SATURDAY 23rd SEPTEMBER from 11am – 3pm
DRYLAW Community Association is delighted to announce our OPEN DAY at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre on SATURDAY 23rd September from 11am – 3pm .
This is to celebrate the re-opening of Drylaw since threats of closure. There will be loads of FREE activities for all ages and food for all.
More activities and events will be shared as the date approaches. See you here!
Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, 67b Groathill Road North, EH4 2SA
THURSDAY 1st DECEMBER from 4 – 6.30pm
Families of an estimated 145,000 children will benefit from extra support this winter to help with cost of living pressures – backed by Scottish Government investment of £18.9 million.
Bridging Payments were introduced in 2021 ahead of the extension of the Scottish Child Payment to 6-15 year olds. The final quarterly Bridging Payment, due in December, will now be doubled to £260, meaning families will receive up to £650 per eligible child this year.
All children registered to receive free school meals on the basis of family low income are eligible and will receive this payment automatically.
Total Scottish Government funding for the Bridging Payments will increase to an estimated £169 million across 2021 and 2022.
This is in addition to the Scottish Child Payment which will be extended to all eligible under-16s from 14 November and will rise to £25 per child per week on the same date – a 150% increase in the benefit within eight months.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “I am proud of the work the Scottish Government is doing to tackle child poverty. The Scottish Child Payment is paid to eligible families and is unique in the United Kingdom.
“It started for under-6s at £10 per week per eligible child. In April we doubled it to £20. Five weeks from today we will increase it again, to £25 and will also extend it to families with children up to age 16.
“That is vital financial help for well over 100,000 children, delivered in time for Christmas. That is the sign of a government with the right priorities.
“But we need to do more because we know this winter is going to be really tough. Rather than looking forward to Christmas, too many families will be dreading it because they don’t know if they can afford to heat their homes or even pay for food.
“As part of our help to the poorest families over last year and this, ahead of rolling out the Scottish Child Payment to under 16s, we have made quarterly bridging payments of £130 to children and young people in receipt of free school meals.
“I am delighted that the Scottish Government will double the December Payment from £130 to £260.
“That will help put food on the Christmas table for families of 145,000 children and young people. I don’t pretend it will make all of their worries go away – no government with our limited powers can ever do that. But I hope this investment of almost £20 million will bring a bit of Christmas cheer to those who need it most.”
Bridging Payments were introduced in 2021 ahead of the roll out of the Scottish Child Payment to under 16s. The £130 payments are paid quarterly by councils on behalf of the Scottish Government. Families received up to £520 per eligible child in 2021 and will receive up to £650 in 2022. Bridging Payments support around 145,000 school age children.
Povery campaigners have welcomed the announcement.
The Poverty Alliance tweeted: ‘We welcome @NicolaSturgeon announcement today that the @scotgov will double the final Scottish Child Payment bridging payment, up from £130 to £260.
‘This will put cash in the pockets of those who need it most. This is how we #ChallengePoverty‘
Figures obtained by the NSPCC reveal online grooming crimes recorded by Police Scotland reach almost 3,000 in five years, with offences against under 13s rising by more than 60%.
Analysis of Freedom of Information data from Police Scotland shows that in 2021/22 there were 636 offences of Communicating Indecently with a Child, compared with 429 in 2017/18 – a 48% rise. For victims under the age of 13, there was a steeper rise with 369 in 2021/22 and 226 in 2017/18.
Data* from 41 UK police forces across the UK show an 84% rise in these crimes since 2017/18, with a total of more than 27,000 offences in the past five years.
The NSPCC says the sheer scale of offending shows the vital importance of ensuring that the Online Safety Bill effectively tackles child sexual abuse and has practical suggestions for how this is best done.
This should include giving the regulator, Ofcom, the powers to proactively tackle abuse in private messaging, making platforms work together to stop grooming pathways and stopping offenders from using social networks to organise abuse.
One 15-year-old girl who was groomed on multiple sites told Childline: “I’ve been chatting with this guy online who’s like twice my age. This all started on Instagram but lately all our chats have been on WhatsApp.
“He seemed really nice to begin with, but then he started making me do these things to ‘prove my trust’ to him, like doing video chats with my chest exposed. Every time I did these things for him, he would ask for more and I felt like it was too late to back out.
“This whole thing has been slowly destroying me and I’ve been having thoughts of hurting myself.”
Sir Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive, said: “Online grooming is taking place at unprecedented levels and only concerted action will turn the tide on this tsunami of preventable abuse.
“The crucial Online Safety Bill is the opportunity to deliver the legislative change we urgently need to address head on these preventable crimes against children.
“We strongly welcome the Government’s ambition to deliver world-leading legislation. But as it seems increasingly clear that the pandemic has resulted in a long-term increase in the abuse threat, the current proposals must go further now to tackle online sexual violence and prevent avoidable abuse.”
The charity is asking the public to email their MP to support amendments to the legislation that aim to improve its response to child sexual abuse.
The NSPCC has set out a five-point action plan for the Online Safety Bill to systemically prevent avoidable child sexual abuse.
Polling shows widespread public support for the measures to be adopted so the legislation achieves its ambition of giving children receive a higher standard of protection online.
Two thirds of child abuse is currently found in private messaging so the NSPCC welcomes that it will be in scope of the Bill.
But the charity wants Ofcom to be given power to proactively require firms to use technology to detect and disrupt grooming and the sharing of child abuse images.
The NSPCC knows grooming doesn’t just happen on one site and offenders use well known grooming pathways to target children.
Companies should have a clear legal duty to address cross platform harm and legally co-operate with each other to disrupt grooming.
Offenders perfectly legally use social media to form networks, then advertise a sexual interest in children and signpost to illegal child abuse content hosted on third party sites.
The NSPCC wants the Bill amended to combat the waysoffenders facilitate abuse on social media, which it says could prevent millions of interactions with accounts that contribute to grooming.
The Government should commit to a statutory code of practice on violence against women and girls to ensure the Online Safety Bill has a systemic and enforceable focus on online sexual violence.
Children make up one in five UK internet users but are inherently vulnerable, according to the NSPCC. The charity said the Online Safety Bill can achieve its ambition to give children a higher standard of protection by creating a statutory watchdog to promote children’s interests, funded by a levy on the tech industry.
This user advocacy body would ensure child protection is front and centre of regulation, prevent harm by acting as an early warning system to flag emerging risks and call for swift action. This would be similar to the role played by Citizens Advice in the energy and postal sectors.
