What If…North Edinburgh? (WINE) is a programme run by First Port to support local people to develop social enterprises to create jobs and do something worthwhile in the community. Run by the manager, Julie Smith, it has assisted people over the last year to start up businesses doing sewing and tailoring, running markets and making crafts.
WINE offers workshops, training and discussions on various topics from ‘what is a social enterprise’ to managing your finances. It started a digital training course for local people just before lockdown, to include things like using social media, creating your own posters, how to sell online. That had to stop, but Julie is keen to offer training, this time online. She wants to know what would be useful for people.
“I got a really good tutor in from an organisation called Mhor Collective”, Julie explained. “They do a lot of work around what people want to learn, their motivation etc and don’t just have a set course they deliver. It’s tailored to people’s needs.
“Since lockdown, we’ve all seen how important having access to the internet it. But it’s hard if you can’t afford broadband or data – and if you have to share one tablet or phone between a whole family. I know a lot of people will have been doing home schooling too online, a very new thing for everybody!
“I’m doing a survey of people in north Edinburgh to find out what they’d like to learn to do, or do better using technology. We can then put on a course based on those needs. It’ll be great to build on the skills people already have and maybe identify some digital champions locally who can then go on to support others.”
The survey is straightforward and shouldn’t take too long.
“It’s important we get as many views from as many people as possible. If you need a paper copy of the survey, let me know. And pass it on to others!’’
Scotland’s largest pro-EU organisation, the European Movement in Scotland, has today launched a campaign calling on the UK government to reverse changes to its rules about how EU citizens living in this country can become British citizens.
It has urged that it extend to EU citizens the same rights as it proposes to those British ‘overseas citizens’ in the UK.
Under UK nationality law, EU citizens can normally apply to become British after they have lived in the UK for a total of 5 or 6 years (depending on whether or not they were married to a UK citizen).
Many EU citizens who have made their home in the UK have decided after Brexit that they wish to apply for UK nationality. This will give them the full range of rights and duties which apply to all UK citizens.
EU citizens who have lived in the UK for 5 years can currently apply for ‘settled status’, which gives them broadly the same rights which they had as EU citizens before Brexit, although it does not give them the full rights enjoyed by citizens. Until recently, if EU citizens had settled status, the process of acquiring UK nationality was relatively straightforward in most cases.
However, the UK Home Office has now changed the way it deals with applications by EU citizens to become British citizens, even if they have lived here for more than five years and have ‘settled status’. The main change is that in many cases, they may have been asked to show they have had ‘comprehensive sickness insurance’ (CSI) for that period. Paying national insurance does not count as comprehensive sickness insurance.
Like everyone else, most EU citizens living in the UK work and therefore pay income tax and national insurance (our payment into a national system for sickness insurance). But, also like everyone else, few have taken out ‘comprehensive sickness insurance’. Even payments into private medical insurance may not count.
If the UK government enforces this requirement rigorously, many EU citizens who have resided in the UK for more than 5 years will now have to wait another 5 years before they can apply to become British citizens. This requirement to have had comprehensive sickness insurance is not imposed on other foreign nationals who wish to apply to become British citizens.
These new rules have caused many EU citizens in the UK a great deal of concern.
She said: “Many of those EU citizens who have made their home in the UK, decided after Brexit that they wanted to apply for UK nationality. This provides the full range of rights and duties that apply to all UK citizens and is the only way to escape the uncertainties Brexit has caused for us.
“Many of us have British spouses and children and we therefore want to ensure our right to stay here beyond any doubt and without having to constantly worry about our rights.
“The application process should be straightforward and many EU citizens applied in good faith, just to be surprised by a new Comprehensive Sickness Insurance rule introduced by the Home Office in May 2020. The guidance did not clarify whether this would be applicable only to new applications and EU citizens began to worry that this new rule would be applied in retrospect to applications pending.
“They were right to worry as recently cases of applicants who submitted before May and have now been asked to provide proof of CSI have emerged. This is not okay. The CSI rule in itself is questionable and the fact that voluntary National Insurance contributions are not accepted as such makes no sense. But to apply a rule in retrospect to applications pending, for which people have paid a non-refundable fee of £1349.20 (plus fees for language and Life in the UK tests) in good faith is completely unacceptable.
“In addition, many of us have been waiting for more than the six months promised processing time by the Home Office (waiting times of up to 15 months have been recorded), which means that we should have received a decision before the introduction of the CSI rule in May 2020.
“Since Brexit, the whole process of having to apply for Settled Status to be allowed to stay in our own homes has been degrading and the new, unnecessary hurdles in terms of British Citizenship create uncertainty and anxiety for many EU citizens and their families. CSI as a requirement for British Citizenship should be abolished.”
The European Movement in Scotland is supporting these EU citizens in their campaign to get this rule change reversed.
It is urging all MPs in Scotland to contact the Home Secretary to ask her to reconsider the decision.
The chair of the European Movement in Scotland, Mark Lazarowicz, said: “This change will mean that many EU citizens residing in the UK who had decided they wished to make the commitment of acquiring British citizenship will be deterred from doing so at this stage.
“Many of them have spent decades in the UK, perhaps almost their entire lives. They will have paid taxes and made a contribution to our community. If, after so many years, they wish to become British citizens, they should be encouraged to do so, and not have new obstacles put in their way.
“The UK government has, rightly, opened up the possibility of full British citizenship and a right to reside in the UK to more than three million British ‘overseas citizens’ in Hong Kong. It is surely right that EU citizens who have made their home in the UK for many years should be made equally welcome”.
The UK Government has secured early access to 90 million vaccine doses from the BioNTech/Pfizer alliance and Valneva with more in the pipeline as part of its strategy to build a portfolio of promising new vaccines to protect the UK from Covid-19
In addition, treatments containing Covid-19-neutralising antibodies have been secured from AstraZeneca to protect those who cannot receive vaccines
UK public encouraged to sign up to a new NHS website to make it quicker and easier for potential volunteers to join vital studies that could help save lives – the aim is to get 500,000 people signed up by October
Millions of people could be vaccinated against coronavirus as the UK secures early access to 90 million doses of promising Covid-19 vaccine candidates.
Announced by Business Secretary Alok Sharma today, the UK Government has agreed significant partnerships with leading pharmaceutical and vaccine companies BioNTech/Pfizer and Valneva that are developing innovative new vaccines to protect people against Covid-19.
The Government has also secured access to treatments containing Covid-19-neutralising antibodies from AstraZeneca to protect those who cannot receive vaccines such as cancer and immunocompromised patients.
As a result of these partnerships, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland could have access to enough doses to vaccinate and protect priority groups identified, such as frontline health and social care workers and those at increased health risk.
With today’s announcement, the Government has now secured access to three different types of Covid-19 vaccines that are being developed here and around the world, giving the UK the most likely chance of getting access to a safe and effective vaccine at the quickest speed.
The Government has also today launched the NHS Covid-19 vaccine research registry. This new website will enable people in the UK to play their part by volunteering for future vaccine studies.
The new online service will allow members of the public to register their interest and be contacted to participate in clinical studies. To enable large-scale vaccine studies to take place across the UK, the aim is to get 500,000 people signed up by October, which is considered vital in the fight against coronavirus.
Clinical studies with hundreds of thousands of volunteers will help scientists and researchers better understand the effectiveness of each vaccine candidate and will considerably speed up efforts to discover a safe and workable vaccine.
The Government is also working with ZOE, the health science company using data driven research and behind the popular symptom study app and site, to look at collaborating around vaccine studies and to help their volunteers hear about how to sign up to the NHS registry.
Business Secretary Alok Sharma said: “The hunt to find a vaccine is a truly global endeavour and we are doing everything we can to ensure the British public get access to a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible.
“This new partnership with some of the world’s foremost pharmaceutical and vaccine companies will ensure the UK has the best chance possible of securing a vaccine that protects those most at risk.
“The public can also play their part in vaccine research through the new NHS vaccine research register. By signing up and participating in important clinical studies, together we can speed up the search for a vaccine and end the pandemic sooner.”
Through its partnership with Valneva, which has a factory in Livingston, the UK Government is expected to contribute to UK clinical studies costs and is negotiating funding to expand Valneva’s Scottish facility.
This increased manufacturing capacity could potentially supply up to 100 million vaccine doses to the UK and internationally. This will create high-skilled jobs in the local area and contribute significantly to the local economy.
The Livingston facility is in addition to the new Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC) which is currently under construction in Oxfordshire thanks to a £93 million investment from the Government. When completed in summer 2021, the facility will have flexible capacity to manufacture vaccine doses at scale.
Chair of the Vaccine Taskforce Kate Bingham said: “The Vaccine Taskforce is investing in a diverse portfolio of vaccine candidates to maximise the chances of finding a vaccine quickly that meets the UK’s rigorous regulatory and safety standards.
“The fact that we have so many promising candidates already shows the unprecedented pace at which we are moving. But I urge against being complacent or over optimistic. The fact remains we may never get a vaccine and if we do get one, we have to be prepared that it may not be a vaccine which prevents getting the virus, but rather one that reduces symptoms.”
Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) head said: “Thanks to COVID-19 patients’ willingness to take part in treatment studies, we’ve been able to identify treatments that work and ones that don’t, which has improved patient care world-wide.
“Now that there are several promising vaccines on the horizon, we need to call again on the generosity of the public to help find out which potential vaccines are the most effective.
“Using a new NHS website developed in partnership between the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and NHS Digital, people across the UK can register their interest to be approached to join a vaccine study. Please go to the website and consider volunteering.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “A safe and effective vaccine is our best hope of defeating coronavirus and returning to life as normal.
We have some of our best scientists and researchers working on this, but members of the public have a vital role to play too. So I urge everyone who can to back the national effort and sign up to the NHS COVID-19 vaccine research registry to help find a vaccine as soon as possible.
“Every volunteer will be doing their bit towards finding a vaccine for COVID-19 that will have the potential to save millions of lives around the world and bring this pandemic to an end.”
Today’s announcement follows an existing global licensing agreement signed with AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford to research, develop and manufacture a Covid-19 vaccine for the UK public. AstraZeneca will work to produce 100 million doses for the UK in total.
As part of a wider £131 million investment by the Government, support has also been given to Imperial College London to develop their vaccine candidate, which started human studies in June.
In addition, the UK Government has committed £250m to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) – the biggest investment of any country – to support equitable and affordable access to new coronavirus vaccines and treatments around the world.
Disabled people and young families risk being inconvenienced by outdoor restaurants as businesses start to take to the footway, says Living Streets Scotland.
Planning law allows for the temporary use of land for up to 28 days without the need to make an application for planning permission, which means an Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs is unlikely to be undertaken. Such an assessment helps to understand and mitigate impacts on people with disabilities.
Penny Morriss, Project Manager, Living Streets Scotland said:“Al fresco dining has the potential to bring our streets to life, creating vibr ant spaces where people want to spend time. However, it must not come at the expense of pedestrians.
“Many of our footways are already too narrow for everyone to be able to practise physical distancing and for people with wheelchairs, buggies or those living with sight loss to manoeuvre safely.
“Town and cities across the Scotland have been investing in trials to create more space for people walking, including widening pavements and closing certain streets to traffic. We should not undo all this great work and investment by crowding pavements with tables and chairs at the expense of the people who need to use them.
“Equality Impact Assessments are incredibly important to ensure the needs of disabled people are considered and recommended in Scottish Government guidance as part of the response to COVID 19. Footways should only be an option where there is at least two metres of space once the furniture and customers are accounted for. Car parks, terraces and parking spaces are great alternatives for temporary beer gardens and eating spaces.”
Do you have a house to clear out? And would you like to be part of an exciting new TV show?STV Productions is seeking home owners in and around Edinburgh to uncover treasures!
STV Productions is searching for people who are clearing out their homes in and around the Edinburgh area to take part in an exciting new television series, which is being made for Discovery-owned channel, Really, and STV.
Fronted by expert auctioneer, Angus Ashworth, the producers of this heart warming show would love to chat to people who are downsizing or need to clear out a property. Or perhaps a collection no longer brings the joy it once did – so now’s the time to de-clutter and make some space.
Every clearance can uncover treasures, such as Persian rugs gathering dust in the garage, war medals and wedding crystal forgotten in the loft, even fossils and rare collectables.
Those taking part will then be put in touch with Ryedale Auctioneers where they can decide if they want to go ahead with auction – and they might make a bit of cash along the way!
Every episode will tell stories and celebrate those hidden gems in what is guaranteed to be a surprising and uplifting journey of discovery.
Presenter and Yorkshire auctioneer Angus Ashworth, said: “I’m so delighted to be part of this new series. Clearing houses is something of a passion but equally I can’t wait to meet new people and hear their stories as we explore the contents of the houses, hopefully unearthing some hidden gems.
It’s amazing what treasures can be found in amongst the clutter or hiding in an attic. If they’re there, we’ll find them.
“It’s a privilege to be invited into people’s homes and I’m sure there are lots of people out there who need help with a clearance – so please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you and have a chat.”
If you’d like to take part in this new series get in touch with takepart@clearout.tv or call 0141 300 3214 for an initial chat.
We want to start a national conversation about heart disease – but we need your readers’ help to make it happen.
At BHF Scotland, we’re developing the new recommendations that we want to see the Scottish Government take forward over the next five years to improve care for people in Scotland who are living with heart disease.
We’ve been listening to healthcare professionals and people living with heart disease to help us identify the key issues and work out a series of priorities and actions, and now we’re opening a wider consultation to shape our final proposals.
If you are living with heart disease, or you are a clinician working in this area, we’d like to hear from you.
Corstorphine Community Centre has resumed youth work and from next week the venue will be different: they are moving to Gyle Park, where the Youth Work team will be on Thursday evenings throughout July and August from 6 – 8pm.
This has been posted this as a recurrent event on CCC’s Facebook Page – you might find it and share it from there.
Please show your support by adding a comment or a ‘like’ at:
The green light for hotels reopening came at the perfect time for one couple as they celebrate their 15th anniversary back at their wedding venue.
Steven and Sarah Hicks got married at DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh City Centre on 15th July 2005 – now 15 years on, the happy couple were the hotel’s first returning guests as doors reopen to the public.
To celebrate the milestone anniversary – traditionally marked with crystal – Mr and Mrs Hicks hired the same vintage car they travelled in 15 years ago for the journey to the hotel, where they were welcomed by a lone piper for a complimentary stay.
Sarah said: “We always try to stay at the hotel to mark our anniversary each year and the fact the hotel is reopening again today, just adds to the special day and makes another amazing memory at the hotel for us.”
The latest version of the largest student feedback survey in the world revealed an overall satisfaction level of 86 per cent at the University – up seven per cent on last year and well above the UK benchmark of 81 per cent.
Satisfaction levels among students rose in all six of the University’s Schools; Applied Sciences (84 to 86 per cent), Arts & Creative Industries (84 to 94), Computing (81 to 85), Engineering & the Built Environment (78 to 79), Health & Social Care (67 to 81) and the Business School (84 to 87).
Professor Andrea Nolan, Principal of Edinburgh Napier University, said: “I am delighted with this year’s student survey results, a clean sweep of improvement, and one that makes us the top university in Edinburgh for overall student satisfaction.
“These results are thanks to all the commitment, hard work and efforts made by staff over the last twelve months and I want to thank all the teams from across the University for playing their part. To have their work recognised in this way by our students is heart-warming.”
The survey revealed high levels of satisfaction with the quality of their course among students studying at Scottish universities.
This year’s results show that overall satisfaction with courses in Scotland has improved by one per cent since 2019 and now stands at 85 per cent for full-time students. 86 per cent of part-time students in Scotland are satisfied with their course. The figure is above the UK average of 83 per cent, which is the down from 84 per cent last year.
The NSS is carried out by the Office for Students (OfS) on behalf of the UK funding bodies. As well as capturing student views on the overall quality of their undergraduate degree, the survey gathers students’ responses to a series of questions relating to academic support, learning resources, teaching, management and assessment.
Every university in the UK participates in the survey, including some colleges and alternative providers. This year, the response rate was 68.6 per cent and a total of 311,432 students across the UK took part.
