Tag: Community

Cheers! Local MP votes for fair deal for publicans

Lazarowicz supports clause to protect community pubs

drink[1]Mark Lazarowicz MP has voted to protect local publicans from the predatory practices of large pub owning companies (known as pubcos) by backing a new cross-party clause to the Small Business Bill earlier this week.

Following a report into the industry by the cross-party Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee in 2010, Labour has campaigned alongside a broad coalition of groups in the industry – including the Federation of Small Businesses, the Forum of Private Business, CAMRA, FairPint and the GMB and UNITE trade unions – to call for greater protection for local pubs and put a stop to unfair treatment and restrictive practices by pubcos.

The government’s provisions to regulate pubcos in the Small Business Bill, debated in Parliament this week, but these fell some way short of Labour’s plans and campaigners’ demands. Labour therefore supported a cross-party clause to strengthen the Bill. The government opposed this change but were defeated by 284 votes to 269.

The North & Leith MP said: “27 pubs close every week and 57% of landlords who are tied to a large pubco earn less than £10,000 a year. These are scandals which must be addressed, and so I was proud to support the new clause which gives licensees the option of going free of tie – so that they can buy their beers on the open market – whenever they negotiate a new contract.

“This is the best way to ensure that large pub companies offer fair terms to their licensees and to finally address the scandal of so many valued community pubs shutting. The cooperation of the Scottish government will now be required for the proposals to be fully implemented in Scotland, and I hope that they will do this.”

 

Sun sets on St Paul’s

‘That on 12 October 2014 the Parish of St Paul’s, Muirhouse will be completely SUPPRESSED’

3Campaigners have lost the battle to save their beloved St Paul’s church in Muirhouse. Parishioners must now move to other churches as their spiritual home of over 45 years will be closed and sold.

A small band gathered to stage a candlelit vigil before the final Friday evening Mass at the Muirhouse Avenue church, one final protest. They were quiet, they were dignified, they were peaceful and they made their point – but ultimately, their efforts were in vain.

13Church authorities had already made the decision to close the church and the Decree passed to that effect was pinned to a noticeboard – which ironically heralds ‘Welcome’ – inside the church doors (below).

12

The Decree, which is signed by Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh Leo Cushley and Chancellor Rev Scott Deeley, states:

1. That on 12 October 2014 the Parish of St Paul’s, Muirhouse will be completely SUPPRESSED;

2. That on 12 October 2014 the territory of the former Parish of St Paul’s Muirhouse will become part of the parish of St Margaret’s, Davidsons Mains;

3. The faithful domiciled in the former territory of the parish of St Paul’s Muirhouse will become parishioners of St Margaret’s, Davidsons Mains;

4. That on Sunday 12 October 2014 the church of St Paul’s Muirhouse will no longer be used for the Liturgy pending relegation to profane but not sordid use;

The Decree goes on to say that all assets and the parish registers will be transferred from St Paul’s to St Margaret’s.

10

So the battle’s over and the campaigners many questions – among them, just how did the church’s debt mushroom to £284,000 and why was it allowed to spiral out of control? – will go unanswered.

Children from St David’s RC Primary School in West Pilton will now have to find their way to St Margaret’s in Davidson’s Mains for their church services – a considerable distance on busy roads. And the stalwarts of St Paul’s’ men’s club – who have met socially at the church for over forty years, but were not even informed of the intention to close the church – what future for them? Where do they go?

5Churches are not about buildings, of course. Churches are the people, the people are the church. The church authorities have cited falling congregations as one of the reasons for Muirhouse closure, but Muirhouse and Pennywell is an area undergoing a major regeneration. Thousands have left the area as their homes were knocked down, but thousands more will return as new homes are built. Many of the families making their homes in Muirhouse will be Eastern European, many of whom are Catholic.

So as I watched worshippers going in to church on Friday as the sun went down, I did wonder: where will these people go? Yes, they’ll have nice new homes – but no spiritual home at the heart of their new community?

2

 

Good news from Muirhouse Community Centre

Muirhouse Community Centre goes from strength to strength

MMC-1

Once again it has been a busy time for this popular Centre and I have to congratulate the Board, staff and the many volunteers who make the Centre the popular and friendly place it is. 

With record numbers using the facilities for meetings, clubs, keep fit and socialising in the café not to mention all the parties, organised events and being used as a polling station for the Independence Referendum it is thanks to the staff and volunteers that the Centre is able to offer the variety of events and programmes.

So far, from October last year to the end of August, the total number of people who have used the Centre is 17,235 and we are on course for another record breaking year!

This shows that this Centre is the busiest in North Edinburgh and the numbers will only increase with the additional new housing coming online (both now and in the future) from Muirhouse Housing Association and the Council.

With more and more people using the Centre on a daily basis the Board, staff and volunteers are committed to providing the best service possible for our community and beyond.   To do this we have produced an Autumn Programme of activities, continuing to build on the Centre’s many successful achievements and working to complete the aims of the Business Plan within the planned timescales.

We continue to work in close partnership with other groups and organisations (and entering into new partnerships) that will ensure the sustainability of the services and the maintenance of the building for future generations and they continue to look forward and strive to plan future activities, programming and events which take into account the needs and aspirations of the community they serve.

So I would like to thank publicly the staff and volunteers who put so much of their time, loyalty and commitment into making Muirhouse Community Centre a great place to be part of.

000_0023

John Davidson (Chairperson)

For more information check the website:

muirhousecommunitycentre.co.uk

Building vibrant communities: time for new thinking

Ian Cooke (pictured below) was manager of local community regeneration agency The Pilton Partnership/North Edinburgh Trust before moving on to become Director of Development Trusts Association Scotland. He shared his thoughts on community development at a national conference last month:

Ian-Cooke“Over the last few years we have seen the term ‘community’ increasingly move to the centre of the policy agenda in Scotland – community-led regeneration, community ownership, community renewable energies, community enterprise and a proposed key role for communities within the re-provisioning of public services.

“While this is both welcome and exciting, it does raise an important question about how we build capacity in communities, if they are to successfully rise to this challenge, and respond positively to these new opportunities. The development of enterprising, asset owning communities, who can lead regeneration processes and play a key role in future public sector delivery, invariably requires the development of an expanded knowledge base and skill set within communities, and requires us to re-think how we do community capacity building.

“Historically, community capacity building had been largely done ‘to’ communities, from outside agencies such as local authority services, Third Sector Interfaces (formerly CVS’s), consultants and other specialist voluntary agencies. Will this support continue to be available in the future, and are existing community capacity building services and agencies really up to the task of responding to this new agenda?

“Discussions about community capacity building have often been dominated by community development professionals. But much of the fore-mentioned policy development has been influenced by largely organic, bottom-up activity, as community after community has responded to threats and opportunities. In doing so they have drawn inspiration and support from a wide range of sources. Is it now time to reflect on this experience, and listen to communities themselves about what kind of capacity building they require?

“As Director of the Development Trusts Association Scotland, I have had the privilege of working with, and representing, some of the most dynamic community organisations in Scotland over the last few years, and it has been fascinating to discuss this issue with many of them. So here are a few thoughts to kick off this much needed debate about future capacity building provision in Scotland.

“Firstly, there seems to be a lack of clarity about what we mean by community capacity building – whose capacity is being built and for what purpose? My own experience suggests the need to focus on building the capacity of community anchor organisations as a pre-requisite for any wider community capacity building.

“Secondly communities need to be inspired, not patronised! The most effective (and cost effective) single intervention in the early development of community organisations is the opportunity to visit another community to find out what can be achieved and to learn how to go about it. This requires small grants of a few hundred pounds. So why do so few funders want to provide these?

“Thirdly, rather than funding capacity building activity as something done to communities, let’s recognise that the opportunity to employ their own staff is the most effective way to create a step change in capacity, and start investing directly in the core costs of community anchor organisations.

“Finally, let’s recognise the wealth of knowledge and experience which already exists within the Scottish community sector, and start to tap into this much more effectively and systematically by developing Peer Support Programmes.”

With the Community Empowerment Bill now before the Scottish Parliament, what can be done to support communities to influence the decisions that affect them? Let us know you thoughts

Dearest Scotland …

Writing initiative  ‘re-imagines the future of Scotland’

dearestscotlandTake a pen and a piece of paper and write a letter to the future of Scotland? In this age of high-tech, super-fast digital communications it may seem like a very old-fashioned way to communicate, but a new writing project called Dearest Scotland has sparked a revival in letter writing.

The apolitical initiative has caught imaginations in the year of the Referendum by inviting letters and illustrations from people of all ages across the world with a connection to, or an interest in, Scotland.

Dearest Scotland is the brainchild of Glasgow-based social design agency SNOOK, who some readers may recall worked with Total Craigroyston and North Edinburgh Young People’s Forum on the ‘What’s the Matter?’ project in 2012.

Focused on crowd-sourcing from a widest possible demographic with the aim of giving a platform to citizens’ voices, Dearest Scotland’s co-founder, Sarah Drummond, recently spoke of the aspiration to receive handwritten letters that capture insights to what a future Scotland may look like.

Sarah said: “Our team at Snook work in grassroots communities and we hear great ideas everyday from ordinary people. Sadly there is no platform for these voices to be heard in the mainstream media, by governments or local authorities. Dearest Scotland aims to address that.”

The idea originated before the independence referendum was announced, and since it’s March launch Dearest Scotland has received a cross-section of letters keen to articulate visions that reach beyond the political debate of the 18 September vote.

And while the project proves that the art of letter writing isn’t dead, the choice to write and illustrate letters digitally via the Dearest Scotland website is also available!

Sarah also spoke of plans to publish received letters in a collated book format. She said: “Everyone who writes to Dearest Scotland has the chance to see their letter published. This allows for the opportunity to read what people of all ages from every part of the country have to say about their hopes and fears for a future Scotland both in connection to and outside of politics and the referendum.”

While new letters are catalogued daily, Sarah’s aim is to publish the visions in an open source digital catalogue – in addition to the book format – after the 13 September deadline for submissions, and all proceeds will be donated to new and existing Scottish literary projects.

The Dearest Scotland team is currently touring venues and events across the country, spreading the word in towns and rural areas.

The initiative has also caught the attention of politicians. Glasgow Anniesland MSP Bill Kidd lodged a parliamentary motion in support of the project in June, and a Holyrood debate has been scheduled for 13 August – the motion has received cross-party support from a further 25 members of the Scottish parliament. There are also plans to exhibit a display of letters by the Scottish Rural Parliament in November and within Holyrood in early 2015.

Sarah’s business partner and project co-founder, Lauren Currie, added: “We all have a box of letters stashed away somewhere that fill our hearts with joy every time we dig them out and re-read them. Dearest Scotland is our nation’s box of letters. These letters are so much more than communication, they are re-imagining the future of Scotland.”

To find out more information about Dearest Scotland’s project, summer tour, or to submit a future vision of Scotland, visit…

www.dearestscotland.com

twitter @dearestscotand

facebook /dearestscotland

Still time to donate food at Tesco

There’s still time to donate food items to support Tesco’s Neighbourhood Food Challenge.

food collectionTesco is hosting a nationwide food collection from 3 – 5 July with foodbank charity  Trussell Trust and food redistribution charity FareShare, and the group hopes that customers and colleagues will collect five million meals for people in need.

This is Tesco’s fourth Neighbourhood Food Collection since the initiative was launched in December 2012. So far they have collected 10 million meals for people in need around the UK with the last collection in December 2013 achieving 4.3 million donated meals.

Tesco will also be topping up total donations by a further 30%.

This weekend has been chosen because Tesco research found that “people are usually less generous in the Summer months than at other times of the year”. Only 7% of people surveyed said that they were at their most charitable during the Summer – yet many low-income families find the summer particularly hard as children no longer benefit from free school meals.

In July and August last year Trussell Trust foodbanks alone gave emergency food to 133,539 people, including 47,639 children. The charity expects demand to be higher this Summer.

Thousands of volunteers from the Trussell Trust and the FareShare network are involved over the weekend campaign, as will hundreds of volunteers from the British Red Cross. FareShare will distribute some of the donated food to some of the other 1,290 charities that it supports.

Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare said: “As the research shows, people are more generous at Christmas when it’s easier to remember those in need. However, we are urging people to give generously once more and not forget that the summer is also a difficult time for many as they struggle to provide for their families during the long break”.

 

£0.5m Foodbank fund open for applications

foodbank

Food aid organisations in Scotland can now apply for funding through the £500,000 Emergency Food Fund (EFF).

The Scottish Government fund is part of a £1 million investment in food aid, with £500,000 already committed to charity FareShare which redistributes surplus food from retailers to charities supporting their local communities.

According to figures produced by the Trussell Trust, the number of people who used food banks in Scotland between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014 rose to 71,428 compared to 14,332 people in the same period of 2012 to 2013.

EFF will support projects which respond to immediate demands for emergency food aid and help to address the underlying causes of food poverty.

Applications are invited for larger grants, up to four of which will be awarded at between £30,000 and £50,000 each. Smaller grants of up to £10,000 each will also be awarded, with £1000 being the minimum value for any individual grant.

Grants will be given to projects that concentrate on preventing food crisis recurring, those that build connections between food aid providers, advice and support agencies and organisations working to promote healthy eating and reduce food waste.

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The amount of people experiencing food poverty in Scotland is simply not acceptable. Welfare reform, benefit delays, benefit sanctions and falling incomes are all having a detrimental impact on the people of Scotland.

“The Scottish Government’s Emergency Food Fund will help food aid organisations combat food poverty in Scotland by working in partnership with other local agencies. I urge relevant organisations to apply.

“One of the most depressing trends over the last few years has been the rapid rise of food poverty in our country.

“The only upside to this is seeing communities come together, gathering and distributing food for those in need. It is important that we support these people and organisations through initiatives such as the Emergency Food Fund.

“Most people recognise that the increase in foodbank use is directly linked to welfare reform and benefit cuts. Only an independent Scotland will have the full powers we need to protect people from poverty and help them fulfill their potential in work and life.”

Application deadline is w/c July 11, with successful projects due to be announced in early August.