NORTH Edinburgh’s popular Community Festival is on the move – to leafy BARNTON!
The annual festival has proved a huge hit since it was established in 2022, but organisers believe the event has outgrown it’s West Pilton Park home and it’s time to move on to pastures new.
Community stalwart Willie Black explained: “North Edinburgh Community Festival has been hugely popular with the local community but realise that other communities like Barnton and Cramond are losing out.
“That’s just not fair – we want to be as inclusive as possible so the move to Barnton makes perfect sense. It’s a win-win.”
Local landowner and Barnton Community Association chairman Fitzroy Arbuckle-Brightly added: “William and I have been chums since we attended Glenalmond together and the idea to move the festival came about after a jolly lunch during our annual skiing trip to Val D’Isere this spring. The more fine wine we quaffed the more sense it all made!
“North Edinburgh Community Festival has been a victim of it’s own success and has outgrown it’s rather small venue in North Edinburgh. It deserves a far grander stage and that is why I suggested the move to my estate in Barnton.
“There will have to be a few changes, of course, including a croquet competition to replace all that noisy music and the introduction of an entrance fee in line with other major festival events, but we’ll announce all the details later. Much later. Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that.”
North Edinburgh Community Festival organisers were unavailable for comment, but it’s understood the re-homed festival will take place on 1st April next year.
Community groups in Edinburgh are being invited to apply for funding from a £50,000 pilot scheme by the City of Edinburgh Council to establish new food growing projects.
The “Grow Your Own” community grant initiative will welcome applications from projects aimed at establishing new community growing projects. Applications for funding are invited to help the creation of new growing spaces, supporting the establishment of growing groups, and promoting education around urban food production.
Grants of up to £5,000 will be awarded to constituted voluntary and community groups across the city, with projects running for up to 12 months.
The £50,000 funding has been allocated from the Flood Prevention/Biodiversity (including food growing) budget, which was approved in the Council’s budget on 22 February 2025. This fund aims to provide smaller community groups with essential support to establish community growing initiatives.
Funding can be used for a variety of purposes, including:
Purchasing seeds, plants, and tools
Equipment for community garden cooking areas
Education and training activities
Personal protective equipment
Staff time directly related to establishing the growing area
Culture and Communities Convener Val Walker said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for Edinburgh communities to get involved in urban food growing.
“The city already hosts over 45 allotment sites with over 1,700 council-managed plots, along with more than 70 community growing projects. Through Edinburgh’s Food Growing Strategy (2021- 2026) and Allotment Strategy (2017 – 2027) we aim to expand local food growing initiatives.
This year’s scheme will operate as a pilot program, and its impact will be assessed. If successful, and funding permitting, we could see this becoming an annual initiative.
To apply, groups must meet the Council’s Standard Conditions of Grants. Full details can be found on the City of Edinburgh website.
The application process will be administered through the City of Edinburgh Council’s Your Voice platform, designed to ensure a simple and efficient application experience.
The Prime Minister and Home Secretary gathered leaders from across the world in London yesterday to tackle organised immigration crime
The purpose of the Organised Immigration Crime Summit is to agree new action to tackle organised immigration crime (OIC) and boost border security.
Discussions at day 1 of the summit included:
tackling the supply chains and enablers of OIC
the role of criminal finances in facilitating OIC
the UK’s systems based approach to border security
as well as how countries can tackle organised crime groups’ operations online in relation to the advertising, promoting and facilitating of illegal immigration services.
The UK and allies including France, Iraq, Vietnam and the USA, and partners including the National Crime Agency (NCA) and representatives from social media organisations, met to agree actions to secure our collective borders, protect vulnerable people from exploitation, and tackle the global threat of organised immigration crime.
Unlike previous summits, this event engaged both European nations and key source and transit countries, as well as those that are integral to the supply of equipment, including small boats and engines, ensuring a broader, more comprehensive approach to tackling OIC.
Concrete outcomes have been agreed across Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, and North America to strengthen international partnerships to disrupt OIC networks. This also includes new joint work with France to tackle irregular migration in source and transit countries, through community outreach and bolstering false document detection capabilities to Iraqi officials.
The agreement represents a key step forward in the government’s Plan for Change to deliver on working people’s priorities to restore order to the immigration system and comes after the publication of new figures showing more than 24,000 people with no right to be here have been returned since the election – the highest rate of returns in 8 years.
A communiqué was issued that sets out how we will deepen our collaboration internationally to tackle this vile crime.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Organised immigration crime undermines our security and puts lives at risk. The criminal networks have spread across the globe and no single country can tackle this problem alone.
“Today, at the Organised Immigration Crime Summit, the UK has led the way forward by securing international commitments to disrupt and pursue this vile criminal trade in people – part of our Plan for Change to strengthen our borders and keep communities safe.”
Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt said: “I have said since I came into my post as Border Security Commander that organised immigration crime requires a coordinated international response to effectively dismantle criminal networks.
“In my role I have seen first-hand how the cruelty and greed of criminal gangs puts the lives of the most vulnerable at risk in dangerous small boat crossings all for financial gain.
“This summit marks a step change in the international community’s approach to tackling the problem, presenting a critical opportunity to strengthen global cooperation, disrupt criminal networks, and prevent further loss of life.”
Director General of the National Crime Agency (NCA) Graeme Biggar said: “Criminal gangs are using sophisticated online tactics, the abuse of legitimate goods and services, and illicit financial networks to facilitate dangerous and illegal journeys which put thousands of lives at risk each year and undermine border security.
“Today’s summit sets out international agreements to tackle an international problem. International intelligence sharing and cooperation is absolutely crucial to track criminal activity across borders allowing us to put a stop to these dangerous criminals.”
In addition, today the Home Secretary confirmed over £30 million in funding within the Border Security Command to tackle Organised Immigration Criminal Networks. This significant funding package will be spent on key security projects across Europe, the Western Balkans, Asia and Africa, designed to strengthen border security and combat international criminal smuggling gangs.
The Home Secretary also announced joint work with France to fund an additional grassroots engagement programme to educate local communities on the dangers of irregular migration and people smuggling gangs, raising awareness of the realities and difficulties with travelling to Northern France to cross the Channel to the UK.
This will target both potential irregular migrants and, for the first time, teachers, religious leaders, and family members within vulnerable communities, and builds on the Home Office digital deterrence comms campaign that is already running in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
The UK will also collaborate with France to deliver critical training to Iraqi officials and commercial transport staff, helping them detect fraudulent documents and passports used to facilitate irregular migration and OIC activities.
Health Secretary Neil Gray has set out how the Scottish Government plans to improve access to treatment, reduce waiting times and shift the balance of care from hospitals to primary care through the publication of the Operational Improvement Plan.
Through the additional £200 million investment contained in the Budget to reduce waiting times and improve flow through hospital, we will create 150,000 extra appointments and procedures using greater use of regional and national working.
By introducing a seven-day service in radiology, using mobile scanning units and additional recruitment, 95% of referrals will be seen within six weeks by March 2026, reducing backlogs in MRI, CT, ultrasound and endoscopy procedures.
To improve flow in acute hospitals and support increases in community care, we will expand Hospital at Home to at least 2,000 beds by the end of 2026, meaning the service, which provides hospital level care in the comfort of the patients home, will become the biggest hospital in Scotland.
By this summer there will be specialist staff in frailty teams in every A&E department in Scotland. Flow Navigation Centres, which direct patients to the most appropriate service for their condition, will be able to refer patients to more services, reducing the number of people who have to wait in A&E.
Investment in primary care will make it easier for people to see a doctor, dentist, optometrist or community pharmacist, and £10.5 million will be invested in general practice to take targeted action to prevent heart disease and frailty.
Digital services will be expanded to modernise services and improve efficiency, with the Digital Front Door app launching in Lanarkshire in December. This launch will be followed by a national roll-out in 2026, allowing people to securely access their hospital appointments, receive communications and find local services. Over time it will be expanded to include social care and community health services.
On a visit to Kirklands Hospital’s Flow Navigation Centre, Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “This plan details how the Scottish Government will deliver a more accessible NHS, with reductions to long-waits and the pressures we currently see. It shows how we will use the £21.7 billion health and social care investment in the 2025-26 Budget to deliver significant improvements for patients.
“We want to increase the number of appointments, speed up treatment and make it easier to see a doctor. By better using digital technology, we will embrace innovation and increase efficiencies.
“This plan is ambitious but realistic, and builds on the incredible work of our amazing health and social care staff across our health boards, to deliver real change.”
On #GoodFriday , Saturday and Easter Monday we have some FREE #Easter & Nature trails at Lauriston Castle. Pop along and pick up the trails & solve a puzzle to get some chocolate eggs.
Construction has begun on a new residential development in Newington which will provide 19 modern, fully wheelchair-accessible homes available for social rent.
Work commenced today (Monday 31 March), with the project expected to be completed by summer 2026.
Upon completion, the homes will provide much-needed wheelchair accommodation in a city centre location whilst incorporating innovative, energy efficient design features. A fabric first approach with high levels of insulation will ensure that the homes stay warm, reducing the level of heating needed and helping to prevent fuel poverty.
The development will also include renewable heating and energy generation with the use of Air Source Heat Pumps and Photovoltaic (solar) panels which will produce low-cost, sustainable energy and significantly reduce carbon emission from the development.
Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener Lezley Marion Cameron said: “Edinburgh is in urgent need of new affordable and accessible homes to address the shortage of suitable accommodation options for residents who have disabilities and residents who are wheelchair users.
“I am therefore delighted that the new Cowan’s Close development in Newington is now underway to provide 19 new, modern, fully wheelchair accessible homes for social rent.”
CCG Managing Director, David Wylie, said: “We are delighted to have commenced construction at Cowan’s Close.
“The project is another great example of how The City of Edinburgh Council and CCG are working collaboratively to address the demand for new, affordable homes in the city, and it will be a much welcome addition to the Newington community upon completion next year.”
If candidates choose to return by hand or by post please ensure sufficient time is allowed for the nomination form to be received before the deadline at 4pm on Thursday 17 April 2025.
Nominations close at 4pm onThursday 17 April 2025.
If successful, candidates will be required to sign a Declaration of Acceptance at the first community council meeting declaring that, having been elected to the office of Community Councillor they
accept the office
undertake that they will fulfil the duties of office according to the best of their judgement and ability
Community Council election timescales (for the above 8 Community Councils)
Here is a breakdown of the important dates:
nomination period runs from 27 March 2025 until 17 April 2025. This is when candidates can nominate themselves to stand for election as a community councillor for one of the 8 community councils detailed above.
Poll date (if needed) will be 15 May 2025. A poll will only be held in a community council area if there are more people nominated than places on the community council.
new community council term will start on 28 March 2025. It will last four years.
The other 39 community councils in Edinburgh received sufficient nominations to form during the previous nomination period and have had their election results published and will establish once the new terms starts on 28 March 2025.
The National Galleries of Scotland celebrates being shortlisted for the Visitor Accessibility Award 2025 at the prestigious Museum + Heritage Awards.
Home to Scotland’s world-class collection of art, the National Galleries of Scotland was shortlisted for the incredible strides made in integrating accessibility into every aspect of the visitor experience across all three of its galleries in the heart of Edinburgh.
From visually impaired, dementia friendly, British Sign Language and sensory friendly activities and resources, the National Galleries of Scotland has a mission to make art work for everyone and ensure anyone can access and discover Scotland’s incredible national collection.
The global Museum + Heritage Awards recognise the very best in the world of museums, galleries, and cultural and heritage visitor attractions.
The National Galleries of Scotland is the only Scottish organisation to be shortlisted for the Accessibility Award, with the winners to be announced at a glittering live ceremony on Thursday 15 May. 2025 marks the first year of the Accessibility Award, shining a light on exemplary initiatives which remove barriers and increase engagement for people with disabilities.
The National Galleries of Scotland’s People Team have also been shortlisted for Team of the Year, celebrating their work on the organisations people strategy. Their focus has been on inclusion, wellbeing, and the delivery of an engaging colleague experience. One result of this was the team working with many stakeholders and colleagues to deliver a new shorter working week for everyone in the organisation.
The National Galleries of Scotland was nominated for the Accessibility Award for improvements achieved during the opening of the Scottish galleries at the National, which opened in September 2023. Leaving a lasting legacy, the new spaces transformed the visitor experience and provide more visitor-centred galleries for the disabled community, as well as the launch of new online activities.
The mission was to ensure this extended across all galleries and everyone could easily discover Scotland’s national collection without barriers.
Whether exploring treasures such as Botticelli, Titian and the largest collection of Scottish art in the world at the National, discovering the very best of modern and contemporary art at Modern or coming to face to face with famous faces and pop culture icons at the Portrait.
Whilst the National Galleries of Scotland have run a dedicated accessible programme for over 20 years, the opening of the Scottish galleries was an opportunity to provide even greater flexibility and choice for how and when disabled visitors interact with the collection. With major accessibility improvements made, this transformed the experience for disabled visitors at the National.
The changes made during the opening of the Scottish galleries included an accessible path in Princes Street Gardens, new lifts, a partial Changing Places toilet, accessible entrances, inclusive signage, and self-led collection-based resources. This has since expanded across all three of the National Galleries of Scotland’s sites.
Across 2023 and 2024, the National Galleries of Scotland worked with consultants and audiences with lived experience on audio-described highlight tours across the galleries for blind and partially sighted visitors.
Which have now been accessed by over 12,000 people. Addressing a key accessibility barrier, new pre-visit online information was created including audio-described welcome and orientation tracks, BSL video-guides, and sensory-friendly films on the buildings, facilities and artworks, to make visiting the gallery easier and less stressful.
Inclusive resources were created at National Galleries Scotland: National, home to the Scottish galleries, including in-gallery object handling, sensory bags with tactile objects and trails that centre inclusion and diversity.
Accessibility boxes containing sensory maps, ear defenders, disposable earplugs, magnifying glasses were all made available at all gallery information points. Two dementia-friendly art films and the first in a deaf led film series ‘Exploring Deaf History’ were also created to allow people to discover the collection online.
Over the last year this has resulted in 4,374 people attending the regular programme (Visually Impaired Programme, dementia-friendly, BSL tours, Relaxed sessions afternoons, sensory-friendly sessions) delivered by a creative team that includes deaf and disabled people.
1,433 people also enjoyed free supported or self-led group visits. With the programme extending online, access groups including Deafblind Scotland, Deaf Action and Guide Dogs Scotland make regular use of digital and in-gallery resource.
Siobhan McConnachie, Head of Learning and Engagement, National Galleries of Scotland, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be recognised by the Museum + Heritage Awards for all of our efforts to make the galleries accessible to all.
“We believe art is for everyone and that museums and galleries are a resource which should be available for visitors to use and experience in their own way. Ensuring everyone has access to Scotland’s wonderful art collection only enhances our cultural landscape.
“Our focus has been on supporting independent visits by disabled visitors, offering greater flexibility and choice for how and when disabled visitors interact with their collection. We hope that our online and in gallery resources help everyone to feel welcome and at ease in all of our galleries.”
The development of all programmes and resources were underpinned and informed by direct relationships with disabled audiences and partnerships with expert organisations.
Working alongside Alzheimer Scotland, RNIB Scotland, Vocaleyes, Deaf Action, Door in the Wall Arts Access, PAMIS (Promoting More Inclusive Society), individual consultants, creatives and experts with lived experience.
Our Winter’s End Safe and Warm Partnership Conference 2025 in London brought together experts from organisations such as Age Scotland, Citizens Advice, Energy Systems Catapult, Fuel Bank Foundation, National Energy Action and Scope, who are all part of our Safe & Warm partnership network supporting vulnerable people in the communities we serve.
Experts from the energy, advice, government and charity sectors took part in panel sessions and open discussions to share the real world impact of financial cuts on the communities they’re helping and the daily challenges faced by individuals to keep their homes safe and warm, particularly during the colder months.
It was a crucial opportunity for delegates to reflect on the challenges experienced during the winter and share their insight, as well as collaborate on ways to work together in future to support vulnerable communities across SGN’s network areas in southern England and Scotland.
Together, we have so far supported 693,956 households and we expect this number to rise significantly over the coming months.
Held as a hybrid event, the conference had live interviews from key specialists streamed to the online audience, providing an opportunity for all partners to meet and discuss opportunities to collaborate with one another. We’ll be using discussions from the event to inform how we can evolve our partnership network and find new opportunities to plug gaps in support.
Some of the key highlights from attendees included:
Molly Shevlin from Citizens Advice Scotland said they’re seeing people with issues that are complex and multilayered, requiring dedicated support from multiple organisations.
Rachel Boland from Age UK Oxfordshire highlighted a new challenge they’ve seen this winter of pensioners experiencing longer wait times for an outcome on pension credit applications.
Lee Healey from IncomeMax said that although digital exclusion can be a barrier to some vulnerable people obtaining the support and benefits they’re entitled to, many people are keen to use digital solutions to boost their income.
Helen Stockton from National Energy Action highlighted how net zero solutions need to be designed with vulnerable people in mind, with Bridget Newbery from Centre for Sustainable Energy adding that conversations around net zero need to be with people and not to people, and need to be meaningful to people’s everyday lives in order to engage them. She also discussed the need to check people who receive new technologies know how to use them.
Stella Osan from Mencap Croydon spoke out about the rising issue of damp in vulnerable homes, with stories she’s heard of landlords painting over dangerous black mould instead of working with tenants to tackle the problem. Richard DeNiese of Mencap Worthing added that it can often lead to people with autism struggling to make the right short-term decisions of keeping windows open to help remove the mould or to keep them closed in order to keep in the heat.
Maureen McIntosh, Director of Customer Service at SGN, explained how hosting the conference is part of SGN’s work to bring partners together to support vulnerable customers to use energy safely, efficiently and affordably.
She said: “We really appreciate how many people took the time to attend and take part in our Winter’s End partners conference. It highlights the importance of working together as we face the challenges that winter brings to communities across the UK.
Number of Universal Credit (UC) claimants in categories where the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) could require them to receive support from a work coach increased from 2.6 million in October 2023 to 3 million in October 2024.
2,100 fewer work coaches employed on average by DWP than it estimated it needed in the first six months of 2024-25.
57% of jobcentres reduced their support for claimants between September 2023 and November 2024 when work coach caseloads were too high.
Proportion of UC claimants in lowest earning category who move into work each month has declined in the past two years to below pre-pandemic levels.
The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) has reduced the level of support it offers to Universal Credit (UC) claimants due to a shortage of available work coaches at jobcentres, amid government plans to get more people into work and progressing in their careers, according to a new National Audit Office (NAO) report.
DWP relies on its network of 646 jobcentres across Great Britain to help people move into work and to support those already in work to progress. In November 2024, the government set out its plans for reforming employment support, including the role of jobcentres.
DWP tailors jobcentre support for UC claimants based on their earnings and personal circumstances. The number of claimants in categories where DWP could require them to receive support from a work coach – which includes the ‘Intensive Work Search’ category for those with the lowest earnings – grew from 2.6 million in October 2023 to 3 million in October 2024.
DWP has increased the number of Intensive Work Search claimants by raising the earnings threshold.
Work coaches play a critical role working directly with claimants to identify their needs and provide support. But partly due to funding constraints, DWP has not had enough work coaches to meet the expected demand for jobcentre support, with shortfalls in five of its seven regions in 2023-24.
DWP has also faced challenges in recruiting and retaining work coaches.
To help manage the shortfall, DWP has prioritised supporting claimants in the Intensive Work Search category and postponed plans to require ‘Light Touch’ claimants to meet regularly with a work coach.
This resulted in DWP needing an estimated 900 fewer work coaches in 2024-25 than it otherwise would have done.
DWP has also set out measures that jobcentres can implement if work coaches’ caseloads are too high.
A shortage of work coaches at jobcentres has led The Department for Work & Pension to reduce the level of support it provides to Universal Credit claimants.
From September 2023 to November 2024, 57% of jobcentres used these flexibilities to reduce the support they provide for claimants.
The proportion of Intensive Work Search claimants who move into work each month has declined in the past two years to below pre-pandemic levels.
There is also substantial variation in performance across DWP’s seven jobcentre regions and 37 districts. At district level, from December 2023 to November 2024, Birmingham and Solihull had the lowest average monthly into-work rate (5.5%) and Northern Scotland had the highest (10.8%).
In November 2024, the government published a white paper that set out its plans for reforming employment support. The plans include creating a jobs and careers service, bringing together jobcentres with the National Careers Service in England.
The NAO recommends that DWP assesses the impact of the shortfall in work coaches on jobcentres’ ability to provide people with the intended level of support, and uses the findings to inform the design of its future operating model for employment support.
DWP should also set out the information it will use to monitor jobcentres’ performance so that it can identify and share good practice from those that are doing well, as well as improve how it measures and reports outcomes, with metrics covering factors such as the sustainability and quality of employment.
Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “Helping people move into and progress in work is crucial to boosting productivity and reducing economic inactivity.
“As it takes forward the government’s plans for reforming employment support, DWP should pay close attention to how it can make best use of its work coaches and ensure that people get the support they need.
“Given the key role jobcentres will play in supporting the government’s ambition to increase the employment rate, DWP should also be transparent about how effective they are and evaluate the impact of its changes on the system of employment support.”
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, said: “Jobcentres play an important role in supporting people to access and progress in work. However, a shortage of work coaches is limiting the support available to the growing number of Universal Credit claimants, with over half of jobcentres having to scale back their services.
“Future reforms to employment support will be frustrated without clear evidence on what works in supporting benefit claimants into employment. DWP must strengthen its monitoring of the performance of jobcentres, ensuring every pound spent delivers positive outcomes for individuals and the wider economy.”
