Napier responds to fears tech employers are missing out on huge talent pool
EDINBURGH Napier has received funding to help people with a range of conditions boost their career prospects by developing their skills in cybersecurity.
National skills agency Skills Development Scotland has provided grants totalling £150,000 to the University, Inverness College UHI, West Lothian College and Perth Autism Support for new education programmes.
The MASCOTS project, which follows a successful pilot programme, will see Edinburgh Napier’s School of Computing support neurodiverse learners as part of a drive to combat the global surge in cybersecurity threats.
Neurodivergence, where the brain functions, learns and processes information in different ways, includes Autism, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
By offering supportive learning environments and industry mentorship, the University programme aims to nurture talent and equip neurodiverse learners with the skills to help satisfy the mounting demand for people who can identify and thwart the next generation of cyber criminals.
MASCOTS, which stands for Mentoring; Articulation; Supporting; Careers; Opportunities; Taster; and Sustainment, will provide real industry skills for 16 people recruited to the course through the Into Work charity.
The eight-day programme over four weeks in November and December will combine online and classroom teaching, followed by a careers event in January which will introduce the learners to employers.
The core Edinburgh Napier team are Professor Bill Buchanan, from the School of Computing, Basil Manoussos (The Cyber Academy Manager) and Matt Burdge (Business Development Manager).
Professor Buchanan said: “A more diverse and inclusive world allows every single person to achieve their full potential. We are all different and all wonderful in our own ways.
“Being different is good, and brings forth new ideas and new viewpoints. We spend too much of our lives trying to be normal, but there’s really no such thing as normality.”
Basil Manoussos added: “A core part of the work is the creation of a mentorship scheme.
“We aim to provide one-to-one support, and focus those with neurodiverse conditions on understanding how they can match themselves to the jobs market, and on developing their career, and we are keen for those in industry to come and help support our candidates.”
Matt highlighted the need for a strong industry network.
He said: “Edinburgh Napier is a leader in cybersecurity education with NCSC (National Cybersecurity Centre) certification for both its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, and is developing a network throughout Scotland and beyond to ensure all learners have a suitable pathway to education and future careers in the industry.”
Claire Gillespie, Digital Technologies Skills Manager at Skills Development Scotland, concluded: “With more than 13,000 job opportunities waiting to be filled in the tech sector, we need to look at as many different ways as possible to plug that skills gap.
“By ensuring neurodivergent people are given all the support they can get in education, which this funding aims to achieve, we will be able to help them as individuals while also building cybersecurity capacity in the tech talent pipeline.”
By intervening, Local Government has reduced the worst impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for the most vulnerable in our communities, COSLA said yesterday.
COSLA also said that is why their Blueprint outlines the lead role of Local Government in securing a fair and inclusive recovery with a strong focus on human rights, tackling poverty and addressing inequalities.
COSLA’s Community Wellbeing Spokesperson Councillor Kelly Parry said: “The tireless work of Council staff in dealing with COVID-19 has been an essential service to our communities in recent months.
“By intervening, we have reduced the worst impacts of the pandemic for the most vulnerable in our communities. Our Blueprint outlines the lead role of Local Government in securing a fair and inclusive recovery with a strong focus on human rights, tackling poverty and addressing inequalities. As we recover, those with lived experience and those who are at risk of being left behind need to be empowered to help redesign local services.
“The pandemic has underlined the need for a social safety net which no one can fall through. Understanding how the pandemic has affected, for instance from within my own portfolio at COSLA, women and children at risk of abuse is a key part of ensuring people are safe and supported – something I feel really strongly about.
“We also need to reduce disadvantage from an early age, to end the disruptive affects that engagement with the youth and community justice systems cause, particularly when it ends in secure accommodation and high prison rates.
“Local Government is the anchor in supporting our communities. We will continue to meet the challenges of the pandemic, while re-building local services through an ambitious vision for Scotland’s future.”
A virtual fun-day with activities for children and advice for parents is being held during the school holidays as part of a campaign launched to support families in Edinburgh.
The All of Us family fun day on Thursday, October 22, will have 15 online sessions, including story time, children’s yoga, a scavenger hunt and advice for one-parent families, which are being put on by organisations from across the city.
Some sessions will be hosted on Facebook, while people will need to sign up for others in advance.
All of Us was launched by NSPCC Scotland and Edinburgh Child Protection Committee earlier this year to help people find out where to get support and advice with parenting or other worries about family life and where to turn if they had concerns about a child.
At the start of the year a number of community events were held across the city but further ones were cancelled because of Covid-19, and all activities were moved online, including the family fun-day.
In April, the partnership brought together information on its web page about organisations and contacts where families could go for help and support during lockdown. This resource has continued to be regularly updated.
Carla Malseed, NSPCC Scotland local campaigns manager, said: “Because of the pandemic, this year has been extremely difficult for so many families, who have faced financial pressures, relationship strains, isolation and ill-health.
“But we want people to know that support is still out there and if they or someone they know is struggling then it is important they feel that they can seek and get help.
“Our family fun-day, as well as providing some enjoyable activities for children and parents during the school holiday, will be an opportunity for adults to get some advice, such as how to help keep kids safe online.
“There are still spaces left, so please look on our website and find out about the different sessions we are running.”
Jackie Irvine, Chair of the Edinburgh Child Protection Committee, said: “Protecting young people and supporting families remains a priority for us, and we want everyone across the city to be aware of where to turn for help if they or someone they know is struggling.
“And we really hope people will join us for our fun-day, which has a wide range of activities for children and some advice for parents. We are really pleased to see so many local organisations taking part.”
The campaign is also raising awareness among communities and professionals about the early signs of child neglect and how to help families who are struggling. Two new webinars have been produced about the role that everyone can play in preventing neglect and helping to raise happy healthy children in Edinburgh.
One of the webinars is designed for parents and wider community members and describes what neglect is, its causes and signs and what people can do if they are worried about someone else’s child or need some support themselves. The other is for professionals and gives some insight into working with families in Edinburgh.
The 20-minute long webinars, which are free and can be watched until 28 February, 2021, can be accessed here.
People will need to sign up for some events in advance and the session organiser will then contact them with details of how to take part on the day.
For parenting advice and support visit NSPCC helpline or call 0808 800 5000, weekdays 8am to 10pm and weekends 9am to 6pm. People can also contact Social Care Direct on 0131 200 2324.
Two thirds of workers said their mental health has been harmed by the coronavirus crisis, a massive new survey by GMB has found.
In the poll of 13,500 public and private sector workers – thought to be the biggest of its kind during the pandemic – 66 per cent of respondents said that their work during the outbreak has had a serious negative impact on their mental health.
Other findings from the survey, released on World Mental Health Day, include:
61 per cent of workers say their job is causing them stress or is otherwise impacting on their mental health.
Fear of taking the coronavirus home was the frequently cited cause of stress at work (by 36 per cent of respondents), followed by workers’ fear for their own safety (by 30 per cent).
Front-line workers report being 70 per cent more anxious on average than official estimates for the whole population before the pandemic struck.
Workers in retail, schools, outsourced services, and care report experiencing the highest levels of anxiety.
GMB is campaigning for a ‘Mental Health at Work Act ‘specifying the approach and methods expected of all employers in managing mental health in the workplace.
If successful, the legislation would require absences due to poor mental health to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive on the same basis as physical injuries.
Nell Andrew, GMB National Equality and Inclusion Officer, said:“Shockingly, almost one in five adults have experienced some form of depression during the pandemic – almost doubling from before the crisis.
“These stark results show it’s not just workers’ physical health that’s being impacted by covid – but their mental health and well-being is too. And that’s a massive problem for everyone.
“Much more needs to be done to prevent poor mental health in the workplace, during the pandemic and beyond.
“We urgently need full mental health risk assessments to become the norm, because protecting workers’ mental health is just as vital as protecting physical health.
“As we face a second wave and widespread redundancies, we desperately need to protect at-risk industries and fully fund the public services that defend the mental health and wellbeing of the heroic workers who have keep the economy and society together.”
People will be able to get cashback from shops without needing to buy anything under new proposals to protect the UK’s cash system announced today (15 October 2020).
government sets out plans to protect the UK’s future cash system and ensure people have easy access to cash
proposals would see cashback offered at shops without consumers having to make a purchase
the Financial Conduct Authority would also be given overall responsibility for the UK’s retail cash system to protect consumers and SMEs
Under the government proposals, cashback without a purchase could be widely available from retailers of all sizes in local communities across the UK.
Although cash use is declining, with people increasingly choose cards, mobile and e-wallets to make payments, it remains crucial for groups across the UK – including the elderly and vulnerable. Many find that cash is more accessible than digital payments methods or that it helps them to budget and manage their finances.
These proposals, which also include making the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) responsible for ensuring the cash system benefits consumers and SMEs, are the latest step in the Government’s effort to support the millions of people and business who rely on cash day to day.
John Glen, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said: “We know that cash is still really important for consumers and businesses – that’s why we promised to legislate to protect access for everyone who needs it.
“We want to harness the same creative thinking that has driven innovation in digital payments to maintain the UK’s cash system and make sure people can easily access cash in their local area.”
To ensure no one is left behind by the transition to digital payments, the government announced at the March 2020 Budget that it would legislate to protect access to cash and ensure that the UK’s cash infrastructure is sustainable in the long-term.
Today it is seeking views on its approach to this legislation from consumer organisations, businesses, financial institutions, providers of ATM and payment services and others through a call for evidence.
One proposal under consideration is cashback without a purchase, which could help to keep cash widely available by reducing cash infrastructure costs.
When local shops accept and dispense cash, it is recycled through local communities and there is less need to transport and distribute notes and coins via cash centres, which reduces the associated costs.
Last year, consumers received £3.8 billion of cashback when paying for items at a till – making it the second most used method for withdrawing cash in the UK behind ATMs.
Current EU law makes it difficult for businesses to offer cashback when people are not paying for goods and this has been a barrier to widespread adoption. The Government is now considering scrapping these rules once the transition period ends on 31 December 2020.
The government is also considering giving the FCA overall responsibility for maintaining a well-functioning retail cash system given its existing regulatory role and consumer protection objective.
At present, The Bank of England, Financial Conduct Authority, Payment Systems Regulator, and HM Treasury each have specific roles and responsibilities for oversight of the cash system. Close coordination between these authorities has been highly effective, particularly in managing risks to cash through Covid-19, but there may be significant benefits to giving a single authority overall responsibility for setting requirements to meet the cash needs of consumers and SMEs.
The call for evidence opens today (15 October 2020) and will run for six weeks. It will seek views on how to ensure industry continues to offer ways to withdraw and deposit cash, how to improve cashback, what affects cash acceptance, and where regulatory responsibility should sit.
The Royal Commonwealth Pool has unveiled its new car parking system which will go ‘live’, from Monday (19 October).
The system has been installed by innovative parking solutions’ company, Orbility, and will allow for a smoother car-parking experience for customers when using this iconic venue.
Claire Rusack, Manager at the Royal Commonwealth Pool explained: “The lower and upper car park has become busier and busier over the years, which has made it a challenge for our customers to get parked. The situation has been made worse by members of the public and local office workers making use of the facilities when they are not using the facilities.
“As a not-for-profit organisation, Edinburgh Leisure is constantly reinvesting in our venues. The time was right therefore to modernise the car park control system and to introduce a new barrier system with customer charges in both car parks – although for your average visit, customers using the facilities within the Commie, will not be penalised.”
Charges for using the Royal Commonwealth Pool car park will be free for customers for the first 3-hours; £2.00 for 3-4 hours; and £10.00 for 4-hours plus.
Customers who need to pay a charge, can pay at either of the two pay points, located in the main reception area of the Royal Commonwealth Pool, next to the Arena access gate or outside the front entrance door of the Commie. Payment will be by card payment only as Edinburgh Leisure now operates as a cashless operation across all areas.
There will be a free 15-minute grace period to enable customers to drop off and pick-ups to take place.
Claire Rusack said: “The pricing structure has been designed to enable most customers using the Commonwealth Pool to access free parking and those who wish to stay around for longer will need to pay. So effectively, our customers will be able to access 3-hours of free car parking and any time more than this will be chargeable, similar to the system in place at Fountainpark.
The new car parking is simple and easy to use. Welcome hosts on hand to guide any customers through this during the early stages.
On arriving, a customer approaches the car park barrier, where a ticket will be issued. They attend the Royal Commonwealth Pool for their activity. Before leaving, they are required to scan their ticket using one of the five validating machines around the venue.
The validated ticket then needs to be inserted into the payment machines, even if it is within the 3-hour free parking. On leaving, the customer drives to the barrier, which will open automatically using number plate recognition if the ticket has been processed correctly in the pay machines. If a customer forgets to pay or validate their tickets, there will be a contactless payment reader at the exit barrier where they can pay.
During lockdown, The Royal Commonwealth Pool has further invested in its infrastructure with the installation of self-serve access.
Due to COVID-19 implications, the self-serve system has simplified the access for a customer meaning no more delays at reception. Customers with an Edinburgh Leisure card with a ‘contactless’ symbol or an Edinburgh Leisure fob, can simply swipe through the gates to their pre-booked activities. Customers who might not have a card with the contactless symbol, can upgrade for free on their next visit.
Foysol Choudhury MBE has been involved with the Edinburgh and Lothian’s Regional Equality Council (ELREC) since he was a teenager and has been an active campaigner for equality and good race and interfaith relations in Scotland. He has served the ELREC as a Trustee, company secretary, Vice Chair and he is currently its Chairman.
Sir Geoff Palmer was the first black professor in Scotland, he is a Professor Emeritus in the School of Life Sciences at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. Sir Palmer is also a prominent human rights activist and is involved in a considerable amount of charity work in the community. He wrote a series of articles for the Times Educational Supplement from 1969 to 1971 on way to improve the education of children from ethnic minorities. Currently, he is the Honorary President of ELREC.
Irene Mosota is a social entrepreneur and the founding director of the Giving Voice Initiative (GVI), which is supported by Knowledge-Bridge. Knowledge-Bridge is an Organisation development consultancy that provides training on Translating Race Equality and Diversity Strategies into Action.
Timetable:
5:30 Welcome and Introductions
5:40 Geoff’s Talk
5:50 Irene’s Talk
6:00 Q&A
6:10 Breakout rooms
6:30 Discussion in the big group
7:00 End of the event
The event is hosted by:
ELREC is a charity committed to promoting equality and opportunity for all. We aim to support and empower people with protected characteristics and tackle discrimination and prejudice. Furthermore, we seek to engage with diverse minority communities to understand, empower, and address energy efficiency, reduction of carbon emissions, and climate change.
Knowledge-Bridge is an Organisation development consultancy that provides training on Translating Race Equality and Diversity Strategies into Action.
Edinburgh College Students’ Association is an autonomous, student-run campaigning and membership organisation that promotes, defends and extends student rights and provides services and representation at Edinburgh College, Scotland.
We have been working hard to help generate support for this important cause for both recreational users and marine life. We would love if you could please read, sign and share our petition, which achieved 1,000 signatures in its first four days.
Please support our campaign film
#WardieBay4BathingWater
We are also making a film, working with videographer, Carlos Hernan. We would like to pay him a professional fee for supporting us in these difficult times. Please click here for information.
Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House yesterday (Wednesday 14 October):
Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us . I will give the daily of statistics for COVID. I can report that the total number of new positive cases reported yesterday was 1,429.
That represents 16.4% of people newly tested, the total number of positive cases is now 42,685. 537 of the new cases are in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 327 in Lanarkshire, 239 in Lothian and 92 in Ayrshire and Arran.
The remaining cases were spread across 8 other health board regions. Only Orkney and the Western Isles did not have new cases reported yesterday.
I can also confirm that 570 people are currently in hospital – that is an increase of 43 on the number I reported yesterday.
49 people are currently in intensive care, that’s 14 more than yesterday.
I’m also very sad to report that in the past 24 hours, 15 deaths were registered of patients who first tested positive over the previous 28 days.
That means that the total number of deaths, under the measurement we use for the daily figures, is now 2,572.
Now confidentiality means that I can’t ever go in to detail about the people behind the statistics I report every day but I do want to point out this to you today, half of the 15 deaths that I’ve just reported are of people under the age of 80 – a small number of them are of people under the age of 60.
Please do not ever think that this virus only poses a risk to the lives of the very elderly – it poses a risk to all of us and I’m asking everybody again to take and treat that risk extremely seriously.
I can also report that National Records of Scotland has just published its weekly update, that as you will recall includes cases where COVID is a suspected or contributory cause of death.
Today’s update shows that by last Sunday, the total number of registered deaths linked to COVID, under that wider definition, was 4,301.
25 of those were registered last week, which is 5 more than in the week previously. 17 of the 25 deaths were in hospital, 7 in care homes, and 1 in a home or in an other non-institutional setting.
Once again, I want to send my deepest condolences to all those who have lost a loved one to this virus throughout the course of the pandemic and of course that is particularly the case to those who have recently lost someone and who are currently in that very acute stage of grieving.
Now tomorrow, Parliament has to review the restrictions we imposed on household visits three weeks ago. I will cover that issue and others in a video statement to a virtual meeting of the Scottish Parliament tomorrow.
As you might expect, we are unlikely, very unlikely to announce any changes or easing of the current rules on household gatherings.
I will however say a bit more to parliament tomorrow about new rules on face coverings, and about our options once the current two-week period of additional restrictions ends on 25 October.
For today though, the main issue I want to highlight relates to travel.
For many people, the October half term is approaching, and indeed in some parts of Scotland, it has already begun.
So I want to highlight some general guidance on travel, and I’m also going to provide one much more specific recommendation.
The first piece of general guidance relates to the five health board areas in Scotland that currently have additional restrictions on hospitality, because they have especially high rates of COVID just now.
And to remind you these areas are Lothian, Lanarkshire, Forth Valley, Ayrshire and Arran, and Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
If you live in one of these five health board areas, we have already asked you not to travel unless you very need to – and not to leave your health board area unless it is really necessary.
And we’ve also asked people from the rest of Scotland, not to travel to any of these five central belt areas unless they really need to.
As I said last week, this guidance does not stop you from taking an October half-term break if you have already booked it and you don’t want to cancel. If you are taking such a break or if you are already on such a break, please be very careful and please follow all of the rules whilst you are there.
But this guidance is intended, very firmly intended, which is why I’m putting so much stress on it today, to minimise travel as much as possible between the central belt, and other areas of Scotland. So please ask yourself how necessary your journey is, before deciding – for example – to go on a day trip to another part of the country.
In fact, my general advice for everyone at the moment across the country is to think very carefully about whether you need to travel at all. And if you must travel, if your trip is necessary then travel carefully and safely.
For example make sure you wear a face covering on public transport, that is the law at the moment and also remember to physically distance from other passengers as much as you can. And avoid car sharing if possible.
The advice to think carefully before travelling is especially important in relation to areas with high rates of infection.
And so of course that advice applies – not just to travel to and from the central belt of Scotland and the more general advice I’ve just given to everybody but it applies to travel to and from parts of England with high levels of infection.
We are currently advising against non-essential travel to the parts of England which are classed as very high or high alert areas under England’s new three tier system. And I’m asking people from these areas not to travel to Scotland either.
Several of these areas are seeing even higher levels of infection than we are currently seeing in central Scotland and we will make sure we keep the information on which areas are covered by this guidance updated on the Scottish Government website.
But in addition to that general advice, there is a specific issue I want to cover today and I take no pleasure in doing this but it’s important that I give this advice and make a very specific recommendation to you.
Blackpool, a place that many Scots love and like to visit, particularly at this time of year, many of us have happy childhood memories of going to see the Blackpool illuminations – this is one of the places currently classed by the UK Government as a high risk area.
And I need to advise you that trips to Blackpool are now associated with a large and growing number of COVID cases in Scotland.
We indeed now have an Incident Management Team in Scotland that has been set up to look specifically at cases associated with Blackpool.
And I can tell you that in total, in the last month, and these figures are rising right now so the figure I’m about to give you will undoubtedly already be out of date – the most up to date figure I can give you is that in the last month around 180 people in Scotland with COVID, reported that they had recently been in Blackpool.
Now let me be clear, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they got COVID during their trip, as you heard us talk about in relation to hospitality it’s not possible to be absolutely certain where someone actually picked up the virus but Blackpool is being mentioned in Test and Protect conversations, far more than any other location outside of Scotland.
And to take the past week in more detail, 344 people who have spoken to Test and Protect teams after contracting COVID, reported some sort of travel outside of Scotland. 252 of those had travelled somewhere else in the UK. Of those 252, now remember this is in the last week alone, well over a third – 94 in total – had been in Blackpool.
So my specific advice is this. If you were thinking about going to Blackpool and you haven’t booked yet, then please do not go this year.
Even more specifically – because we know this is an issue – and I want to be very clear about this – do not travel to Blackpool this weekend to watch the Old Firm match in a pub. If you do that you will be putting yourself and you will be putting other people at risk, please do not do that this weekend.
And if you otherwise, not related to the football have already booked a trip; and you cannot cancel it without cost; and are determined to go – then please, please think very carefully indeed about how you travel, and what you do when you get there.
For example quite a lot of people who have contracted COVID, and who have also been to Blackpool, have travelled by coach. We understand that is very common, particularly at this time of year. Now again, that does not mean that they absolutely necessarily got the virus on the coach because we can’t be certain about that.
But if you have to travel to Blackpool by coach – or if you travel by any form of public transport – then try to maintain physical distancing, and make sure that you wear your face covering throughout the journey.
And once you arrive and I know this is really difficult, don’t spend too much time indoors – and don’t, if you can avoid it, spend much time in pubs and bars and other hospitality venues. Because doing that significantly increases your chances of getting the virus.
I know that many people look forward to trips generally but to Blackpool in particular in the autumn, and that for some of you – and I know that many people fall in this category it’s almost an annual ritual. But I’m asking you, if you can avoid it, please do so this October and if you do go there, if you have to go there – please be very careful.
My last point on travel relates to a letter I received yesterday from the First Minister of Wales and is very relevant to what I’ve already been talking about.
The First Minister of Wales is seeking agreement between the four UK nations on travel restrictions where necessary from high prevalence areas in one UK nation to lower prevalence in others. I want to be clear today, that I back the calls from the First Minister of Wales and I’ll be writing to the Prime Minister today to seek urgent talks on that issue.
I also support the First Minister of Wales call for another COBRA meeting in early course to discuss collectively between the four nations what further steps we can all take at this stage to suppress the virus.
Now, I’ve spoken at some length today about our guidance and recommendations on travel and that is for reason because it is important and restricting travel right now as much as we possibly can is another I know unwelcome but very important way in which we can all try to reduce and minimise the spread of the virus.
But of course there are other important steps we must all take to reduce our own personal risk of getting the virus or of passing it on to others. Including if we are in the younger healthier age groups ourselves, potentially passing it on to others who are much more vulnerable.
So please do not visit each other’s homes at the moment – except for the very specific exemptions for childcare or looking after a vulnerable person, stay out of the homes of other families right now, this is our single most important way of stopping the virus jumping from one household to another. I know it is incredibly hard but it is incredibly important.
When you do meet – outdoors, or in a café for example, which are allowed to stay open during the day to allow people somewhere that they can have contact with other – remember that the maximum group size is 6 and that should be from no more than two households. And that’s the rule that applies outdoors or in any indoor public place.
Only car-share if it is essential as I said earlier on. And if you must car-share, wear a face covering and try and keep the windows open.
Work from home if you can. That advice has never changed in Scotland – this is an important moment to underline it. If it is at all possible to, work from home. And employers across the country, please allow your workers to do that.
Download the Protect Scotland app, if you haven’t already done so.
And finally, remember the rules are encapsulated in FACTS – the difficult but fundamentally quite simple things we can all do to minimise the risk of transmission.
Wear face coverings whenever you’re out and about but particularly in any enclosed spaces.
Avoid places where crowds of places come together.
Clean your hands obsessively if necessary and clean hard surfaces after you touch them.
Keep a two metre distance from people in other households when you are coming in to contact with them.
And self-isolate, and book a test, if you have any of the symptoms of COVID and remember yesterday all of the information we gave yesterday about support for self-isolation – you can find that on the NHS inform and Scottish Government websites.
It is by following all of this advice and following of these rules however hard that it is and I know that it is hard, that we will collectively help to suppress the virus again.
We are, as I said yesterday, at a really critical moment again – many countries across the world are; we see more and more countries now dealing with a second wave and having to impose new restrictions – we will not shy away as the Scottish Government from doing what we think is necessary to keep the people of Scotland as safe as possible … but every single one of us can play a part in this, please follow all of these rules; don’t think it’s okay just to breach them on the odd occasion because the time you breach them may be the time the virus is close to you and may spread from you to somebody else or from somebody else to you.
And the chain of transmission that could set off could result in you becoming like the too many families across Scotland right now that are grieving the loss of a loved one.
So I’m sorry to be so blunt with you but I think it is important at this juncture not to shy away from these messages and to ask everybody right now to rededicate themselves to this collective effort to keep COVID under control and to stop it taking lives unnecessarily or making people ill unnecessarily.
So thank you once again to everyone who is doing that.
Commenting on the First Minister’s statement, Kirsty Licence, Chair of the Incident Management Team looking into cases associated with Blackpool, and led by Public Health Scotland said:“We are seeing a high number of cases of COVID-19 amongst residents of Scotland who have recently travelled between Scotland and Blackpool.
“We know Blackpool is a popular destination, especially for holidaymakers from the west of Scotland. Many of these cases have travelled using group transport, especially coach, but also private transport, and many are of middle and older ages with increased risk of suffering from very severe COVID-19 illness.
“Our data shows the numbers of Scottish cases who visited Blackpool shortly before their illnesses substantially exceeds those having visited any other place in the UK. Over the past month, since 14th September, when Blackpool was first noted on a case there have been 286 cases in Scotland whose records note recent travel to Blackpool.
“These cases highlight the risk associated with travelling to areas with high rates of infection. People in Scotland should not be travelling to or from the health board areas under local restrictions except for essential reasons.
“If you have to travel, follow all local guidance and restrictions, both where you live and where you are travelling to. You should avoid close contact with others, keep away from crowded places and observe FACTS.
“Those falling into a group that is at an increased risk of more severe illness, should in particular consider carefully where and how they travel.
“Anyone who has one or more symptoms of COVID-19 should immediately self-isolate and book a test. Those who are required to be in self-isolation either as a case or as a close contact of a known case must not travel – which may mean those visiting other areas of the UK are unable to travel out or return home for a significant period of time.”
As temperatures start to drop and the days get shorter, drivers have been offered advice on how to avoid the dangers autumn can bring to UK roads.
The motoring experts at LeaseVan.co.uk have revealed their best advice for coping with autumnal hazards on the roads.
From replacing wiper blades to checking and replacing fog lights, drivers have been offered tips for preparing to drive in the low sun, rain, chilly mornings and sudden fog that autumn can bring.
The LeaseCar team have also looked at other potential hazards, like driving in the dark and avoiding animals which are more active in autumn.
Tim Alcock from LeaseVan.co.uk said: “Since we’ve been able to get out of our homes and back onto the roads, drivers will have gotten used to the warm dry weather, but with autumn just around the corner we wanted to make sure motorists were prepared for the potential dangers the change in weather can bring.
“We’ve compiled some advice for the different hazards, but the most important thing drivers need to remember is to slow down and leave plenty of room between them and the car in front.
“It’s also important to make sure your vehicle is in top condition too. Checking the wiper blades, bulbs and anti-freeze regularly is a must.”
1.Wet weather
Quick showers and heavy downpours can be dangerous to drive through. Rainwater mixing with the oil, dirt and grime on the roads can make then slick and slippery. Slow down and make sure you have enough stopping distance should you need to break suddenly.
2.Dazzle
Low sun can cause a problem at this time of year making it difficult to see. Make sure you carry a pair of sunglasses in the car, use the sun visors and keep the windscreen clean. A grimy windscreen can make the glare worse. If you are being dazzled, slow down.
3.Wet leaves
A patch of wet leaves can be just as dangerous as a big puddle. Reduce your speed before driving onto them, and remember, they may be hiding a pothole or other road hazard.
4.Driving in the dark
Being ready for night-time driving is essential. Check the bulbs in your headlights and taillights and when you’re on the road, slow down and keep an eye out for pedestrians.
5.Chilly mornings
The onset of autumn and winter means a dip in temperatures. Make sure your anti-freeze has been checked and you have everything you need to scrape the windscreen.
6.Icy roads
More of a problem during winter months, but some autumnal mornings can be icy. Try not to break suddenly or take corners too quickly. Be gentle with your acceleration and manoeuvres.
7.Fog
Fog can be a sudden hazard and it’s best to avoid driving if it’s too heavy. If you are caught out by quick falling fog, keep your speed low, use dipped lights and fog lights rather than full beamed lights and allow plenty of room for the car in front.
8.Animals
Deer are most active during the autumn months, October in particular, and are known to dart out into the road. If you see a deer, slow down and continue as usual.
9.Wiper blades
After a summer of sunshine, it’s time to check your wiper blades. If they squeak as they wipe, it’s time to replace them.
