The NEN – North Edinburgh News – Page 3882 – The community media resource for north Edinburgh

Community Creche meeting planned

MESSAGE FROM MARILYN KEILLOH, STEPPING STONES NORTH EDINBURGH

As you will be aware I have been part of a small steering group that has been overseeing a community crèche pilot based at Pilton Community Health Project.

This pilot has been in two parts. Towards the end of last year, we offered free crèche spaces for one designated session per week for six weeks. Since January we have been offering a limited number of free spaces during crèche sessions at PCHP. The funding for the pilot is now coming to an end and we would like to invite interested parties to come along to a meeting on

MONDAY 4 MARCH 10.30am at Pilton Community Health Project

The purpose of this meeting is to discuss how the pilot went and any formal evaluation that might now need to be undertaken. We would also like to gauge whether there is a need in this area for a service such as this to continue and if so what the next and any future developments should be.

If you can’t come along to the meeting but would like to give some feedback or indeed find out more about the pilot please get in touch with me.

Marilyn Keilloh

Stepping Stones (North Edinburgh)

10 Wardieburn Road, Edinburgh EH5 1LY

Telephone 0131 551 1632

Email: info@steppingstonesnorthedinburgh.co.uk

Let’s do the Time Swap!

In another first for North Edinburgh, North Edinburgh Time Bank will be holding a Time Swap event at North Edinburgh Arts on Tuesday 26 February from 1 – 3pm. Time Bank Broker Julie Smith explains what it’s all about:

‘If you can spend a bit of time now and then helping someone in the community, you can earn a time credit. You can exchange that for help you need, or you can donate it to someone else who needs it.

If you’re quite handy, if you can help with housework, get shopping when someone’s not well, have a cup of tea and a chat with someone, give them a lift, teach a new skill like knitting or photography – or you want to learn how to work that new camera, or you need a hand painting, or fixing something – drop in.

Would you like to join a knitting group? Photography group? Singing? Timebank is a way of getting together and sharing interests and skills. Do you have something else you’d like to do? Tell other people and they can join in!

Times are tough and we all need somebody to lean on. Timebank is a way of meeting other people in your neighbourhood and helping each other when we need it. Phone me on 07807 002 591 if you need more info. Otherwise, see you on the 26th!’

Email: north.timebank@volunteeredinburgh.org.uk

Website: www.edinburghtimebank.org.uk

Residents more satisfied with council services

The major annual survey of Edinburgh residents has shown record levels of satisfaction with local services, continuing a steady trend over the last five years. The most improved services include recycling, street cleaning, parks, pavement maintenance and community safety. However, the results also highlight areas for further work, including refuse collection, dog fouling and public engagement.

Overall, 86% of Edinburgh residents are satisfied with the way the Council is managing neighbourhoods, a 19% rise on 2008. At a local level, improvements can be seen in all neighbourhoods, particularly the South West, Forth, Leith and Portobello and Craigmillar. While Forth and Pentlands generally fall below the city average, these have seen a significant increase in satisfaction since the previous survey.

Council Leader Cllr Andrew Burns said: “We know how much importance our residents place on us getting the basics right and I’m delighted to see these improvements, especially for the thousands of staff who work hard all year round to deliver high-quality services to the people of this city. What’s even more impressive is that this has been achieved against a backdrop of real pressure on public finances and the need to make efficiencies throughout the Council”

The survey also shows that satisfaction with how the Council manages the city overall has increased to 72% from a low of 35% in 2009. Commenting on the figure, Cllr Burns added: “This measure has varied a lot in the last five years and the most recent change is so large we should be cautious about drawing conclusions based on this year’s result alone. It may be that the progress with the tram project is a factor. Our strong leadership and commitment to listening could equally have helped. Either way, it’s something we need to understand better.

“Overall, while the results are encouraging there can be no room for complacency. We are ambitious for the city and there is much work yet to be done, so we simply need to continue delivering the pledges we made to Edinburgh residents and look for that to be reflected in future surveys.”

The public’s top five priorities for improvement included road improvements and safety, street cleaning and refuse collection, activities for children/young people, tackling dog fouling, and more shopping facilities and entertainment.

Deputy Council Leader Cllr Steve Cardownie said: “Our recent budget clearly shows we have listened to residents, with an extra £12m going into doubling the budget for fixing potholes and pavements, as well as investment in other facilities and services that the public value. The continued improvements also underline the fact that we have been responding to concerns, but we will make sure that we also tackle the areas where the survey shows we need to do more. That’s essential for the people who live and work here, but also for maintaining our reputation as a world-class capital city.”

Other findings in the Edinburgh Peoples Survey 2012 include:

•Improved performance of the whole Council compared to previous years. As well as overall management of the city, there were increases in delivering value for money and displaying sound financial management.
•Edinburgh continues to be highly regarded as a place to live with 97% expressing satisfaction, continuing a year-on-year increase since 2010. Satisfaction with neighbourhoods as place to live has also stayed very high at 94%, up by 8% since 2008.
•High levels of satisfaction with nursery, primary and secondary schools (excluding those who stated ‘don’t know’).
•Improved satisfaction with the way the Council communicates with customers and “puts customers first”.
•Satisfaction has reduced in refuse collection (to 78%) and dog fouling (to 48%).
•Road maintenance continues to have a lower satisfaction score than other services (56%), staying about the same over the five-year period.
•Reduced feeling of ability to have a say on local issues and services.

More detailed analysis will be carried out to understand the reasons underlying the changes in satisfaction, and the research will also be used by managers and staff to develop action plans for maintaining high performance and addressing areas for improvement.

One area that’s been highlighted for improvement is refuse collection and recycling. The introduction of fortnightly bin collections proved unpopular when introduced last year, and the council acknowledges there are still issues to be resolved. Local resident Frank emailed a picture of his bin (below) yesterday, saying: ‘I live in Granton Terrace and the bin men have left half the buckets in the street because they say they are overfilled. We received a phone call from them saying we can take our excess rubbish to a Recycling Centre. Do you think that would be a good idea, taking rubbish bags on the bus to Seafield?”

So the council is making progress, but there’s still room for improvement in service delivery. But then, you’re never going to be able to please all of the people all of the time, are you?

Do you think council services have improved in your neighbourhood? Let us know!

Welcome news as unemployment down in Scotland

Scotland’s jobless total fell by 13,000 to 206,000 between October and December, according to official figures published by the Office of national Statistics (ONS) today. The total number of employed in Scotland now stands at 2,461,000. ONS figures showed that the Scottish unemployment rate was 7.7%, marginally below the UK average of 7.8%. UK unemployment fell by a total of 14,000 to 2.5 million.

The number of people claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance in Scotland fell by 600 from December to 137,000 in January – down 5200 on the January 2012 figure. The ONS figures also showed that youth unemployment in Scotland fell by 28,000, or 5.9%, over the last year.

Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said: “The government continues to work hard to reduce unemployment by laying the foundations for a stronger, more balanced economy.”

Scotland’s headline employment rate (for those aged 16 to 64) rose by 0.1 percentage points over the three month period to 70.7 per cent, while the claimant count in Scotland fell by 600 over the month of January 2013 – the third consecutive monthly fall.

At Holyrood, government ministers particularly welcomed a significant fall in youth unemployment, which has fallen by has fallen by 28,000 over the last year. The youth unemployment rate fell by 5.9 percentage points – the largest annual fall since the series began in 2006, and the rate is at its lowest since November to January 2011.

Finance Secretary John Swinney said: “This is the third set of monthly unemployment figures in a row that have shown a fall. What’s more, the fall in youth unemployment is particularly encouraging. Scotland has lower youth unemployment, higher youth employment and lower youth inactivity than the UK. This month’s release sees the largest annual drop in the youth unemployment rate since the data series began in 2006.

“Unemployment fell by 14,000 across the UK as a whole with Scotland accounting for 13,000 of this net fall. But we must not be complacent – too many people are still looking for work, and the Scottish Government is taking action to address this by maintaining the most competitive business environment anywhere in the UK and investing in our infrastructure.

“The budget passed last month includes a tax relief package for business worth over £540m this year and bring forward a further £385 million package of economic stimulus. But with the full economic and fiscal powers of independence the Scottish Government could do even more to strengthen our economy and create jobs.”

Youth Employment Minister Angela Constance said: “Today’s figures are the clearest demonstration yet that the Scottish Government’s action on youth employment is helping to support more young people into jobs. It is fantastic that we have achieved an historic high in the number of school leavers going into work, education or training. A record 89.9 per cent of our young people are rightly securing opportunities after school. However – one young person not in training or employment is one too many. The biggest fall in youth unemployment since 2006 is something that the public, private and third sectors can be very pleased with, but our work must continue.”

Public warned over Gumtree scam

Police in Edinburgh are investigating a series of robberies and assaults on people selling electronics online. Two of the thefts involved computers and a third involved a mobile phone – which had been advertised on the Gumtree website – and the robberies took place after sellers agreed to meet potential buyers in McDonald’s car park on Telford Road.

The most recent incident happened on Monday (18 February) when a 24-year-old man was threatened and robbed of an Apple computer he was attempting to sell. The other two incidents happened on Sunday 20 January and Monday 21 January.

Inspector Mark Rennie, from Lothian and Borders Police, said: “While no victims were injured, all were understandably distressed as a result of their respective ordeals, and we are carrying out inquiries in order to establish whether these incidents are linked. At the same time we are warning anyone conducting any transaction over Gumtree, or any similar website, to take precautions to ensure their safety.”

Lothian and Borders Police have issued advice for anyone who sells goods online, including to meet in a well-lit public place and get full contact details for any potential buyer you agree to meet.

Anyone with any information about these crimes should contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131, or alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Maggie’s and Scotmid celebrate successful partnership

Scotmid set a target of raising £150,000 in a year for their chosen charity partner Maggies’s – but the fundraising efforts of big-hearted Scotmid staff has ensured that they are already within sight of their total – in less than half that time!

When Maggie’s Chief Executive Laura Lee heard how charity partner Scotmid have raised an incredible £144,000 in just five months for Maggie’s, she knew she wanted to celebrate the fantastic news at the first ever Maggie’s Centre – at the Western General Hospital here in Edinburgh.

After all, it was at the Western that Laura first met Maggie’s founder Maggie Keswick Jencks. Laura worked at the hospital as a clinical nurse specialist when Maggie was re-diagnosed with breast cancer. Over time Laura, originally from Peterhead, and Maggie became very close and while the idea for a different type of cancer care was Maggie’s, it was Laura who turned that dream into a reality. It seemed fitting, then, for Laura to celebrate Edinburgh-based Scotmid’s incredible fundraising efforts where the Maggie’s story all began.

Laura said: “Since we first opened the doors of Maggie’s Edinburgh, 17 years ago this November, Maggie’s has grown in ways we could never have imagined. We now have 14 Centres across the UK where we offer our unique programme of support to people with cancer, their friends and families.

“We have many more Centres in various stages of planning as well and by the end of 2014 we hope to have full coverage across Scotland. This is something we are incredibly proud of especially considering we rely solely on donations for our funding, which is why the kind of support we receive from companies such as Scotmid is absolutely vital.

“To have raised £144,000 in just five months is quite extraordinary and I applaud the efforts of everyone involved. Scotmid staff have obviously invested a great deal of hard work and creative energy into their fundraising and I would like them to extend a huge thank you to them all.”

Maggie’s and Scotmid launched their partnership on 1 September last year and fundraising to date has included a Ride Across Britain, a dinner dance in Edinburgh, bungee jump, parachute jump, race nights and Christmas raffles in store – so in just five months they have almost reached their target for the year of £150,000!

Staff do not intend to slow down their efforts with more fundraising events planned for the coming six months, however – they even have a team taking part in this year’s Maggie’s Monster Bike & Hike in May.

Malcolm Brown, Head of Corporate Communications for Scotmid Co-operative said: “The innovation and commitment that our teams have shown to raising funds for Maggie’s is truly remarkable and very commendable. We’ve had all sorts of fundraising activities, from an abseil down the Dundee University tower to staff coming to work in their pyjamas to raise money. This amazing half-way result is testament to the wonderful support that Maggie’s provides to people with cancer. We are delighted to have raised this much and we’re looking forward to raising even more in the next six months for this very worthwhile cause.”

February NEN

The February NEN will be with you shortly. If you can’t wait to see the latest print issue, click on the link below:

NEN_FINAL_18FEB13HR

Hope you enjoy the paper – let us know what you think!

Justice Secretary visits Screen Education Edinburgh

Young filmmakers at Screen Education Edinburgh in Pilton were joined by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill today. Mr MacAskill joined some of the young people in the edit suites as they edited the short films they have been making, before watching four completed films.

Fifty young filmmakers – aged between twelve and 19 – are participating in Xpress Yourself, a project run by Screen Education Edinburgh and supported by Creative Scotland’s CashBack for Creativity programme. Working with the professional support of the Screen Education Edinburgh team based in Ferry Road Avenue, the youngsters have been learning the technical aspects of filmmaking and shooting short films as part of the Xpress Yourself project.

Four groups – the Hearts Filmmaking Group, Hibs Filmmaking Group, Wellington School and The Broomhouse Centre – have been meeting weekly since last autumn to devise, plan and shoot short films. The filming has now been completed and seven films are now in editing stage.

CashBack for Creativity re-invests the monies seized from criminals back into cultural activities for young people across Scotland. The programme is supported by the Scottish Government’s CashBack for Communities Initiative.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: “Recycling cash from the proceeds of crime into arts and cultural activities gives our young people the chance to get creative and broaden their horizons. The Xpress Yourself project is an excellent opportunity for our young people to work on film and digital media projects with industry professionals and perhaps become Scotland’s next screen talent.

“The Creative Scotland project has been funded by the Scottish Government’s CashBack for Communities programme which is helping more young people than ever before. Since 2007 a massive £50 million of cash seized from criminals has directly benefited over 600,000 young people and generated over 11,000 volunteers from different backgrounds who are now putting something back into their communities across Scotland.”

Script and directing tutor Graham Fitzpatrick, producer and mentor Sarah Drummond and technical tutor Steven Abercromby-Cook worked with the young filmmakers to help them bring their ideas to the screen.
Graham, who is Screen Education Edinburgh’s Creative Manager, said: “As one of the foremost providers of film-making education for young people in Scotland, we have been delighted to educate and nurture the latest participants in our CashBack for Creativity Programme. Over the months the young people have been learning about all aspects of short film-making, from screenwriting to final edit, devising and shooting seven short films. Not only has their knowledge and skills been enhanced but their confidence and aspirations for the future have grown throughout.”

Participant Louis Clark, who is a college student, said: “The whole thing has been amazing. The course has been the best filmmaking experience I have had. The teaching is of such a high standard that I now feel confident that I can pursue this as a career and have the skills and knowledge to back it up.”

David McDonald, Youth Arts Manager at Creative Scotland said: “This project has given the young people taking part the opportunity to put their enthusiasm, fantastic imagination and willingness to learn into making these short films. They’re also picking up a wide range of practical filmmaking skills along the way, which will benefit them in the future. I can’t wait to see the finished films!”

You don’t have too long to wait, David – the films will be showcased in a premiere at the Filmhouse cinema at the end of April!

One in three local children living in poverty

Figures released by the Campaign to End Child Poverty show that 29% of children living in the Forth ward live in poverty, and campaigners believe that these already appalling figures will worsen as welfare reforms bite.

Research figures released on 15 February show that nearly all – 27 out of 32 – local authorities in Scotland have council wards where over 20% of their children live in poverty, and projections by both Government and the Institute for Fiscal Studies expect the number of children growing up in poverty to significantly worsen amidst UK benefit and welfare cuts.

The Campaign to End Child Poverty, a coalition of anti-poverty and children’s charities, has published up to date figures showing rates of child poverty across every local authority, constituency and ward.

It’s a depressingly familiar picture, and it’s absolutely no surprise to see areas like Forth (29%), Leith (28%) and Sighthill/Gorgie (35%, or more than one in three children) at the top (or bottom) of the Edinburgh league table, while at the opposite end of the scale come Inverleith (10%), Colinton/Fairmilehead (9%) and Meadows/Morningside at just 5%.

The statistics, compiled from mid-2012 data, are believed to be the most up-to-date local data on child poverty and they show that there are unacceptably high levels of child poverty in every part of Scotland. However, campaigners are stressing that action by local and national Government in Scotland can make a huge difference in minimising family hardship.

John Dickie, speaking on behalf of Scottish members of the Campaign to End Child Poverty, said: “These latest figures show low-income families both in and out of work have to some extent been protected through recession by benefits and tax credit support. But the hidden picture is far more sinister as the current ripping away of that support is forecast to drive tens of thousands of children into poverty across Scotland in the coming years”.

Recent forecasts indicate that at least 65,000 more children in Scotland will be living below the breadline by the end of the decade.

Back in 1999, politicians promised to end child poverty by 2020 – these latest figures show just how far we’ve still got to go. The government says it remains committed to eradicating child poverty by 2020, however: “Helping children overcome poverty will make a huge difference not only to their lives but to the lives of their families, communities and to society as a whole. Ending child poverty means tackling a wide range of complex issues to improve children’s chances in life and empowering families to move themselves out of poverty for good.

“There are challenges ahead, but the Coalition’s Programme for Government made clear its commitment to ending child poverty by 2020. Success depends on finding the best long-term solutions to tackling child poverty and the national strategy sets out how the Government proposes to tackle child poverty in the forthcoming years.”

The UK is one of the richest countries in the industrialised world, and yet one in three of our children is living in poverty. Whatever your political persuasion, that just can’t be right.

A sporting chance with Street League

Street League Youth and Community Coach Sam Faichney explains what the organisation’s all about:

“Street League helps 16-24 year olds get back into education employment or training, and we currenlty have street football events running across the city.

Street football is a fun based football session which is open to 16-24 year olds who are not in employment education or training (NEET), where the guys will have two hours of great football between 2pm and 4pm and this is ran from Sighthill powerleague on a Tuesday afternoon and Ainslie Park Sports Centre on a Thursday afternoon.

If you are someone who would fit in well with just getting out and taking part in some fun free football then we are here for you! Local organisations and agencies are also welcome to get in touch.”

To find out more contact Sean at sam.faichney@streetleague.co.uk or visit the Street League website at www.streetleague.co.uk