The NEN – North Edinburgh News – Page 3141 – The community media resource for north Edinburgh

Power to the People talk fracking …

The Power to the Power group is hosting a community meeting on the issue of fracking and underground coal gasification in the Forth next Tuesday (6 October) from 10am – 12.30 in Royston Wardieburn Community Centre.

A crèche will be available to allow people with young children to participate.

We are keen to raise awareness about this issue locally and will be supporting the action planned on the Forth Road Bridge on Sunday 11 October at 2pm. Please see the link below for further information :

http://www.ourforth.org/hands-across-the-forth/

Power to the People

Don’t spend it all in the one shop …

… national minimum wage goes up by 20 pence today

From today, the apprentice rate of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) goes up by 57 pence to £3.30 and the NMW rate for adult workers will rise by 20 pence from £6.50 to £6.70 per hour.

The boost for apprentices is the largest ever and means that those working 40 hours a week will now have £1,185 more in their pay packet over the year, the government says.

By implementing a rate higher than the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) recommendation apprenticeships will deliver a wage that is comparable to other choices for work.

The 3% increase in the adult rate is the biggest real increase since 2006 and moves the NMW closer to the average wage than ever before. The new rate means that a full time employee, working 40 hours, will see the largest cash increase in their annual pay packets since 2008.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid said: “As a one nation government we are making sure that every part of Britain benefits from our growing economy and today more than 1.4 million of Britain’s lowest-paid workers will be getting a well-deserved pay rise.

The increase for apprentices is the largest in history making sure that apprenticeships remain an attractive option for young people. While the National Minimum Wage will see the largest real-terms increase since 2007.

From 1 October 2015:

the adult rate will increase by 20 pence to £6.70 per hour
the rate for 18 to 20 year olds will increase by 17 pence to £5.30 per hour
the rate for 16 to 17 year olds will increase by 8 pence to £3.87 per hour
the apprentice rate will increase by 57 pence to £3.30 per hour
the accommodation offset increases from the current £5.08 to £5.35

The GMB trade union welcomes the additional 20p on National Minimum Wage for 1.4 million workers but said that £6.70 per hour is NOT a living wage.

On tax credit cuts from April 2016 for 2.62 million workers the minimum loss will £23.72 per week and the average loss will be £34 per week for 3.3 million working families, the union says.

Paul Kenny, GMB General Secretary, said: “The additional 20p per hour for 1.4 million lower paid workers is welcome but as the Chancellor recognized £6.70 per hour is not a living wage. Employers like NEXT who can afford to pay a living wage should do so without delay.

“The Government must also step up enforcement and enable trades unions and local councils to contact HMRC to report employers who are not paying the rate.

“These same workers and their families face a serious loss of income from 1st April 2016 when tax credits are cut. GMB assess that for 2.62 million the minimum loss will £23.72 per week and that over time that the average loss will be about £34 per week for 3.3 million working families.

“For the huge numbers of working families that will be hit by cuts in tax credits the answer is simple – they should join a union to fight for better pay from employers who can well afford it as Osborne confirmed. “

City crackdown on catchment fraud

Council clamping down on school place cheats

Six families have lost their school places after being caught giving false statements to get their children into popular city primaries in a crackdown by the City of Edinburgh Council.

As a result of the investigations by the Council’s fraud team, the offer of places was withdrawn and several other families dropped their requests when they discovered they were being investigated.

In some cases, families were also found to be fraudulently claiming housing and council tax benefits and were then forced to repay the money. In one instance, where a tenant was discovered to be sub-letting their council house, they lost their tenancy.

Councillor Paul Godzik, Convener of Education, Children and Families, said: “We know this is an issue that concerns many parents and we take it very seriously.

“If we believe there is a possibility that fraud is being committed, we will investigate. If we discover this to be the case we will withdraw the school place.

“By working with the Council’s fraud team, we are able to access a greater range of information, including credit checks, and this has allowed us to identify instances of fraud. Anecdotally we believe there are a number of schools in the city where this is likely to be a greater issue than others and we investigate all potential cases. This year we plan to put these schools under greater scrutiny with spot checks at different stages of the process.”

When registering for a school place for the first time, parents need to provide a council tax demand notice and recent utility bill. If someone is moving house they need to provide proof of purchase and their tenancy agreement. If they are moving to a different Edinburgh address they will also need to provide proof of sale or termination of lease.

When pupils move from primary to secondary school they are allocated a place based on the current address information held by their school. Spot checks will be carried out to ensure this is accurate.

The Corporate Fraud Team can carry out credit checks, check council tax records and carry out unannounced home visits to establish whether or not someone is actually living at the address they claim to be at. If nobody is at home when they visit, they will speak to neighbours to try and find out if they know who was living in the house.

And the fraud team will continue their address checks during the school registration process which starts in November.

Anyone who believes a parent has given false information to register for a school place can contact the school placing team on 0131 469 3033 or email school.placements@edinburgh.gov.uk. All cases will be treated confidentially and you will remain anonymous.

Port of Leith residents raise £1580 for Macmillan

Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA) has raised £1580 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

PoLHA’s sheltered housing developments St Nicholas Court, Hermitage Court and Jameson Place hosted events for their residents and locals as part of the charity’s ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’ initiative last Friday.

Suzie Connery, who manages the Hermitage Court complex, said:
“We are delighted so many people came along to help makes the coffee mornings a success. Without their generosity we would not have been able to raise such a vast amount of money to this fantastic cause.”

Pictured (left to right): Christine McCauldin, Irene Graham, Mary Fox and Ella Maitland

EVOC thinkSpace event: A Fairer Scotland

Friday 9 October, 9.30am – 12.30pm, EVOC Office

We would be delighted if you join EVOC’s Fairer Scotland thinkSpace and hear speakers from the Scottish Government and the Third Sector consider the questions in the current consultation:

What are the main issues that matter to you?
What do you think needs to be done to create a fairer Scotland?
How can you and your community play a role in helping to shape our future?

We invite you to bring two other stakeholders from your organisation, e.g. service users and/or trustees.

Robin McAlpine of the Common Weal will be speaking on People Power plus we have facilitators confirmed from Citizens Advice Scotland, Crisis Edinburgh and One Parent Family Scotland. Ella Simpson, EVOC’s Director will be leading the discussions on what we can do in Edinburgh and how we can feed back into the consultation process.

You can book places at: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/evoc-thinkspace-fairer-scotland-tickets-18434528170

View the Fairer Scotland thinkSpace Programme.

REMINDER: Voluntary Sector Forum

The October meeting of Forth and Inverleith VSF was brought forward as the meeting was scheduled to take place during the school holidays.

The new date is Tuesday 6 October 1-3pm, at Pilton Community Health Project.

Local MP suspended pending police probe

Edinburgh West MP Michelle Thomson has withdrawn from the SNP whip and been suspended by the party after police launched an investigation into property deals conducted by her lawyer Christopher Hales.

News of the police investigation follows revelations which first appeared in a Sunday Times article on 19 September.

Mrs Thomson’s solicitor, Christopher Hales, was struck off in May last year after being found guilty of professional misconduct in relation to 13 property deals – all of which involved Ms Thomson or her company M&F Property Solutions.

There is no suggestion Michelle Thomson is personally being investigated by police, and the Edinburgh West MP – who was also the SNP’s spokeswoman for business, innovation and skills at Westminster – said she will ‘cooperate fully’ with any investigation.

She said yesterday: “I am aware of the police investigation and will cooperate fully if required to do so. I have always acted within the law and look forward to being cleared of any wrong doing.

“I have this afternoon decided to withdraw from the party whip whilst an investigation takes place. Once the investigation is concluded I look forward to returning to play a full role in party activities. I will be making no further comment on this matter.”

While investigations are ongoing Ms Thomson, who was elected in May, will sit as an independent MP at Westminster.

Glasgow Girls in Muirhouse!

Please help to publicise the screening of the Glasgow Girls next Thursday night (8 October) at North Edinburgh Arts (writes Lynn McCabe).

We will be joined by one of the young women from Drumchapel High School who helped to initiate the campaign against dawn raids and deportation of asylum seekers in her community in 2005.

Transport will be available for anyone who needs it. For further information call 552 5700 or email lynn.mccabe@ea.edin.sch.uk

October plant of the month: bay laurel

More than a green leaf

The bay laurel, “laurus noblis”, is also commonly known as a bay tree, sweet bay, true laurel and Grecian laurel. It is a superbly fragrant evergreen tree/shrub that originates in the Mediterranean region and its glossy green leaves can be clipped into stunning shapes to add dignity to your doorsteps and panache to your patios. The bay tree is also incredibly easy to grow and October is the ideal month to give it a place in your garden which is why the bay tree is Thejoyofplants.co.uk‘s Garden Plant of the Month of October.

Leaf, flower and berry

Glossy green, stately shape: Laurus nobilis lives up to its name. The strongest feature of the bay tree is its dark green, pointed oval leaves. In May, it produces cream-coloured flowers and in autumn it produces glossy black oval fruit. If you leave the bay tree to its own devices, it can grow up to 40 metres tall and will look strong and ruggedly beautiful, however it is more commonly used in topiary and can be clipped into a variety of wonderful shapes.

Flavour

The bay leaf adds extra flavour to many different dishes such as goulashes, stews, soups, casseroles, marinades and pickling juices and is also a great addition to a Bloody Mary!

Interesting Facts

Historically, the bay tree has been used as both an antiseptic and a digestive and it has also been placed in food jars to deter weevils.

Mice are not bay tree fans so scatter bay leaves in your pantry to deter these furry visitors from your home.

Oil from bay leaves is used in massage products to relieve arthritis and rheumatism and in aromatherapy to treat high blood pressure and earache.

The laurel symbolises high status, prosperity and fame and in Christianity it also symbolised the resurrection of Christ.

Easy

You do not require green fingers to grow the bay tree – indeed, under ideal conditions, it can live for as long as a hundred years. The bay will thrive in containers, particularly if it is watered regularly and placed in a sheltered, sunny or partially shaded position. Feed your plants every two weeks during May and June and ideally re-pot every two years in the spring. Bay trees can withstand cold temperatures but frosts and extreme cold will damage them so they should be covered when the mercury drops or put in your garage or any other frost-free outbuilding.

Show support for Charlie Bear

My name’s Jaymee Gorrie and I am currently fundraising for The Charlie Bear Fund – a group of friends and family raising funds for The Ronald McDonald House Charities and The British Heart Foundation on behalf of a 6 week old little boy named Charlie Campbell.

Charlie has recently undergone major heart surgery after being diagnosed with a rare condition called Di George syndrome which was a shock to everyone involved as this condition is normally recognisable at birth however until 4 weeks ago he was a happy healthy baby.

Charlie is now in the children’s hospital in Glasgow battling for his life whilst his big sister Kendal Leigh and the rest of the family are in Edinburgh. His parents Nicole and Ben, as you can imagine, are not only distraught about being given this news but now are finding it very hard to cope with being away from home

However due to the fabulous Ronald McDonald House, they have been given a home from home and are able to stay with their sick child day and night and spend every minute possible with him hence why they are desperate to give something back.

We are desperately seeking help from lovely people like yourselves in the hope that you may be able to provide us with some support and raise awareness of our cause while we start this rollercoaster of a campaign.

At the moment we are finding it very difficult to find businesses willing to offer donations and were hoping with your help we can change that. We would be so grateful for any help and support you may be able to offer, thank you in advance.

Jaymee and the charlie bear team.

https://m.facebook.com/Thecharliebearfund

Charlie Bear’s Halloween Disco – 24 October 4-6PM

at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre

The Charlie Bear Funday – 7 November 12-4 at PYCP