Over £9 million to improve energy efficiency
Homes and businesses across 11 local authority areas will be warmer and cheaper to heat thanks to over £9 million of Scottish Government funding. Edinburgh will receive over £1 million.
Help us deliver ‘re-shaped’ services, pleads council
Council seeks your views on budget priorities
Edinburgh residents are being asked by the City of Edinburgh Council for their views on reshaping council services as part of public engagement for the 2017/18 budget, which will be set early next year.
This year people will get the chance to contribute ideas of their own on how city services are provided, by having meaningful conversations online with other residents in their local area. Residents will also be able to see the suggestions of others in their community and rate those ideas.
The Council has agreed draft spending and saving plans for the next three years and is now looking for residents’ views on how best to change the delivery of some services.
A seven-week engagement period, beginning today (Friday, 30 September), will run until Friday, 18 November. It will focus on three key themes, new ways of working, lean and agile services and working with partners.
The online survey will ask residents to think about how the changes below could affect them, their community and the city as a whole as well as what challenges and opportunities they present for the Council.
- Supporting individuals and community groups to become more involved in delivering library services.
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Developing the ways customers do business with the Council to include more online tools which are accessible and respond to customer needs so that services are delivered right first time.
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Working with Edinburgh Leisure to maintain access to quality facilities and programmes whilst achieving savings and efficiencies.
The Council will also be working closely with communities, equality groups and partners over the coming months by running workshops around reshaping services, working with communities to agree how local budgets should be spent and creating a city vision for Edinburgh for 2050.
A Question Time event will also be webcast from the City Chambers on Thursday, 10 November to give members of the public a more personal opportunity to ask questions about changes to services.
Councillor Alasdair Rankin, Finance and Resources Convener, said: “We have an increasing population, inflationary pressures, decreased budgets and greater demand for our services so it is really important that we get residents’ views on how we can more efficiently deliver services.
“In previous budget engagements residents told us to protect education, care for older people, culture, and services for vulnerable children and adults. These continue to be our priorities.
“Using our online engagement tools, we’re making it easy for people to contribute their views and ideas, and to understand the different challenges there are reshaping our services.
“We are improving our engagement tools this year by allowing people to speak to other residents in their local area about issues which specifically affect them. This will give us quality feedback on how people would like their services delivered in the future.”
Councillor Bill Cook, Finance Vice-Convener, added: “Everything you say will be taken into account when we draw up the final budget to be considered by Council in early 2017, so we are extremely interested in hearing your views. Whether it’s via the online survey, dialogue page, phone, letter, email or social media we welcome all feedback.”
At a meeting of the Finance & Resources Committee on Thursday, 29 September, councillors approved a report on the draft budget.
The draft budget, online survey and dialogue page can be accessed at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/
Residents can have their say by:
Completing the online survey
Commenting on the online dialogue page
Phoning on 0131 200 2305 (8.30am to 5pm Monday to Thursday, 8.30am to 3.40pm Friday)
Writing to Freepost, RSJC-SLXC-YTJY, Budget, Council Leader, City Chambers, High Street Edinburgh EH1 1YJ
Speaking to your local councillor(s)
Just a few places left at Harvest Banquet
FRIDAY 14 OCTOBER 1pm
OLD KIRK & MUIRHOUSE CHURCH
Under starter’s orders: PCHP Race Night
PCHP are having a race night on Saturday 8 October (details below) and you are invited! It would be awesome if you could make it along. It’s going to be a fantastic fun evening with all the fun of the races (cash to be won), great food (including curry), fantastic raffle prizes and a disco.
PILTON COMMUNITY HEALTH PROJECT ARE HOSTING A CHARITY RACE NIGHT WITH DISCO
Saturday 8th October @ Summerside Bowling Club, 21 Summerside Street, EH6 4NT.
7pm first race 7.30pm.
Tickets £5 includes buffet and disco after race night.
All funds raised will support the work of Pilton Community Health Project.
Interested call Vikki-Lee/Gillian on 551 1671 or pop in.
Lianne, Pilton Community Health Project
Drumbrae Leisure centre reopens after £1m redevelopment
Drumbrae Leisure Centre reopened it’s doors yesterday following a £1 million revamp
There’s something for everyone at Drumbrae now, no matter what age or stage. And just to prove that point Triple Olympian swimmer and Rio Silver medallist Robbie Renwick and 79 year old fitness instructor Helen Flannigan, helped to relaunch the Leisure Centre which officially reopens to the public on Monday.
Helen led a Pound workout, which fuses cardio interval training with drumming, and is new to Edinburgh Leisure and one of the few places you can experience the class in the city, while swimmer Robbie conducted a Masters Class for intermediate members looking to improve their front crawl.
Also on hand to ensure the day went without a hitch were General Manager, Emily Neil at Drumbrae Leisure Centre and Head of Customer Operations, Lindsay Renwick (who’s Robbie’s uncle!).
PICTURES: Phil Wilkinson
Raeburn Place beefs up fundraising team
The Raeburn Place Foundation has announced the appointment of Sally-Anne Hunter as Capital Appeal Director. She will lead the organisation’s capital appeal and manage the fundraising team with immediate effect. Continue reading Raeburn Place beefs up fundraising team
October’s garden plant of the month: Leucothoe
The fantastic foliage shrub Leucothoe is a beauty in the garden, on the patio or balcony. Beautifully coloured leaves bring life to the garden – particularly in autumn and winter – and shines both on its own and when combined with plants such as Skimmia, ling heather or checkerberry. The garden plant of the month for October certainly makes an impact with its eye-catching appearance!
Fabulous leaf colouring
Leucothoe is a compact evergreen shrub which makes an impact with the beautiful colour of its leaves. The plant blooms in May with small white flowers, but surprisingly that’s not really its best feature. In early spring the young leaves are fresh green, purple or bright red and as the growing season progresses, they change colour from bronze to dramatic red, allowing them to combine beautifully with other plants in the garden. The range of Leucothoes is wide: there are multicoloured variegated species with decorative foliage, varieties with red leaves and plants with curled-up leaves.
Caring for Leucothoe
Follow a couple of simple tips to keep your Leucothoe healthy and attractive. A position in shade or partial shade is important – this garden plant really isn’t a sun worshipper. The plant requires humus-rich, acidic, damp soil and cannot tolerate drought at all so water the plants regularly and ensure that the soil never dries out. Give extra food in spring so that the plant remains healthy and strong and use special fertiliser for heathers (Ericaceae) to keep the soil sufficiently acidic. A layer of bark around the plant also helps to maintain that acidity and prevents the plant from drying out. Leucothoe is moderately hardy but might need a little protection in the winter, particularly against raw East winds and in periods when both frosting and thawing occurs regularly.
Leucothoe pruning tips
Generally speaking, Leucothoe plants do not grow particularly large – up to a maximum of 1×1 metre – and therefore pruning is only necessary in order to refresh the plant or remove parts that have become unsightly. It’s best to prune after flowering in late spring. Pruning too early in the winter can cause the branches to suffer frost damage.
More information about Leucothoe and other garden plants can be found at Thejoyofplants.co.uk.
Have your say on childcare provision
A consultation seeking views on the future expansion of free Early Learning and Childcare will start next week. The announcement was made by Mark McDonald, Minister for Childcare and Early Years, during a parliamentary debate on the expansion of early learning and childcare.
The consultation will set out the Scottish Government’s vision for transforming early learning and childcare. This will be underpinned by four principles of quality, flexibility, accessibility and affordability.
Views are being sought on areas including future funding options and models of delivery. Providers, practitioners, delivery partners and, parents and families are being asked to take part.
Mr McDonald said: “High quality early learning and childcare plays a vital role in narrowing the attainment gap which is why this Government has gone further than any other in our commitment to expanding free entitlement.
“Increasing the number of funded hours for all three and four year olds and eligible two year olds from 600 hours to 1,140 hours is our most transformative infrastructure project. No other policy has such potential to change the lives of children and their families while improving the prospects of Scotland’s economy in the short and long term.
“The financial review of early learning and childcare provision published earlier this week provided a comprehensive picture of the current landscape in Scotland. We have made substantial progress in recent years but we must do more.
“It is vital we keep up momentum, working closely with all interested parties to ensure we continue to improve and adapt the way free childcare provision is delivered in Scotland.”
Financial review of early learning and childcare in Scotland: the current landscape is available here.
Respondents will be able to submit their views through an online survey, via email or post.
ScotlandsPeople website revamp
Trace your family tree and find those long-lost ancestors
ScotlandsPeople – the website which helps people search for their Scottish ancestors online – has been revamped and relaunched with a new look and a number of new features. It’s an invaluable online resource for genealogists – and searches are free. Continue reading ScotlandsPeople website revamp
Letter: the cold hard truth
Dear Editor
With winter approaching millions of people will be faced with the increasing cost of their fuel bills. For too many households it will be a question of heating the house properly or eating enough, both cannot be done.
Yet the industries that supply the means to do so make millions of pounds for investors in these privately owned compamies. It cannot be right that such essential services to sustain life should be run for private profit whilst every year there are thousands of cold related illnesses and deaths These services should and must be publicly owned using the profits made, for the benefit all.
This situation equally applies to the transport industry of Rail,Bus and Tram services that are needed to get to and from work. This is a big expense for most people, yet again millions are made for investors in these private companies: again this cannot be right. As people have to travel to their places of work these essential services should be publicly owned and operated for the benefit of all.
A. Delahoy (by email)