HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding parents and carers they have until 31 August 2021 to confirm whether their teenagers are staying in full-time education or training beyond 16.
Last week, teenagers across the UK received their GSCE or Scottish National Certificate results and many are now considering their future. If they decide to continue their full-time education or training, parents or carers will be eligible to continue receiving Child Benefit payments for their child.
HMRC has sent reminder letters to families receiving Child Benefit for their child in the last year of school or home education. If their child is staying in education beyond age 16, parents or carers must notify HMRC by the end of August, or their Child Benefit will be stopped.
It is quick and easy to update Child Benefit records via GOV.UK. Alternatively, parents or carers can return the 297b form sent to them by HMRC.
Child Benefit is paid to eligible parents or carers who are responsible for a child under 16, or under 20 if they are in full-time non-advanced education or approved training.
Parents or carers receiving Child Benefit and who also have an income over £50,000 (or their partner does), may have to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge via an annual Self Assessment tax return.
Post Office card accounts are closing. From 30 November 2021, HMRC will stop making payments of Child Benefit, Guardians Allowance and tax credits, into Post Office card accounts. HMRC is reminding any Child Benefit and tax credits customers who use this account to receive their payments, that they will need to notify HMRC of their new bank, building society or credit union account details.
HMRC is encouraging customers to act now so they do not miss any payments once their Post Office account closes. They can contact HMRC’s helpline (0345 300 3900) or use their Personal Tax Account.
To find out how to open a bank account, visit Citizens Advice.
National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams will be held in spring 2022 if public health advice allows, the Scottish Government has announced.
The decision has been informed by public health advice and by the views of partners, including those on the National Qualifications Group, which includes representatives of young people, parents, teachers and other education professionals.
Course content has been reduced compared to a normal year to take account of the disruption to learning that young people have experienced. These modifications have already been confirmed by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
Due to uncertainty over the pandemic, two contingency plans will be in place.
If there is further significant disruption to learning as a result of COVID-19, but it is still safe for exams to go ahead, there will be further modifications to courses and assessment.
If public health conditions do not allow for an exam diet to take place, awards will be made on teachers’ judgements based on normal in–year assessment.
Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Exams will take place next year if safe to do so.
“Fairness for learners sitting exams in 2022 is at the heart of our plans. Assessment modifications across national courses for the next academic session have already been confirmed by the SQA in recognition of the disruption to learning that young people have experienced. We will set out details on further support available for learners in September.
“Careful contingency planning has taken place in case there is further significant disruption to learning or if public health conditions do not allow for the holding of an examination diet.
“These contingencies offer stability for teachers and learners in the coming academic session and will allow their focus to be on normal practices in teaching, learning and assessment. More detailed guidance will be issued by the SQA at the earliest opportunity.”
Commenting on the announcement, EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said: “It is no surprise that the Scottish Government has stated its intention to reinstate an exam diet in 2022, should public health advice allow.
“The EIS would have preferred to see exams by-passed for S4 students in the interests of supporting education recovery and wellbeing among this cohort. It remains to be seen whether the reductions in course content for this year as recognition that young people have been adversely affected by the pandemic through no fault of their own, will suffice.
“It is essential that appropriate and robust contingencies are in place should it be necessary to cancel the exam diet on public health grounds. We saw earlier this year the damage caused by decisions being made too late without adequate contingences in place and the huge workload and stress that was placed on students and staff as a result.
“In the longer term, the process of reviewing the qualifications system and replacing the SQA must learn lessons from recent experience. The EIS has long been concerned regarding the lack of accountability of the Scottish Qualifications Authority to the teaching profession and the over-emphasis placed on annual high-stakes exams at the expense of continuous assessment.
“The EIS believes that now is an appropriate time to consider the future shape of learning and assessment in the senior phase, alternative models of timetabling and the timing of qualifications to better serve the needs of Scotland’s learners, as part of the process around replacing the SQA.”
Royal Victoria Hospital and Fettes Police HQ sites under active consideration
The City of Edinburgh Council is re-evaluating the feasibility of two sites in central Edinburgh for a Gaelic high school following internal discussions.
Council officers will work with partners to reassess the potential of the current Police Scotland headquarters at Fettes and the site of the former Royal Victoria Hospital in Comely Bank as additional options for the home of a new Gaelic Medium Education (GME) secondary school.
The move comes after a meeting between the Cabinet Secretary, Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP and Education Convener Councillor Ian Perry and Vice Convener Alison Dickie in July to discuss the Council’s proposals for a dedicated GME high school on the Liberton site, which the Cabinet Secretary again welcomed as an excellent option.
The Councillors wrote last week to the Cabinet Secretary following their meeting last month to confirm that the two central sites will be re-assessed given concerns about ‘centrality’ raised by some parents during the development of plans for the Liberton site.
The letter makes clear that significant Scottish Government financial assistance, in the region of at least £48m for the build cost alone, as well as support to secure either site to make a more central option viable.
A report outlining these latest developments, and the letter sent to the Cabinet Secretary, will be presented to the Education, Children and Families Committee next Tuesday (24 August).
The report says that the proposal for a statutory consultation should be temporarily halted pending a response from the Scottish Government regarding the two central sites.
Cllr Perry said: “We had a very constructive and helpful meeting with the Cabinet Secretary last month and set out again our proposals to further the growth of GME in the Capital.
“Given the concerns some Gaelic parents raised over ‘centrality’, we are reassessing the feasibility of two possible sites – at Fettes and at Comely Bank. It must be stressed, however, that significant Government support would be required to make these viable options.
“Our number one priority remains identifying the best and most workable solution for a fully immersive GME high school for the city. In the meantime we are proposing temporarily halting the plans for a statutory consultation until we receive a response from the Scottish Government.”
Cllr Dickie said: “We’re fully committed to ensuring GME can grow and thrive in Scotland’s Capital and we have welcomed the Scottish Government’s continued encouragement about our plans for a new and dedicated school at Liberton.
“It is vital though that we get this absolutely right for children and their families, and for the growth of Gaelic Medium Education in the city. Given then, the growing appetite for a more central location, we have made a decision to pause to re-evaluate previously visited options and their related barriers.
“As well as the substantial financial hurdle involved, we’d need certainty that the land would be available to meet the timescales involved. Most of all though, we need options that deliver the best educational outcomes for our children and young people.”
Poet and essayist Kathleen Jamie has been appointed as Scotland’s next Makar.First Minister Nicola Sturgeon formally welcomed her to the role at the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh yesterday.
The role of Makar involves taking a leadership role in promoting poetry nationally, as well as producing work relating to significant national events.
Ms Jamie was appointed by the First Minister for a three-year term on the recommendation of an expert panel representing Scotland’s literary sector.
She is the fourth person to hold the role since it was established by the Scottish Parliament in 2004, following in the footsteps of Jackie Kay, Liz Lochhead, and Edwin Morgan.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “I am delighted to confirm Kathleen Jamie as our national poet.
“Poetry is integral to Scotland’s culture and history. The Makar has a central role in celebrating that legacy, and preserving its future by encouraging the next generation of young writers to leave their mark.
“Kathleen is a highly accomplished poet who is known for her works in English and Scots, and the meaningful connections her writing draws between our lives and the landscape around us. I have no doubt she will continue to build on the exceptional work of her predecessors to promote Scottish poetry both here and abroad.”
Kathleen Jamie said: “I am honoured and delighted to be appointed as Scotland’s new Makar. The post confirms a weel-kent truth: that poetry abides at the heart of Scottish culture, in all our languages, old and new. It’s mysterious, undefinable and bold. It runs deep and sparkles at once.
“Liz Lochhead, Jackie Kay and the late Edwin Morgan have held this post before me, a trio of major poets. If I can achieve half of their outreach, humour and wisdom, not to mention their wonderful verse, I’ll be doing well. I am grateful to the selection panel for such a vote of confidence in my work, and to the First Minister for her endorsement and support.
“My task as I see it is to meet folk, to support and encourage poetry, to laugh and lament and witness, and occasionally speak to our national life. I’m excited to begin.”
Asif Khan, Director at Scottish Poetry Library said: “Kathleen Jamie is a generational talent – an exceptional Scottish writer of any era. Jamie’s poetry and prose sits with the best writing in English anywhere in the world.
“The poetry library looks forward to supporting the new Makar’s programme of engagement at a time when poetry is treasured as an art form that can heal and unite communities, as well as inspire our young people, including New Scots, to see the world differently and reflect on their role in it.”
Alan Bett, Head of Literature & Publishing at Creative Scotland said: “Kathleen Jamie is an excellent choice for The Makar, Scotland’s national poet. The quality of her work speaks for itself, and that work can and will speak to so many people across Scotland and beyond.
“The work can also speak to and challenge the current environmental context, with a strong focus on place and nature. I would like to offer my warm congratulations to Kathleen on this announcement and look forward to the creative projects that will connect her poetry with the nation.”
I was delighted to be part of Edinburgh International Book Festival’s ‘Stories and Scran’ event on Tuesday evening.
The event was a celebration of the book festival’s Citizen programme.
Over the last 12 months, Citizen Writer in Residence Eleanor Thom and poet Leyla Josephine have been working with local groups to discuss and respond creatively to themes such as home, identity and belonging.
The evening – a lively mix of live readings, stories and short films – showcased impressive work by participants from Spartans Alternative School, the Citizen Collective (some brilliant young writers aged 16-18) (above), the Citizen adult writing group, the Saheliya Champions and more. And all in front of a live audience, too!
The event was preceded by a delicious community meal prepared and served up by by a team from North Edinburgh’s very own Scran Academy.
Congratulations to the organisers – coronavirus restrictions must have made this a very difficult event to plan and stage, but it really couldn’t have gone better.
Stories and Scran was live streamed and you can view it here:
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is coming under increasing pressure over the UK Government’s response to the crisis unfolding in Afghanistan.
Mr Raab was on holiday in Crete as the crisis was developing. Even politicians are allowed to take holidays, of course, but the Foreign Secretary has been accused of dereliction of duty following revelations by the Daily Mail and the BBC that Mr Raab failed to return a call from his Afghani counterpart as Taliban militants advanced on the capital Kabul.
It was claimed that a junior minister was delegated to make the call, but it was revealed on Friday that this was nonsense: THE CALL WAS NEVER MADE.
The UK Parliament was recalled yesterday to discuss the Afghanistan crisis. This is Mr Raab’s statement to the House:
Mr Speaker, in any crisis it is how you respond that is critical, and the government has two overriding priorities.
First, we must evacuate our own people, the British nationals, the dual nationals in Afghanistan who now want to leave, those who served our country so loyally.
And allied to this, we must live up to the best traditions of this country in playing our part in offering safe haven to those Afghans who are now fleeing persecution from the Taliban as refugees.
I want to pay tribute to those leading this work. I have already mentioned Sir Laurie Bristow, our Ambassador. There is a phenomenal cross-Whitehall team of military personnel – I pay tribute to the Defence Secretary – Home Office officials – I pay tribute to the Home Secretary – and they are working hand-in-glove, with gunfire overhead, to save others before they get out themselves.
And I want to pay tribute also to the Rapid Deployment Team that flew into Kabul last night to support that effort, and to the troops that went in to protect them and secure the airport so that we could prosecute this evacuation effort.
Mr Speaker, we are straining every sinew on that evacuation effort and it is supported by the crisis team in King Charles Street, with Home Office experts, military planners, and they are working around the clock. I pay tribute to them, having visited them yesterday.
The evacuation effort has three strands. And by the way, it’s been, Mr Speaker, in place for four months.
First, it is worth recalling that we advised all UK nationals to leave Afghanistan back in April and many hundreds did so on commercial flights, with the benefit of consular support and advice from our team.
Since the security situation deteriorated last weekend, we switched to chartered flights to get nationals out, as well as those under the ARAP scheme.
The first flight left Kabul on Sunday with around 150 UK nationals and their dependents on board. They have arrived back in this country safe and sound.
In the last 24 hours, 646 people have been evacuated, a combination of nationals, Afghans who worked for us and UK allies, and there will be eight flights following today.
The crucial point was that in order to secure the airport, we had to inject 600 British forces, we had thousands come in from the Americans. Without that we wouldn’t be able to get any of those to the airport, indeed out of them, or process them in the way we need to.
The second strand of the evacuation, beyond British nationals, is the ARAP programme, also set up by the Defence Secretary back in April, to help those who worked for us, and who now face the risk of retribution precisely because of the loyalty that they showed to our country.
And to date, Mr Speaker, we have settled over 3,300 Afghan staff and their families. That includes 2,000 since April, the most generous scheme of its kind offered anywhere in the world, and rightly so.
The third strand of the evacuation scheme is, as my Right Honourable Friend the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary announced today, our plan to provide a bespoke asylum offer to settle 20,000 Afghan refugees over five years.
And like the Home Secretary herself, let me just say as the son of a refugee I am deeply proud that this government is continuing the big-hearted tradition of the British people in offering safe haven to those fleeing persecution.
So we are getting our nationals out, those that work for us out, and we are providing a lifeline to the most vulnerable.
I can also tell the House today that we have contacted all of the Chevening Scholars in Afghanistan, not just to tell them that they can come, but to actively make arrangements for the upcoming flights to the UK.
Mr Speaker, at a time of crisis we also need to look to the longer term, and there are four areas that need particular focus.
Counter terrorism: we must never again allow Afghanistan to be a haven for terrorists, we will work very closely with all of our partners within the parameters that the current situation allows.
Secondly, the international community must be prepared to respond to the humanitarian plight caused by the Taliban’s campaign.
The UK is already using our convening power, our aid budget to galvanise the global response.
Thirdly, we must work to safeguard regional stability, and that will require us to work with different partners and it will require engagement with key regional players, including India, China, Russia, Pakistan, the Central Asian states, however difficult or complex that may prove and outside of our comfort zone.
And we will be fully supporting the efforts of the Secretary General of the UN’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Jean Arnault.
The fourth area is human rights and accountability. We will hold both through our domestic sanctions regime, but also working with the Indians who chair the UN sanctions regime for Afghanistan, to make sure we can exercise a moderating influence on the Taliban regime.
We will pursue each of these areas with vigour. As the Prime Minister has already made clear, we will be convening a special meeting of G7 leaders to consider a concerted and co-ordinated response.
We will be looking at the question of a contact group of international partners on Afghanistan and we plan an event at the UN General Assembly next month to focus minds and raise funds for the humanitarian response.
We are raising our aid budget in response to the crisis, channelling it via third parties on the ground.
And we will no longer provide funding to Afghan security institutions, redirecting this to humanitarian efforts which benefit the Afghan people.
Mr Speaker, we will get our people out of Afghanistan, we will provide a lifeline for the most vulnerable, and, with our partners, we will forge a new international strategy for Afghanistan.
We will not allow the hard-won gains of the last 20 years to be lost.
And we will continue to stand with the Afghan people, and support their aspiration for a better life.
NOTE – The last four paragraphs of the speech are as drafted, but were not delivered in the House due to time constraints.
STAND WITH THE AFGHAN PEOPLE? When it was clearly too much to ask to return a desperate phone call? What’s Afghani for ‘Aye, right’?
More than 120 organisations from across Scotland are urging First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to double the Scottish Child Payment in this year’s Programme for Government.
The campaigners say the 1 in 4 children living in poverty in Scotland cannot wait.
In an open letter the End Child Poverty coalition is calling on The First Minister to “do the right thing” to help thousands of poverty-stricken children and families.
The letter in full:
Dear First Minister,
As a broad coalition of national organisations, community groups, academics, trade unions and faith groups, we are writing to you to urge you to use the upcoming Programme for Government to commit to doubling the Scottish Child Payment in this year’s budget.
We welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling child poverty, evidenced in the setting of statutory child poverty targets, introducing the Scottish Child Payment and the upcoming incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. These steps have laid the foundation for tackling child poverty in Scotland and we have been delighted that they have been supported across Scotland’s political spectrum.
This cross-party agreement was also evident in May’s Holyrood elections, when all Scotland’s five main political parties committed to doubling the Scottish Child Payment. Such political consensus is welcome, and provides the opportunity for your government to act quickly and decisively in doubling the payment now.
To do so would provide a lifeline to families who are struggling to stay afloat. Even before Covid-19, people across Scotland were being swept up in a rising tide of poverty, with child poverty rising in every Scottish local authority. And the pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities in Scotland and pulled many more people – particularly women, disabled people, and Black and minority ethnic people – into hardship.
With women’s poverty being inextricably linked to child poverty, the pandemic’s impact has pulled children across Scotland ever deeper into poverty. It has hit lone parents – the overwhelming majority of whom are women – particularly hard, a group already disproportionately affected by years of social security cuts.
Unlocking people from this poverty requires long-term work to tackle the structural inequalities around the labour market – particularly for women, disabled people and Black and minority ethnic people – and it will also require action like further expanding childcare provision. But we also need action now to boost incomes in the short term.
Every level of government has a duty to boost incomes where it can, and we are clear that the UK Government must scrap its planned and unjust £20 Universal Credit cut. But just as the UK Government has a moral responsibility to do the right thing, so too does the Scottish Government have a moral responsibility to use all of the powers at its disposal to loosen the grip of poverty on people’s lives.
We have the powers, we have the urgent need, and we have the cross-party consensus to double the Scottish Child Payment. If your government is to truly make ending child poverty a ‘national mission’, and if we are to ensure that a more just Scotland emerges from the pandemic, then we must not delay. Children growing up in the grip of poverty right now – as well as their parents and care-givers – simply cannot endure until the end of this Parliament to be unlocked from poverty. Their lives and life chances are too important for this action to wait.
The evidence is clear that if it is doubled now, it will represent the single most impactful action that could be taken to help meet the interim child poverty targets in 2023, and would signal that ending child poverty will be a defining priority for this Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament. If it is not, more and more children will be pulled into poverty and the opportunity to meet the interim child poverty targets will be missed. Under the current roll out plan and value, the Scottish Child Payment will reduce poverty in Scotland by between 2 and 3 percentage points. This could leave child poverty rates as high as 26% in 2023/24, when the interim target in legislation for that year is 18%. We cannot allow that to happen.
We therefore urge your government to do the right thing, to capitalise on the cross-party consensus that already exists, and to commit to doubling the Scottish Child Payment in this year’s budget. We look forward to your response.
Kind regards,
Peter Kelly, Director, Poverty Alliance
Claire Telfer, Head of Scotland, Save the Children
Paul Carberry, Director for Scotland, Action for Children
SallyAnn Kelly, Chief Executive Officer, Aberlour
John Dickie, Director, CPAG Scotland
Martin Crewe, Director, Barnardo’s Scotland
Jamie Livingstone, Head of Oxfam Scotland
Satwat Rehman, Director, One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS)
Amy Woodhouse, Joint Interim CEO, Children in Scotland
Christine Carlin, Scotland Director, Home-Start UK
Clare Simpson, Manager, Parenting Across Scotland
Anna Ritchie Allan, Executive Director, Close the Gap
Polly Jones, Head of Scotland, The Trussell Trust
Mary Glasgow, Chief Executive, Children 1st
Eilidh Dickson, Policy and Parliamentary Manager, Engender
Hugh Foy, Director, Xaverians UK Region
Russell Gunson, Director, IPPR Scotland
Dr Patrycja Kupiec, CEO, YWCA Scotland – The Young Women’s Movement
The Rt Hon Lord Wallace of Tankerness QC (Jim Wallace), Moderator of the General Assembly, The Church of Scotland
Emma Cormack, Chief Executive Officer, The Health Agency
Gillian Kirkwood, Chief Executive, Y sort it Youth Centre
Agnes Tolmie, Chair, Scottish Women’s Convention
Linda Tuthill, CEO, The Action Group
Steven McCluskey, CEO, Bikes for Refugees
Trishna Singh OBE, Director, Sikh Sanjog
Professor Adrian Sinfield, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy, University of Edinburgh
Jimmy Wilson, CEO, FARE Scotland
Ian Bruce, Chief Executive, Glasgow CVS
Revd Gary Noonan, Minister, Houston and Killellan Kirk
Jacqui Reid, Project Lead, EBI Unites
Innes McMinn, Manager, Independent Living Support
Suzanne Slavin, CEO, Ayr Housing Aid Centre
Fiona Rae, Interim Chief Executive, Community Food Initiatives North East
Mhairi Snowden, Director, Human Rights Consortium Scotland
Juliet Harris, Director, Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights
Tressa Burke, CEO, Glasgow Disability Alliance
Martin Wilkie-McFarlane, Director, Wellhouse Housing Association
Morna Simpkins, Scotland Director, MS Society
Kara Batchelor, Operations Manager, Alexander’s Community Development
Murray Dawson, Chief Executive, Station House Media Unit
Ashli Mullen, Creative Director, Friends of Romano Lav
Professor John McKendrick, Co-Director of the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit, Glasgow Caledonian University
Justina Murray, Chief Executive Officer, Scottish Families Affected by Drugs and Alcohol
The area outside the former Granton Station, being built for local people and visitors to enjoy community events and recreation, is to be named … ehm, Granton Station Square!
The name was chosen following consultation with local residents and groups as well as the Council asking people for suggestions online.
Cammy Day, Council Depute Leader, said: “Thanks to everyone who took part in the consultation for the new name. It’s really important to us that local people are involved in every step of the process as we progress our £1.3bn regeneration of the area creating homes, jobs and new communities.
“The name is important as the refurbished Granton Station and new Square will be a focal point in the area for the community and visitors to enjoy for generations to come.”
Situated at Waverley Mall, Princes St, Edinburgh, EH1 1BQ, the revamped store, which is part of the brand’s continuing Scotland expansion, has seen a number of new features added, including a living wall, sparkling star lights and a timber clad counter, with the decor reflecting the quirky and fun nature of the Chopstix brand.
Wok Masters can be seen creating fresh Chopstix dishes, all served from an eye-catching wok station, ready to ‘wok and go’. Customers will once again be able to delight in a host of Pan-Asian flavours including Salt ‘N’ Pepper Chicken, as well as Chopstix favourites Chicken Katsu Curry and Caramel Drizzle Chicken.
Speaking on the Edinburgh revamp, Rob Burns, marketing director for Chopstix said: “We’re thrilled to reveal the new look for Chopstix Edinburgh Waverley.
“Scotland has always been a favourite for Chopstix and we have an amazing loyal customer base here so we’re excited to welcome back customers new and old to delight in our quick and tasty offering.
“We’d also love to extend the invitation to the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon to come and click her sticks with us.”
The noodle bar’s popular dishes are also available to order from Deliveroo with Just Eat and Uber Eats. Orders are permitted from within the postcode area of the store.
Chopstix is focused on delivering a faster, fresher, tastier alternative to the high street. Wok Master chefs deliver nourishing noodles, wholesome chicken, beautiful beef and perfect prawns with fresh vegetables and superb sauces to make Chopstix the ‘go to guys’ for boxed fresh flavour. You can find us in over 60 locations throughout the UK.
