Deidre Brock MP has called for an urgent rethink of council plans to close Leith Registrar’s Office. Ms Brock only heard of the plans recently from a constituent who was making enquiries about booking a wedding there, with services set to be moved up to the City Chambers from October this year. Continue reading Leith Registrar’s office closure: Brock calls for rethink
NAWRA (National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers) is coming to Edinburgh and we are in the process of making our final arrangements for our quarterly meeting on 8th September 2017, which doubles as our annual Scottish conference (writes CRAIG SAMUEL, NAWRA Scotland representative).
Our conference this year is being held at Edinburgh City Chambers and whilst our membership covers many welfare rights services I am reaching out to all community groups to invite them to get in touch as more and more community groups are being asked to deal with queries on income and many occasions state benefits.
In case you are reading this and are unfamiliar with our work at NAWRA our aims and objectives include challenging, influencing and to improve welfare rights policy and legislation and we are involved with various government stakeholder groups whereby we recognize and challenge discriminatory legislation and we promote welfare rights issues and encourage effective partnership working.
I am ever so proud to have been asked to represent NAWRA in Scotland and part of my role is to attend stakeholder’s meetings for the roll out of PIP (Personal Independence Payment) and I also represent NAWRA at our stakeholders meeting with SCoWR (Scottish Campaign on Welfare Reform) whereby we continue to feedback in relation to Social Security.
Whilst I am proud to have been asked to represent NAWRA in Scotland – and I am extremely proud – but what really drives me and my organisation is the help we can provide our communities in fighting inequalities and these communities, don’t forget, also includes our friends, neighbours and families.
At NAWRA we encourage community groups to get involved and I will be happy to discuss with any community group that may be interested in attending or indeed joining NAWRA as throughout United Kingdom we know that representation is becoming more difficult to find due to budget cuts both locally and nationally.
NAWRA can support any community group and assist with issues that may be relevant, for example we know families who were already vulnerable to losing their homes now face further cuts since UK government changed the benefit cap level at the end of 2016 and placing a freeze on many benefits.
Welfare rights is not just about providing a foundation through income but through providing hope and allowing potential to be realized as at the minute opportunity is scarce as we can see with our friends at Sheffield Hallam University producing a recent academic paper looking at the destruction of industrial Britain.
We can see the destruction of traditional industrial areas and these have been decimated over the last 40 years and I am not alone but I personally remember watching in awe of dockers, miners and in my own experience of watching my grandfather’s work with the gas industry or indeed my father in the wire works and Scottish gas.
Having used their bodies to build our country do we see any protection towards these workers. Well what we see is industries lost, jobs lost and people left with disabilities having put their bodies on the line for their community and country.
Is there protection? Well for some yes but due to the design of PIP (personal independence payment) and implementation we can see since the transfer from DLA (disability living allowance) over 1 million PIP claims have been refused and people who need it most are losing out and when in their hour of need and when needing it most they are being dismissed and left with no foundation to move forward.
At our conference, we shall have speakers and workshops throughout the day and our conferences continue to be offered without charge to our members and our memberships, which start as little as £40.00 per year, is per organisation making it accessible and economical to all organisations.
I hope you agree with me in acknowledging how important our conferences are and how important it is to receive the best advice and how every situation is different and intricate so I look forward to seeing you at our meeting on 8th September 2017 or being contacted beforehand at craig@nawra.org.uk – our agenda can be seen at www.nawra.org.uk
CRAIG SAMUEL, NAWRA Scotland representative
A major charity initiative between Diabetes UK, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and Tesco has discovered that snacking habits in Scotland are risking families’ long term health.
A survey commissioned by the National Charity Partnership, a partnership between the three organisations, found that nearly half of all adults in Scotland (45 percent) worry about the extra calories their families consume through unhealthy snacks, yet almost three in ten (29 percent) never actively choose nibbles that are low in fat and sugar. In fact, despite nearly half of those surveyed worrying about snacking habits, more than one-third of Scottish parents are still regularly offering crisps (37 percent) and 45 percent say they offer biscuits as snacks for their children either alongside or in between meals.
Katherine Hale, Prevention Programme Manager for the National Charity Partnership, said: “Eating foods high in fat and sugar on a regular basis can contribute to increased calorie consumption – which can then increase the likelihood of being overweight. It’s particularly concerning that crisps and biscuits are still popular snacks for children because the food habits we learn at a young age can become ingrained and stay with us into adulthood.
“By developing unhealthy habits, you may be risking your family’s health. Regularly consuming ‘empty calories’ from snacks that contain lots of calories but little to no nutrients heightens your risk of obesity and the long-term conditions such as Type 2 diabetes and heart disease associated with this.“
As the summer holidays come to an end and a new school year begins, the National Charity Partnership is launching its Snack Goals Challenge to help UK families start the new term right by making some healthy snack swaps to curb those junk food cravings and improve their long-term health.
The partnership is encouraging people to set a goal to ‘eat healthy snacks’ using its online Eight Week Challenge. To support the challenge, the partnership has developed a series of articles to provide affordable and tasty recipe inspiration at https://lets-dothis.org.uk/tips/topics/snack-well/. Ideas include swapping crisps and biscuits for air-popped popcorn with cinnamon or spicy chilli.
Ms. Hale said: “Snacks are usually small and can seem insignificant. However the reality is that the calories they provide can really add up, especially for children. By making a change now and taking our Snack Goals Challenge, to swap to healthier snacks it will help you stay on track and kick those bad snacking habits. For even more motivation, take the challenge with the whole family or friends for that extra element of competition.”
The most common reason why people in Scotland shun snacks low in fat, sugar or salt is that it costs too much money (24 percent). Almost one in five people in Scotland (18 percent) said that healthier snacks lack variety and 16 percent of those surveyed claimed their family prefers the taste of snacks like crisps and chocolate. The survey also found that adults in Scotland have a sweet tooth when it comes to snacking choices, with mid-afternoon the most popular time to snack. Four of the top five regularly consumed snacks for adults are sweet and include biscuits (37 percent) and chocolate bars (28 percent).
The National Charity Partnership between Diabetes UK, the BHF and Tesco is working to help millions of people look after their bodies and reduce their risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart and circulatory disease by moving more and eating healthily.
To get involved set your goal at www.lets-dothis.org.uk/challenge and upload your healthy snack ideas on social media using the #snackgoalschallenge.
Sunday 17 September: 1.30 – 4pm
So much to look forward to at North Edinburgh Arts
World of Football are delighted to announce the opening of their new state of the art flagship football venue at Marine Drive today. It’s a welcome return to the North Edinburgh area where the Demarco family first set up the Jubilee Ice cream and Fish & Chip shop in 1935. Continue reading A home game: World of Football kicks off at Marine Drive
Pilton Youth and Children’s Project (PYCP) will be cooking with gas following a £4700 donation from Radio Forth’s Cash for Kids. The local youth organisation provides vital services to the area’s young people and plans to use the money to develop kitchen facilities at the Greenhouse. Continue reading Cash for Kids boost for PYCP
The Edinburgh Festivals will receive a £10 million boost over the next five years, the First Minister has confirmed. The Scottish Government and City of Edinburgh Council will each provide £5 million to fund a new programme to grow the festivals’ contribution to Scotland’s culture and economy – and the Edinburgh Festivals have pledged to raise a further £5 million towards the programme. Continue reading Know your PLaCE: Scottish government doubles festivals pot
Saturday 2nd September: 12 – 2pm
Better technology means courts are punishing drug drive offenders in record numbers. Tough new drug driving laws are now taking more dangerous drivers off roads, with conviction rates for the new drug driving offence at 98%. Continue reading Nationwide drug driving crackdown
