Fighting the throwaway culture

Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham has reiterated the Scottish Government’s pledge to introduce a deposit return scheme as part of plans to further tackle plastic waste.

Deposit return will increase the quality of recycled materials collected in Scotland. By collecting more drinks containers here, we could recycle them back into items for the food and drinks industry – for example, plastic bottles being recycled to make new plastic bottles – rather than exporting them for other uses. This would be a benefit to industry based in Scotland, which has an increasing demand for recycled materials of high quality.

Visiting Coca-Cola European Partners bottling plant in East Kilbride, she said: “I am proud of the fact that Scotland was the first part of the UK to commit to a deposit return scheme as we are determined to do all we can to prevent discarded drinks containers from ending up in our streets and seas.

“A deposit return scheme as part of the wider circular economy will not only be an effective way of increasing recycling rates and reducing litter, but also provide an opportunity to secure a new source of high quality material, develop our recycling infrastructure and create jobs as part of our ambition to drive the circular economy on our journey to carbon-neutrality.

“We will bring forward the next steps on designing our deposit return scheme shortly, which will complement our world-leading action on climate change, whilst we continue to maintain our environmental standards in the face of Brexit.”

Iain Gulland, Chief Executive, Zero Waste Scotland, said: “Zero Waste Scotland is currently working on the design of Scotland’s deposit return scheme, a critical part of developing a more circular economy where no resources are wasted.

“There is an increasing demand for quality recycled content here in Scotland from businesses such as Coca-Cola, and people don’t want to see plastics being used once and needlessly discarded. That’s why deposit return, which brings that material back to be used again, here in Scotland, is a win for both the environment and our economy.”

Coca-Cola European Partners is currently the largest user of recycled plastic in the UK food and drink industry, having invested significantly to help transform the UK’s PET recycling and reprocessing capabilities over the past decade.

Nick Brown, Head of Sustainability at Coca-Cola European Partners Great Britain, said: “At Coca-Cola European Partners we want to make sure all our packaging is recovered so more can be recycled and none ends up as litter.

“Deposit return schemes are a major change for shoppers, retailers and producers but we know that a well-designed deposit scheme can increase recycling and reduce the littering of beverage packaging in a way that works for everyone.

“Industry has a lot of experience of running successful deposit return schemes around the world and we look forward to working with the Scottish Government and Zero Waste Scotland to make sure we design a scheme that works for Scottish businesses and Scottish shoppers, and makes the biggest possible impact on littering and recycling.”

 

 

 

 

Edinburgh Living: opening doors in Clermiston

Scottish Housing Minister Kevin Stewart visited the first homes to be delivered as part of “Edinburgh Living”, a new housing partnership between the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Futures Trust earlier this week.    Continue reading Edinburgh Living: opening doors in Clermiston

Funding hits all the right notes for Scotland-wide dementia friendly choir network

A funding award of £225,000 has been announced by the Life Changes
Trust and the Baring Foundation to support new and existing community
choirs across the whole of Scotland to become dementia inclusive. Continue reading Funding hits all the right notes for Scotland-wide dementia friendly choir network

Improving Personal and Social Education

Consent education to be part of updated teaching resources.

New resources to address sexual harassment and updated consent education guidance have been recommended as part of a review of Personal and Social Education (PSE).

The PSE recommendations will ensure schools and teachers have the resources and support needed to ensure a more consistent approach in responding to the issues young people face today.

Updated guidance for schools to strengthen the delivery of age and stage appropriate consent education will be taken forward and new resources to address the issue of sexual harassment, both in schools and online, will be developed.

The review also recommends updating guidance on mental health support available to pupils and staff and says schools should engage with pupils in the design and delivery of PSE classes.

Speaking at Queen Anne’s High School in Dunfermline, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Personal and Social Education is critical to giving young people the knowledge, skills and resilience to navigate the various stages of their lives and reach their full potential.

“Pupils have told us that PSE needs to be more relevant, empathetic and informative and must reflect the issues facing young people today. Updated consent education will be stage and age appropriate, will involve young people in the design and delivery of classes and will deliver more consistent teaching at all levels.

“The recommendations will also ensure a high standard of learning and support in mental, physical and emotional wellbeing and will give pupils greater access to mental health support.”

An implementation group, jointly chaired by Cosla and the Scottish Government, will take forward the review’s recommendations.

COSLA’s Children and Young People Spokesperson, Councillor Stephen McCabe, said: “COSLA welcomes the publication of this report and the recommendations it contains – we look forward to working with Scottish Government, Education Scotland, teaching unions, representative third sector organisations and others, to ensure these are implemented appropriately.

“Personal and Social Education is an important element of the work schools across Scotland are involved in everyday to ensure that children and young people develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need now and in the future for mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing.”

Find out more on the review of PSE and read in full the recommendations report.

 

Young Start Lottery success for Stepping Stones

Young Scots have a million reasons to celebrate today as a £1 million cash boost wings its way to 16 projects run for, and by, young people. And among them is North Edinburgh’s Stepping Stones! Continue reading Young Start Lottery success for Stepping Stones

P1 testing: Heed the evidence, say Greens

Risk of Results Data Being ‘Invalidated’

Scottish Greens education spokesperson Ross Greer MSP has called on the Scottish Government to listen to the experts, after the Scottish Parliament’s Education Committee heard a number of concerns regarding the Scottish National Standardised Assessments at its session yesterday.

In response to a question from Mr Greer, Professor Lindsay Paterson confirmed that the differential in the age of Primary one pupils being tested – between four and six – ‘invalidates’ the use of this data beyond the level of the individual pupil, particularly given the shortage of staff who have sufficient statistical experience within local councils.

On the issue of these staff having been cut from councils over recent years, Dr Keir Bloomer of the Royal Society of Edinburgh said: “Local authorities have a declining capacity to offer support to schools.”

The committee also heard from Professor Louise Hayward that the test are extremely narrow, and do not yield a wide range of information.

Ross Greer said: “The already thin evidence base for the government’s Primary One tests is falling apart under the most basic of scrutiny.

“There is a huge difference between a four and a half year old child taking this test at the start of the school year and another pupil who takes it late in the year, by which point they could be six years old.

“Professor Paterson was clear that this significant difference and an inability to control for it when using the data, for example at school level, would simply invalidate it.

“An evidence-led approach in the first place would have avoided so many of these problems but the SNP ploughed on without one. It’s time that they listen to experts, to teachers and to parents, like any responsible government should.”

Police Scotland supports UK wide anti-terror campaign

Police Scotland is highlighting the important role communities play in the fight against terrorism by supporting a UK-wide public information campaign.

The head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, believes that the public are playing a crucial role in helping police and the security services disrupt terrorist activity, with more than 22% of all reports from the public producing intelligence which is helpful to police.

Counter Terrorism Policing has launched a new public information film which will be shown in UK cinemas and across police social media accounts.

The sequel to last year’s ‘Communities Defeat Terrorism’ campaign will feature a new 60-second film based on real-life foiled plots, which will show examples of terrorist-related suspicious activity and behaviour, as well as attack planning methodology.

Airing across 120 cinemas nationwide, including 16 in Scotland, for the next eight weeks, the film will encourage people to report suspicious behaviour and activity through the Government Action Counters Terrorism website and the confidential hotline – 0800 789 321.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson, Police Scotland’s lead for specialist crime and intel, said: “Tackling terrorism and domestic extremism is a national priority for Police Scotland and we will continue to work with our partners to protect our communities.

“We should never be complacent and the UK threat level remains at severe, meaning an attack is highly likely.

“I hope this campaign reinforces how important it is for communities to act if they see anything suspicious in their area.

“The video asks people to stop and think if they see unusual behaviour and trust your instincts. The unusual behaviour could be part of a bigger picture so it’s crucial people feel confident enough to report this to police. Let us decide how important it is and never think it could be a waste of our time.”

 

Data analysed by Counter Terrorism Policing indicates that the public are consistently providing information which is relevant to police.

If you are still unsure about how or what to report to police then please visit Counter Terrorism Policing for more information on how you can help.

Assistant Commissioner of Specialist Operations (ACSO), Neil Basu, the UK’s most senior counter terrorism officer, said, “Thankfully, we did not see the horrors of 2017 repeated last year, but we should not be complacent enough to think the terrorist threat has diminished.

“Counter Terrorism Policing officers are currently running more than 700 live investigations nationwide, while crucial intelligence from the public has helped police and the security services prevent 18 terror attacks in just under two years.

“We have been emphasising for some time that communities defeat terrorism, and the fact that more and more reports from the public provide information that is useful to our officers demonstrates this.

“Despite this increasing support, I know some people are still reluctant to speak to us. To them I say, reporting your concerns to us won’t ruin lives, but it might save them.

“Like other criminals, terrorists need to plan and that creates opportunities for police and the security services to discover and stop these attacks before they happen.

“But we need your help to exploit these opportunities, so if you see or hear something unusual or suspicious trust your instincts and act by reporting it in confidence by phone or online.

“That could be someone buying or storing chemicals, fertilisers or gas cylinders for no obvious reasons, or receiving deliveries for unusual items, it could be someone embracing extremist ideology, or searching for such material online.

“This new film has been made to try and help people understand recent terrorist attack-planning methods.”