Appeal for information following serious assault in Charlotte Square

POLICE in Edinburgh are appealing for information following a serious assault in the city.

Around 4.50pm yesterday (Sunday, 7 April) a 49-year-old man was assaulted by a group of men in Charlotte Square.

He was taken to The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment.

Detective Sergeant Mike Campbell of CID said: “This was a shocking attack on the victim. Our investigations so far have established five men that we would be keen to trace.

The first suspect is about 5”10” tall, large build, in his 50s with medium length grey hair, wearing a blue and purple polo shirt with white details around the collar, a light grey zip hooded top, light blue jeans and white trainers.

The second suspect is about 5”10” tall, medium build, in his 50s with very short greying hair, wearing a light blue/grey coloured collar shirt, light blue jeans and white trainers.

The third suspect is in his 50s, medium build, wearing a light-coloured T-shirt and a thin black puffer jacket.

The fourth suspect is about 6”0” tall, average build with short brown hair, wearing a beige/salmon coloured long sleeved shirt, black trousers and grey shoes.

The fifth man is about 6”0” tall, medium build, wearing a black baseball hat, black jacket, and grey shorts.

“We know the area was busy with passersby and motorists. We’re asking for anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information to please come forward.

“If you believe you could help our investigation, call 101 quoting reference 2423 of 7 April, 2024. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, if you wish to remain anonymous.”

Wearable device to help people deal with stress and anxiety on display at Edinburgh Science Festival event

EVENT TONIGHT:

Innovation Late

Monday 8th April at 7.30pm

Dynamic Earth

Innovation Late, supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering, is a gathering of some of the most inventive minds in the UK, ready to show off their incredible work for audiences to get hands-on with it.

An evening of celebrating technology excellence, Innovation Late presents the work of previous winners of UK’s premier prize for engineering innovation, the MacRobert Award, named after the trailblazing geologist, suffragette and philanthropist Lady Rachel MacRobert.

Audiences will have a chance to:

  • Listen to artist Ted Humble-Smith talk about his innovative new photography exhibition, in conversation with Morven Cunningham.
  • Meet the AI reincarnation of trailblazing geologist Lady MacRobert
  • Experience the Neurobright light and sound wearable device, designed to help ease anxiety
  • Programme robots and manoeuvre over a Martian landscape
  • Encounter the latest in kidney dialysis technology with Quanta Dialysis Technologies
  • Build a hovercraft
  • Test their construction skills on our earthquake table
  • Make a light theremin and a pencil organ with the adorable bumblebees
  • Find out how Renzor are preventing brain injuries in sport
  • Contribute to a poetical version of the Forth Rail Bridge

Spring Jam Jar Workshop at Granton Castle Walled Garden

💐 Spring Jam Jar workshop with Ochre Botanical Studios

Join our flower farmers for a spring jam jar making session on Sunday 14 April from 2 – 4pm at Granton Castle Walled Garden.

❤ Entrance is by donation to Granton Castle Walled Garden.

#grantoncastlewalledgarden#grantoncastle#Granton#grantoncommunity#ochrebotanicalstudios#flowerfarming#flowerfarm#flowergrowing#freeevents#flowers#workshop#jamjars#charityevents#floriculturalists#florists

Drylaw Park Project: Follow up Community event on Saturday 20 April

I am getting in touch to follow up with some information regarding the Drylaw Park project and to invite you to our second follow up engagement session on Saturday 20th April at the Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre from 1:30 – 3:00pm at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre – DNC – The place to be! (drylawnc.org.uk)

We are very pleased and grateful to the team at the Neighbourhood Centre as we will be joining their Future Family Fun Day taking place on the same day.  We will be there to share some of the draft designs and ideas for the park and we’d love to hear your feedback.

As a reminder, we have been working with the City of Edinburgh council to develop concept designs for enhancements across Drylaw Park. These include improvements to park connectivity, accessibility and safety, infrastructure to address surface water issues, nature enhancements and improvements to play provision.  

The concept designs take these themes into account and have considered a variety of previous feedback from the community and other key stakeholders.

The Drylaw Park forms part of the Climate Ready Craigleith project which sits under the cities overarching Climate Ready Edinburgh strategy and there is more information on the developing storymap here: 

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/6c5e4815a3f54ce5be4d6f99b0dff213

Lets hope for some April sunshine and look forward to seeing you on the 20th April!

Celebrate 100 years of Community Ownership with North Edinburgh Arts

Did you know 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of community ownership of land, assets and buildings in Scotland?

To celebrate this, and to mark North Edinburgh Arts coming into community ownership in 2022, we have commissioned a work from local textile artist Francia Boakye.

Francia will be weaving a set of baskets to carry our hopes and ambitions into the next 100 years of community ownership. Francia will be using a range of fabrics to represent the rich diversity of our local community. The many languages spoken across North Edinburgh will also be incorporated into the baskets, written on fabric woven into each piece.

The completed collection will be part of an exhibition in the Travelling Gallery touring Scotland between June and August this summer and will have a permanent home within the refurbished and expanded NEA building due for completion later this year.

If you live in North Edinburgh, we’d be delighted if you can take part in this project. Simply reply to this post with your hope for our community, and note additional languages spoken, or email these details to admin@northedinburgharts.co.uk by Friday 19 April 2024.

This project is supported by Creative Scotland and The National Lottery Heritage Fund

For more details, please see:

💜http://www.communitylandscotland.org.uk/…/community…/

💛http://frankfrancia.com/new-scots-textile-artist-and…/

🩷travellinggallery.com/future-exhibitions/

💜www.northedinburgharts.co.uk/development

Acas publishes new Code of Practice on flexible working

Workplace expert, Acas, has published its new statutory Code of Practice on requests for flexible working alongside accompanying guidance.

From today, all employees will have the right to ask their employer if they can work flexibly from their first day of employment. This right previously only applied if employees worked for their employer for 26 weeks or more.

Susan Clews, Acas Chief Executive, said: “There has been a global shift to flexible working following the pandemic, which has allowed more people to better balance their working lives and employers have also benefitted from being an attractive place to work.

“Our new Code aims to foster flexible working further and covers the new law changes. It sets out good practice on flexible working requests and will help employers and employees avoid any pitfalls.

“There are many types of flexible working such as part-time working, flexitime, job sharing, staggered hours, hybrid and homeworking. The starting position for businesses should be to consider what may be possible.”

The new Code covers the new changes to the law around statutory flexible working requests. These are:

  • A new right to request flexible working from the first day of employment
  • Allowing an employee to make two flexible working requests in any 12-month period rather than one
  • A new requirement that an employer must not reject a request without consulting the employee first
  • Employers now having two months to decide on the request rather than three months.

The new Code underwent a consultation process in its draft form last year. 77% of respondents to the consultation agreed that Acas should reconsider the overall good practice principles when updating the Code to reflect changes to the law.

The Code encourages employers to take a positive approach to flexible working so that requests are not rejected by default without due consideration and an open dialogue about what may be workable.

It is important for employers to comply with the Code as any breach may be considered by an employment tribunal for relevant cases.

Acas has also published new detailed guidance to accompany the Code, which provides practical examples for employers and employees on flexible working requests.

The new Code and guidance can be seen at: www.acas.org.uk/flexibleworking

Move to Child Disability Payment completed

All disabled children and young people in Scotland who receive disability benefits will now be paid directly from Social Security Scotland.

Those children and young people who receive Child Disability Payment will also benefit from a review system different to that of the wider UK, one based on dignity, fairness and respect.

The latest figures show around 47,000 children and teenagers have had their awards moved to Child Disability Payment delivered by Social Security Scotland.

The transfers began in 2021 when the new benefit was launched to replace Disability Living Allowance for children, paid by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

Around 76,000 disabled children and young people in Scotland now receive Child Disability Payment, including around 31,000 who applied since the new benefit was launched.

Child Disability Payment helps cover the extra costs of caring for a disabled or terminally ill child or young person.

Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, said: “One of the defining characteristics of the benefits system in Scotland is that people are treated with dignity, fairness and respect.

“Everyone in Scotland who previously received Disability Living Allowance for children from the UK Government now gets Child Disability Payment from Social Security Scotland. This has been a significant and important undertaking.

“The change means 47,000 more children in Scotland and their families can now look forward to less anxiety, less uncertainty and more financial security when their disability benefits come up for review.

“Social Security Scotland takes a human rights-based approach to reviews. The time between reviews is also set by case managers and can vary from two years to ten years. This is especially important for people with life-long disabilities and helps provide the financial security that is needed to pay for ongoing care and support.”

Rebecca, 40, from Edinburgh says her experience with Social Security Scotland since her son’s benefit was moved has been markedly better than under the UK system.

She said: “The transfer all went smoothly, but the biggest difference for me was when his yearly review came around. The DWP review is a 48-page document. Just writing down again and again, that nothing had changed.

“It used to be a couple of months of feeling anxious. Not knowing how the application was going to be scored this time.

“Even though nothing had changed, the person scoring it might have a different view from the person who did it the last time.

“You don’t know if you’re going to get any money at all, if you’ll get less or if it will be the same rate that you had before the review. It’s difficult to plan ongoing support when there’s so much uncertainty.

“There was also always a kind of feeling that somebody was trying to catch you out with the DLA application. It’s absolutely inhumane.

“This time when the renewal letter came through instead of saying, ‘You have to go through the whole traumatic process again,’ it was, ‘Has anything changed?’

“The short answer was, ‘No, my son still has cerebral palsy. There hasn’t been a miracle overnight.’ And that was accepted, what a difference.

“There are a lot of hard things about being in a family that’s affected by disability. This was someone taking away one of those hard things.

“That has been fantastic and I’m incredibly grateful for the values that underpin Social Security Scotland.”

The review period for awards is decided on a case-by-case basis depending on the client’s condition and whether their needs are expected to change. Generally, review periods range from two to ten years.

Friends of Corstorphine Hill: Your Space in the Walled Garden?

Applications are invited for the assignment of plots for a period of one year, renewable with the agreement of the FOCH Committee.

There is no charge for the use of each plot. However, applicants should be, or become, members of the Friends of Corstorphine Hill (membership charge is £1 minimum per annum)

These starter plots are small scale and only one plot can be held by each person/household. To help us select successful applicants we would appreciate a sentence or two explaining why this opportunity interests you.

We hope you will support this pilot project. Please message us here on facebook if you are interested, and we will send you an email address to send your application to. (Please don’t send your application directly to fb messenger).

****The closing date for applications is 4pm on Friday 12th April 2024****