‘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:
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.
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!
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!
Garden Centre to host children’s pumpkin themed event
Dobbies, the UK’s leading garden centre, is inviting children in Edinburgh to its great value Little Scare-lings event this Halloween, guaranteed to get them feeling pumpkin-tastic with a treasure trove of family-friendly activities.
Available in Dobbies’ Edinburgh store between 26-29 October, Little Scare-lings is guaranteed to get everyone in the spine-chilling spirit. Great for kids aged 3-10, this event is action-packed and has something special in store for those hunting for the perfect pumpkin to take home and carve.
Kids can also strut their spooky style and take part in the garden centre’s annual scare-a-thon to be in the chance of winning a prize for the best dressed.
Little Scare-ling attendees will sink their fangs into Halloween treats, pumpkin-themed activities and games.
With plenty options for even the fussiest trick-or-treaters, children will have the choice of fish fingers, chicken nuggets or plant based goujons, served with chips and garden peas, or a cheese and tomato pizza with vegetable sticks.
Adults can enjoy a selection of soup and sandwich pairings or a slice of cake. Sticky chocolate orange, blueberry Victoria sponge or a nutty coffee and walnut cake ensure the parents are spoilt for choice.
Families will be invited to visit Dobbies’ very own miniature pumpkin patch. Here children can take a pumpkin home, carve it up using Dobbies’ guide and create their own personalised pumpkin for welcoming trick-or-treaters.
Sarah Murray, who created this year’s event, loves Halloween and can’t wait to welcome Little Scare-lings along for the event. She said: “We’re really excited about this year’s Halloween event in Edinburgh and warmly welcome kids of all ages to get involved with our pumpkin extravaganza.
“These events are always extremely popular with our regular Little Seedling Club attendees, so please book in advance to save any disappointment. It’s a fang-tastic way for families to get together this Halloween.”
Tickets for Little Scare-lings are now available for Dobbies’ Club Members, priced at £9.99 per child and from £3.95 for adult tickets, which officially go on sale to all customers from 5 September.
For more information about how to take part in Dobbies’ Little Scare-lings afternoon event, visit Events | Dobbies Garden Centres.
Only five of the UK’s biggest theme and adventure parks currently offer electric charging facilities but the situation is set to improve in the coming months, according to a new study by the RAC.
Just Thorpe Park in Surrey, Chessington in London, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Crealy in Devon and M&Ds in Scotland provide EV chargers for visitors, with many other popular and well-loved attractions in other regions currently offering none at all. At the five parks that have some provision, the average number of chargers on offer is four.
The parks that currently don’t offer any charging facilities include such well-known names as Legoland Windsor in Berkshire, Alton Towers in Staffordshire, Gulliver’s sites in Cheshire, Yorkshire and Buckinghamshire and Oakwood in Wales. But the good news is that the first two of these parks have publicly committed to installing chargers before the end of the year.
The RAC study also looked at the nearest ultra-rapid chargers to top theme parks as the next most convenient place to charge on a day out and found they were an average of seven miles away, with each offering an average of only five chargers each. In some parts of the country however, drivers need to travel much further, with the closest ultra-rapid chargers to Pleasurewood Hills in Suffolk and Flamingo Land in North Yorkshire being some 25 miles away.
RAC Charge Watch data shows that drivers currently pay on average 73p per kWh of electricity at an ultra-rapid (100kW+) charger, making an 80% charge of a family-sized EV currently cost £37.39. If public chargers were only subject to 5% VAT like home chargers, that cost would be around £4 cheaper.
Comparisons with major theme parks elsewhere in Europe show just how different the situation can be when it comes to on-site electric vehicle charging. Efteling in the Netherlands has capacity for 174 electric cars to charge at once, while PortAventura in Spain can accommodate 150 cars charging and Europa Park in Germany offers 32 chargers.
It’s far from a perfect picture everywhere however, with Disneyland Paris and Gardaland in Italy having just four chargers each.
RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: “Even though most people visiting adventure and theme parks in electric cars will be starting out fully charged from home, many will still need to charge on the way back depending on the length of their journey and their vehicle’s range.
“For those travelling considerable distances to reach them it surely makes sense to have some chargers at theme parks as cars will be parked for long periods, making slower chargers ideal.
“It’s a little disappointing therefore to find some big-name attractions aren’t yet providing any charging facilities, but the situation is thankfully changing with several having stated they’re looking into installing chargers in the near future. We look forward to these plans becoming a reality to make drivers’ lives easier.
“As things stand, families with electric cars who need to recharge after enjoying a day out will no doubt be relying on ultra-rapid chargers to get on the move again as quickly as possible.
“Our research shows drivers will have to travel only an average of seven miles from a theme park to reach one of these, although in some parts of the country the distance is considerably further. Fortunately, with every month that passes provision is improving and in fact over the last 12 months the number of ultra-rapid chargers in the UK has nearly doubled to 8,772.
“Some leading theme parks in other parts of Europe are currently putting the UK in the shade when it comes to more extensive electric charging infrastructure. As they’ve decided it’s right to put chargers for their visitors in place, we now need all major theme park operators in the UK to come to the same conclusion.”
Quentin Willson, automotive journalist and founder of theEV campaign FairCharge, added: “Theme parks are an obvious example of how we need to make sure the UK’s future charging infrastructure really is joined up.
“Parks, attractions, museums, holiday centres, hotels and leisure facilities need to have plenty of chargers for visitors in EVs. Drivers will base their leisure choice destinations – as many already do – on if there are reliable charging facilities. This is the future.”
In a bid to stimulate the take-up of electric vehicles and make public charging more cost-effective, the RAC is supporting the FairCharge campaign’s call to get VAT on public electricity reduced from 20% to match the 5% domestic rate.
New figures reveal worsening employment outlook for Scotland’s young people
New ‘Hatch’ programme will help 16-24 year olds in Scotland who have faced barriers to employment to build their work skills, confidence and land their first job
Number of young people not in employment, education or training on the rise, as two in three (62%) young people in Scotland say that the cost-of-living crisis has increased barriers to finding work
Two in five (43%) employers in Scotland say they are less likely to hire a young person now, due to the current economic climate
KFC, UK Youth and Youth Scotland have launched a new youth employability programme in Scotland to help 16-25 year olds who have faced barriers to employment, to build their work skills, confidence and land their first job, as new research reveals the cost of living has significantly worsened work and training opportunities for young people in Scotland.
The Hatch programme, which was piloted in Manchester last year, is currently being rolled out across Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and surrounding areas. Working with UK Youth and Youth Scotland to identify young people most in need, the programme will offer participants 1-2-1 training, support, and practical work experience, with an interview at KFC on graduation.
The launch of the programme comes as new research from KFC, UK Youth and Youth Scotland reveals the stark impact the cost-of-living crisis has had on young people’s employment outlook in Scotland. This follows recent reports from the Office for National Statistics that the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) increased in April to June 2023, to a current estimate of 794,000 or 11.6%.
Two in three (62%) young people in Scotland say the cost-of-living crisis has increased barriers to finding employment, as two in five (43%) employers in Scotland say they are less likely to hire a young person now, given the current economic climate.
One in three (33%) young people in Scotland feel anxious about their employment, training and education prospects. One in four (26%) of Scottish young people say they do not feel confident about finding a job in the next 5 years, with this figure rising to 28% when asked how they feel about the future in general.
For employers in Scotland the difficult economic climate means hiring young people has taken a backseat to other priorities. Increasingly, employers in Scotland were found to be reducing training and development opportunities available for young people in a bid to reduce costs: half (49%) of employers in Scotland say they are less able to invest in upskilling young people now, while 77% of employers are worried about the future for young people given the current state of the economy and job market.
Nonetheless, employers in Scotland recognise the important role they can play in supporting young people into employment, as 89% believe that employers have a responsibility to help young people into the workforce and 88% say they want to do more to help them develop their skills.
To help reduce the barriers young people face across the UK, KFC, UK Youth and Youth Scotland are calling on government to work more closely with businesses to ensure young people are being equipped with the skills that will help them thrive in the workplace.
They are also calling for a joined-up strategy that brings together businesses with local authorities, job centres and youth work organisations to better connect young people with job and training opportunities in their local area.
Meg Farren, General Manager, KFC UK & Ireland, said:“Young people today are facing greater challenges than ever before. The pandemic took away crucial skills and career development opportunities – now, they’re faced with a cost-of-living crisis and uncertain economy, making it so much harder to land their first job.
“As one of the biggest youth employers in the country, we see first-hand how difficult it is for young people to build the skills and experience they need to enter the world of work and our latest research demonstrates how today’s economic climate is only making this harder for young people.
“There are buckets of talent across the UK, but all too often young people are cut out of accessing opportunities. That needs to change. That’s why we’re excited to be bringing our employability programme Hatch to Scotland, to invest in the next generation and help unlock some of this untapped potential.
“Working with UK Youth and Youth Scotland, Hatch, will help young people across Scotland to build their skills, confidence and land their first job.”
Jacob Diggle, Director of Strategy, Research and Impact at UK Youth, said: “The lingering effects of the pandemic and the ongoing cost of living crisis are having a damaging impact on the employment prospects of young people. We cannot ignore the concerns of the next generation as they attempt to enter the world of work – their success is crucial to the success of our economy and our country.
“Youth work can play a huge part in tackling the rise in youth unemployment. However, these life changing services are under strain and need more support – as highlighted by our cost of living campaign. The partnership between youth work and businesses is vital to meeting the scale of need.
“We are proud that our Hatch programme with KFC will help thousands of disadvantaged young people develop the confidence and skills they need to secure stable employment.”
Mike Strang, Youth Scotland Chief Executive said: “The Hatch programme is a fantastic opportunity for young people in Scotland who are facing multiple barriers to entering the workforce. Youth work meets young people where they are at and Hatch does that while offering tangible skills, support and opportunities for young people to realistically set their sights on employment.
“Youth employability programmes like Hatch offer pragmatic solutions and real prospects to some of the most disadvantaged of Scotland’s young people.”
Jordan McQuade, participant of the Hatch programme, said:“There are loads of barriers I faced when looking for employment. Prior to the Hatch programme, I’d spent two years trying to find a job that worked for me and my disability. The cost-of-living crisis had made the situation even worse, which made me feel anxious about my future and ability to find a job.
“However, my experience on the Hatch programme has been really positive and helped me to manage my mental health. The training has grown my confidence, and it’s been great to meet so many other young people working at KFC – I feel like I’ve made friends for life!
“Since completing the Hatch programme, I’ve been given a permanent part-time job at KFC, which is supporting me financially whilst I continue to study at college.”
Since piloting Hatch in Manchester last year, 80 young people have successfully graduated from the programme, with more than 50% finding full time employment as a result. By 2024, KFC is aiming to have upskilled 1,100 young people, ensuring they’re ready for future work, training or education through the Hatch programme.
To celebrate the upcoming National Poetry Day on 5th October 2023, we invite kids and teens to enter Stockbridge Library’s Poetry Contest.
The theme this year is Refuge. No rules! Write a poem of any style or length. You decide! Drop it in the poetry contest box at the library and win prizes!
Entries are open from Friday 1st Sept to Saturday 30th Sept 2023
