“Staff faced increasingly difficult conditions, with huge numbers of patients facing long and dangerous waits throughout the system. We know these long waits are associated with patient harm and even patient deaths, it is increasingly distressing for staff and patients.
“Exit block – where patients are unable to be admitted to a bed because other patients are unable to be discharged – was the worst it has ever been, meaning the entire Emergency Care system has been gridlocked – like a traffic jam.
Patients spending far longer in Emergency Departments than they should be, often in inappropriate or inadequate areas, on trolleys in corridors, in small, cramped spaces with a lack of privacy and lack of dignity.
“We welcome the gravity with which the First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary are taking the current crisis in Emergency Care. We have had constructive meetings with the Cabinet Secretary and do feel that there is recognition of the root of the issues and a political will to tackle it.
“We especially welcome the focus on social care and the whole system capacity. It is critical that we sort out discharges, ensuring patients who are medically fit to leave are able to return home or to the community in a timely way. We must continue to focus on this to free up beds so we can increase flow throughout hospitals and admit patients from Emergency Departments into a bed on wards.
“While these are the right initiatives, the green shoots of hope are not translating to big enough or fast enough improvements. Without significantly increasing capacity across Scotland, we will continue to borrow from tomorrow to cover today.
“This means cancelling elective surgery so we can admit Emergency Care patients to a bed, but at the cost of further delaying what may be serious surgery for patients who have already waited for a long time. We should not be in a position where decisions like these need to be made.
“It is wrong for specialties to compete for beds for their patients. What is better is to increase the number of staffed beds throughout the system, where safely possible, so we do not need to compromise on which patients are able to be treated.”
Scotland’s trust in Crimestoppers sees anonymous information play vital role in catching murderers, fugitives & drug dealers
Over the past year (1st April 2021-31st March 2022,) independent charity Crimestoppers Scotland and their youth programme Fearless received over 16,000 contacts from the Scottish public.
As a result of anonymous information from communities across Scotland, over 350 (357) people were arrested and charged, including five with murder. Contacts about drug supply, manufacture and dealing continue to rise and the charity passed on information to the police which helped recover a ‘street value’ of drugs worth over half a million.
Fearless, the youth programme of Crimestoppers, saw over 58,000 young people from all across Scotland visit the charity’s youth website Fearless.org and reported crime – 100% anonymously – more than ever before.
Information from the public has achieved the following:
16,328 pieces of anonymous information were sent to Police Scotland & Law Enforcement. Whilst the headline figure is slightly below last years (a small decrease of 1%), this followed a record high year. 2020-21 saw the most disseminations (16,515) from the charity to Police Scotland in 34 years of Crimestoppers.
Dangerous criminals and wanted offenders were thwarted. Over 350 (357) criminals were arrested and charged by police due to Crimestoppers information in Scotland. This was a fall of 35% on previous year.
Five people were arrested and charged with murder/unlawful killings
Three people, who were on the wanted list, were caught and charged
Nearly 50 (48) disqualified and uninsured drivers were arrested and charged
54 drink/drug drivers were arrested and charged
Over a dozen (13) charged with hate crime
Firearms: Two were arrested for firearms offences, with one firearm and three hauls of ammunition were recovered
‘Street’ value of drugs recovered over half a million: £541,901
Value of property and cash recovered: £192,856
Over the past year, 12,709 pieces of information were recorded as `actionable intelligence’ by law enforcement. This means that 78% of all Crimestoppers anonymous information sent to Police Scotland was high-quality information.
Thanks to police action after receiving Crimestoppers reports, nearly a thousand positive outcomes followed (935). This was a 20% increase on the previous year and included 163 vulnerable and safeguarding issues.
Angela Parker, National Manager for Crimestoppers Scotland, said: ‘We are continually grateful for people across Scotland who come forward and trust us with their information.
“From drug dealing to child harm and neglect, we heard from thousands of people concerned about crime in their communities. We are so encouraged and grateful to those who contacted our charity – thanks to you, life is better for many and communities across Scotland are safer.”
Police Scotland’s Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie said: “The annual report makes it clear that our communities remain confident in using the service provided by Crimestoppers. The information provided anonymously helps Police Scotland’s officers tackle crimes that affect our citizens.
“We also want to acknowledge the support that Fearless provides to our young people, in schools and our communities which undoubtedly helped their resilience during the past few difficult years and understand that we can also play a part in keeping everyone safe.”
“We continue to work in partnership with Crimestoppers to encourage those who may be concerned about getting in touch with us directly to call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit its website to make a report anonymously.”
Minister for Community Safety Elena Whitham said: “The clear, significant impact that the information provided to Crimestoppers has had on tackling crime shows the power we all have to help keep our communities safe.
“It is extremely encouraging to see so many young people through the Fearless campaign play their part to help tackle crime. The information they have provided along with many thousands of others who have come forward has resulted in more than 300 less criminals on our streets last year.
“I would like to thank Crimestoppers, Police Scotland and members of the public for their support and efforts. The Scottish Government is backing this with £3.4 billion for justice system in the next financial year to fund vital front-line services, provide continued support for victims and witnesses, and to tackle the causes of offending.”
Timetable for introduction of future benefits confirmed
Plans for the introduction of further Scottish Government benefits have been published as part of an updated Social Security Programme Business Case.
This confirms that Carer Support Payment will be the next payment to be introduced. Social Security Scotland will begin a pilot by the end of this year followed by national launch in spring 2024.
A consultation on this new payment ran between February and May 2022 and the response to this is due to be published in the coming weeks.
Carer Support Payment will replace the Carer’s Allowance for new applications.
The Scottish Government is continuing to work with the Department for Work and Pensions to develop processes that will ensure those already in receipt of Carer’s Allowance will have their award transferred automatically to Social Security Scotland – so that people will not need to reapply.
Carer Support Payment will be the 14th benefit to be introduced since the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 was unanimously approved by the Scottish Parliament.
Ben Macpherson, Minister for Social Security said: ““Introducing 14 new payments in just over five years is no mean feat. We have built this social security system from scratch, working with the people who will use it to make sure that we provide an improved experience and one that treats people with dignity, fairness and respect.
“Our delivery progressed despite a global pandemic. This was recognised by Audit Scotland who commended us for continuing to ‘successfully deliver new and complex social security benefits in challenging circumstances’.
“We are already providing money that is making a real difference for families on low incomes, people who need help paying for a funeral, disabled people, carers, young people entering the workplace and to help people heat their homes. The people accessing this service are happy with it too – with 89% telling us their experience has been ‘good’ or ‘very good’.
“Our success to date has not made us complacent. Establishing new payments and transferring awards in a safe and secure way continues to be our priority. We have gained a significant amount of experience and knowledge through our delivery to date. This is all reflected in the timetable we have announced.
“I look forward to these payments being up and running and seeing the reach of our new social security system going even further – investing £7.3 billion by 2027-28 supporting 2 million people each year.”
Mental health and chronic pain are having the most significant impact on economic inactivity rates in Scotland, according to a new report from the Scottish Parliament’s COVID-19 Recovery Committee.
The report considers the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Scotland’s labour market, looking specifically at long-term illness and early retirement as drivers of economic inactivity.
The Committee found that although the pandemic has not significantly impacted economic inactivity in Scotland, it has clearly highlighted the extent to which a healthy working-age population is required to sustain a healthy economy.
The Committee heard that implementing remote and/or flexible working practices may improve employees’ wellbeing, bring more people into the labour market, including disabled people and people with chronic or mental illness, and support older workers to remain in the labour market for longer.
This morning, the COVID-19 Recovery Committee published a new report into the impact of the pandemic on Scotland's labour market.
However, evidence from employers highlighted that many employers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, require additional support to implement flexible working and improve reasonable adjustment policies.
The report expresses disappointment that due to budgetary pressures, the Scottish Government’s plans for a ‘Centre for Workplace Transformation’, which would seek to embed some of the learning gained from the pandemic, was not delivered on target in 2022.
Additionally, the Committee noted that best practice from wrap-around employability services, like the Fair Start Scotland programme, which provides tailored support to get working-aged people who are disengaged from the labour market back into employment, should be shared across all of Scotland’s local authorities.
Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s COVID-19 Recovery Committee, Siobhian Brown MSP, said: “Whilst our report found the pandemic has not had a significant impact on economic inactivity levels, issues such as poor mental health and chronic illnesses, are part of the complex challenges to Scotland’s economic and social recovery from COVID-19.
“Increased partnership working between the Scottish Government and employers to support investment in employees’ wellbeing and embedding post-pandemic opportunities for flexible working is crucial to supporting more people into the labour market.
“Remote and flexible working practices could also support more disabled people and those living with chronic health or mental health conditions into the workforce, whilst also enabling older people to stay in the labour market for longer.
“It’s important that as a priority, the Scottish Government sets out what additional support it is providing for employers to develop practical resources to support the adoption of flexible working policies and share best practice, which are vital to improving Scotland’s economic activity levels.”
Musselburgh Racecourse gallops ahead with three industry awards
Musselburgh Racecourse has strengthened its position as Scotland’s leading horse racing venue with three accolades from leading industry and visitor attraction organisations.
The East Lothian course was awarded Gold Standard status by the Racehorse Owners’ Association (ROA), one of only 12 UK courses to achieve the standard and ranked third behind York and sister course Chester.
Musselburgh was assessed as having an overall quality score of 89% and received 100% ratings in four categories including for cleanliness. The ROA said the Gold Standard was awarded to courses which provide an outstanding race day experience for owners and demonstrated a “truly exemplary performance”.
Sixty courses participated in the scheme scoring an average quality score of 80%. Musselburgh achieved an 89% rating with an owner’s feedback score of 4.4 out of five against an average score of 3.7%.
The Racecourse Association’s (RCA) Quality Assured Racecourse Scheme assesses the raceday experience from the perspective of customers, with each racecourse visited by a trained assessor from VisitScotland. The assessments analyse all touchpoints of the customer experience including pre-raceday information, the on-course experience and post-raceday communications.
Musselburgh was awarded an RCA Excellence Accolade for its Staff Customer Service and also retained its five star visitor attraction status, meaning it is considered an “exceptional” venue by VisitScotland.
The RCA said 2022 had been a particularly challenging year for sport and leisure venues, and the retention of the prestigious five star rating demonstrated the ongoing investment in Scotland into the raceday experience.
Paul Swain, the RCA’s Raceday Experience & Communications Manager, said: “The scheme demonstrates the RCA and its members’ ongoing commitment to reviewing and enhancing the raceday experience.
“It has been a challenging year for racecourses with inflation, soaring energy bills and the wider cost of living crisis. This, along with the difficulties of securing staff, has meant that racecourses have had to adapt and innovate to continue to offer the experiences our racegoers are accustomed to.”
VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance Manager, Angie Fowler, said: “We congratulate the Scottish racecourses in retaining their excellent quality visitor attraction ratings, with three of them retaining our top accolade.
“A commitment to quality is clearly demonstrated across these racecourses and in particular, their dedication to providing an inclusive and accessible experience for all visitors is helping to inspire other attractions across Scotland.
“Their determination to maintain and improve standards is about much more than just a star rating, it is about providing a visitor experience consistent in standards across all areas. Quality and value-for-money are important to consumers, especially during challenging economic times, and delivering experiences that meet and exceed visitor expectations is crucial in making Scotland a must-visit, must-return destination.”
Musselburgh Racecourse general manager, Bill Farnsworth, said: “It is important and useful to be able to measure our performance and the race day experience we offer across multiple metrics and I am delighted that Musselburgh continues to be one of the best performing and value for money sports and visitor attractions in the UK.
“The bar is set high but we are always striving to find new or improved ways of making sure everyone who visits Musselburgh, be that regular racegoers and owners or casual visitor, leaves feeling they have enjoyed the day and will want to return.
“Maintaining these high standards is only possible because of the energy and commitment of our permanent and race day staff who work with key partners to ensure consistent quality across all our operations and these awards are recognition of their efforts.”
Researchers from NHS Lothian and the University of Edinburgh have conducted a clinical study to investigate the extent to which cancer and cancer treatment affects COVID-19 immunity.
Blood samples were taken regularly from over 760 consenting patients, most from Southeast Scotland, who were receiving routine treatments for cancer.
The samples were then tested for signs of an immune response to COVID-19 using an antibody test.
The study is the largest of its kind in the world with the first patients being recruited in May 2020, just months after the United Kingdom experienced its first lockdown.
Dr Peter Hall, Consultant Medical Oncologist at Edinburgh Cancer Centre, said: “Treatments such as chemotherapy can affect the immune system, so it was really important for us to understand the effects of COVID-19 on people undergoing anti-cancer treatment.
“We now have a better understanding of how the virus affects these patients in the short and long-term, and to what extent the vaccine had an impact on their antibodies.
“It’s very reassuring to see that most cancer patients can go ahead with their treatments without fear of excessive risk from COVID-19, and that vaccination offers an effective means of protection.”
The study found that COVID-19 infection rates in patients with cancer largely mirrored those of their local population and that treatment type did not impact the rate of their antibody response.
It also concluded that vaccination was effective in protecting people with cancer from COVID-19.
Dr Hall continued: “More research is needed, but this was an important step in understanding how people receiving anti-cancer treatment are impacted by the virus.
“It’s also another example of NHS Lothian and the University of Edinburgh working collaboratively to understand how best to care for some of the most vulnerable patients.”
You can read the Scottish COVID Cancer Immunity Prevalence Study in full in The Oncologist.
President Zelenskyy arrives in the UK today to meet the Prime Minister and visit Ukrainian troops.
Comes as the Prime Minister announces plans to expand training for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to sea and air, including fighter jet pilots and marines, as part of long-term investment in their military.
UK also accelerates military equipment to Ukraine in a bid to give Ukrainian forces the upper hand on the battlefield and limit Russia’s ability to target civilian infrastructure.
President Zelenskyy will visit the UK today to meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and address parliament as the UK steps up its delivery of lethal aid into the country, and prepares to train fighter jet pilots and marines.
The leaders will discuss a two-pronged approach to UK support for Ukraine, starting with an immediate surge of military equipment to the country to help counter Russia’s spring offensive, and reinforced by long-term support.
The Prime Minister will also offer the UK’s backing to President Zelenskyy’s plans to work towards a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.
As part of today’s talks, the Prime Minister will offer to bolster the UK’s training offer for Ukrainian troops, including expanding it to fighter jet pilots to ensure Ukraine can defend its skies well into the future.
The training will ensure pilots are able to fly sophisticated NATO-standard fighter jets in the future. As part of that long-term capability investment, the UK will work with Ukraine and international allies to coordinate collective support to meet Ukraine’s defensive needs.
He will also offer to begin an immediate training programme for marines.
That training will be in addition to the recruit training programme already running in the UK, which has seen 10,000 Ukrainian troops brought to battle readiness in the last six months, and which will upskill a further 20,000 Ukrainian soldiers this year. The UK will continue to work with the Ukrainian Armed Forces and international community to scale the programme up in 2023.
Just last week, Ukrainian troops arrived in the UK to learn how to command Challenger 2 tanks, following the Prime Minister’s decision to send the main battle tanks to Ukraine.
The Prime Minister will also offer to provide Ukraine with longer range capabilities. This will disrupt Russia’s ability to continually target Ukraine’s civilian and critical national infrastructure and help relieve pressure on Ukraine’s frontlines.
The President and his team will also meet defence and security chiefs, including the Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of the Air Staff, to discuss the details of the training programme.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “President Zelenskyy’s visit to the UK is a testament to his country’s courage, determination and fight, and a testament to the unbreakable friendship between our two countries.
“Since 2014, the UK has provided vital training to Ukrainian forces, allowing them to defend their country, protect their sovereignty and fight for their territory.
“I am proud that today we will expand that training from soldiers to marines and fighter jet pilots, ensuring Ukraine has a military able to defend its interests well into the future. It also underlines our commitment to not just provide military equipment for the short term, but a long-term pledge to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine for years to come.”
The UK will also announce further sanctions today in response to Russia’s continued bombardment of Ukraine, including the targeting of those who have helped Putin build his personal wealth, and companies who are profiting from the Kremlin’s war machine.
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a man was found seriously injured in the Granton Mains East area.
Around 7.35pm on Friday, 3 February, 2023, a 40-year-old man was found seriously injured and was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment.
Detective Sergeant Will Dickson, of Corstorphine CID, said: “Our enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of this incident. We believe someone assisted the injured man and we would urge that person to contact police.
“Anyone who may have witnessed what happened or has any information that may assist our investigation should contact police via 101, quoting incident number 3368 of 3 February. Alternatively, details can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
EIS to escalate strikes to include targeted action
YESTERDAY, 7 February, marked one whole year since Scottish teaching unions submitted their pay claim for 2022-23 via the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT).
A year on, that pay claim remains unsettled and teachers across the country are engaged in a programme of industrial action in pursuit of a fair pay settlement.
As a result, the EIS has announced an escalation of its action to include targeted strike action in schools within the constituencies of key decision makers within the Scottish Government and COSLA.
EIS Office Bearers and other senior EIS Representatives took part in photo calls outside the Scottish Government and COSLA HQ in Edinburgh yesterday, delivering Birthday cards to mark the 1st anniversary of the teachers’ pay claim being submitted.
Commenting, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “It is deeply regrettable that the continuing inaction, obfuscation and spin from the Scottish Government and COSLA on teachers’ pay has led to an escalation of our programme of strike action.
“It has now been a year since our pay claim was submitted, and teachers should have had their pay rise in their pay packet last April. Instead, the Scottish Government and COSLA initially offered a pathetic 2% pay settlement – at a time when inflation was nearly four times that amount.
“Since then, the Scottish Government and COSLA have dithered, delayed and dragged their feet while the cost of living has continued to soar.”
Ms Bradley added, “The latest offer, for a well-below inflation 5%, has now been kicking around for six months and has been rejected by Scotland’s teachers twice. Our members have already taken part in three days of national strike action, and a further 16-days of rolling action across the country.
“The response from the Scottish Government and COSLA has been, essentially, nil – and this now has forced an escalation in our action. The offer of a 9% real-terms pay cut, which is what is on the table, will never be acceptable.”
The escalation of action means that, in addition to 2 days of national strike action already called for 28th February and 1st March, and a 20 further days of rolling strikes across all local authority areas from 13th March until 21st April, there will be targeted action in the constituencies of the First Minister, Deputy First Minster, Cabinet Secretary for Education, and COSLA Resources Spokesperson, Councillor Katie Hagmann.
Scottish Greens Education Spokesperson Ross Greer’s East Dunbartonshire constituency area will also be targeted.
EIS members in four of these five areas will be called out on three consecutive days from Wednesday, 22nd February – Friday, 24th February inclusive.
All five areas will be targeted for a further three days of action from Tuesday, 7th March. Precise details of the schools involved in this action on the relevant dates will be published shortly.
Further periods of targeted action are likely, if no new pay offer is forthcoming.
Holyrood and Scotland’s councils on collision course
Measures to ensure that teacher and pupil support staff numbers as well as school hours are protected have been announced by Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville.
The Scottish Government has committed to increasing teacher numbers by 3,500 during this Parliament.
Since 2017/18 local authorities have received funding to protect the pupil-teacher ratio, teacher numbers and to provide places for all probationers who need one.
Additional annual funding of £145.5 million is also being provided to maintain increased teacher numbers and support staff. In the year ahead (2023/24), if this is not delivered by a local authority, the Scottish Government will withhold or recoup funding allocated for these purposes.
Regulations will also be introduced under legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2016 to enshrine a statutory minimum number of school hours.
Ms Somerville said: “The measures I have outlined today demonstrate our unyielding commitment to closing the attainment gap and making Scotland the best place in the world to grow up.
“We are committed to recruiting more teachers and support staff, and we have already provided significant additional funding to Local Authorities to help ensure this happens.
“The Scottish Government recognises the challenging budgetary decisions facing councils and that is why the Deputy First Minister has committed to delivering a new deal for local government. However, this Government has a clear commitment to improving education – and maintaining both teacher and support staff numbers and learning hours is crucial to that.
“I recognise the importance of strong partnership working between local government, central government and Education Scotland to achieve our ambitions.
“I will be writing to COSLA today, and each individual council in the coming days, to set out the details on protecting teacher and support staff numbers, and next steps on learning hours.”
COSLA HIGHLIGHTS MASSIVE CONTRADICTION IN RELATION TO EDUCATION AND COUNCIL FUNDING
COSLA yesterday (Tuesday) highlighted to the Scottish Government a massive contradiction in relation to Scottish Education and council funding.This followed an emergency meeting of Council Leaders on Friday and ahead of Ms Somerville’s Parliamentary statement.
At Friday’s meeting Council Leaders reacted with great disappointment to the Scottish Government’s cutting of Local Government’s funding on the one hand whilst at the same time legislating/intervening to prevent headlines showing the unpalatable consequences of those cuts.
Councils are unanimous that attainment is not just about teacher numbers, especially in areas where school rolls are declining, and depends also on a wide range of other council services and support staff.
Accordingly, councils must be left with the flexibility to manage their inadequate budgets to minimise the impact on attainment and the other services the public depend upon. To do more than this will require the Scottish Government to provide additional funding, not more restriction.
Council leaders were clear that Local Government wants to protect education. Councils want to continue to improve the attainment and achievement of children and young people, whilst also retaining the teachers and support staff that are required to do this. It’s the Budget which is putting these things at risk, not Local Government.
COSLA said that the reality is that Scottish Government Budgets over a decade have left us with a funding crisis in Local Government the likes of which have never been seen before.
Commenting yesterday in a joint statement, COSLA’s Presidential Team said: “The timing and approach of the Scottish Government’s latest move undermines the democratic mandate of Local Government and is a U-turn on previously agreed flexibilities for councils over their budgets.
“It is not the case that Local Government wants to cut any of our services; we have to work with the budgets we have and unless there is more funding, we are forced to make democratic decisions on priorities for the communities we serve.
“On the one hand our budgets have been cut in real terms, and on the other hand the Scottish Government is intervening with additional policies which means significant cuts will have to be made in other areas that support children, young people, families and our communities.
“We have been clear about the limited options facing Local Government because of the Scottish Government’s Budget for 2023/24, a view which is shared by the independent body Accounts Commission.
“We have also highlighted the impact of the initial proposed interventions on other Local Government services, including those which directly support the attainment, health and wellbeing of children and young people.
“These latest asks and the Government’s narrative demonstrates a Government who does not fully value and respect Local Government’s role. Asks of this nature are addressing a symptom, not the cause.”
