon Tramalloni, Operations Manager in Preston & Chorley is co-lead for the Stagecoach Veterans Network. He previously served in the Armed Forces serving in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Africa and the Middle East.

He said: “Stagecoach has a strong commitment to supporting the armed forces and our veterans, and it’s great that we are able to offer free bus and tram travel across the whole country as we mark Remembrance Day.

“We have thousands of ex forces personnel working across our business and having the new Veterans Network is allowing us to build on the work that Stagecoach has led over many years and identify how else we can support those veterans already working for us and those that may want to come and join the company.

“Remembrance Day and the Poppy Appeal are causes close to the hearts of many of our employees and customers and we are very pleased to be making this commitment that will hopefully help people to attend memorials across the UK.”

Climate Action Towns project: Empowering communities

Seven towns have been chosen to help tackle the impact of climate change and secure a just transition to net zero.

The Climate Action Towns programme will empower communities to come together and engage in collective climate action, taking account of the unique challenges and opportunities each town faces. That might include looking at what action can be taken on switching to more sustainable food or renewable energy.

Communities in the seven towns will be offered support to find ways of making changes at a local level that will help tackle the crisis, giving them a voice and engaging those that may not have previously engaged in climate action.

The programme will be delivered by design agency Architecture and Design Scotland, with funding of £146,000 from the Scottish Government.

The seven towns chosen are:

  • Alness, Highlands
  • Annan, Dumfries & Galloway
  • Blackburn, West Lothian
  • Campbeltown, Argyll & Bute
  • Holytown, North Lanarkshire
  • Invergordon, Highlands
  • Stevenston, North Ayrshire

The project will be driven by collaboration between local people and agencies, and their collective vision of what their Climate Action Town looks like. The outcome of the work with the towns will be used to outline learning for climate action on a town scale that can then be applied across Scotland and beyond.

The announcement came during the Scottish Government’s Just Transition themed weekend during COP26.

The start of the process to collaborate and co-design the Scottish Government’s refreshed Energy Strategy was outlined on Friday. It was also announced that Scotland’s first Just Transition Plan, to be published in spring 2022, will be focussed on the energy sector.

The Scottish Government will provide £100,000 to establish a Just Transition Alliance within the Under2 Coalition, a network of more than 200 devolved and local governments driving climate action across the world, so that members can access the resources, support and information necessary to deliver a just transition in cities and towns across the world.

Just Transition Minister Richard Lochhead said: “It is clear that we must decarbonise industry and society in order to mitigate the worst effects of climate change, but we must do so in a way that is fair for everyone and leaves no one behind.

“Scotland was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution, so we see it as only right that Scotland is at the forefront of this green revolution.

“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make changes in a way that will be good for our people, our communities, our economy and our planet – we must seize it.

“Tackling the climate crisis requires all of us, at every level, to get involved. We can all make a difference. The Climate Action Towns project aims to support and empower communities to have a say on how their local areas should change as part of a fair and just transition to net zero.

“I look forward to seeing how the towns that are taking part rise to the challenge and find ways that will not only make a difference locally but to Scotland and indeed the world.”

Architecture and Design Scotland Chief Executive Jim MacDonald said: “The climate emergency demands urgent action from us all. For Scotland to adapt to the impacts of climate change, we are all going to need to work together to adapt the ways we live, work, play and move in our cities, towns and villages.

“Considering that half of Scotland’s population live in towns, it is vital towns are a key focus in the fight against climate change.”

Morrisons helps food banks and community groups with Christmas ‘Giving Tree’

Morrisons is giving customers a new way to help those in need during the festive period by installing a Christmas ‘Giving Tree’ in all its stores, where customers can pick up a bauble worth £1, £2 or £5 to donate to a local food bank or community group nominated by their store.

From today, all 498 Morrisons stores will be putting up their tree with the aim of raising over half a million pounds for a variety of food banks and local communities throughout November and December, which is traditionally the most difficult time for many people.

Customers looking to donate can pick a bauble and take it to the checkouts along with their shopping. Each bauble has a barcode on the back for the checkout colleague to scan, and add £1, £2 or £5 to the customer’s bill.

Since the start of the pandemic, Morrisons has worked closely with food banks and communities across the UK and donated more than £12 million pounds to groups across the UK to ensure no one is left behind.

Morrisons will also continue offering their popular food bank ‘Pick Up Packs’ in stores throughout the festive period as well as bringing back its Gift Donation Stations where customers can donate new gifts. Donated items are passed on to local good causes and charities in the local community.

Rebecca Singleton, Community Director at Morrisons, said: “Christmas can be a challenging time and food banks are a lifeline for many people in the UK. We want to make it easier for our customers to donate in whatever way they can to help those in their local community get the items they need.

“The Giving Tree will give customers a unique and festive way to support local food banks and community groups.”

The Giving Tree initiative is part of Morrisons drive to stock Britain’s food banks and continue feeding the nation and will feature in all 498 Morrisons stores until the 24th December.

Holyrood Committee launches inquiry into health and wellbeing of children and young people

An inquiry has been launched into the health and wellbeing of children and young people by a Scottish Parliament Committee.

The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee is seeking to find out the key issues around health and wellbeing for children and young people in Scotland. They will investigate what the challenges and opportunities are for improving their health and wellbeing, and how addressing poverty can lead to improved health and social care outcomes.

The inquiry will focus on 4 key areas:

• Child poverty (including the Scottish Government’s current child poverty delivery plan), inequality and adverse childhood experiences;
• Issues affecting care experienced young people;
• Mental health, access to Child and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and the importance of early intervention;
• Health and wellbeing in schools

Speaking as the inquiry launched, Gillian Martin MSP, Convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, said: “There are a whole host of factors which impact the health and wellbeing of our children and young people, and our Committee will consider these in detail.

“The physical and mental toll of the pandemic on children and young people cannot be overstated and we know that prior to this pandemic there was already a high and
increasing demand for youth mental health services in Scotland.

“As we emerge from the pandemic and with the Scottish Government’s current child poverty delivery plan due to run until 2022, our inquiry comes at a pivotal time. We are determined to find out how children and young people can best be supported to live healthy and flourishing lives.”

You can let the Committee know your views here: 

Inquiry into the Health And Wellbeing of Children And Young People – Scottish Parliament – Citizen Space

The call for views will close on 7 December 2021.

Over 10 million people in the UK receive COVID-19 top-up vaccines

More than 10 million people have now received their COVID-19 booster or third jabs, ensuring vital protection over the winter months.

  • More than 10 million people have received a COVID-19 booster or third jab
  • Eligible people can now book a booster appointment a month in advance to speed up vaccination programme
  • People are urged to get their booster to top up their protection during the winter

More than 10 million people have now received their COVID-19 booster or third jabs, the latest figures show, ensuring the vital protection they have secured from their first two doses is maintained over the winter months.

A total of 10,062,704 people have received their booster and third jabs in the UK. 45,836,791 people have received two doses (79.7%) and 50,234,416 people have received one dose (87.4%). Seven in 10 over 80s in England are already vaccinated with top-up jabs.

The National Booking Service will be updated tomorrow (Monday 8 November) to allow those eligible for a booster vaccine – people over 50 and those most at risk of COVID-19 – to pre-book their jab five months after their second dose.

People will still receive their vaccine six months after their second dose, but the change will speed up the vaccination programme by allowing people to receive a jab the day they become eligible, rather than waiting for a convenient appointment.

People will also be able to book by calling 119 and can get vaccinated at hundreds of walk-in sites across the country six months after their second dose without an appointment. Those eligible can use the NHS online walk-in finder to locate the most convenient site.

More than one million people in London, Midlands, North East and Yorkshire, North West and South East have received the top-up jabs. Elsewhere:

East of England – 996,164 Midlands – 1,552,387 North East and Yorkshire – 1,388,202 North West – 1,126,027 South East – 1,392,592 South West – 956,896 London -1,026,423

COVID-19 booster vaccines have been delivered or booked in at every older adult care home in England where safe to do so, with almost nine in 10 care homes already visited.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “More than 10 million people across the UK now have the vital protection boosters provide, further building our wall of defence against this awful virus.

“This a phenomenal achievement and I want to thank everyone working on the rollout and everyone who has come forward for their jab.

“We know immunity begins to wane after six months, and booster jabs will ensure our most vulnerable are protected over the winter.

“Please do not delay – get your vaccines as soon as you can to protect yourself and your loved ones this winter so we can keep the virus at bay.”

The colder weather traditionally leads to increased transmission of viruses and will be challenging for the NHS.

Vaccines give high levels of protection but immunity reduces over time, particularly for older adults and at-risk groups, so it is vital that vulnerable people come forward to get their COVID-19 booster vaccine to top-up their defences and protect themselves this winter.

The latest evidence from SAGE shows that protection against symptomatic disease falls from 65%, up to three months after the second dose, to 45% six months after the second dose for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, and from 90% to 65% for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Protection against hospitalisation falls from 95% to 75% for Oxford/AstraZeneca and 99% to 90% for Pfizer/BioNTech.

Although the vaccine effectiveness against severe disease remains high, a small change can generate a major shift in hospital admissions. For example, a change from 95% to 90% protection against hospitalisation would lead to doubling of admissions in those vaccinated.

The booster programme is designed to top up this waning immunity. Early results from Pfizer show that a booster following a primary schedule of the same vaccine restores protection back up to 95.6% against symptomatic infection.

Vaccines Minister Maggie Throup said: “We are making brilliant progress with the COVID-19 booster programme and that’s testament to the tireless dedication of the NHS, and GPs, pharmacies and their teams.

“Booster vaccines will ensure those with increased risk of complications from COVID-19 maintain strong immunity during the winter and I urge everybody to take up the offer as soon as you become eligible.”

Last month, clinical guidance was updated to enable boosters to be given slightly earlier to those at highest risk, where this makes operational sense to do so.

This includes care home residents who may have received their second doses at different times to be vaccinated in the same session, as long as it has been five months since their second dose. It may also help with other vulnerable groups, such as housebound patients, so that they can have their flu and COVID-19 vaccines at the same time.

Vaccine confidence is high with data from the Office for National Statistics showing nearly all (94%) of those aged 50 to 69 say they would be likely to get their COVID-19 booster if offered, with the figure rising to 98% for those over 70.

Flu is another winter virus that can be serious. To give people the best protection over winter, those eligible for a free flu vaccine should come forward and book an appointment at either their GP practice or their local pharmacy, or take it up when offered by their employer or other healthcare provider.

Dr Nikki Kanani, NHS deputy vaccination programme lead and GP said: “Over ten million lifesaving top-up vaccinations is a fantastic achievement in just seven weeks by the NHS vaccination programme thanks to our staff.

“A record 371,000 boosters and third doses were chalked up in England alone yesterday, taking the total delivered to almost 8.5 million, as hundreds and thousands of people come forward every day to maximise their protection.

“With winter fast approaching I urge anyone who has not yet had a booster – or indeed a first or second dose – to not delay any further in protecting themselves and their loved ones against this deadly virus.”

People can now walk-in without an appointment to get their top-up vaccination and from tomorrow can book in an appointment a month in advance of becoming eligible – so there is no excuse to not get the lifesaving vaccine and people should do so as soon as they can.

The UK Government has launched a nationwide advertising campaign, encouraging people eligible to get their booster and flu jabs to protect themselves and their loved ones and help reduce pressures on the NHS. This includes outdoor billboards, broadcast and community radio and TV.

The offer of a first and second COVID-19 vaccine remains open to anyone who is eligible. Vaccines are available free of charge and from thousands of vaccine centres, GP practices and pharmacies.

There are more than 500 extra vaccination sites now compared to April this year, with 1,697 vaccination centres in operation in April 2021, and over 2,200 vaccination centres in operation now.

Vaccines are also available for those aged 12-15 to offer the best possible protection this winter in schools, as well as more than 200 vaccine centres.

Police Scotland: COP26 has been a ‘widely positive experience’

As COP26 arrives at its half way point, Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie looks ahead to the second week while praising both protesters and police.

Assistant Chief Constable Ritchie said yesterday: “For such a highly significant event, to reach the end of the first week with fewer than 50 arrests being made is testament to the fact the relationship between protesters and the police has been largely non-contentious.

“Despite today being a rest day at the conference, Police Scotland has, once again, engaged positively with protest organisers and attendees at a number of events across Glasgow, with minimum disruption to the wider community.

“As you’ll no doubt know, Police Scotland has spent more than 18 months preparing for COP26, and a great deal of effort has gone into ensuring our policing plan is robust but reactive, but also welcoming while balancing the right to protest with the rights of our communities.

“All of our work is underpinned by human rights and a great deal of effort has been taken to ensure our response to COP26-related  incidents and events is necessary and proportionate, and that our ethos and values of integrity, fairness and respect is shared by both our own officers and our mutual aid colleagues who have travelled to Scotland from across the UK to support us.

“This event has already provided us with some unique challenges, but our officers and staff have risen to face them, and the broadly good nature of the members of the public we are interacting with has made this a widely positive experience.

“I very much hope this atmosphere continues into the second week ahead of COP26 coming to its conclusion next weekend.”

COP26: “One week left to deliver for the world” says Prime Minister

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is urging countries to keep up the momentum on the fight against climate change in the week ahead at the COP26 summit.

The first week of COP26 saw around 120 leaders gather for the World Leaders Summit as well as negotiators, officials and ministers come together to make progress on the shared goal of limiting global temperatures to 1.5 degrees.

Progress has been made so far includes:

  • New commitments to net zero by middle of the century means 90% of the world economy is covered, triple the figure when the UK took on the COP Presidency.
  • More than 120 countries, covering 88% of the world’s forests, have agreed to end and reverse deforestation. Countries representing more than 70% of the world’s economy are committed to delivering clean and affordable technology everywhere by 2030 in the most polluting sectors.
  • Over 100 countries have agreed to cut their emissions of methane by 30% by 2030.
  • New commitments to increase finance to support developing countries to deal with the impacts of climate change and implement ambitious emissions-reductions plans.
  • More than 20 countries have made commitments for the first time to phase out coal power, including five of the world’s top 20 coal power-using countries, and at least 25 countries and public finance institutions commit to ending international public support for the unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022.
  • 45 nations have pledged urgent action and investment to protect nature and shift to more sustainable ways of farming, as well as over 100 countries now signed up to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030.
  • The views of over 40,000 young climate leaders have been presented to ministers, negotiators and officials.

Marking the halfway point in the summit, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “There is one week left for COP26 to deliver for the world, and we must all pull together and drive for the line.

“We have seen nations bring ambition and action to help limit rising temperatures, with new pledges to cut carbon and methane emissions, end deforestation, phase out coal and provide more finance to countries most vulnerable to climate change.

“But we cannot underestimate the task at hand to keep 1.5C alive. Countries must come back to the table this week ready to make the bold compromises and ambitious commitments needed.”

Attention turns to negotiations this coming week. The UK Government says these negotiations are incredibly complicated, and notoriously hard. Teams from the UK and 195 other countries plus the EU will work to reach collective agreement on more than 200 pages of text.

They will be negotiating the issues left open by the Paris Agreement in 2015, like the process for tracking how all countries are keeping their climate commitments and how we create a fairer global system so no nation is disadvantaged by being more ambitious on cutting emissions.

Everyone has to agree, or nothing is agreed. But the progress in the first week of COP has put us in a strong position, the UK government believes.

The UK’s COP26 Presidency programme continues this coming week, with the spotlight put on transport, adaptation, gender, science, and cities and regions.

The UK has been leading the way and setting a high bar for other countries to follow – including being the first major economy to commit in law to net zero, setting one of the most ambitious targets to cut emissions by 68% by 2030, phasing out coal power by 2024, ending the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, halting deforestation by 2030, and providing £11.6bn in finance – with an extra £1bn if the economy grows as forecast – to countries on the frontline of climate change.

FIRST MINISTER: ‘STILL A LONG WAY TO GO’

Those least responsible but most affected by climate change must be heard at COP26, the First Minister has said as the second week of negotiations gets underway. Nicola Sturgeon said governments must use this week to deliver on more and fairer financial support for Global South countries.

The First Minister will meet with an interfaith group of representatives today as part of a series of meetings with Global South leaders this week.

They are expected to discuss the important role that faith and belief communities play in fostering community cohesion and how this can contribute to tackling climate change – as well as sharing their views on the current negotiations.

Following that, the First Minister will take part in a presentation with representatives from Malawi and Tanzania as part of the Glasgow Climate Dialogues, a series of talks co-hosted by the Scottish Government and Stop Climate Chaos Scotland that set out climate priorities from the Global South for COP26.

Later this week, the First Minister is expected to meet with delegates from island states and regions to discuss the particular challenges experienced by those communities and how countries in the Global North can show solidarity with them.

The First Minister said: “Some progress was made last week with commitments on forestry, methane, coal, and pledges that, if delivered, could reduce the gap between the 1.5 degree target that science says we must hit, and the 2.7 degree trajectory we are currently on, but there is still a long way to go to deliver a fair and just outcome for all countries at COP 26.

“The next five days are critical to countries in the south who need fair financial support now to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of the climate emergency and who need to see clear steps taken to keep the target of capping temperature increases at 1.5 degrees alive.

“On the day where adaptation, loss and damage as a result of climate change are at the heart of COP, I am determined to do what I can to ensure leaders and negotiators hear the voices of those most impacted by the climate emergency.

“It is why we have committed to doubling our world-first Climate Justice Fund to £24m, and announced a £1m partnership to help some of the world’s most vulnerable communities tackle structural inequalities and recover from climate induced loss and damage.

“Over the next five days the world will be watching to see if the sense of optimism that has built up through last week can be turned into real action by countries around the world to tackle the climate crisis.”

Merry Crustmas from Morrisons!

Customers’ hopes of a white Christmas have been answered this week as Morrisons launches its new festive pizza range – including a Chocolate Gingerbread pizza (£2.89) hand-topped with snow-shaped marshmallows to create a mini snow scene.

The decadent toppings make for the ultimate dessert pizza, with salted toffee sauce, milk chocolate chips, mini white mallows, double chocolate chunk cookie dough and six mini gingerbread men. A luxurious choice for sweet pizza lovers and perfect for sharing with friends and family.

Available from Morrisons in-store pizza counters, the pizza is part of a new limited-edition range for customers to enjoy in the run up to Christmas. 

New festive flavours include The Caramelised Biscuit pizza (£2.89) which has been created with biscuit and pizza fans in mind. The 10-inch pizza base is coated with a generous serving of caramelised biscuit spread and topped with white chocolate chips and caramelised biscuits.

And for those who can’t wait until the 25th for their Christmas dinner, the Pigs in Blankets pizza (£3.89) is topped with classic Pigs in Blankets, chicken and cranberry sauce – on a 14-inch stonebaked base with tomato sauce and cheese. The ultimate way to enjoy these festive favourites ahead of the big day.

Mark Pearson, Buying Manager at Morrisons, said: “Our customers love Christmas and they love pizza. So we challenged our foodmakers to come up with three festive flavours to spread some Christmas cheer amongst customers and get everyone excited for the festive season.” 

The new Christmas pizzas will be available at pizza counters in Morrisons stores across the country. The Pigs in Blankets and Chocolate Gingerbread pizzas are available until Friday 24th December, priced at £3.89 for Pigs in Blankets & £2.89 for Chocolate Gingerbread Pizza.

The Caramelised Biscuit pizza will be available from Monday 15thNovember until Sunday 28thNovember, priced at £2.89. 

For more information visit www.morrisons.co.uk.