consultation – Page 10 – The NEN

Help shape Edinburgh’s transport future – AGAIN

‘Gathering views from our communities and businesses, alongside data and technical evidence, will be critical to these decisions’ – Transport Convener Cllr Scott Arthur

A major consultation to help shape the way people move around, to and from Edinburgh is now underway.

An integrated suite of action plans designed to transform transport in Edinburgh was approved for consultation by councillors during December and February.

Together, the Active Travel, Public Transport, Parking, Road Safety and Air Quality Action Plans aim to create cleaner, greener, safer, more accessible and affordable travel choices, while cutting congestion, reinforcing the Capital’s net zero 2030 goals and boosting the economy.

Each of the plans sits under the emerging Circulation Plan and its associated Streetspace Allocation Framework, which underpin the transition towards a less congested, more liveable, healthy and sustainable capital.

The city council is now seeking feedback on all the plans collectively, including via an online survey, public drop-ins, focus group and key stakeholder discussions and a toolkit to support community involvement.

The consultation will run until 9 July and outcomes will be reported to Transport and Environment Committee later this year, culminating in the finalisation of each plan.

Councillor Scott Arthur, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “Edinburgh is a growing, evolving capital, facing the same challenges as cities around the world – from climate change and poverty to traffic congestion and poor air quality.

“We want to transform the way people move around the city, which we hope will go some way to addressing this, and we’re looking at how we can create safer, sustainable and affordable transport options. This is also about working to support economic growth and building people-friendly spaces across the city, while helping to end poverty and isolation. We’ve put people, particularly those with a disability, at the heart of these plans.

“The draft action plans set out a range of actions to achieve this, and we want to collaborate with people and businesses in Edinburgh to shape how we deliver these plans. Combining all the plans into one big citywide conversation means we can really capture the interrelated issues and ensure actions are mutually supportive of each other.

“As a city we know and agree that we must cut congestion, boost the economy and hit net zero. This consultation is a chance for people to both comment on our proposals and also make alternative suggestions for delivering these key policies. Doing nothing, however, is no longer an option as we have a duty to face these challenges.

“We need to balance different travel needs with the limited street space we have, and that’s going to involve some real dilemmas. I’m particularly pleased, however, that making public transport more accessible and reliable is at the heart of these plans.

“Gathering views from our communities and businesses, alongside data and technical evidence, will be critical to these decisions. Whether you’re interested in improved public transport links, better walking, wheeling and cycling routes or making our streets more accessible and pleasant places to spend time, I’d urge you to take part in our consultation.”

Residents and businesses can share their views on proposals and priorities in a range of areas, including making streets more accessible, improving public transport and enhancing active travel networks, as well as achieving ambitious accident reduction targets and creating people-friendly, thriving neighbourhoods and shopping streets.

These actions support Edinburgh’s City Mobility Plan and aim to help drive down the number of kilometres travelled by car in the city by 30% by 2030, reduce air pollution and improve public health.

Find out more about plans to shape Edinburgh for future generations and take part in the consultation online.

Scottish Government to consult on second homes council tax hike

Councils empowered to prioritise ‘homes for living in‘

Plans to enable councils to raise the amount of council tax paid on empty and second homes will be included in a new consultation to help increase housing availability.

First Minister Humza Yousaf will announce proposals at the Scottish Trades Union Congress today (Monday 17 April) which could give councils powers to charge up to double the full rate of council tax on second homes from April 2024.

The proposed change would bring second homes into line with long-term empty homes from next year. The joint consultation with COSLA will also seek views on further powers to charge more than double rate on both empty and second homes in future years.

Latest figures show that in January 2023 there were 42,865 long-term empty homes in Scotland.

The consultation will also ask for views on whether there should be changes to the definition of when a property offering self-catered accommodation becomes liable for non-domestic rates.

The plans will deliver on commitments in the Scottish Government’s Housing to 2040 strategy and Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Green Party to enable councils to prioritise homes for living in and manage the impact of second or long-term empty homes.

Ahead of the consultation opening, the First Minister said: “We want everyone in Scotland to have an affordable home that meets their needs and this work to improve the availability of sustainable long-term housing opportunities is a core part of that.

“By recognising the important role councils have in considering local needs, these proposals aim to strike a balance between good housing supply and helping communities to thrive and benefit from tourism.

“I encourage anyone who is interested to respond to the consultation as we try to prioritise homes for living in, seeking a fair contribution to local services from everyone and recognising the benefits to local economies from self-catering accommodation and second homes.

“All responses will be carefully considered before legislation is introduced to the Scottish Parliament.”

COSLA Resources Spokesperson Councillor Katie Hagmaan said: “Local government in Scotland is committed to supporting access for everyone in Scotland to an affordable home.

“That is why we are pleased to be launching this joint consultation, as we work to meet the shared aim of creating the right balance to increase the availability of housing and a taxation system that is fair for the tourism industry.

“We also welcome the greater fiscal empowerment for councils to reflect local circumstances this would introduce. Any additional funding created by these changes under consultation will enable councils to invest in local needs and support sustainable communities.

“We are pleased to be jointly working with the Scottish Government on this vital area of work and we look forward to considering the responses.”

The consultation opens today 1- 7 April 2023 – on the Scottish Government’s consultation page and is expected to run for 12 weeks until 11 July 2023.

Housing statistics: Empty properties and second homes

Consultation: Addressing child poverty through parental employment

Closing on Wednesday

Holyrood’s Social Justice and Social Security Committee want to hear from parents and employers on how child poverty could be addressed through parental employment.

Share your views before the consultation closes:

https://yourviews.parliament.scot/…/child-poverty…

Views sought on school learning hours

Public consultation launched

People are being asked to share their views on a new legal minimum number of school learning hours.

If approved by Parliament, councils will be required by law to provide the equivalent of 25 teaching hours per week in primaries and 27.5 hours per week in secondaries across the school year.

Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville announced plans to introduce the measures last month to protect the school week and give parents greater certainty about the number of learning hours their children can expect to receive.

The consultation is open now and will run until June 13.

Ms Somerville said: “The school week is the backbone of our education provision and benefits all of Scotland’s children and young people. We have been clear that any changes to the school week must be based on educational benefit to pupils.

“Any measures that materially reduce the number of hours children spend learning in school could impact pupil attainment and wellbeing, and undermine our collective efforts to close the poverty-related attainment gap.

“This is an opportunity for parents, children and young people and everyone else with an interest to make their views known about the potential impact of this policy.”

Cultural communities – is enough being done to support culture at community level?

What cultural activities are happening in communities across Scotland? This is just one question being asked by the Scottish Parliament’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee as it starts a new inquiry.

The inquiry will see the Committee look at the Scottish Government’s Cultural Strategy, which focuses on what it calls a ‘place-based’ approach. The Committee will look at what this means for communities up and down the country and what barriers are in the way to developing local cultural activities.

Now the Committee want to hear from those who participate, attend or organise cultural activities in their local areas. It wants to find out what more needs to be done to support these activities and what difference they make to people’s lives.

Speaking as the inquiry launched, Committee Convener Clare Adamson MSP said: “Scotland has a rich cultural heritage and the very heart of that lies within our local communities. From community choirs to book clubs, local galas to theatre groups, there are a huge range of activities taking place each and every day.

“But these activities are not always easy to access or indeed organise, so we want to find out what support is needed to make these events happen. And importantly, where this support should come from.

“Culture enriches us all and this is especially true for our communities. Which is why we want to hear directly from those at the very heart of Scotland’s local communities.”

Questions the Committee is asking include:

What are the key factors that support you to attend or participate in cultural activities?
What support has there been in place to develop and grow cultural activities or events in your local area?
What needs to be in place to enable or to support a variety of cultural activities or events being organised and delivered in your local area?

The Call for views can be found here:

https://yourviews.parliament.scot/ceeac/culture-in-communities and is open to 31 March 2023.

Drylaw & Telford residents to have their say on local parks and green spaces

Dylaw and Telford Community Council is delighted to announce that funding has been secured to carry out a community wide consultation to seek the views of local people on what can be done to improve the greenspaces in our area.

This work will build on a previous consultation carried out more than 15 years ago which saw more than £500,000 worth of investment in improving local open spaces.

The £5,000 funding from the Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership’s Community Grants Fund will enable the community council to work with Edinburgh and Lothian Greenspace Trust (ELGT) again on this exciting project.

Over the next few months there will be a wide range of opportunities for local people to give their views on what could be done to improve some of the open spaces in our area.

Community Council Chairperson, Jimmy Galloway, said: “We are very fortunate in our area to have some great big parks and open spaces for locals to use. These areas are busy and well used and it is now time to see what else could be done to make them even better.

“This consultation will ensure everyone within the community gets the opportunity to give us feedback. That could be by completing an online survey or attending one of the many events that will be taking place.

“We are really looking forward to getting started in the coming weeks and I certainly can’t wait to see the results.

“We are working with the Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust on this – they have worked with us in the past and have a great knowledge of the area and a proven track record of delivering projects.”

Charlie Cumming, Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to be working with Drylaw and Telford community Council again to help develop plans to improve the local greenspaces.

“There are many opportunities to help make the area greener and more biodiverse which will mitigate against climate change. The aim being to create a great place for future generations and to encourage greater use of the greenspaces for local families.”

Misogyny law consultation

Proposals to criminalise abusive and humiliating behaviour routinely directed at women and girls

Misogynistic harassment could become a criminal offence as part of proposals aimed at providing greater protection for women and girls in Scotland.

A consultation has been launched on the draft reforms, which would create five new laws to provide police and prosecutors with new powers to tackle the corrosive effects of misogyny.

The proposals are based on the recommendations made by the Working Group on Misogyny led by Baroness Kennedy. This concluded that the harmful effects of misogyny meant women and girls required new protection through the criminal law.

Under the proposals, the scope of how current laws tackle misogynistic abuse would be expanded to include threatening, abusive or sexual behaviour directed towards women or girls – because of their gender– which is likely to cause them to feel degradation, humiliation or distress.

It would also be used to tackle situations where women or girls are subjected to threatening or abusive messages about rape, sexual assault or disfigurement – either in person, or online.

Justice Secretary Keith Brown said: “Baroness Kennedy’s report was stark in its assessment of the level of misogyny that exists in Scotland. Women and girls are routinely humiliated, touched, groped, undermined, trolled and objectified both online and off, and subjected to threats, harassment and abuse about their looks or desirability – stopping them from fully participating in society.

“Although there are already a range of laws that can be used to prosecute aspects of misogynistic harassment and abuse, these do not accurately identify the particular harm caused by misogyny. They also fail to adequately respond to problems faced by women, which is why we are consulting on further criminal reforms.

“And while criminal law reform alone cannot be expected to eliminate misogynistic abuse, or the attitudes which perpetuate it, these specific criminal protections are an important step in challenging society’s – and particularly men’s – tolerance of misogyny. I encourage everyone with an interest to consider what is proposed and offer their views.”

Baroness Helena Kennedy KC said: “ I strongly encourage as many women as possible to participate in this consultation.

“For too long the law has not been drawn from the experience of women. It is time to hear from girls and women about what they think should be included in law so that they can be treated as equals and live free from abuse and denigration.”

The consultation will run from 8 March to 2 June 2023.

Take part in the consultation.

The five new proposed criminal laws are:

An offence of misogynistic harassment. This would make it a criminal offence for a person to behave in a way that amounts to misogynistic harassment directed at a woman or girl or group of women and girls.
An offence of misogynistic behaviour. Intended to deal with misogynistic behaviour which is likely to have the effecting of causing a woman or girl to experience fear, alarm, degradation, humiliation or distress where that behaviour is not directed at a specific woman or girl (or group of women and girls) and so could not be described as ‘harassment’.
A statutory aggravation concerning misogyny. This would be used where an offence had a misogynistic motive or a person demonstrates misogyny whilst committing a crime. The statutory aggravation would ensure that this motive is recorded and taken into account when sentencing.
An offence of threatening or abusive communications to women or girls that reference rape, sexual assault or disfigurement. This offence criminalises sending an abusive message to a woman or girl that refers to rape, sexual assault or disfigurement
An offence of stirring up hatred against women and girls. This offence is concerned with the effect that the behaviour may be likely to have on the people in whom the perpetrator is seeking to stir up hatred of women and girls.

Finance Committee launches inquiry into Scottish Government’s public service reform programme

A new parliamentary inquiry into the Scottish Government’s public service reform programme has been announced.

Holyrood’s Finance and Public Administration Committee wants to examine the detail of the reform programme, which is focused on digitalisation, innovation, estates, public body landscape and procurement.

As part of this work, the committee will examine how public bodies are working to achieve the government’s plans to make efficiencies, while ensuring effective delivery of public services, in 2023-24 and beyond.

It will also consider the government’s ambitions to:

keep the public service pay bill costs at 2022-23 levels and
return the public sector workforce “broadly to pre-Covid-19 levels”.

Finance and Public Administration Committee Convener, Kenneth Gibson MSP said: “The Scottish Government’s Resource Spending Review published in May 2022 set out its high-level spending plans up until 2026-27 to deliver on its ambitions.

“Further information on the government’s plans for reform and workforce levels were expected in the Scottish Budget 2023-24 but did not materialise due to ongoing economic turbulence.

“Our committee therefore wants to look at how public bodies are working to put in place the government’s ambitions for reform.“We also want to establish from where in the public sector reductions in headcount to pre-pandemic levels will be made, and to what timescales.

“Clarity and transparency around these issues are crucial, during what is an uncertain time for the public sector.”

A call for views from public sector bodies, academics, think tanks and other interested parties has been launched today, with a closing date of 1 May 2023.

To inform this inquiry, the committee is seeking written views from Scottish public bodies on their plans for public service reform in their sectors, and others with a view on how the reform programme is working in practice and how it is delivering effective and efficient services.

The committee is particularly keen to hear from:

all types and sizes of public sector bodies from across the public sector
others affected by the Scottish Government’s public service reform programme, and
think-tanks, academics and commentators on progress with, and outcomes from, the reform programme.

Submit your views

Transformation of Leith continues: public views sought on Ocean Point

Property developer S Harrison Developments is giving the public the chance to view updated proposals for residential-led development at Ocean Point 2 in Leith, adding to the ongoing transformation of the Waterfront and delivering further vibrancy to the area.

Neighbouring Ocean Point 1, whose occupiers include VisitScotland, the brownfield site will aim to comprise a mix of homes, a high proportion of which will be for families, alongside other potential uses including purpose-built student accommodation, delivering a truly mixed community.

Along with commercial uses/co-working and amenity space, landscaping and infrastructure, these will occupy two buildings on the site.

Following an initial public exhibition which took place in December, a second exhibition of updated proposals will take place TOMORROW – Tuesday 7 March – between 2pm and 7pm at Ocean Terminal.

In addition to delivering new homes, student accommodation is also being explored with students delivering significant spending power locally and bringing a future skilled workforce to an area which has witnessed little purpose-built student accommodation.

Edinburgh is a university city, and the number of students in higher education has risen by almost a third since the start of the century, with purpose-built student accommodation having the potential to free-up much needed family homes currently occupied by students locally.

Located in Leith, voted in October 2021 by Time Out as one of the “world’s coolest neighbourhoods” and by the Sunday Times as the best place to live in Britain, the proposed development will bring increased vibrancy to the area.

Conveniently situated just two miles from Edinburgh city centre, it is likely to be attractive to those seeking to live, work and study in the area, taking advantage of local shops, bars, restaurants and cafés.

The development neighbours Ocean Terminal, which is set to undergo a £100 million transformation, delivering a mixed-use development comprising residential, commercial, retail and hospitality.

In addition, Forth Ports, which has been named as a Green Freeport and at the centre of a new supply chain for Scotland’s renewable industry, is seeming to deliver an exciting mixed-use development, including residential, a hotel, local retail, flexible workspaces and offices and leisure facilities.

The extension of the tram line between Edinburgh and Ocean Terminal, anticipated to commence running in June, will also provide connectivity between the development and Edinburgh city centre within 20 minutes.

Further information will also be posted on the website at: www.oceanpoint2.com

Harrison has a long pedigree of working in the city, ranging from delivering the Malmaison at St Andrew Square to student developments at Westfield and Gorgie and hotel development at Osborne House, Haymarket.

A spokesperson for Harrison Developments commented: “Our proposed development, if approved, will bring much-needed homes and other uses to an area which is undergoing a rapid transformation, delivering a truly mixed community.

“Regenerating a current brownfield site, we look forward to continue to engage with the local community following our first exhibition last year and providing it with the opportunity to input their views and further shape our ambitious proposals.”