Tag: Children and Families

National Lottery funding helps empower local communities across Edinburgh

FRESH START AMONG THE BIG WINNERS

Charities and community groups across Edinburgh are today sharing in the latest round of funding from The National Lottery Community Fund. 

Thanks to National Lottery players, they are amongst 453 projects sharing in  £11, 824,401 for a range of activities, helping to empower and connect people in communities across Scotland. 

West Pilton’s FRESH START is among the big winners, receiving £180,000. The local charity will use the funding to continue to support people moving on from
homelessness across Northwest Edinburgh.

Across the three years of the project, the group will support approximately 5,800 people with 450 volunteers. Volunteers will be individuals with lived experience of homelessness.

Fresh Start said: “We are delighted to announce that we have been successful in our fundraising application to the National Lottery Community Fund.

“This award will allow us to continue to run our services, helping people with lived experience of homelessness, providing support through starter packs, the community pantry, community meals, empowering people with new skills, growing produce, cooking skills and having access to specialised advice.”

The National Lottery Community Fund, Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “National Lottery funding can make amazing things happen in local communities across the country.

“This project delivered by Fresh Start (Scotland), is a great example of community activity in action, showing just what can be achieved when people come together for a common cause or to help others.

“National Lottery players can be proud to know that the money they raise is helping to support this vital work which is making a real difference to so many.”

Edinburgh College received over £136,000 to continue delivery of their counselling service for students. The counselling is delivered by trained staff, either in
person or online, and is flexible to suit the schedule and needs of the individual in
need of support.

There was over £82,000 for Edinburgh Women’s Aid, who will use their funding to build an integrated mental health programme for women and children who have experienced domestic abuse.

As well as supporting hands on mental health delivery, this project will look to improve internal evaluation processes and engage with other services across Edinburgh to make their services more effective. The project will work with 555 people over the three year delivery period.

Dads Rock received £67,391. The project will continue to match trained peer support volunteers with new dads during the perinatal period who are experiencing anxiety, depression, difficulties in bonding with their new baby.

Passion4Fusion offer a range of programmes for the diverse needs of minority ethnic families in Edinburgh and the Lothians. Thanks to an award of £41,500 they will be able to offer a range of support services for black, African people dealing with long term conditions.

One service user Nala* (*not her real name) a 57-year-old African woman with a range of long-term health conditions who moved to Edinburgh to seek asylum.

Nala was missing important appointments as she struggled to read and interpret her medical letters in English. A worker from the project supported her to understand the health systems in Scotland, linked her with African groups and supported her at hospital appointments.

Nala said: “I am very happy I found people like me who can understand my situation. I was feeling very lonely and isolated but now I have my new African family I belong to.

“I am now able to do things that I haven’t been able to do in a while for instance, I really love going to the gym and I wouldn’t have done it without the support.”

Commenting on the project Huruma Health worker Lucrecia said “There is nothing more rewarding than helping others.

“As you can imagine, being alone in this country can be challenging and most of our service users have no immediate family members. The Huruma project creates culturally appropriate family support and a sense of belonging.”

Jonathan Ssentamu, Founder and CEO, Passion4Fusion, said “The Huruma Project continues to address the disproportionate impact of health inequalities affecting Africans in our community who are finding it difficult to access mainstream services.

“ This contribution is enabling us to support our service users, we’re so grateful for the continued support for our work.”

An award of £30,000 means that the Scottish Book Trust will run their ‘Reading is Caring’ programme for the next three years. 

The programme uses shared reading to support people living with dementia and anyone who cares for them and is designed to ease daily challenges of dementia by creating special moments of connection, sparking positive memories and relieving stress.

Martha and her husband Sandy took part in the project while caring for Martha’s mother Susan, who was living with dementia at the time.

Martha said: “Thank you again for your wonderful course – it added new skills and confidence to the way I read with Mum for her last few months and that was something very special.”

Commenting on the latest funding, Koren Calder, Project Manager, Scottish Book Trust, said: “This funding from The National Lottery Community Fund will allow us to reach more people living with dementia and the people who care for them, by creating new, flexible ways to access the benefits of the Reading is Caring programme.”

A neurodiversity charity is to launch a three-year specialist service for children and young people in Lanarkshire living with the challenges of neurodiversity thanks to Lottery funding.

Edinburgh-based Salvesen Mindroom Centre has been awarded £109,343 from The National Lottery Community Fund, made possible by National Lottery players, to deliver a dedicated one-to-one support service for children and young people who have neurodevelopmental conditions and neurodiverse families in North and South Lanarkshire.

The initiative will be led by two highly-skilled outreach specialists within the communities and address issues including problems surrounding the assessment and diagnosis of neurodevelopment conditions; securing appropriate help at school or in further and higher education; and dealing with complex correspondence and multiple agencies.

Support will be tailored to individuals and families and is aimed at achieving positive changes on a practical level and, through advocacy, ensuring the voices of children and young people are heard.

Between 15 and 20% of the population are estimated to be neurodivergent and Mindroom has witnessed a 137% rise in people using their services in Lanarkshire since 2018.

Chief Executive Officer Alan Thornburrow says: “We have seen at first hand the difference that receiving appropriate resources can make to neurodivergent children, young people and neurodiverse families in crisis.

“Over a number of years, we have steadily increased our caseload in Lanarkshire in response to a growing demand for our services and we’ve had some amazing feedback from clients whose lives have improved.

“This award from the National Lottery will help us ensure that many more people are helped and their lives transformed. We put the needs of the client at the very heart of our rights-based approach and aim to empower individuals, families and carers to become more confident and active participants in whatever they choose to do.

“We already have valuable, established relationships with a range of agencies and organisations in Lanarkshire including the NHS, Love Autism, schools and social work departments. This longer-term funding will enable us to build on these vital connections and increase our provision so that more neurodivergent children and young people and neurodiverse families can receive personalised help and benefit from opportunities for enhanced support.”

The National Lottery Community Fund, Scotland Chair, Kate Still: said: “National Lottery funding can make amazing things happen in local communities across the country.

“This project delivered by The Salvesen Mindroom Centre (SMC), is a great example of community activity in action, showing just what can be achieved when people come together for a common cause or to help others.

“National Lottery players can be proud to know that the money they raise is helping to support this vital work which is making a real difference to so many.”

The Lanarkshire initiative, funded under the National Lottery’s Improving Lives scheme, will run from September 1 this year to the end of August 2026.

For more information on the Salveson Mindroom Centre go to:  

https://www.mindroom.org/

Commenting on the latest grant round of funding The National Lottery Community Fund, Scotland Chair, Kate Still: said: “National Lottery funding continues to make extraordinary things happen in communities across Scotland.  

“I am delighted that this funding will be used to support projects across Edinburgh which have been developed by and for local people which will allow communities to come together to make life better for everyone.

National Lottery player players can be proud to know that that money they raise is helping to support this vital work in Edinburgh.”

The National Lottery Community Fund distributes funding on behalf of National Lottery players who raise more than £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK.    

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk     

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Online Safety Bill ready to become law

  • The Online Safety Bill has been signed off by the Houses of Parliament and will become law soon
  • the bill will make the UK the safest place in the world to be online by placing new duties on social media companies – honouring our manifesto commitment
  • the bolstered bill has been strengthened through debate, with firmer protections for children, more control for adults and clarity for social platforms

The Online Safety Bill has passed its final Parliamentary debate and is now ready to become law.

This major milestone means the government is within touching distance of delivering the most powerful child protection laws in a generation, while ensuring adults are better empowered to take control of their online lives, while protecting our mental health.

The bill takes a zero-tolerance approach to protecting children and makes sure social media platforms are held responsible for the content they host. If they do not act rapidly to prevent and remove illegal content and stop children seeing material that is harmful to them, such as bullying, they will face significant fines that could reach billions of pounds. In some cases, their bosses may even face prison.

The bill has undergone considerable parliamentary scrutiny in both the Houses and has come out with stronger protections for all.

Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said: “The Online Safety Bill is a game-changing piece of legislation. Today, this government is taking an enormous step forward in our mission to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online.

“I am immensely proud of what we have achieved with this bill. Our common-sense approach will deliver a better future for British people, by making sure that what is illegal offline is illegal online. It puts protecting children first, enabling us to catch keyboard criminals and crack down on the heinous crimes they seek to commit.

“I am deeply thankful to the tireless campaigning and efforts of parliamentarians, survivors of abuse and charities who have all worked relentlessly to get this bill to the finish line.”

Without this groundbreaking legislation, the safety of children across the country would be at stake and the internet would remain a wild west of content, putting children’s lives and mental health at risk. The bill has a zero-tolerance approach to protecting children, meaning social media platforms will be legally responsible for the content they host and keeping children and young people safe online.

Social media platforms will be expected to:

  • remove illegal content quickly or prevent it from appearing in the first place, including content promoting self-harm
  • prevent children from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content
  • enforce age limits and age-checking measures
  • ensure the risks and dangers posed to children on the largest social media platforms are more transparent, including by publishing risk assessments
  • provide parents and children with clear and accessible ways to report problems online when they do arise

In addition to its firm protections for children, the bill empowers adults to take control of what they see online. It provides three layers of protection for internet users which will:

  1. Make sure illegal content will have to be removed
  2. Place a legal responsibility on social media platforms to enforce the promises they make to users when they sign up, through terms and conditions
  3. Offer users the option to filter out harmful content, such as bullying, that they do not want to see online

If social media platforms do not comply with these rules, Ofcom could fine them up to £18 million or 10% of their global annual revenue, whichever is biggest – meaning fines handed down to the biggest platforms could reach billions of pounds.

Also added to the bill are new laws to decisively tackle online fraud and violence against women and girls. Through this legislation, it will be easier to convict someone who shares intimate images without consent and new laws will further criminalise the non-consensual sharing of intimate deepfakes.

The change in laws will make it easier to charge abusers who share intimate images and put more offenders behind bars and better protect the public. Those found guilty of this base offence have a maximum penalty of 6 months in custody.

Former Love Island star and campaigner Georgia Harrison said: “Violence against women and girls is so common, with one in three women in the UK having experienced online abuse or harassment.

“The Online Safety bill is going to help bring this to an end, by holding social media companies accountable to protect women and girls from online abuse.”

Under the bill, the biggest social media platforms will have to stop users being exposed to dangerous fraudulent adverts by blocking and removing scams, or face Ofcom’s huge new fines.

The government has recently strengthened the bill even further, by amending the law to force social media firms to prevent activity that facilitates animal cruelty and torture (such as paying or instructing torture). Even if this activity takes place outside the UK but is seen by users here, companies will be forced to take it down.

Anticipating the bill coming into force, the biggest social media companies have already started to take action. Snapchat has started removing the accounts of underage users and TikTok has implemented stronger age verification.

Ofcom Chief Executive, Dame Melanie Dawes said: “Today is a major milestone in the mission to create a safer life online for children and adults in the UK. Everyone at Ofcom feels privileged to be entrusted with this important role, and we’re ready to start implementing these new laws.

“Very soon after the bill receives Royal Assent, we’ll consult on the first set of standards that we’ll expect tech firms to meet in tackling illegal online harms, including child sexual exploitation, fraud and terrorism.”

While the bill has been in progress, the government has been working closely with Ofcom to ensure changes will be implemented as quickly as possible when it becomes law.

The regulator will immediately begin work on tackling illegal content and protecting children’s safety, with its consultation process launching in the weeks after Royal Assent. It will then take a phased approach to bringing the Online Safety Bill’s into force.

Passing of the Online Safety Bill ‘a momentous day for children’ says NSPCC chief

  • The Online Safety Bill will finally require tech companies to make their sites safe by design for children
  • New laws come after years of campaigning and robust political scrutiny in Parliament
  • NSPCC CEO Sir Peter Wanless thanks survivors and bereaved parents and urges tech companies to seize the opportunity offered by regulation
  • Survivors of online child abuse tell how the Online Safety Bill will address further preventable harm to countless other children
  • Charity releases video with young people welcoming the Online Safety Bill

The NSPCC has welcomed the passing of the Online Safety Bill, a ground-breaking piece of legislation they say will radically change the landscape for children online.

After years of campaigning, tech companies will now have a legal duty to protect children from sexual abuse and harmful material on social media sites, gaming apps and messaging services.

The UK Government first promised regulation to help protect children online at the NSPCC’s annual conference in 2018, following the launch of the charity’s Wild West Web campaign. 

The charity has helped strengthen the legislation during its long journey through UK Parliament, ensuring that it results in regulation that comprehensively protects children online.

The charity says the legislation will mark a new era for children’s safety at a time when online child abuse offences are at a record high and children continue to be bombarded with harmful suicide and self-harm content on social media.

In August this year, NSPCC Scotland revealed that more than 3,500 online grooming crimes* had been recorded by Police Scotland over the past six years while the legislation was being discussed. Last year (2022/23), 593 Communicating Indecently with a Child offences were recorded in Scotland, with more than half of the offences against children under the age of 13.  

The Online Safety Bill was published in May 2021 and has been subject to robust scrutiny and debate by MPs, Lords and civil society.

Its importance was starkly highlighted by the inquest into the death of 14-year-old Molly Russell in September last year, which ruled that the self-harm and suicide content that Molly had been recommended on social media had contributed to her death.

Ruth Moss, whose 13-year-old daughter Sophie died by suicide after viewing harmful content online, joined forces with Molly’s father Ian Russell and other parents whose children died following exposure to harmful content online, to form the Bereaved Parents for Online Safety group to strengthen the protections in the Bill.

The Edinburgh nurse has been campaigning with the NSPCC for several years for robust new legislation that would force tech bosses to make their sites safe for children.

Ruth said: “I’m pleased that the Bill has passed. I have always argued that self-regulation by tech companies hasn’t worked. Numerous families, including mine have highlighted these failings over many years. So, I welcome the bill wholeheartedly. It is a big step in offering protection to children online.

“For at least two years, we struggled to keep my daughter Sophie safe online. In spite of removing devices, restricting internet use, implementing parental controls and having conversations about internet safety, these were not enough to prevent her from being exposed to websites that promoted self-harm, suicide and contained dark, graphic, harmful material. Complaining to internet and social media companies was either impossible or futile.

“The impact of Sophie viewing this harmful material was a deterioration in her existing mental health struggles, with devastating consequences. Sophie was 13 years old when she died by suicide. We will never truly recover from her death, and it is rightly every parents worse nightmare.

“This Online Safety Bill may not solve all the issues that children have online. But it is essential to start regulating online platforms. They have a duty of care to keep their users safe to the best of their ability.

“Of course, I do have some reservations about the Online Safety Bill. It is a new piece of legislation that has not had the chance to be tested – so there will be some unknowns. And no piece of legislation will be perfect. We will only really know if the legislation goes far enough over time. 

“The Bill will need to stay relevant. If we look at other initial law, it develops over time with the changing environments in which we live. Technology changes and with it, the legislation around it will need to keep up. But this is a good first step. It sends a message to tech companies that safety should not be compromised for the sake of profit and that tech companies cannot deny responsibility for keeping their service users safe on their websites.

“In my opinion, the enforcement of the Bill is key. This will be challenging. It will require Ofcom going up against some of the most powerful and influential organisations in the world. Ofcom will have a difficult job. Currently, I have confidence that they will do what is necessary to uphold the legislation where needed, however time will tell.

“As with any piece of complex legislation, there were amendments that did not get passed around legal but harmful content for adults, the appointment of a children’s advocate and other areas that I would like to have seen included in the bill. But again, no Bill is perfect, and I am pleased to see it passed.”

The Online Safety Bill has been shaped in large part by survivors of abuse, bereaved parents and young people themselves who have campaigned tirelessly to ensure the legislation leads to real-world change for children.

Aoife (19) from East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, was 15 when she was exploited by a man online who pretended to be a teenager. She said: “He convinced me to send him photos and then blackmailed me with them.

“It was terrifying but luckily I knew to report to Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) and he was eventually convicted.

“I know this kind of thing happens all the time – we need the new law to stop it from hurting more lives.”

Sir Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive, said: “We are absolutely delighted to see the Online Safety Bill being passed through Parliament. It is a momentous day for children and will finally result in the ground-breaking protections they should expect online.

“At the NSPCC we hear from children about the completely unacceptable levels of abuse and harm they face online every day. That’s why we have campaigned strongly for change alongside brave survivors, families, young people and parliamentarians to ensure the legislation results in a much safer online world for children.

“Children can benefit greatly from life online. Tech companies can now seize the opportunity to embrace safety by design. The NSPCC is ready to help them listen to and understand the online experiences of their young users to help ensure every child feels safe and empowered online.”

The NSPCC’s commitment to protect children online does not end with the passing of the Bill and the charity will continue to advocate to ensure it results in truly safe online spaces for children.

Online Safety Bill Timeline:

  • 2014 NSPCC launches a campaign calling for a new offence to make online grooming a crime, by making it illegal for an adult to send a child a sexual message.  50,000 people signed our petition
  • 2015 The Government included the offence in the Sexual Offences Act 2015, but it took two more years of sustained campaigning before they finally brought the offence into force so police could take action and arrest offenders
  • April 2017 Sexual Communication with a Child became an offence
  • April 2017 The NSPCC first called on Government to bring in statutory regulation of social networks
  • Dec 2017 NSPCC call for tech companies to have a legal duty of care to keep children safe
  • April 2018 Launch of NSPCC’s Wild West Web campaign 
  • June 2018 Following an NSPCC campaign, then Culture Secretary Matt Hancock commits to legislate to protect children  
  • Feb 2019 Taming the Wild West Web was published outlining a plan for regulation 
  • April 2019 Government publishes the Online Harms White Paper 
  • January 2020 Online Harms paving bill, prepared by the Carnegie Trust and introduced by Lord McNally, was selected for its first reading in the Lords 
  • February 2020 Government publish initial consultation to the Online Harms White Paper, announcing Ofcom as the likely watchdog 
  • September 2020 NSPCC sets out six tests for the Online Harms Bill in its Regulatory Framework 
  • December 2020 Government published its Online Harms White Paper consultation response  
  • March 2021 NSPCC analysis of the consultation response found significant improvement is needed in a third of areas of proposed legislation if the Online Safety Bill is to extensively protect children from avoidable harm and abuse 
  • May 2021 Government publishes draft Online Safety Bill  
  • September 2021 Parliamentary scrutiny begins, and the NSPCC publish Duty to Protect – An assessment of the draft Online Safety Bill against the NSPCC’s six tests for protecting children 
  • October 2021 Facebook whistleblowerFrances Haugen gives evidence to the Joint Committee on the Draft Online Safety Bill 
  • December 2021 The joint committee on the Draft Online Safety Bill call for a number of changes to the legislation to better prevent child abuse 
  • January 2022 DCMS Committee back NSPCC’s call for the Online Safety Bill to put a legal duty on tech firms to disrupt the way offenders game social media design features to organise around material that facilitates abuse  
  • January 2022 The Petitions Committee also called for the Online Safety Bill to be strengthened 
  • March 2022 NSPCC urge Government to listen to the overwhelming consensus of Parliamentarians, civil society and the UK public to close significant gaps in the way Online Safety Bill responds to grooming 
  • March 2022 The Government publishes the Online Safety Bill 
  • April 2022 Online Safety Bill has its Second Reading and NSPCC publish its Time to Act report which sets out where the Bill can be improved to become a world-leading response to the online child abuse threat 
  • May 2022 Online Safety Bill Committee Stage begins 
  • July 2022 Online Safety Bill Report Stage debates  
  • Summer 2022 Online Safety Bill delayed by two changes to Prime Minister
  • September 2022 Inquest into the death of 14-year-old Molly Russell finds social media contributed to her death
  • December 2022 Online Safety Bill returns to Parliament
  • December 2022 Bereaved Families for Online Safety formed to campaign for strong protections for children and families through the Online Safety Bill
  • January 2023 Conservative MP rebellion backs NSPCC amendment that forces Government to commit to holding senior tech managers liable for harm to children
  • January 2023 Online Safety Bill begins its journey through the House of Lords
  • Spring 2023 Government amendments strengthen protections for children following campaigning by civil society, including NSPCC and Bereaved Families for Online Safety
  • September 2023 Online Safety Bill due its Third Reading in the House of Lords and to return to Parliament for final passage

New mental health service for families to open in East Lothian

A new pilot service which aims to tackle the mental health crisis facing children and young people in Scotland is to be launched from September in East Lothian.

Developed by Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC), ‘The Haven’ wellbeing and resilience service will open tomorrow (Monday 18 September) at The Fraser Centre in Tranent and is open to families living within the catchment area of Ross High School.

It aims to support families with children struggling with their mental health and prevent problems escalating to the point where professional intervention is needed.

The Haven will be open to any child or young person with a mental health concern, and any member of their family, including parents, carers, siblings and grandparents. It will offer support in a relaxed and informal setting and provide interventions including family support groups, signposting, fun activities and a drop-in service for those who may just need a cup of tea and a listening ear.

Every family will have their own ‘Pal’; a trained team member who can support them along their child’s mental health journey. At its best, The Haven may negate a family’s need for future access to medical support, alleviating the pressures on Scotland’s CAMHS.

Sara Fairgrieve from East Lothian is the parent of a child who is currently receiving mental health support. She is backing ECHC’s new service and will attend The Haven with her child once it is open.

Sara said: “This new service is definitely needed and will be very welcome in the community. For any parent who has children struggling with their mental health, just having somewhere to go where you can relax, escape for a little while and meet like-minded parents with similar issues who understand will be so beneficial.

“We’re lucky in that we’re managing for now, but I know there are parents out there who are despairing, stuck on a waiting list and feel they have nowhere to turn to get the help they need now.

“Being able to speak to non-judgmental professionals who can provide the right support and guidance – as families will be able to do at The Haven – will really help to take the stress and strain off parents, and the kids themselves.”

The Haven will be piloted in Tranent for two years to ascertain the scale of demand. It is modelled on the charity’s existing Hospital Hub, which delivers very similar interventions to children and families visiting Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP).

The service is a response to ECHC’s research which found that over half (59%) of Scottish families have a child who has experienced a mental health concern. Once proven, it will be scaled and delivered in community settings and available to all children struggling with their mental health, and their families, across Scotland.

Roslyn Neely, CEO of ECHC, said: “When it comes to tackling the mental health crisis facing children and young people in Scotland, there is no time to wait.

“In developing this service, we spoke to many families who feel they just don’t know where to get the support and advice that they so desperately need. We asked them what was missing, and overwhelmingly we found families just needed somewhere to go for a bit of help while they’re waiting, or if they know professional help isn’t an option for them.

“The development of The Haven has been led completely by children, young people and families.  What they asked for was a wellbeing service like that already provided at the children’s hospital. Somewhere the whole family can go and do everything from take part in fun activities, to having a complementary therapy or just a hot cup of tea and the chance to offload.

“Together we have an opportunity to help our children with earlier support for good mental health to improve their wellbeing and avert a potential mental health crisis. We hope The Haven will be part of the solution.”

Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian added: “I’m delighted to see Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity launch their new mental health pilot in Tranent. 

“I’ve met the team on a number of occasions – this is a groundbreaking initiative and I look forward to working with them closely in the months ahead.” 

If you live within the catchment area of Ross High School and/or are registered with Tranent Medical Practice and need support, please get in touch at thehaven@echcharity.org or call 0131 202 9212.

Collective: Gala Schedule Announced!

COLLECTIVE on CALTON HILL REVEAL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION PROGRAMME

We are so excited to welcome you to our Collective Gala this Sunday 17 September, celebrating five years since opening the newly restored City Observatory as a centre for contemporary art.

Please see the full schedule for the day (above) to help you plan your visit. 

We have a special programme of activities running throughout the day, with free drop-in creative play sessions by Frieda Ford, makers’ stalls, introductions to our exhibitions, bookable tours of the site including Cooke telescope and Observatory House, and culminating in a newly commissioned performance by Zoë Gibson. 

Please note, Lisa Williams’ Black History walking tour has been postponed to October for Black History Month.

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday! 

Stretched to the Limit!

Following our 2022 report on the impact of the cost of living crisis on individuals, ‘Disabled people, unpaid carers and the cost of living crisis: Impacts, responses and long term solutions‘, the ALLIANCE have published a second report on how the crisis is affecting Scotland’s third sector.

‘Stretched to the Limit: Scotland’s Third Sector and the cost of living crisis‘ brings together findings from a survey of the ALLIANCE’s organisational membership in the spring, a detailed case study from one of our members, and a workshop at our annual conference. Taken together, these paint a picture of a sector which is under intense stress.

Amongst the findings of our survey were that 84% of member organisations responding had experienced increased demand for services, yet 61% reported reduction in funding via grants, 76% were facing higher bills, and 48% were unable to give their employees pay uplifts.

Despite these challenges the third sector continues to be a lifeline for many people across Scotland, responding flexibly to the changing needs of the people it supports.

With 88% of organisations saying that they would benefit from longer-term funding arrangements, and funding arising as the focus for discussion at our conference workshop, fair funding tops our list of recommendations, which include:

  • Progressing commitments to fair funding for the third sector, in line with the SCVO definition this link will take you away from The Alliance website
  • Ensuring the Fair Work agenda goes beyond funding the Real Living Wage, and instead to pay that is comparable to equivalent statutory sector roles
  • Tailored support for organisations operating in rural Scotland
  • Targeted support for energy bills, and in the longer term lower energy tariff arrangements for the third sector
  • Adopting a human rights based approach to procurement and grant funding
  • Investing in services that reduce demand for acute interventions from the public and third sectors

The HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE ALLIANCE SCOTLAND is the national third sector intermediary for a range of health and social care organisations. We have a growing membership of over 3,000 national and local third sector organisations, associates in the statutory and private sectors, disabled people, people living with long term conditions and unpaid carers.

Stretched-to-the-Limit-Report-WEBDownload

Granton Castle Walled Garden’s Harvest Festival

Save the date! Come and enjoy all of the abundance in our garden on the 23rd September.

If you want to bring your own fruit and veg to share and show off then please do!

There will be wonderful singing led by Penny Stone from 2:30-3:30pm so be sure not to miss it, our singing at our wassailing earlier in the year has worked wonderfully on our apple trees!

There will be a garden tour, produce to take home, berry picking, refreshments and good chat. Our gardener @alex.juliette will also have some drop spindles to try your hand at wool spinning in preparation for autumn.

Lots to see and do, share around with your family and friends and we hope to see you there!

Granton Harvest Festival

SATURDAY 16th SEPTEMBER from 3 – 6pm

At the Community Garden on Wardieburn Road

ALL WELCOME!

It’s harvest time and we’re planning a celebration!

Come join us!

Saturday 16th September, 3-6pm.

If you’d like to help out or contribute a performance of some kind, please contact Tom:

tom@grantoncommunitygardeners.org

Au Revoir, Play Rangers!

Play Rangers Farewell sessions
Friday 8 September
12:30pm – 2pm at West Pilton Park
3:15pm – 5pm at Muirhouse Park

After a fun-filled summer, our Play Rangers sessions are taking a break. We want to thank everyone who joined us for these outdoor play sessions in the local parks. We had a wonderful time.

To celebrate all the fantastic times we’ve had, we’re hosting special farewell sessions on Friday 8 September (West Pilton Park: 12:30pm- 2:00pm and Muirhouse Park: 3:15pm – 5:00pm). Come & join us!

Rest assured, Play Rangers will make a return in the future, so stay tuned for updates!