Officers in Edinburgh are appealing for witnesses after the theft of two oxygen cylinders from a North Edinburgh medical centre. The cylinders were removed after entry was forced to a lock external cage outside the Pennywell All Care Centre premises on Pennywell Gardens.
The incident happened around 8.45pm on Sunday, 19 September and was reported to police on Tuesday, 21 September.
Inspector Jonny Elliot said: “Our enquiries into this incident are ongoing and I would urge anyone who may have information to get in touch.
“If anyone finds these cylinders then I would ask people not to touch them or try to move them but phone us and give their location as promptly as possible.
“Anyone with information can call 101, quoting incident 0687 of 21 September, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
“we have reluctantly concluded that, for practical reasons, alignment with the UK is the best option” – Michael Matheson
Testing for inbound international travel is to be eased and will align with the UK following consideration of the logistical, health and economic implications, Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport Michael Matheson confirmed yesterday.
Pre-departure tests for fully vaccinated travellers will be removed. Travellers from non-red list countries who have been fully vaccinated in a country that meets recognised standards of certifications will no longer be required to provide evidence of a negative test result before they can travel to Scotland.
For practical purposes, Scotland will also align with the UK post-arrival testing regime. Details for the UK are still being finalised and we will continue to engage with the UK Government ahead of confirmation as soon as possible.
Separately, in consultation with Public Health Scotland, the Scottish Government will consider how additional safeguards and surveillance of inward travel can be implemented to guard against the importation of new variants. This will be at no cost to travellers. Details will be set out in due course.
Last week, the Scottish Government announced how restrictions put in place to protect public health have been substantially revised to make travel simpler, with green and amber classifications merged while the red list is retained for those countries deemed to have high COVID19 case rates or variants of concern.
Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport Michael Matheson said: “We have concerns that the UK Government’s proposals to remove the requirement for a pre-departure test for some travellers could weaken our ability to protect the public health of Scotland’s communities.
“However, we also recognise that not having UK wide alignment causes significant practical problems and creates disadvantages for Scottish businesses. Also, if non alignment led to travellers to Scotland choosing to route through airports elsewhere in the UK, the public health benefits of testing would be undermined in any event.
“We have urgently considered all these implications, weighing any possible impact on the public health and the logistical realities.
“After liaising at length with stakeholders from the aviation sector to understand the impact of adopting a different approach in Scotland, we have reluctantly concluded that, for practical reasons, alignment with the UK is the best option.
“The new proposals make clear pre-departure tests will no longer be a requirement. We also intend to align with the UK post-arrival testing regime. The detail of that is still being developed with lateral flow tests being considered and we will engage further with the UK Government on those plans. Details will be announced at the same time as the UK.
“Lastly, the importance of guarding against new variants entering the country can’t be ignored. We will therefore be considering, with Public Health Scotland, the implementation of additional public health surveillance around international travel. We would intend this to be at no cost to travellers.”
The traffic light system of checks for international travel put in place to protect the public health comes to an end on 4 October.
The brand new E10 fuel has been introduced in the UK, designed to cut CO2 emissions by quite a considerable amount, however, it still won’t affect whether cars have to pay an emissions tax.
Recently, Google Maps introduced notifications to drivers hat they’re about to enter a low-emission zone that could incur a hefty fine.
Several major cities in the UK have schemes in place, but where the zones begin is often unclear – and can catch drivers out. Alex Kindred, car insurance expert at Confused.com explains what they are, where they are, and how you can avoid an accidental fine.
What are Low Emission Zones (LEZ) or Clean Air Zones (CAZ)?
A Low Emission Zone (LEZ), or Clean Air Zone (CAZ) is put in place with the aim of reducing pollution levels and to improve air quality in the area – usually towns and cities.
In most cases, you’ll only pay to travel through these zones if your vehicle doesn’t meet minimum emissions standards. If you don’t pay the fee, you may have to pay a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).
Why do we have Low Emission Zones (LEZ) or Clean Air Zones (CAZ)?
The latest IPCC report has been named a ‘code red for humanity’, meaning our attempts to tackle CO2 emissions are vital in order to keep the rise in global temperatures well below 1.5C in the next century.
The report shows that humanity emits approximately 40 billion tonnes of CO2 every year.
With such high numbers, the IPCC report authors believe we are destined to hit a global temperature increase of 1.5C by 2040 if emissions aren’t slashed in upcoming years, highlighting the importance of measures such as Low Emission Zones.
Will my vehicle trigger a fine?
Most fees apply to diesels built before September 2015. Usually these vehicles don’t meet emissions standards and in some cases the fees don’t apply to petrol cars built after January 2006.
Which cities are creating Low Emission Zones?
Birmingham, London, Oxford, Bristol and Scotland are all planning to have Low Emission Zones (LEZ) or Clean Air Zones (CAZ) in the near future.
Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone
On 1 June 2021, Birmingham launched its Clean Air Zone. It’ll operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
You can enter the zone with no charge if your vehicle is one of the following:
A moped or a motorcycle
A diesel vehicle minimum standard Euro 6A
A petrol vehicle minimum standard Euro 4
A vehicle with zero emissions (electric, hydrogen)
Cars that don’t meet emissions standards will pay £8 per day.
Residents with a car registered within the CAZ will be exempt from the charge for two years.
Support available:
The Birmingham local authority has support available to help people adjust to the CAZ. For example, a £1,000 mobility credit or £2000 scrappage scheme.
London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone
The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is in central London within the same area of the congestion charge zone and it covers all vehicles that don’t meet emissions standards.
In 2020, they announced that the ULEZ would extend to create a single larger zone bounded by the North Circular Road (A406) and South Circular Road (A205).
The charge:
If your vehicle doesn’t meet the emissions standards, then you’ll receive a daily fee. This can be up to £200 for some vehicles.
Is my vehicle exempt?
Check if your vehicle meets emissions standards on the Transport for London website here.
Oxford’s Zero Emission Zone
Oxford’s Zero Emission Zone will now run in summer this year. The zone will cover five streets in the centre of Oxford to begin with and a larger Green Zone will expand and cover the rest of the city centre.
You can enter the zone with no charge if your vehicle is one of the following:
A cars that emits 50 g of CO2/km and can drive 70 miles without any emissions
A van that emits less than 75 g of CO2/km and can drive 10 miles without any emissions
Motorcycles and mopeds that don’t emit any CO2
The charge:
Vehicles that don’t meet emissions standards will face a charge of £10 between the hours of 7am and 7pm.
There’ll be a discount for blue badge holders until December 2024.
Oxford residents will receive a 90% discount until 2030.
Bristol’s Clean Air Zone
According to Bristol.gov.uk, 71% of vehicles in Bristol are already compliant and so only a minority of vehicles driving in the CAZ could be charged. The scheme implemented in Bristol is exactly the same as the one in Birmingham, which means you can use the tool here to check your vehicle’s registration.
You can enter the zone with no charge if your vehicle is one of the following:
A moped or a motorcycle
A diesel vehicle minimum standard Euro 6A
A petrol vehicle minimum standard Euro 4
A vehicle with zero emissions (electric, hydrogen)
A low emissions vehicle
The charges:
Non-compliant vehicles would only be charged once in each 24-hour period, and they would apply 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Private petrol cars: £9 per day
Private diesel cars: £9 per day
Taxis: £9 per day
LGVs: £9 per day
HGVs: £100 per day
Buses: £100 per day
Coaches: £100 per day
Scotland’s Low Emission Zones
LEZs were proposed for Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow but these plans have been delayed due to coronavirus. All being well, the zones should go ahead between February and May 2022.
Edinburgh’s plans
The Edinburgh LEZ will apply to the city centre for all vehicles that don’t meet emissions standards.
Glasgow’s plans
Glasgow introduced a LEZ in 2018, but it only applies to local service buses. In 2022 it’ll apply to all vehicles entering the zone that don’t meet emissions standards.
Aberdeen’s plans
Currently Aberdeen are still consulting the public on their Low Emission Zone, but more progress will be made this year.
Dundee’s plans
Dundee’s low emission zone should be implemented between February and May 2022. It will apply to all vehicles that don’t meet emissions standards.
Worried about getting an accidental fine for driving into a low emission zone? Alex Kindred, car insurance expert at Confused.com has provided these three tips for motorists to ensure they don’t get a hefty bill in the post:
Upgrade to a low-emissions vehicle using a manufacturer scrappage scheme to help with the cost
“Upgrading to a newer vehicle that meets the standards could mean opting for an electric vehicle. The government no longer runs an official scrappage scheme to encourage drivers to upgrade to a low-emission vehicle, but many car manufacturers do, including Citroen, Dacia, Hyundai, Kia, Renault and Toyota.
Consider retrofitting your current vehicle, but this can be costly
“Some older vehicles may be able to be retrofitted with emissions reduction technology such as selective catalytic reduction (which reduces NOx emissions) or even converting the vehicle to electric power.
“But any retrofitting would have to be approved. If you’re able to show a booking with a CVRAS-approved fitter or an approved retrofit solution, you get a three-month grace period and might not have to pay the LEZ driving charge if driving in the zone
Use Google Maps as your SatNav
“Google Maps will now notify drivers that they’re about to enter a low-emission zone that could incur a hefty fine. So if you’re driving in one of the areas that has emission zones in place, it’s worth having this installed and working to alert you if you’re close to a zone.“
As the nights draw in and the leaves begin to turn, The Ivy on the Square will celebrate the change of the season and the arrival of the autumn equinox with a ‘Harvest Moon’ themed installation, a seasonal cocktail menu carefully crafted with Johnnie Walker and an enticing new dessert.
Launched yesterday, The Ivy on the Square will mark Harvest traditions that have been celebrated by Britons for centuries with a new installation featuring an abundance of oversized vegetables and dried flowers, with touches of The Ivy on the Square glamour and theatre throughout the restaurant.
A new seasonal cocktail menu launched in partnership with Johnnie Walker includes the Smashing Pumpkin (£10.85), featuring sweet and smoky Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky, pumpkin purée, lemon juice, and topped with ginger ale, for that truly autumnal feel, and ThePerfect Pear (£11.50), complete with Johnnie Walker Black Label, xante pear cognac, pear puree, cinnamon syrup, egg white, and aromatic bitters.
Smashing Pumpkin The Perfect Pair
Additional new cocktails on the limited-edition menu include Thyme for Harvest (£11.75) containing Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve, Beet it juice, lemon juice, and sugar syrup topped with ginger beer, and the decadent Foraged Boulevardier (£11.50), complete with Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve, apple infused Mancino cherry Vermouth, and Aperol.
Thyme for Harvest The Foraged Boulevardier
For those with a sweet tooth, a showstopping new dessert, Hazelnut praline parfait (£10.95), will go down a treat. Complete with crushed pistachio, a rich dark chocolate mousse, and a whisky infused caramel sauce to help guests celebrate the age-old Harvest Moon traditions in style.
A Scottish-based charity that provides dedicated, specialist facilities and equipment for children’s surgery in low-income countries is today celebrating a significant landmark.
Since its inception in 2018, the work of Kids Operating Room (KidsOR) has given more than 43,000 children access to life-changing or life-saving surgery. Today, KidsOR has announced that the economic benefit of these operations has broken the £1 BILLION mark!
Through independent research, the charity has calculated that a child undergoing an operation in one of its Operating Rooms in Africa or Latin America is projected to go on to contribute an average of £26,000 in additional GDP in the years to come.
David Cunningham, CEO of KidsOR, said: “When a child has a lifesaving operation, or an operation that cures a simple condition like incontinence, that allows the child to stay in school and grow up to contribute to their nation’s economy, we can calculate what the economic benefit to that country was of the child surviving or being able to go to school.
“A core part of our mission is to produce the evidence desperately needed to show that providing surgical care is one of the most impactful investments you can make in global health.
“At KidsOR, we rely on academic partners to conduct independent research to evaluate the impact of our work. For every operation performed in one of our partner hospitals, a local data collector records key data about the operation and its outcomes, as well as its impact on the child and their family.
David Cunningham added: “With all of that in mind, we are delighted to have reached the incredible landmark of £1 billion in economic benefit generated for our partner nations. But our work will not stop here, and we are already working to create many more Operating Rooms and to train many more local surgeons in countries where they are needed the most.”
KidsOR is a Scottish global health charity with bases in Edinburgh, Dundee and Nairobi. It works directly with local surgeons and their teams across Africa and South America to transform hospital spaces into dedicated Operating Rooms for children’s surgery, creating child-friendly surroundings and providing surgeons with the specialist equipment and training they need to care for their nation’s children.
Since 2018, the charity has created the capacity for more than 41,000 operations to be carried out.
A single operation taking place in a KidsOR Operating Room is estimated to prevent an average of 17.1 years of life lost due to disability or premature death. This is the key metric used by the World Health Organisation to assess the global burden of disease.
Vital plans to invest at least £1.8 billion to make buildings in Scotland net zero were endorsed by parliament this week, just as gas prices surge, threatening to push many more families across the country into fuel poverty.
Figures show that a quarter of households in Scotland are already considered to be in fuel poverty. Scottish Greens Lothian MSP Lorna Slater has said that as well as the need to tackle the immediate problem, the issue shows that the requirement to lower Scotland’s climate emissions goes hand in hand with tackling fuel poverty.
Scottish Greens co-leader and Lothian MSP Lorna Slater said: “The surge in gas prices is a real concern to so many people who rely on fossil fuels to heat their homes, and, yet again, demonstrates why we must end our dependency on volatile, unreliable and climate-destroying fossil fuels.
“That’s why we are accelerating plans to make homes across Scotland more efficient and to switch from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives. To support this, we will invest at least £1.8bn over the next five years.
“It has been galling to see Boris Johnson preach climate responsibility on the world stage while his government is forcing families into poverty in Lothian and beyond. All the while he is doing nothing to decarbonise heating and transport.
“We don’t have time for this kind of reckless approach, which is why, with Greens in government, Scotland will take a different path.”
Edinburgh volunteer Rosemary Laird is in the midst of a personal grand tour of Scotland, with the aim of visiting 61 iconic Scottish landmarks and locations on an epic fundraiser for the National Trust for Scotland.
Rosemary, who works for Scotland’s national conservation charity as a volunteer at the historic Georgian House in Edinburgh, is on a mission to visit a total of 61 properties during 2021.
That’s one for each birthday, as Rosemary turns 61 this year, and having visited 47 so far, she remains on track to meet her target.
Rosemary explained: “The past year has been quite difficult for everyone and, like many people, my partner and I hoped to get a holiday in this year. With that looking like a distant dream, we decided to turn our efforts to holidaying across Scotland.
“We love the historic properties in the Trust’s care, which are packed full of history and stories to tell. With this in mind, we decided to embark on an adventure and challenge ourselves to check off as many National Trust for Scotland properties this year as physically possible.”
Having worked as a volunteer at Georgian House in Edinburgh for the past two years, Rosemary has a personal connection with the National Trust for Scotland and a deep appreciation of the scale of the work the charity undertakes.
This year, the conservation charity also celebrates a significant birthday: over 90 years it has saved, maintained, and shared many of the country’s most loved places, rich with history, heritage, nature, and culture.
Rosemary and her partner, Donald, are donating £20 for each and every visit on their grand tour of National Trust for Scotland properties and have raised a running total of £940.
“We’re absolutely delighted with all we’ve achieved so far,” says Rosemary. “Highlights from our trips have to be House of Dun in Montrose, Broughton House in Dumfries and Galloway, and the Highland properties, including Inverewe Garden and Culloden Battlefield.”
The National Trust for Scotland relies on its members and donors to protect the places that we all love. Become a member at nts.org.uk.
UNISON will be hosting a public demonstration outside the Edinburgh City Chambers on Tuesday 28th September from 9.30am as we continue to put pressure on decision makers to #SaveOurCareHomes.
Extra financial support for more than 19,400 disabled children and young people
Legislation which will lead to increased vital support to more than 19,400 children and young people to help their families heat their homes this winter has been laid in the Scottish Parliament.
The legislation extends the eligibility for the Child Winter Heating assistance to young people aged 16 to 18 in receipt of the enhanced daily living component of PIP (Personal Independence Payment).
If the legislation is passed, 5,000 additional families will receive the payments, which will also be backdated to last year when the payment was introduced.
Child Winter Heating Assistance is an annual payment of £202 to help families of a child or young person on certain disability benefits to heat their homes during the winter months. It is already available to those in receipt of the highest rated care component of Disability Living Allowance.
Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said: “This extra money helps families of seriously disabled children and young people with the additional costs associated with heating their homes for longer periods.
“The Child Winter Heating Assistance is one of seven brand new benefits we have used using social security powers. I’m pleased that by extending eligibility, more than 5,000 more families will benefit from this £202 payment during the colder months.
“Getting this money to families automatically in winter will help them budget and balance the many financial pressures that they can face at this time of year.”
Background
the Child Winter Heating assistance was launched last year, and more than 14,000 payments worth a combined £2.8 million were made between November and mid-March
people do not need to apply as the payment will be made automatically by Social Security Scotland. Families will receive a letter of confirmation to coincide with the payment being made
to qualify for Child Winter Heating Assistance, people need to be aged 18 or under, and receive the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance for children, receive the highest rate care component of Child Disability Payment, or be in receipt of the enhanced daily living component of PIP on at least one day between 20 September 2021 to 26 September 2021
this year’s Child Winter Heating Assistance payments will start from the end of November and payments will be made in batches over the winter months
this payment will be made automatically to the same account that people receive their Disability Assistance Living Allowance for children, Child Disability Payment or Personal Independence Payment payments to
for more information, contact Social Security Scotland through web chat at mygov.scot/contact-social-security-scotland or call the freephone helpline on 0800 182 2222
Nominations close at midnight for the 2021 LGIU Scotland & CCLA Cllr Awards
Nominations close at midnight for the only national awards ceremony celebrating the vital work of individual councillors across Scotland.
Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) Scotland and CCLA are proud to once again host the 4th annual Cllr Awards, honouring the achievements of councillors that so often go unrecognised.
This year’s award categories celebrate the essential and varied work of councillors and include the coveted Community Champion, Leader of the Year and New Councillor of the Year awards, alongside a new Resilience and Recovery category for 2021.
Nominations can be made by anyone who would like to recognise a councillor doing outstanding work for their community. They close at midnight on Friday 24 September with the shortlist unveiled at the end of October.
The winners will be decided by a panel of judges composed of senior councillors and officers as well as leading stakeholders from across the sector. They will be revealed at this year’s ceremony taking place on Wednesday, 24 November. Due to the ongoing Covid related restrictions, it will be held as a hybrid event with virtual link ups to a Glasgow venue.
This year’s awards are made possible thanks to the generous support of founding partners, CCLA.
Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive of LGIU Scotland, said: “Local government supports all of us, each and every day. On every street, in every town, up and down the country, it is the vital work of councillors that keeps things moving.
“Now is the time for us to support our local heroes by nominating those councillors who have stepped up to the plate during extraordinary circumstances to deliver for their communities.
“We welcome contributions from any member of the public as well as other councillors, officers and leaders. We look forward to once again receiving the highest calibre of nominations and showcasing the essential work of councillors in November.”
