Police Scotland Positive Action Team will be hosting an online information event aimed at the ethnic minorities in Scotland tonight.
This event will give attendees a fantastic opportunity to hear from serving ethnic minority police officers and their experiences.
The event will also focus on the recruitment process and the training, with a unique insight into life at the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan from the minority groups perspective.
Scottish health boards have recruited more than 1,000 additional healthcare support staff and almost 200 registered nurses from overseas to help address the unprecedented challenges facing the NHS.
The support staff recruitment drive, backed by £15 million, was launched by Health Secretary Humza Yousaf last October. The new employees will be working in a variety of roles, both in acute hospitals and in community health teams.
Under a separate £4.5 million initiative, offers of employment have been signed with 191 nurses from countries including India and the Philippines, with some already arrived and in posts in hospitals across the country, while agreements are in place with recruitment agencies for a further 203. The figure is likely to increase significantly over the coming months as boards take advantage of new infrastructure for employing qualified international staff.
All international recruitment is in line with the Scottish Code of Practice for health and social care personnel, which demonstrates Scotland’s commitment to ethical recruitment to protect the healthcare systems of developing countries.
Health and Social Care Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “The pandemic has been the biggest shock our NHS has faced in its 73 year existence. To help deal with Winter pressures and pressure brought on by the current Covid wave we are expanding and investing in our NHS workforce.
“Our hardworking and compassionate health and social care staff have been on the frontline of patient care throughout the pandemic and I am incredibly grateful to them all.
“In October, we set ambitious targets to boost the number of health care support staff and step up international nurse recruitment. I am delighted with the success of the recruitment campaigns and seeing the new staff already providing frontline patient care.
“Scotland has the best paid NHS staff in the UK and record workforce levels, with more than 155,000 whole time equivalent (WTE) staff now working in the service. We are determined to continue this progress as we recover from the pandemic.
“Our National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care commits to understanding how we can achieve a more sustainable, skilled workforce which makes careers in health and social care – at all levels – more attractive.”
Government and rail industry launches nation’s biggest ever rail sale cutting travel costs
Passengers can get their ‘next trip at a snip’ with savings of up to 50%
More than one million discounted tickets will help connect friends and families, boost UK tourism and encourage green travel across the country
Over one million rail tickets will be slashed by up to 50% as the Government and rail industry launch the first-of-its-kind Great British Rail Sale.
The public is encouraged to take advantage of this unprecedented sale, which sees for the first time multiple operators come together to offer nationwide savings.
Savings on offer for off-peak tickets include:
York to Leeds: was £5.60, NOW £2.80
London to Edinburgh: was £44, NOW £22
London to Cardiff: was £47, NOW £25
Wolverhampton to Liverpool: was £10.50, NOW £5.25
Manchester to Newcastle: was £20.60, NOW £10.30
Birmingham New Street to Bristol Temple Meads: was £25.30, NOW £12.60
Portsmouth Harbour to Penzance was £45.70, NOW £22.00
Cutting the cost of rail travel will help ease some of the pressure on family finances at a time when inflation is rising around the world. It will also encourage people to visit different places, connect with friends and loved ones, and get out and about around the country.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “For the first time ever, operators across the rail industry are coming together to help passengers facing rising costs of living by offering up to 50% off more than a million tickets on journeys across Britain.
“There’s no better time to visit friends, family or just explore our great country, so book your tickets today.”
Jacqueline Starr, CEO of the Rail Delivery Group, said:“We want everyone to be able to benefit from travelling by train because it’s more than just a journey, it’s a way to connect everyone to the people, places and things they love.
“As part of the Great British Rail Sale customers will enjoy over 1 million discounted tickets, so they can explore some of the fantastic locations that are accessible by rail”.
Tickets can be purchased online from participating retailers with the up to half-price rate applying to a huge range of off-peak tickets spreading the length and breadth of the country.
Tickets go on sale from 19th April with discounted tickets available on journeys from 25th April to 27th May.
The Government is listening to people’s concerns about rising costs, and is taking action worth more than £22 billion in 2022-23 alone – which includes support with the cost of energy bills and to help to ensure people keep more of their money. Offering half-price rail tickets is one of the ways the Government is further supporting families with the cost of living.
Reforms to the rail sector through the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail mean that network-wide sales of tickets can occur more easily in the future.
Paddy McGuinness is the most influential UK game show host, potentially earning £4,129.02 per sponsored post on Instagram
Most influential hosts came from North of England, beating London talent
Davina McCall is the only female presenter in the top ten, earning an estimated £3,086.50 per sponsored post
New analysis has revealed that Paddy McGuinness is the most influential UK game show host on Instagram.
The study conducted by SolitaireBliss analysed Instagram profiles of the presenters and marketing calculators to determine how influential the game show hosts are on social media.
Paddy McGuinness takes the top spot, potentially earning £4,129.02 per sponsored post. Born in Bolton, Manchester, Paddy is best known for hosting popular dating game show Take Me Out from 2010-2019.
Paddy became a firm favourite on our screens, which led to job offers presenting game shows such as Catchpoint, Benchmark, Take Me Out, I Can See Your Voice, Question of Sport and Amazing Greys.
He made his first television appearance in 1995 as a contestant on TV show God’s Gift, presented by #3 on the list, Davina McCall.
The TV star is making a fortune thanks to his Instagram following of 2 million, where Paddy can expect to earn an average of £4,129.02 per sponsored Instagram post. This would mean that Paddy would need to post thirty one sponsored posts to cover the cost of his new Porsche Taycan Turbo – priced at £125,000.
Paddy’s popularity with viewers led to additional TV opportunities where he now co-presents the fan favourite, Top Gear, alongside Freddie Flintoff and Chris Harris, which contributed to his increase in influence.
Keith Lemon, real name Leigh Francis, is the second most influential UK game show host, with an Instagram following of 1.8 million which comes mostly from his hit ITV game shows Celebrity Juice and Through the Keyhole.
As one of the top game show hosts in the country, Leigh can make an average of £3,688.73 per sponsored Instagram post. Born in Leeds, Keith started his television career after being discovered by #3 on the list, Davina McCall, while he was performing stand-up comedy. Now, Keith Lemon still presents on our screens today where he hosts Celebrity Juice, with season 26 now airing on ITV2.
Davina McCall, born in Wimbledon, is the third most influential UK game show host and only female presenter in the top ten.
With an Instagram following of 1.5 million, Davina can expect to make an average of £3,086.50 per sponsored post. Her television career began in 1992 presenting on MTV, which eventually led to her first game show hosting gig for God’s Gift in 1996. Since then, Davina went on to host a number of game shows such as The Million Pound Drop, The Vault, Don’t Try This at Home, Prickly Heat, Five Minutes to a Fortune, Oblivious, and One Hundred and Eighty.
Davina is also well-known for her 10 year stint presenting Big Brother, celebrity fitness DVDs and more recently for her appearance as guest judge on The Masked Singer UK, all contributing to her overall popularity and influence.
The fourth most influential UK game show host is Bradley Walsh. Bradley has a total Instagram following of 915,000 and can potentially earn an average of £2,800.63 per sponsored post. With an engagement rate of 2.92%, he has the highest level of user engagement out of the top ten.
Born and raised in Watford, London, Bradley started as a professional football player for Brentford, before ankle injuries led to the end of his early career. Following this, he worked at Pontins as a bluecoat before being recruited by ITV to present his first game show, Midas Touch in 1997.
Most known for hosting viewer’s favourite The Chase, winner of Most Popular Daytime Programme at the National Television Awards three times, and Beat the Chasers. Bradley has also hosted a number of other game shows such as Take Off with Bradley & Holly, Blankety Blank, Cash Trapped, Keep It in the Family, No. 1 Soap Fan, Odd One In and Spin Star.
At number five is Bolton-born Vernon Kay. With 715,000 Instagram followers, he can earn a potential average of £2,183.56 per sponsored post.
Presenter of the iconic game show All Star Family Fortunes, Kay has a list of presenter credits on other game shows such as Beat the Star, Game of Talents, Hit Me Baby One More Time, Million Dollar Mind Game, Boys and Girls, Beat the Star, The Whole 19 Yards and 1000 Heartbeats. Vernon is also known for his career as a radio presenter, his appearance on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! and his marriage to presenter and model Tess Daly.
Magician and former children’s TV presenter Stephen Mulhern ranks at number six. Stephen has 628,000 Instagram followers which can net him a potential £1,904.62 on average per sponsored post.
As the youngest member of the Magic Circle, Mulhern made his first TV appearance as a child on Blue Peter. Before becoming host of the long-running game show favourite Catchphrase, Mulhern had established a successful career in children’s TV. Stephen has also been the host for past game shows In for a Penny, Rolling In It, Catchphrase, Big Star’s Little Star, Reality Bites, Globo Loco, Magic Numbers and Pick Me!
Ben Shepherd is the seventh most influential host and earns an estimated £1,531.92 per sponsored post based on his half a million Instagram followers. Ben is known for presenting game show favourites Tipping Point, The Krypton Factor, Ninja Warrior UK, 1 vs 100 as well as Safebreakers and Who Dares Sings!Tipping Point is on weekdays at 4pm on ITV and is celebrating its-10 year anniversary.
The eighth most influential game show host is Jason Manford. With 359,000 Instagram followers, Jason can earn a potential £1,096.20 per sponsored post. Born in Salford, he started his career as a radio presenter in Manchester before becoming team captain on 8 Out of Ten Cats. As well as performing stand-up comedy and acting, Manford is known for presenting game shows such as Unbeatable and What Would Your Kid Do?Bigheads, The Complaints Department and First & Last.
This number is likely to increase as he is expected to return as a panel judge alongside Sheridan Smith, Beverly Knight and Adam Lambert on new ITV show Starstruck, which has just been renewed for season two after season one received hit ratings with 4.3m at its debut.
Nick Knowles, at number nine, has 320,000 Instagram followers and can earn an estimated £980.55 per sponsored post. Nick first came to attention as host of DIY SOS which he has been presenting for 23 years, and is now known mostly for hosting BBC game shows such as Break the Safe, 5-Star Family Reunion, Guesstimation, Judgemental, Perfection and Who Dares Wins.
Last year Nick, who lives in Cirencester, was replaced by comedian Rhod Gilbert on a Children In Need special of DIY SOS when he breached BBC rules when he appeared as a builder in an advert for Shreddies.
Rounding off the list at number ten is Shane Richie.
With 251,000 Instagram followers, Shane can now potentially earn £767.30 per sponsored post. Known for his portrayal of Alfie Moon in EastEnders, Shane has become known for presenting game shows such as Win Your Wish List, Run the Risk, Reflex, Lucky Numbers, Don’t Forget the Lyrics, Decimate and Win, Lose or Draw.
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson from SolitaireBliss said: “The UK has always been obsessed with game shows and as a nation it has produced some TV classics. These hosts are a familiar face that we welcome into our homes every night, so it is no surprise how influential they become. Where we once had a generation of game show stars such as Cilla Black and Bruce Forsyth, we have a new era of hosts that can reach us at any time thanks to their social media presence.”
The analysis was conducted by SolitaireBliss which aims to give users free access to all their favourite card and board games online.
Other TV presenters such as Philip Schofield, Rylan and Ant & Dec are all influential, but are more known for shows such as This Morning and Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and so were omitted from the list.
The Instagram earnings of the top ten UK game show hosts
Thinking of getting your child vaccinated over the school break? At your child’s vaccination appointment, you will have the opportunity to speak to the vaccinator and ask questions before giving final consent.
Please see an overview of the locations available to get your child vaccinated here:
– Space strategy firm gains clients in spite of the Ukrainian conflict’s impact on business –
An international space firm with a strong presence in Scotland and Ukraine is flying high after landing a host of new contract awards in the first quarter of 2022.
Some of the biggest names in the global space sector have secured the services of AstroAgency, including the European Space Agency’s network of UK Business Incubation Centres.
Space debris removal company, Astroscale, has also joined the roster alongside the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s RAL Space, which carries out scientific research, technology development and operates facilities for the UK space sector.
The latest spree of space contracts comes with a number of its team members based in Ukraine, leading the firm to release a statement at the onset of the Russian invasion from AstroAgency’s Ukrainian staff, explaining its determination to continue supporting its clients and the growth of the international commercial space sector.
Space sector entrepreneur and AstroAgency founder, Daniel Smith, said: “It’s been a rollercoaster start to the year, between the team’s efforts made to deliver on current projects despite the impact on some of our team members due to the invasion of Ukraine, together with a number of long-term target clients being secured.
“The growth of the company to reach our 40th client milestone has been a huge positive for us at a difficult time and we’re all delighted to have the chance to work with so many key space organisations from across the globe, in both the private and public sectors.
“We’re fully focused on helping them reach their potential and realise their goals.”
Additions to AstroAgency’s public sector arsenal include strategic market research projects for the UK Space Agency and the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, the latter being the development of a space strategy for the regions of Norfolk and Suffolk following on from the firm’s work on Scotland’s space strategy last year.
In the private sector, the agency has onboarded Earth Blox, a company that empowers non-experts with information from satellite observations, allowing any organisation to translate raw satellite data into actionable insights without needing to write a single line of code.
Other projects include promotional marketing for Spelfie, an app which uses satellite imagery to produce space “selfies”, and working with Glasgow-based, Trade in Space, which combines space and blockchain technology to process data and enable transactions of global agricultural assets.
Andrea Stewart, Head of Marketing and Communications at Astroscale, said: “We’ve been working on a number of voluntary initiatives together over the last 18 months and we’re delighted to have found a project to work on together as a client at the start of 2022.
“The AstroAgency team are passionate and insightful, we hope to find more opportunities to collaborate together in the future.”
The contract awards follow on from a recently secured project with the UK Space Agency to support start-up space businesses on the ‘Leo’ Accelerator programme, and AstroAgency’s partnership with the University of Edinburgh to guide students and young entrepreneurs considering launching space sector businesses or working in the industry.
The Edinburgh headquartered company has also spearheaded the development of a roadmap for a more sustainable space ecosystem for the Scottish Government, alongside partners Optimat and Space Scotland’s Environmental Task Force.
AstroAgency Chief Operating Officer Daria Filichkina, said: “We’ve only just passed two years as a company and its exciting to see us add strategic space projects for governments to the growing list of private space companies that we work with around the world.
“We’re in a fortunate position, writing strategies and helping to build awareness in how access to space can be leveraged to support the economy, society, the fight against climate change or space debris. Ultimately, we hope that by sharing success stories we will help draw more businesses into this fast growing industry.”
In addition, AstroAgency is playing a key role in supporting international space delegation visits to the UK, including a partnership with the Swiss Business Hub (Switzerland Global Enterprise), part of the Embassy of Switzerland in London, to organise a space networking event with the University of Edinburgh. The project mirrors their work last year to deliver a Scottish Space Day in Dubai alongside Scottish Development International.
AstroAgency offers businesses and organisations a unique combination of strategic marketing support, brand building techniques, space media coverage, detailed technical knowledge and all-important market intelligence.
The company, which works across the space value chain from satellite manufacture and launch to downstream data analysis, has a presence in London, Milan, Amsterdam and Toulouse. The firm’s 25-strong team are all remote based, although the company plans to open its first office outside of Europe by the end of 2022.
In 2021, international governments invested an estimated $92 billion in the space sector according to Euroconsult, another of AstroAgency’s flagship clients, up by 8% from $84.5 billion the previous year, while the EU collectively invested $2.6 billion in the same period.
DanielSmith added: “The interest and investment into enabling access to space will continue to soar and both businesses and entrepreneurs entering the sector now, whether technical or non-technical members of the space supply chain, will be in an excellent position to benefit from the huge opportunities which lie ahead.”
