300 new finance sector jobs fro Edinburgh

Plans by Australian financial services company Computershare to open a new technology centre of excellence in Edinburgh, creating 300 jobs, have been welcomed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

The company secured a £2 million grant from Scottish Enterprise and has worked closely with Scottish Development International (SDI) to develop the project.

The expansion plans were announced on the same day SDI annual results were published, which showed 7,839 jobs were secured in Scotland through new and existing investors – an increase of 10% on the previous year.

The First Minister visited Computershare’s new office in the city centre which is being fully refurbished and will open next year. She said: “This announcement, with the creation of 300 highly skilled technology jobs and investment in the city centre, is fantastic news for Edinburgh’s economy.

“Scotland is open for business and continues to be a very attractive location for investment, as evidenced by the recent EY Attractiveness survey, which noted that Scotland was the top UK location for foreign direct investment outside London for the fifth consecutive year.

“Together with the inward investment figures published by SDI, this offers further evidence that we have the skills and expertise to attract and retain global companies like Computershare.”

Stuart Irving, global President and CEO of Computershare said: “As a truly international capital city, Edinburgh has a bright future and is a natural home for a global company. As a growing business we need the skills and hard work we see on offer in this city.

“We are grateful to the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International for helping us with our plans and are looking forward to our continued partnership.”

Neil Francis, operations director at SDI, said: “When a company like Computershare chooses to invest in Scotland, it sends a message to the rest of the world that Scotland is a first-class destination.

“We have a clear focus on winning the right kind of investment for Scotland – which is secured because of our skills base, science and research excellence and our connected business infrastructure, and this investment by Computershare is an example of this.

“We’re thrilled to have secured these new jobs for Edinburgh; it’s a ringing endorsement of our offering to international investors and we look forward to working with the Computershare team to help them fulfil their growth ambitions in Scotland.”

Computershare was founded in Melbourne in 1978 and its existing Edinburgh operation was established in 1998, serving locally-based clients and those further afield. From its current base in Edinburgh Park, the company provides relationship management and registry services to around 150 listed companies – from FTSE100 to AIM – many of whom are registered in Scotland.

Could you represent your community?

Become a member of Muirhouse Salvesen Community Council, but hurry – nominations close on Friday!

Community councils have been part of our democratic structures for over forty years, speaking out as a local voices on issues of concern – and you can play your part if you live in Muirhouse or Salvesen by becoming a community councillor.  Continue reading Could you represent your community?

Scrap the Cap, Stop the Evictions: exhibition launch at North Edinburgh Arts

Friday was a frantic afternoon for the women of the All About Me group – the women presented their new film at the Central Halls in Tollcross before getting back across town to screen the film again and launch an exhibition of photographs and memorabilia at North Edinburgh Arts. The events were the latest efforts to publicise the dreadful impact changes to the benefits system are having on families.

The exhibition highlights the actions taken by the group to support friends faced with losing their homes

None of the young women had any experience of political campaigning but over the last six months the women have:

  • Met with politicians and community activists to highlight their plight
  • Protested at council meetings
  • Staged peaceful protests at the North Local Office
  • ‘Occupied’ Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson MSP’s constituency office
  • Made a film with filmmaker George Williamson which eloquenty tells their story and the journey so far.

While the group has won some small victories, another local family lost their home last week. The women are determined: the fight goes on.

See the exhibition at North Edinburgh Arts.

Safety of Scotland’s high rise homes under scrutiny

The safety of Scotland’s high rise tower blocks will be examined by a Holyrood Committee, following the tragedy at Grenfell Tower. The Scottish Parliament’s Local Government and Communities Committee will scrutinise accommodation in Scotland’s high rise communities, by expanding an on-going inquiry into housing and building regulations in Scotland. Continue reading Safety of Scotland’s high rise homes under scrutiny

St Columba’s launches summer appeal

St Columba’s Hospice in Edinburgh has today launched its new fundraising appeal – A Summer to Remember. The appeal will raise money for the Hospice, to enable it to reach out further in to the community and support more people across Edinburgh and the Lothians. Continue reading St Columba’s launches summer appeal

Does the NHS deliver safe and quality care?

Views invited on patient care in the NHS

Do Scottish NHS services treat people with dignity and respect, and are adequate systems in place for when things go wrong? These key questions are being asked by Holyrood’s Health and Sport Committee as it launches a call for views today on clinical governance in the NHS in Scotland, as part of a wider inquiry into NHS Governance. Continue reading Does the NHS deliver safe and quality care?

Grenfell tragedy: latest update

Communities Secretary Angela Constance said on Friday: “This week, we asked local authorities to give us further information about their high rise domestic buildings. They have reported that they have over 500 high rise domestic buildings in their areas.

“All 32 local authorities have advised the Scottish Government that no council or housing association high rise domestic buildings have the type of cladding reported to have been used in the Grenfell tower – Aluminium Composite Material (ACM). 

“24 Local Authorities have also reported to us that no privately owned high rise domestic buildings have ACM cladding.  The remainder are completing their investigations as a matter of urgency.”

A further update will follow the Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety next week.

Sajid Javid MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government said yesterday:

Ever since the appalling tragedy at Grenfell Tower on Wednesday 14 June, the government has been working very closely with local authorities, housing associations, and the private sector to ensure the safety of high-rise buildings.

We provided advice to all social landlords on 22 June about interim safety measures that should be taken immediately where it has been determined that a building has Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding that is unlikely to be compliant with the requirements of the current Building Regulations. This guidance was recommended by an independent panel of experts and includes advice on the 3 emerging findings from the Metropolitan Police investigation into Grenfell Tower.

A combustibility testing programme for ACM cladding is running around the clock at the Building Research Establishment (BRE). This is able to test 100 samples a day – and if needed, yet further laboratory capacity could be provided.

So far the cladding from 34 high-rise buildings, in 17 local authority areas, has failed the combustibility test. All landlords and fire and rescue services for those local authorities have been alerted to the results and we are in touch with all 17 areas to support and monitor follow-up action. The landlords for all the affected buildings are taking action to inform tenants and implement the interim safety measures needed. Areas affected include the city of Manchester, Camden, Plymouth, Hounslow, Portsmouth, Barnet and Brent.

The fact that all samples so far have failed the tests underlines the value of the testing programme we have set up with the Building Research Establishment to get samples checked properly in the laboratories.

It is therefore very important for local authorities and housing associations to continue to submit such samples as a matter of urgency.

In the meantime, local authorities are contacting fire and rescue services in their area to conduct fire safety inspections of these tower blocks to inform them on what remedial works might be required.

We expect that authorities and landlords are very sensibly giving the highest priority to buildings with which they have most concern. But we should not be in the position where buildings have such cladding on them. How this occurred – and preventing this from happening again – is likely to be a key question for the public inquiry.

We are now rapidly identifying buildings of concern: samples are being tested very quickly; fire inspectors are checking the safety of the buildings as a whole; and we have issued interim safety guidance to help action that is being taken by local authorities, landlords, and fire and rescue services to mitigate risk and start addressing any defects that have been found.

It is important to stress that cladding itself is not dangerous, but it is important that the right type is used. Also, a failure in testing of the cladding does not necessarily mean that a building will have to be evacuated; the decision by Camden Council to evacuate 4 of the 5 towers on the Chalcots Estate was because the failed testing of the external cladding was compounded by multiple other fire safety failures which the fire inspection team found within the buildings.

Obviously, those residents in Camden who had to be asked to leave their homes at such short notice have had a distressing experience; I have to express deep admiration for the calm and stoicism with which so many have handled this.

I understand that the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, and now the evacuation in Camden, will be particularly worrying for those living in high-rise towers. However, fire safety standards are in place in buildings across this country and landlords are obliged by law to meet them – in both private rented and social housing. Individuals are no more likely to experience a fire now than before, but everyone should remain vigilant to the risk.

It is the responsibility of the landlords and freeholders to advise their residents what to do in the event of a fire in the building, based on the findings of their risk assessment. We are making sure that authorities and landlords have all the latest advice and support available as quickly as possible.

See below for advice on information on multi-storey fire safety

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