Scotland’s National Outdoor Training Centre launches new campaign after 35% of people said they wished their life had more adventure
With the constant responsibilities of work and life taking precedence over our days, it can be difficult to break out of daily patterns and find time for real fun.
Research by Glenmore Lodge, Scotland’s National Outdoor Training Centre, has revealed that nearly a third (31%) of people said their life was too full of routine, with 30% admitting they wish they had the confidence to try more hobbies. This rises to nearly half (47%) for those aged 25-34 as new adults struggle to find their passions.
The research shows that Brits are too often letting their precious free time go to waste. 38% of Brits admitted they don’t make the most of their free time, and this increases to 41% of 25-34 year olds, as young professionals battle with finding the perfect work-life balance.
With many having demanding jobs, it comes as no surprise that nearly a quarter (24%) said that work gets in the way of doing what they love.
To encourage people to make the most of their free time and bring more adventure into their lives, Glenmore Lodge is launching a new campaign, #GlenMOREadventure, encouraging Brits to explore new hobbies that may have previously felt out of reach by helping them learn these skills in a safe and supportive setting.
Scotland’s National Outdoor Training Centre aims to offer world class training in outdoor adventure sports and encourage more people to enjoy the outdoors in exciting new ways, and maybe even find a passion for something new.
Research found the adventure sports people would most like to learn are:
Paddle boarding (22%)
Hiking (19%)
Skiing (19%)
Rocking climbing (19%)
White water kayaking (17%)
Mountain biking (15%)
The research also found that half (50%) of Brits are doing less that 2 hours a week exercising or taking part in a physically active hobby – failing to meet the recommended minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week. 59% of people said they want to improve their fitness.
Over half of people (51%) acknowledged that they would be more likely to take up a new sport if they had access to professionals to teach them. Glenmore Lodge prides itself on offering knowledgeable, clear, and friendly instructions with experts trained to meet the needs of each individual, from novice to pro.
Long months of being stuck inside have created a knock-on effect since the Covid pandemic, as a third (37%) of people want to be outdoors more, and nearly half (39%) say that spending time outdoors is good for their mental health.
For Scots, ‘Munro-bagging’ is a popular way to get in some time outdoors, so it may come as a surprise that 69% of Brits don’t know what a Munro is! For those not in the know, a Munro is a Scottish mountain with a height over 3,000 feet (914.4 m) – of which there are 282 in Scotland.
Heather Morning, Chief Instructor, at Glenmore Lodge said: “After the Covid pandemic, it is no surprise to us that people want to make the most of their free time and find adventure.
“From mountain biking to paddle sports, we want to equip people with the skills and confidence to be able to do what they love, whether that’s trying a new hobby for the first time or looking to improve and refine skills. We are here all year round and look forward to welcoming the next generation of adventurers!”
Glenmore Lodge is situated at the heart of the Cairngorms National Park just 8 miles from Aviemore. The location provides immediate access to Britain’s most extensive and iconic high mountain range as well as the best rivers and lochs Scotland has to offer.
To bring this campaign to life, Glenmore Lodge has released a photo series with action sport photographer Bryce Powriemaking light of the lack of adventure Brits find in their everyday lives, with images showing just how far people will go to get in some added fun, looking to bring adventure to the suburban settings of their daily lives.
Museums & Galleries Edinburgh has recently completed a partnership project which aims to share Edinburgh’s unique stories of LGBTQ+ history with digital and real-life visitors.
Curators have been working with Rowan Rush-Morgan, a PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh, to make digital object records more accessible for audiences and to share key objects in a digital exhibition.
The project, hosted by Museums & Galleries Edinburgh, and funded by the Scottish Graduate School of Arts & Humanities, focuses on the Remember When? Project, which collected objects from 2004 to 2006.
The collection includes posters, magazines, t-shirts, badges, and larger items including the distinctive hand painted sign of Lavender Menace, the first LGBT bookshop in Scotland. The collections are stored at the Museum Collections Centre in Broughton.
The exhibition – Our Rainbow Past: LGBTQ+ objects from Edinburgh – launched this week on the Our Town Stories platform.
Culture and Communities Convener, Councillor Val Walker, said:“Museums & Galleries Edinburgh is proud to reflect our diverse communities in our venues, events, and exhibitions.
“Partnership projects like Rowan’s enable us to access expertise which helps us and our visitors to see our collections in a new light.
“The important contribution of the LGBTQ+ community to Edinburgh is showcased brilliantly in the new digital exhibition. We plan to keep collecting objects which tell the story of LGBTQ+ Edinburgh, and to keep sharing them with our visitors.
“We’re so excited to be able to share some of the most iconic objects from our LGBTQ+ collection online. New photography has really brought the objects to life, while Rowan’s research has added depth to the stories. Anyone with an interest in the LGBTQ+ life of Edinburgh and how far we’ve come in the journey towards equality and inclusion will love the exhibition.”
Rowan Rush-Morgan, Project Lead and PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh, said:“The Remember When? Project was groundbreaking at the time, bringing together objects, archives, and interviews to give a complete picture of LGBTQ+ life in Edinburgh.
“My placement was designed to make sure the collections database uses the correct terminology to allow researchers and the public to search for the stories from the collection important to them. We also wanted to highlight some of the star objects in an online exhibition, which was great fun to put together.”
You can visit the Our Town Stories exhibition here.
The Remember When? Project was an oral and community history project carried out between July 2004 and July 2006. The project was run jointly by the City of Edinburgh Council and the Living Memory Association and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the City of Edinburgh Council and Lesbian & Gay Switchboard.
The project documented the lives and achievements of Edinburgh’s LGBT people, past and present. It involved over 60 volunteers, culminating in the 2006 exhibition Rainbow City, shown at the City Art Centre, and a book of the same name. Part of the project involved collecting LGBT memorabilia, which was then added to the collections of Museums & Galleries Edinburgh.
Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) which is back this year and hosted by Edinburgh International Festival, opens on Friday 18 August 2023 with the world premiere of Silent Roar, the debut feature from Scottish writer and director Johnny Barrington. Silent Roar is a teenage tale of surfing, sex and hellfire set in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides.
The film is the debut feature from BAFTA nominated Scottish writer and director Johnny Barrington and produced by Scottish producer Chris Young and includes a cast of emerging talent includes Louis McCartney, and rising star Ella Lily Hyland soon to be seen Amazon Prime’s Fifteen Love. The film’s score is created by award-winning composer Hannah Peel (Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, The Midwich Cuckoos)
Silent Roarstars newcomer Louis McCartney as Dondo, a young surfer struggling to accept his father’s recent disappearance at sea. Caught up in grief, he is brought to his senses by rebellious crush Sas (Ella Lily Hyland), a high achiever who dreams of escaping the island. When an oddly-behaved new minister arrives on the island, Dondo begins to have cosmic visions…
Silent Roar is the first feature film from BAFTA-nominated writer and director Johnny Barrington, and has been produced by Scottish producer Chris Young (The Inbetweeners Movie). The film was shot in the beautiful surroundings of Uig, on the Isle of Lewis, and draws inspiration from Barrington’s teenage years on the Isle of Skye.
The cast includes Louis McCartney (Hope Street), Ella Lily Hyland (Fifteen Love), Mark Lockyer (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), Fiona Bell (The Nest, Shetland), Victoria Balnaves (Trust Me), Anders Hayward (Looted) and Chinenye Ezeudu (Sex Education).
Hosted by Edinburgh International Festival in 2023, Edinburgh International Film Festival will present a bold, hand-picked programme celebrating the work of exceptional local and global filmmakers and ensuring the flame of EIFF burns bright for future generations of passionate cinema fans.
Edinburgh International Film Festival runs from Friday 18 to Wednesday 23 August 2023.
Scotland’s notional deficit has continued to fall at a faster pace than the UK’s, driven by record energy sector revenues and strong growth in the tax take, figures for the 2022-23 financial year show.
Total revenue for Scotland increased by 20.7% (£15 billion) compared with 11.3% for the UK as a whole. This includes a £1.9 billion increase in revenue from Scottish income tax and £6.9 billion increase in North Sea revenue. These increases have partially been offset by a rise in spending on cost of living measures and interest payments on UK Government debt.
To mark publication of the 30th Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) statistics, the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy, Neil Gray, visited the University of Glasgow’s Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre to learn about the significant economic potential of quantum technology to Scotland’s economy. Recent research has suggested the sector could be worth £1 billion to Scotland by 2030.
Mr Gray said: “I am pleased that Scotland’s finances are improving at a faster rate than the UK as a whole, with revenue driven by Scotland’s progressive approach to income tax and our vibrant energy sector.
“While the record revenues from the North Sea show the extent that the UK continues to benefit from Scotland’s natural wealth, these statistics do not reflect the full benefits of the green economy, with hundreds of millions of pounds in revenue not yet captured.
“It is important to remember that GERS reflects the current constitutional position, with 41% of public expenditure and 64% of tax revenue the responsibility of the UK Government. Indeed, a full £1 billion of our deficit is the direct result of the UK Government’s mismanagement of the public finances.
“An independent Scotland would have the powers to make different choices, with different budgetary results, to best serve Scotland’s interests.
“While we are bound to the UK’s economic model and do not hold all the financial levers needed, we will continue to use all the powers we do have to grow a green wellbeing economy, while making the case that we need independence to enable Scotland to match the economic success of our European neighbours.
“I’m grateful to the University of Glasgow for showing me their world-leading quantum technology research, which could be worth £1 billion to our economy within seven years, highlighting just how bright Scotland’s future could be outside of the UK.”
Government Expenditure & Revenue Scotland figures ‘show Scotland benefits from being part of a strong United Kingdom with a sharing and pooling of resources’
The Scottish Government has published their annual Government Expenditure & Revenue Scotland report, which shows the difference between total revenue and total public sector spending in Scotland.
The figures for 2022-2023 showed that people in Scotland are continuing to benefit from levels of public spending substantially above the United Kingdom average.
And even in a year of exceptional North Sea Revenues, Scotland’s deficit is still more than £19 billion, demonstrating how the country continues to benefit from being part of a strong United Kingdom, with the vital pooling and sharing of resources that the Union brings.
Commenting on the figures, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: “The Scottish Government’s own figures show yet again how people in Scotland benefit hugely from being part of a strong United Kingdom.
“Scotland’s deficit is more than £19billion – even in a year of exceptional North Sea Revenues. Without oil and gas, that figure soars to more than £28billion.
“People in Scotland benefit to the tune of £1,521 per person thanks to higher levels of public spending.
“As we face cost of living pressures and unprecedented global challenges it is clear Scotland is better off as part of a strong United Kingdom.”
GERS 2023 – Uptick in oil revenues narrows the gap between Scottish and UK Deficit
Fraser of Allander Institute’s MAIRI SPOWAGE, JOAO SOUSA and CIARA CRUMMEY unpick the latest statistics:
The revenues raised from Scotland, from both devolved and reserved taxation;
Public expenditure for and on behalf of Scotland, again for both devolved and reserved expenditure;
The difference between these two figures, which is called in the publication the “net fiscal balance” – but as you may well hear colloquially referred to as the “deficit”.
These statistics form the backdrop to a key battleground in the constitutional debate, particularly when it is focussed on the fiscal sustainability of an independent Scotland and what different choices Scotland could make in terms of taxation and spending.
So what do the latest statistics show?
The latest figures show that the net fiscal balance for 2022-23 was -£19.1 bn, which represents -9.0% of GDP. This is a fall from the 2021-22 figure of -12.8% of GDP and is down significantly from 2020-21 which was inflated hugely by COVID-related spending.
The comparable UK figure for 2022-23 is -5.2% of GDP. The UK figure is unchanged from 2021-22. The reason for the differential trend for Scotland and the UK as a whole has been driven by North Sea revenue, which contributed £9.4 billion to Scottish revenue in 2022-23.
Chart 1: Scottish and UK net fiscal balance, 1998-99 to 2022-23
Source: Scottish Government
In this year of record North Sea revenue (at least in cash terms), the difference between the Scottish and UK deficit is driven by the expenditure side of the net fiscal balance equation.
Chart 2: Spending and revenue per head, Scotland-UK, 1998-99 to 2022-23
Source: Scottish Government
On revenues, including the North Sea, Scotland raised £696 more per head than the UK, whilst on expenditure, Scotland spent £2,217 more per head than the UK average.
So what do these statistics really tell us?
These statistics reflect the situation of Scotland as part of the current constitutional situation. That is, Scotland as a devolved government as part of the UK. The majority of spending that is carried out to deliver services for the people of Scotland are provided by devolved government (either Scottish Government or Local Government).
To a certain extent therefore, the higher per head spending levels are driven by the way that the funding for devolved services is calculated through the Barnett formula. Add on top of that the higher than population share of reserved social security expenditure, and we have identified the two main reasons for higher public expenditure in Scotland.
Let’s go over some of the main points that may come up today when folks are analysing these statistics.
Scotland isn’t unusual in the UK in running a negative net fiscal balance
This is absolutely right. ONS produce figures for all regions and nations of the UK, and these have shown consistently (in normal years, so excluding COVID times) that outside of London and surrounding areas, most parts of the UK are estimated to raise less revenue than is spent on their behalf.
In 2021, we discussed the differences between parts of the UK in an episode of BBC Radio 4’s More or Less programme.
The Scottish Government doesn’t have a deficit as it has to run a balanced budget
This statement isn’t quite true (the SG now has limited capital borrowing powers and resource borrowing powers to cover forecast error). The Scottish Government’s Budget is funded through the Barnett determined Block Grant, with some adjustments to reflect the devolution of taxes and social security responsibilities (most significantly, income tax).
The SG do not have the flexibility to borrow for discretionary resource spending.
However, to focus on this around the publication of GERS somewhat misses the point of the publication. It looks at money spent on services for the benefit of Scotland, whoever spends it, and compares that to taxes raised, whoever collects them. As touched on above, the Barnett-determined block grant funds services at a higher level per head in Scotland than in England in aggregate.
What does this tell us about independence?
Setting aside the noise that will no doubt accompany GERS today, there are essentially two key issues, that need to be considered together.
GERS takes the current constitutional settlement as given. If the very purpose of independence is to take different choices about the type of economy and society that we live in, then it is possible that these a set of accounts based upon the world today could look different, over the long term, in an independent Scotland.
That said, GERS does provide an accurate picture of where Scotland is in 2023. In doing so it sets the starting point for a discussion about the immediate choices, opportunities and challenges that need to be addressed by those advocating new fiscal arrangements. And here the challenge is stark, with a likely deficit far in excess of the UK as a whole, other comparable countries or that which is deemed to be sustainable in the long-term. It is not enough to say ‘everything will be fine’ or ‘look at this country, they can run a sensible fiscal balance so why can’t Scotland?’. Concrete proposals and ideas are needed.
And please guys… dodge the myths!
We have produced a detailed guide to GERS which goes through the background of the publication and all of the main issues around its production, including some of the odd theories that emerge around it. A few years ago, we also produced a podcast which you can enjoy at your leisure.
In summary though, to go through the main claims usually made about GERS:
GERS is an accredited National Statistics produced by statisticians in the Scottish Government (so is not produced by the UK Government) and is a serious attempt to understand the key fiscal facts under the current constitutional arrangement
Some people look to discredit the veracity of GERS because it relies – in part – on estimation. Estimation is a part of all economic statistics and is not a reason to dismiss the figures as “made up”.
Will the numbers change if you make different reasonable assumptions about the bits of GERS that are estimated? In short, not to any great extent.
If you have any more questions about how revenues and spending are compiled in GERS, the SG publish a very helpful FAQs page, including dealing with issues around company headquarters and the whisky industry.
Look out for more analysis
It’ll be interesting to see the coverage of these statistics today and the talking points that are generated given where we are in the constitutional debate.
If you have any questions about GERS for us, then why not get in touch? Submit them to fraser@strath.ac.uk and we’ll try to cover them in our weekly update later this week!
We’ll be taking a wander around Leith Links again this evening (Thursday 17th) from 6pm til 7pm. Come and join us. The weather looks to be dry and sunny. Gentle exercise, conversation, and fresh air.
Agreement will see largest Junior Doctor pay investment for 20 years
A record 12.4% pay increase for junior doctors and dentists in training for 2023–24 has been accepted British Medical Association (BMA) Scotland members.
Together with the pay raise of 4.5% awarded in 2022–23, this amounts to a total increase of 17.5% over two years.
The deal also includes a commitment to future years pay, contract and pay bargaining modernisation and it brings to an end the threat of industrial action.
Health Secretary Michael Matheson said: “I am very pleased that BMA members have overwhelmingly voted to accept this record pay deal for Junior Doctors. This is the single biggest investment in Junior Doctor pay since devolution, and maintains our commitment to make Scotland the best place in the UK for Junior Doctors to work and train.
“Due to the meaningful engagement we have had with trade unions, we have avoided any industrial action in Scotland – the only part of the UK to avoid NHS strikes.
“We will now implement this pay uplift, and will work with BMA to take forward the other aspects of the deal including contract and pay bargaining reform.”
This pay deal represents a £61.3 million investment in Junior Doctor pay – the largest in the last 20 years and the best offer in the UK – and means a doctor at the beginning of their career would receive a salary increase of £3,429 in 2023–24.
For those at the end of their training the rise would be £7,111 over the same period.
Next steps to ensure sustainable fisheries in Scotland
Proposals to introduce electronic tracking and monitoring technology for small fishing vessels will be consulted on as part of package of new fisheries measures announced this week.
The consultation proposes that vessel tracking devices will be required by Scottish commercial fishing vessels under 12 metres in length wherever they operate, and by all vessels of the that size when they operate in Scottish waters. It also asks whether Remote Electric Monitoring systems (REM) – which are more sophisticated than vessel tracking – should be required on some inshore vessels.
Rolling out such technology across Scotland’s fishing fleet would show that vessels are operating sustainably and within the law, increasing consumer confidence in Scottish seafood. They would also provide valuable data which would help fisheries to be managed more sustainably and informing marine planning, benefiting Scotland’s fishing industry and the marine environment.
Environment Minister Gillian Martin, who met with fishing industry representatives in Peterhead this week, said: “These proposals will support the sustainable management and development of our marine environment – the next step in delivering a blue economy that benefits our communities, economy and environment.
“I encourage the inshore sector and others with an interest to continue to engage with us and to take part in the consultation on vessel monitoring.
“Government, industry and communities all have a shared interest and commitment to a healthy marine environment. Open dialogue and constructive working of the sort that has helped to develop these proposals will ensure that we benefit from the expertise of the fishing industry. Cooperation and co-management will ensure that both Scotland’s fishing industry and our marine environment can thrive sustainably.”
The Scottish Government has also published the outcome of two consultations:
Remote Electric Monitoring (REM) will become mandatory on large pelagic vessels and all scallop dredge vessels in Scottish waters. Further rollout of REM will be considering alongside the Future Catching Policy development.
Future Catching Policy will take concrete action to increase the sustainability of our fishing activity, supporting fishers to avoid catching fish and other sensitive marine species which they don’t want to land, or catch in the first place
These announcements represent the next steps in Scotland’s Fisheries Management Strategy – which has been developed in partnership with the fishing industry and other stakeholders. The package of measures within the Strategy helps place Scotland in a leading international position to deliver sustainable fishing.
The inshore vessel tracking and monitoring consultation is open until 7 November 2023 and can be completed on the Scottish Government consultation hub.
