Have your say on Leith Walk proposals

Local people, businesses and other groups are being invited to a drop-in event to view proposed designs and street layout for the Leith Walk programme tomorrow (Tuesday).

The event follows a June meeting where local people and organisations strongly supported an enhanced design for Leith Walk as part of the Leith Programme to make the thoroughfare more pedestrian and cycle friendly.

Tomorrow’s event, at Nelson Hall in McDonald Road Library, from 2-8pm, will give local people and organisations the opportunity to view the proposed designs and discuss with officers the street layout for the Foot of the Walk to Pilrig Street and the Pilrig Street to Picardy Place sections of Leith Walk.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “The session follows a very productive meeting in June when the local community pledged their support for the project. I am delighted that these plans are close to being finalised and to complete our detailed consultation and design process we are now keen to talk to local people and businesses about the proposals.”

“As the construction work is being phased, with the Foot of the Walk to Pilrig Street section commencing first, we are aiming to have a finalised draft design for this section ready by the beginning of August. This will allow us to proceed with the required Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) process prior to the work starting. We will also be displaying the Pilrig Street to Picardy Place section at the same time to allow local stakeholders the opportunity to comment on the emerging design for this section.”

“I am hoping a wide range of people attend and provide their views on all aspects of the project, in particular, parking provision and domestic waste bins, so please let other local people and businesses know about the event.”

Community Councils: get involved!

A drive is under way to encourage more people to join their local community council and help represent the views of residents in their area.

Elections for all of Edinburgh’s community councils are due to take place in September, but some have struggled in the past to attract new members and all are keen to have fresh input. A campaign is now underway to seek nominations to ensure that community councils can continue to thrive and play an important role in the health of the capital’s neighbourhoods.

Cllr Maureen Child (pictured above) , Convener of the Communities and Neighbourhoods committee, urged people to get involved: “It’s all about local residents working together to make a difference to where they live. In my experience, the best community councils involve folk of all ages and backgrounds, but they rely on people putting themselves forward. I completely understand it may be a little daunting for those who haven’t been involved in anything like this before, but help and advice is available.”

Jim Henry, the chair of Liberton & District Community Council, said: “Community councils act as a voice that gives residents an opportunity to use their local knowledge to influence the future of their area. We also get involved in a wide range of activities to improve our communities, including clean-ups and gala days. Without the work of community councils, the city and its neighbourhoods would be a poorer place.”

Community Councils receive a grant to cover running costs and training is available. They are represented on each of the 12 Neighbourhood Partnerships established across the city and work alongside elected members, representatives from NHS Lothian, Police Scotland, the voluntary sector and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to improve the local area and allocate local grants.

Anyone aged 16 years or older and registered to vote can join. People can find their local community council using the Council’s interactive map.

More information and advice is available from:

Eileen Hewitt, Community Council Liaison Officer, on 0131 469 3838 or y email at community.councils@ednburgh.gov.uk
www.edinburgh.gov.uk/communitycouncils http://www.edinburghnp.org.uk/ (neighbourhood partnerships)

What’s your experience of Community Councils? Do they make a difference? Let us know!

Have your say on poverty and inequality in North Edinburgh

North Edinburgh residents have an opportunity to have their say on how best to tackle the growing gulf between rich and poor at a session in the City Chambers next week.

The city council is to host a ‘tackling poverty and inequality’ workshop session, specifically for North Edinburgh residents, on Wednesday 3 July from 10am – 12.30pm at the Business Centre, Centre Chambers.

The city council’s Tracy Boxall explained: “This workshop has been organised by the Poverty and Inequality Theme Group, part of the Edinburgh Partnership’s community planning arrangements in the city. The Theme Group currently has four main work streams, one of which is considering actions or interventions to tackle poverty and inequality in the city.

A sub-group of city partners, headed up by Dr Margaret Douglas from NHS Lothian, is progressing the development of a ‘framework’ of actions, with the aim of shaping future work to tackle poverty and inequality. The sub-group is now seeking wider input to the framework’s development. The workshop you have been invited to is part of this process. It will be facilitated by the independent organisation, Poverty Alliance.

Workshop participants (local people and other representatives from Neighbourhood Partnerships) will be asked to work together, firstly by considering the causes of poverty and inequality. The workshop will then explore what actions are needed to address the issues; the extent to which the actions are in place already in the city; their impact; and what more might be done.

The outputs from the workshop will be written up and passed back to the Poverty and Inequality Theme Group, to help inform their future work and that of city partners. The overall findings will also be shared with you as soon as possible.

Prior to the session, a background paper on poverty in the city will be circulated for your information. I hope that you are able to attend to help with this important work.“

Interested? Please RSVP to tracy.boxall@edinburgh.gov.uk

Edinburgh’s top, say tenants

Edinburgh tenants have given Council housing in the city a vote of confidence in a new survey. Over 1000 Council tenants took part in the survey, which showed that satisfaction ratings are among the highest of any similar landlord in the UK.

Of those questioned, 89% were satisfied with the quality of their home, giving Edinburgh the highest score among similar landlords. 90% of participants responded that they are happy with the housing service they receive and only 4% responded that they are dissatisfied. Satisfaction levels with key services, customer care and engagement were either equal to or higher than other large landlords in the UK.

Neighbourhoods were also rated highly with 92% of tenants stating that they are happy with their neighbourhoods and only 2% were not.

Housing Convener, Councillor Ricky Henderson, said: “This feedback from tenants reinforces the high reputation of the Council’s housing service and is a real vote of confidence.

“The Scottish Housing Regulator has already awarded our housing service the highest grade of any local authority, so it is encouraging to see that our tenants are also satisfied with their homes and the service they receive.”

The Council has worked closely with Edinburgh Tenants Federation in designing the survey. Both organisations will work together to develop an action for any necessary improvements identified from the results.

Betty Stevenson, Convener of Edinburgh Tenants Federation, said: “The Federation has been closely involved in developing the survey and we are pleased with the results showing high satisfaction. We will be working with the Council to make sure that any identified improvements are put in place.”

Do you agree with those survey results? Are you saisfied with the city council’s housing service? Let us know!

Juicy business opportunity for city schools!

Five Edinburgh schools are going head to head tomorrow (Saturday 20 April) in an ‘Apprentice’ style challenge to make and sell their own lemonade and orange juice. The friendly battle, dubbed ‘Citrus Saturday’, will see pupils from Gracemount High School, Leith Academy, Woodlands, Gorgie Mills and Forrester High test their business skills in the citrus sell-off.

They will compete to see which team sells the most homemade drinks at five central locations – the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh Zoo, Edinburgh Castle, Cameron Toll Shopping Centre and the Gyle Shopping Centre.

The event, run by the City of Edinburgh Council, gives pupils a taste of working on a business project and helps develop their budgeting, negotiating, selling and marketing skills. Each team has had volunteer student business mentors from Edinburgh University and The Prince’s Trust to help them with their projects.

The teams will be using over 1,000 lemons, 450 oranges, 32 limes, 56kg of sugar and more than 100 litres of fizzy water to make their thirst-quenching drinks – the majority provided by Sainsbury’s at Cameron Toll.

Councillor Frank Ross, Economy Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Citrus Saturday is a great way for young people to learn about the realities of creating a business in a fun way. They’ll be able to put into practice all the skills they have been developing over the past months with the business students from Edinburgh University. There will be elements of developing a product from scratch, devising the marketing and budgeting and of course the sales pitches on the day itself. I’d like to wish everyone the best of luck and encourage as many people as possible to support them tomorrow.”

Citrus Saturday is part of a European Union funded project through the Interreg IVB programme to promote Open Innovation with business, academia and the wider community.

Promises to be a fun competition, but sadly some schools are sure to be pipped at the post (sorry!)!

Edinburgh to act against impact of welfare reforms

Plans to mitigate the impact of national welfare reform measures on the capital have been announced by the City of Edinburgh Council. The plans, which will see an additional investment of £350,000 in advice and support services, will be discussed by the Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee on Tuesday (16 April).

The introduction of policies such as the Housing Benefit Under-occupancy Restrictions (or ‘bedroom tax’), which are expected to affect 3,800 Council tenants, and around 2,500 Housing Association tenants, combined with national reductions in benefits will have a significant impact on some Edinburgh residents and the city’s economy as a whole.

The Council has taken steps to minimise these repercussions where possible and is considering further actions to offer support. Residents affected by the under-occupancy restrictions have been contacted to provide advice about options such as moving to a smaller home, taking in lodgers or budgeting on a lower income.

Health, Wellbeing and Housing Convener, Councillor Ricky Henderson, (pictured below)said: “The new changes to the national welfare system will have a significant impact on the city and particularly those receiving benefits. It is also expected that the introduction of the under-occupancy changes will lead to increasing rent arrears, which may have an adverse impact on the Council’s ability to deliver services and capital investment in its homes.

“We have taken steps to bolster Council and voluntary sector advice services to make sure that residents are aware of these changes and the help that is available to them. It is vital that we support our most vulnerable citizens and do what we can to minimise these repercussions where possible.”

The committee will be asked to approve an investment of £350,000 to provide additional advice services. Of this sum, £100,000 will be provided to Citizens Advice Edinburgh, £22,000 to the Community Ability Network, £15,000 to The Action Group, £15,000 to FAIR and £7,000 to COSS. Some of the extra funds will also be invested in the Council’s own Advice Shop service and Contact Centre.

An additional £67,000 has already been agreed for the Welfare Rights and Health Project, CHAI Advice Service and Granton Information Centre.

Recent Scottish Local Government Forum Against Poverty figures suggest that changes to the national welfare system will lead to a loss of income of £223 million by 2015/2016 for people in Edinburgh. These changes mainly affect individuals and families living on low wages, those seeking work and disabled people who are unable to work. This will result in a greater need for advice about benefits, debt and budgeting, as well as an increased demand on social work, housing and homelessness services.

The administration of Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants is now the responsibility of the Council, after being transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions on 1 April. Crisis Grants are available as emergency payments where there is an immediate threat to health or safety and are now paid out from Council Neighbourhood and City Centre Offices with an out of hours service also available. A new team has been recruited to deal with the assessment and processing of claims, which can be made by phone, online, on paper and in person. Community Care grants will help to enable or continue independent living by providing furniture, carpets and white goods.

Further measures will be discussed by the Health, Wellbeing and Housing Policy Development and Review Sub Committee on Tuesday 23 April 2013.

The city council’s announcement comes as new independent research by Sheffield Hallam University has shown that welfare cuts will take more than £1.6bn a year out of the Scottish economy and hit the poorest parts hardest – the equivalent to about £480 a year for every adult of working age. The biggest losses are from reforms to incapacity benefits at about £500m a year.

The report states: “The financial losses arising from the reforms will hit the most deprived parts of Scotland hardest. Glasgow in particular, but also a number of other older industrial areas, will feel the impact most. The loss of benefit income, which is often large, will have knock-on consequences for local spending and thus for local employment, which will in turn add a further twist to the downward spiral.”

The report added: “A key effect of welfare reform will therefore be to widen the gaps in prosperity between the best and worst local economies across Scotland.” Researchers note that the scale of financial loss in Scotland would have been greater if the Scottish government had chosen to pass on the cut to council tax benefit.

The report was commissioned by the Holyrood’s welfare reform committee, and while it’s findings are unlikely to come as a major surprise, committee convener Labour MSP Michael McMahon said: “Our committee wanted a detailed picture of what would happen on the ground when these reforms were fully implemented. It is obvious to all that the impact is dramatic – and more so in the areas that can least afford it.”

A Scottish government spokesman said: “Sheffield Hallam have used the same publicly available data as the Scottish government analysis and reach broadly the same conclusions on the scale of the cuts. It is completely unacceptable that hard-working people and vulnerable groups will bear the brunt of the UK government’s welfare cuts.”

The UK government insists that changes must be considered alongside other measures like the increase of the tax threshold, that changes to the welfare system were necessary and that reforms will benefit the Scottish economy in the long-term.

Horsemeat: Amey apology ‘not enough’

AMEY, the private contractor responsible for providing school meals to a number of primary schools where mince containing horsemeat may have been served to children, has apologised to the City of Edinburgh Council and parents for ‘an unfortunate and unacceptable lack of communication’. The company has also made a donation to a children’s charity, but parents say the apology just doesn’t go far enough and questions must be answered.

The city council wrote to parents after results of its own tests on a batch of frozen mince taken in late February from the shared kitchen of Pirniehall and St David’s Primary Schools were confirmed, assuring them that there was no risk to their children’s health. Local primaries Craigroyston and Forthview were also among the schools affexted.

Amey Built Environment (Amey) has since responded to a request by the City of Edinburgh Council to explain why they failed to notify the Council of the presence of horsemeat in beef mince which they had used in school meals in six school kitchens on 8 March, and when they themselves were first alerted to the fact by their supplier, 3663.

The company has also provided a list of meals containing beef mince which were on the menu at each school in the five-week period between w/c 3 February 2013 and w/c 4 March 2013 and which may have contained mince from the affected batch which was later recalled by 3663.

During this period, one week was a holiday. This information, together with a statement of explanation and apology from Amey, has been included in a letter which was sent to parents in the six affected schools on 4 April.

Councillor Paul Godzik, Education Convener, said: “As soon as we became aware through our own tests that mince containing a small percentage of horsemeat had been supplied to a number of our schools, we immediately took action by contacting parents to let them know. We also checked each of the school kitchens to make sure there was no mince from this batch remaining.

“It was only after we raised the issue with Amey that they advised us that this same batch had in fact been recalled by 3663 on 8 March. “It is unacceptable that the Council was not given this information immediately – had we known on 8 March, we could and would have alerted parents to this at that time. We are pleased that Amey have now apologised for this lack of communication and are grateful to them for their cooperation in this matter.

“Parents are quite right to expect the highest possible standards from the food their children are served at school and the Council prides itself on providing meals which are nutritious, satisfying and value-for-money. It is absolutely crucial therefore that any problems with the produce supplied to our school kitchens are flagged up to us immediately so that we can take appropriate action.”

Gillian Duggan, Managing Director of Amey Built Environment, said: “Recently we have commenced an investigation into how contaminated meat made its way into our supply chain at a date between February 2013 and 8 March 2013. Tests have revealed that a small amount of contaminated meat containing up to 5% horse DNA was served to six schools in Edinburgh before a product recall notice was issued by the meat supplier on 8 March 2013.

“Although checks confirmed no current stock of the contaminated meat in any of the premises, there has been an unfortunate and unacceptable lack of communication from Amey to the City of Edinburgh Council regarding this issue. This resulted in a delay in the Council being able to notify parents. We at Amey are very sorry this issue has occurred, and for any distress caused to parents, who quite rightly expect high standards.”

Ms Duggan added that Amey would be making a donation to the Scottish NSPCC on behalf of the schools affected and added that the company would be undertaking a review of its supply chain and an enhancement of their communication and escalation procedures.

However the apology and charity donation are not enough according to some parents. One West Pilton mother, with two children at a local primary school – who preferred not to be named – said: “Everyone’s been talking about it and I think most parents are disgusted with what has happened. You expect your bairns to get good quality dinners at school so this is really shocking – it’s like a breach of trust. Everybody wants to know how long this has been going on – I think parents have got a right to know, we deserve answers. It’s very easy to say ‘sorry’ and making a donation to charity is easy for a big organisation like AMEY – they must make a fortune out of the PPP school contracts so that charity donation is sweeties for them.”

Have your say on city centre

A public consultation on proposals to ‘transform’ Edinburgh’s city centre has been launched.

The Council has developed a proposal for improving the City Centre, particularly in the area around Princes Street and George Street, which aims to make the area a better place in which to live, work, visit, invest and study.

The proposed scheme has been shaped by a working group chaired by Planning Convener Councillor Ian Perry, who said: “I think many people recognise that for all its architectural beauty and wealth of enticing shops and amenities, the City Centre is still not yet achieving its full potential. With this public consultation, we’ve got the chance here to really do something for the city centre and we’re determined to find a solution which works best for everyone. I would urge everyone with a stake in Edinburgh’s future prosperity to have their say.”

The Council is keen to hear residents’ views on the proposal and how they would like to see the space used.

The consultation process will also shed light on how the proposals might impact on different users and stakeholders.

The findings of the consultation will be the subject of a future report and any changes will then be trialled to test how they work.

The online survey, which will run until Thursday 9 May, can be accessed at:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6G7MWW9

Two public drop-in events will also be held:

* Friday 19 April, Assembly Rooms George Street, 12-6pm
* Saturday 20 April, Assembly Rooms, George Street , 10 -2pm

Comments can also be sent via e-mail to:
citycentre.vision@edinburgh.gov.uk

Further information about the consultation can be found at: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/citycentrevision

What’s your views on Edinburgh’s city centre? What do you mean, Glasgow’s Miles Better!

Let us know!

Horsemeat traces found in local school kitchens

Traces of horsemeat have been found in food supplied to six city schools including Craigroyston, Pirniehall, St David’s and Forthview, the city council has confirmed.

Tests carried out on a batch of frozen mince in February found that the meat contained between 1% and 5% horsemeat. The sample was taken from the shared kitchen of Pirniehall and St David’s, and the same batch was also supplied to Forthview, Craigroyston, Oxgangs and Braidburn primary schools.

A letter from Mike Rosendale, Head of Schools and Community Services, has been sent to parents of pupils at each of the six schools, advising them of the test results and reassuring them that there is “no risk to health from consuming horsemeat”.

Councillor Cathy Fullerton (pictured below), the council’s vice convener of education, said: “It’s very important to emphasise that there is no risk whatsoever to people’s health from consuming horsemeat, but obviously we all want to be certain that we know exactly what we are eating. This is why the council chose to seek extra assurance that our external suppliers were not providing any products containing horsemeat by carrying out our own testing.

“Parents can be reassured that we have taken absolutely the correct course of action in immediately making sure there is none of this frozen mince remaining in school kitchens. We have written to all parents in the six schools to let them know about this and will be happy to discuss any further queries they may have.”

Food at all six of the schools is procured by the PPP contractor, who sourced the frozen mince from catering firm 3663. 3663 recalled all batches of this product on 8 March.

The council has been carrying out tests on meat products supplied to schools, residential homes and other local authority establishments since 14 February under the direction of the Food Standards Agency as part of their UK-wide authenticity survey. Eighty-five meat product samples have been taken from council catering establishments to date and to date all except one have tested negative for the presence of horsemeat. The results have been reported to the Food Standards Agency.

Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian and food spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, says the confirmation is further proof that we need to rethink our approach to food. She said: “This latest revelation will be a great worry for parents and it proves we need greater investment and increased traceability in our publicly-procured meals. The council’s website claims that it uses local suppliers for meat so it is extremely important we are told what has gone wrong.

“I have real concerns about the way our schools have moved away from real meals cooked in proper kitchens to ready meals heated up in microwaves. It’s also hard to have confidence when the many of our schools are supplied by massive companies who describe themselves as strategic outsourcing providers rather than caterers, and whose main motive is profit. This isn’t exactly suprising as public procurement favours cheaper bids.

”In recent months in parliament I have highlighted the Soil Association’s Food for Life programme which currently ensures one in ten schools in Scotland has confidence about where its food comes from. I again urge ministers to increase their support for the scheme and encourage local authorities to adopt it.”

CRAIGROYSTON is one of six affected schools

Search is on for city’s finest volunteers

Nominations now open for Inspiring Volunteering Awards

Edinburgh’s Lord Provost – and Volunteering Champion – Cllr Donald Wilson will honour some of the dedicated volunteers who give their time, energy and commitment to the people of Edinburgh at a special awards ceremony taking place at the City Chambers during Volunteers’ Week on 3 June.

Edinburgh’s Inspiring Volunteering Awards are in their seventh year and nominations are being sought for anyone who has volunteered in Edinburgh for at least six months (and hasn’t already received an award).

This year will include a number of new special recognition categories for volunteers involved in certain areas of activity including:

Arts, Culture & Heritage
Charity Shops
Environment & Conservation (volunteers engaged in environmental activities including education, conservation or gardening).
Fundraising
Health & Social Care (volunteers engaged in health and social care, including support work, befriending or projects which reduce social isolation and help assist independent living)
Sports (volunteers actively involved in supporting sports in their communities).
Organisational Governance (Trustees/Board Members)

There will also be special awards for outstanding contributions from a Young Volunteer (11 to 25 year old) and to recognise commitment by someone who has volunteered for 10 years the Long Standing Contribution to Volunteering Award.

All shortlisted nominations will be considered for the “Lord Provost of Edinburgh’s Inspiring Volunteer of the Year Award 2013.

Lord Provost Donald Wilson said: “There are thousands of dedicated and inspiring volunteers in Edinburgh selflessly giving up their own time to help and support others. These awards are simply one way of recognizing some of their tremendous work, and their contribution to the wellbeing of our city’s residents cannot be overstated. We got some outstanding nominations last year, and I expect we will get some great volunteers put forward again this year. I would encourage all organisations that involve volunteers in their work to consider highlighting some of the good work that goes on by submitting a nomination.”

Kris Von Wald, Convenor of Volunteer Centre Edinburgh, added: “The Lord Provost has agreed to present these awards because he recognises how important volunteers are to Edinburgh and its residents. The Awards seek to acknowledge the hard work, commitment, energy and positive difference that volunteers make”.

Nominations can be made online at:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CLWG9QS