People across Lothian are being encouraged to help ensure health and care services across the region are fit for the future.
NHS Lothian and Lothian’s four Health and Social Care Partnerships has launched a major engagement initiative as they begin planning how services should be designed and delivered over the next five years. Priorities include ensuring that people have equal access to the right care and support, wherever they live in the region.
Calum Campbell, Chief Executive of NHS Lothian, said: “There are lots of reasons why we need to consider how things may need to change to ensure everyone has equal access to the care they need to live their best lives.
“The past two years of pandemic have been hugely challenging, so we need to make sure that we prioritise our resources as effectively as possible to help reduce waiting times.
“There are opportunities too. Technology and innovation in medicine can have a huge impact on what we can do and how we do it, and we have learnt a lot about new ways of working.”
The move comes against a backdrop of challenge facing health and care services that existed even before the pandemic.
More people are living longer – a testament to improvements in general population health and innovation in medicine and healthcare – but this has also created the highest ever demand for these services, as people are likely to need them more in their later years.
The NHS workforce is ageing too. There are more NHS staff over 55 years of age than under 30. That means a focus on recruitment and training is vital, but also that the roles themselves in healthcare might need to change.
Mr Campbell added: “It’s really important that patients, carers, partner organisations and our staff understand the constraints and the opportunities and tell us what matters most to them as we develop our plans.
“There is not a household in the land that is not affected by these services at some point, so this really is for everyone to think about and have their say.”
This phase of the engagement process is running until the end of May and the public are invited to get involved by reading the draft framework and providing feedback or by attending one of the virtual events being held across the next two months.
The Scottish Ambulance Service is actively engaged with NHS Boards, Health & Social Care Partnerships, GP practices and other key stakeholders to support the effective delivery of high-quality care.
As a result, we believe we have enormous potential to play a significantly enhanced role in the future of health and social care provision, by working collaboratively with the public and stakeholders around how we plan and provide safe, effective and person-centred health and care for the people of Scotland.
In 2019, we actively consulted with staff and the public to get input into the development of our 2030 Strategy. However, soon afterwards, we had to pause the development of the strategy to allow us to focus on our response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, taking account of the new post-pandemic landscape, we must consider how we develop our strategy to respond to Scotland’s Health & Social Care priorities to help address the root cause of the challenges we face on a day-to-day basis.
There are just two weeks left to have your say on the governance, scope and operation of the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board.
The Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) for Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership is made up of representatives from City of Edinburgh Council and NHS Lothian, Third Sector representatives, service users and carers.
The Edinburgh Integration Joint Board, through its Chief Officer has responsibility for the planning, resourcing and the operational oversight of a wide range of health and social care services.
The City of Edinburgh Council and NHS Lothian are consulting on a general update to the Scheme of Integration – the document which outlines the governance, scope and operation of the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board.
The consultation is being conducted to help further inform and finalise this revision of the scheme.
You are invited to participate in the consultation, by providing your views on the revised Scheme of Integration:
Campaigners call for targets on consumption as the Scottish Government announces it will launch a consultation into a new Circular Economy Bill in May.
The Scottish Government has said that one of the measures included in the Circular Economy Bill is a ban on the destruction of unsold goods.
Kim Pratt, circular economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland said “The Circular Economy Bill is Scotland’s chance to reduce the over-consumption of materials which is killing our planet.
“The Scottish Government can send a clear signal to all sectors in Scotland, and across the world, that we are serious about the system-level change required to create a circular economy. To do this, we need strong targets which measure, for the first time, the global impact of Scotland’s material consumption.
“We consumed 18 tonnes of materials per person per year in Scotland in 2017. Creating a circular economy, with sustainable levels of material use and which also meets high quality living standards for everyone could reduce this to eight tonnes.
“The Circular Economy Bill should include targets to reduce consumption and the means to create an independent advisory body, similar to the Climate Change Committee, to advise the Scottish Government on progress.
“The recent ban on single use plastic items should be extended to cover all single use items. A Circular Economy Business Standard should be introduced and the public sector should be required to use this new standard in all its procurement, encouraging new sustainable business models to flourish.
“Government should estimate the critical material use of policies, in addition to current requirements to measure carbon impact.”
82% of Scotland’s carbon footprint relates to material consumption. From buildings and transport to food and clothing, we use materials in a linear way: extracting raw materials, making them into products, using them (sometimes only once) and throwing them away to be burnt or buried.
Cutting our material consumption to sustainable levels will support Scotland to reach its climate goals.
The Netherlands has set a target to move to a full circular economy by 2050, with an interim objective of a 50% reduction in the primary raw materials (minerals, fossil fuels and metals) by 2030. In 2021, the European Parliament voted to create binding, science based targets for material use and consumption footprint.
Edinburgh-based housebuilder Cruden Homes has revealed exciting proposals to deliver much-needed housing in Leith.
Located on the site of the former Edinburgh Carpet and Flooring Warehouse, on the corner of Salamander Street and Salamander Yards, the proposed development will aim to comprise 96 apartments.
Including a range of different sized apartments, the development will range from four to six storeys, with the added bonus of ground floor retail fronting onto Salamander Street.
A proposal of application notice (PAN) has now been submitted with City of Edinburgh Council, noting the intent to submit a planning application following a minimum 12-week consultation period.
A web-based community consultation events, in line with Scottish Government Covid-guidelines, will allow the community to provide feedback on and shape the proposals.
The event will take place on 27th April from 3.30pm-7.30pm.
Commenting on these proposals, Rory Stephens from Cruden Homes said: “This exciting and ambitious scheme will serve to regenerate the current brownfield site, delivering much-needed sustainable housing, including affordable homes, as well as providing a retail offering on the ground floor.
“We’re very much looking forward to consulting widely with the local community and key stakeholders over the coming months, which will include a digital consultation event, and are keen to hear their views in shaping proposals for this site.”
Views are being sought on plans to improve support for Scotland’s community of unpaid carers through the introduction of a new benefit.
Under Scottish Government proposals, Scottish Carer’s Assistance will replace Carer’s Allowance, currently delivered by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), and be delivered by Social Security Scotland.
It will support over 80,000 people who provide 35 hours per week or more of care to those receiving certain disability benefits. An additional payment of more than £500 a year will be made to those who care for more than one person.
A consultation published today outlines proposals aimed at improving the service that carers receive, including increased financial support and links to wider support in areas such as social care, employability, education and bereavement.
It also highlights how support could be expanded once those already in receipt of Carer’s Allowance have been transferred from DWP to Social Security Scotland.
Social Security Minister Ben Macpherson said: “Caring for a loved one can be a positive and life changing experience but also presents many challenges. We will deliver Scottish Carer’s Assistance in a compassionate and considerate way, linking carers to wider services.
“We will also create a weekly payment of £10 for those caring for more than one person, and if the person they care for is challenging a change to their disability benefits we will make support available.
“This is in addition to continuing support for young carers and maintaining the extra support from our Carer’s Allowance Supplement, providing eligible carers with an extra £460 a year.
“When we have introduced our new benefit, and safely and securely transferred people from Carer’s Allowance to Scottish Carer’s Assistance, we intend to make further improvements. We will look for opportunities to make these changes sooner if we can do so without putting carers’ existing benefits at risk.
“These further changes would help remove barriers to education, allow carers to add together hours spent caring for more than one person to qualify for support, extend support after the loss of a cared for person or when a cared for person is in hospital, and enable carers to earn more from paid work.
“We want to hear people’s views on these plans, other potential changes beyond these, and thoughts on how improvements would help address inequality and poverty.”
Fiona Collie, Policy & Public Affairs Manager at Carers Scotland, said: “Carers Scotland is very pleased to welcome the publication of this consultation on proposals for Scottish Carer’s Assistance and a new Carer Additional Person Payment to support unpaid carers.
“This opportunity to improve the main financial support for carers in Scotland is an important one and carers have long discussed ways in which it can be changed to recognise their caring and better meet their needs.
“I would encourage as many carers as possible to respond and bring their views and experiences to the consultation, either individually or through events and activities that are planned.”
Consultation sets out UK-wide approach to introduce mandatory Digital Waste Tracking (DWT) for the movement of waste.
Plans will help track compliance and tackle illegal waste exports and fly-tipping – an issue recently highlighted by the programme BBC Disclosure
Powers in Environment Act mean digital waste tracking can support the effective regulation of waste and track waste and resource flows in a circular economy
A consultation setting out plans for a mandatory digital waste tracking service in the UK was launched on 21 January 2022.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Scottish Government have been working with UK partners to develop a four-nation approach to digital tracking of waste movements.
The Environment Act 2021 provides powers for the Scottish Government to develop regulations to introduce a digital waste tracking service in Scotland, which will be implemented by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
The consultation is seeking views on the practical aspects of implementing digital waste tracking across the UK including:
What waste activities and information will need to be recorded
What current waste reporting will be replaced by the new service
How users will be able to enter information onto the service
Who will be required to enter information and when
Alternative provisions for digitally excluded waste holders
Data access controls
Cost recoveryCompliance and enforcement
How we should go live with the service
SEPA urges Scottish businesses and stakeholders to take part in the consultation and provide their views. The consultation can be found on SEPA’s consultation hub.
A mandatory UK digital waste tracking service will transform the way we track waste and resource flows, tackle waste crime and prioritise regulatory activities. It will help SEPA identify actions to support a shift to the circular economy, facilitate strategic decision making and support users to make informed choices about how their waste is managed.
This means those handling waste will record information from the point waste is produced to the stage it is disposed of, recycled and reused. This will enable regulators to better tackle waste crime, including fly-tipping, illegal waste sites, and illegal waste exports.
It will also help businesses and householders comply with their duty of care with regards to waste and help them make more informed choices about how their waste is managed.
As highlighted in BBC Disclosure’s recent broadcast, Dirty Business, criminal activities including fly-tipping, illegal dumping, and the illegal export of waste abroad can blight communities, harm the environment, and pose a risk to human health.
Research estimates £53 million is taken from the public purse every year in Scotland removing illegal waste and serious and organised crime is estimated to cost the UK economy at least £600 million a year.
Scotland generates 11.45 million tonnes of waste a year and DWT will help unlock opportunities to do better things with our waste and resources.
Scottish Government Circular Economy Minister, Lorna Slater, said: “A digital waste tracking system will help to tackle the waste crime that causes such harm to our environment, such as flytipping and illegal waste exports. Having access to comprehensive and up to date information on where waste is generated and moved within Scotland is vital if we are to crack down on waste crime.
“By making it easier to identify opportunities to reduce the waste produced and reuse more of the materials we consume, these measures will help create a circular economy, where materials are kept in use for as long as possible and nothing is wasted.
“Developing and implementing a digital waste tracking system will provide a step change in the quality and timeliness of waste data. This will support decision-making and help us to cut emissions and meet our waste reduction and recycling targets.”
DWT will help to deliver SEPA’s Regulatory Strategy by monitoring compliance with the Duty of Care, enabling timely tracking of hazardous waste, facilitate better data analysis to identify waste crime and provide data to support the development and monitoring of sector plans.
It will also enable the identification and tracking of materials and resources to facilitate their more efficient use in the circular economy, supporting the objectives of SEPA’s Waste to Resources Framework and Scottish Government’s circular economy strategy.
Ian Buchanan, Chief Officer of Compliance and Beyond, for SEPA said: “Digital Waste Tracking will improve the way we regulate waste and help waste producers and the waste management industry demonstrate compliance and make important decisions about waste and resources.
“DWT will also strengthen our ability to track compliance, prioritise regulatory activities and help prevent waste crime, including illegal export of waste.
“We are clear in what we expect of businesses of all sizes, from SMEs to specialist companies. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
“SEPA will continue to invest significant regulatory effort in monitoring waste movement and waste exports to ensure compliance and will use a variety of approaches to successfully detect, disrupt and deter illegal activity in Scotland.
“Waste crime has a real impact on local communities and legitimate business. It can cause serious pollution, puts communities at risk and undermines the efforts of legitimate operators.”
A spokesperson for the Resource Management Association Scotland said: “We welcome the announcement of the Digital Waste Tracking consultation.
“This presents an excellent opportunity to shape the future of waste data and tracking, to help support the Resource and Waste Management Sector in Scotland and the journey to net zero and we will be encouraging our members to respond.”
Does litter bug you? Do you want to do something about it? This spring, environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful is calling for Scotland’s communities to join a Spring Clean challenge from 21 March-21 April to help clean up our country.
Spending more time outdoors was an unexpected benefit of lockdown. But along with our renewed appreciation of nature, many of us realised Scotland is facing a huge litter problem. Our research revealed that 88% of Scots agree that litter is a problem across Scotland. And 70% are concerned about litter in their area.
If you feel frustrated about the litter in your community or the places you visit, you can do something about it. Spring Clean Scotland is the perfect opportunity to make a difference by picking up litter on your local beach, streets, parks and beyond. Get involved and help make the places we care about cleaner and safer for people and animals.
Every action, however small, makes a difference. Just half an hour of picking up litter and disposing of it safely can help an area look cleaner and feel safer, and evidence shows it also prevents more litter being dropped.
Why not organise a litter pick with friends, family, workmates or your wider community? Or find one to join in with on Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Clean Up Scotland map.
We know young people feel strongly about caring for the environment and want to do something about the harmful effects of litter in their communities. Your school can get involved too. As part of Spring Clean, there is a Live Lesson open to all schools across the UK.
Barry Fisher, CEO of Keep Scotland Beautifulsaid, “Across Scotland we have seen a steady increase in the amount of litter over the past decade. While this is a real challenge, we are heartened by the incredible work of litter picking heroes up and down the country.
“Our communities already play a vital role in taking action to tackle litter, with many people giving up their time to clean up their local areas despite the challenges of the last two years.
“We would love as many people as possible to join in and give Scotland a spring clean this March and April.
“For those that wish to take further action, The Scottish Government is currently consulting on a revised National Litter and Flytipping Strategy and you can still respond until the end of March and have #YourSayOnLitter.”
Inspired to take positive action? Learn more and sign up to join in here:
A consultation has revealed strong support for proposals to establish a National Care Service accountable to Scottish ministers.
More than three-quarters (77%) of people who responded to the official consultation thought the main benefit of the proposed change would be more consistent outcomes for people accessing care and support across Scotland.
Meanwhile more than two-thirds (72%) of those responding agreed that the Scottish Government should be accountable for the delivery of social care through a National Care Service.
There were over 1200 responses to the consultation.
An analysis of responses from individuals and organisations on plans was published yesterday, following publication of the individual responses last week. The responses also highlight the risks which could emerge from such significant reform, but the need for change in the immediate and longer term is a key theme.
The consultation process represents the first phase of engagement for the National Care Service programme.
Social Care Minister Kevin Stewart said: “We will consider all views expressed in the consultation very carefully and I would like to thank all those who took part. It is clear that there is a real appetite for change.
“We will continue to engage with people with lived experience of the service whether they are people accessing care and support, their families, care workers or providers.
“The final scope of the National Care Service has not yet been concluded. Over the coming weeks, we will have the opportunity to reflect on these views of the public. We will then be in a position to bring forward the detailed plans for improvement to be undertaken over the course of this Parliament.
“However we are not waiting to act to enhance Scotland’s social care services that’s why we invested £300 million to help deal with winter pressures, and we’re determined to go further.
“We are committed to acting now to improve things for people. I am therefore delighted to announce today that we will develop and publish a standalone Carer’s Strategy with a focus on Covid recovery and improving carer support in a meaningful and sustainable way. We will engage with unpaid carers about its scope and purpose in the coming months to inform its development.
“Our aim will be to draw on the knowledge and lived experience of unpaid carers so that the strategy is shaped by those who best understand the many challenges faced.
“We will seek to publish the strategy by late spring to provide a clear vision for how we will respond to the challenges faced by so many carers.”
The public consultation attracted nearly 1,300 responses, from around 703 individuals and just over 575 organisations. A significant proportion of the responses came from individuals with lived experience, or bodies that represent them.
The social care workforce are also well represented in the responses, along with providers
Actions taken to support immediate improvements on social care include:
Investing £300 million of winter pressures funding in October, to maximise the capacity of the NHS and social care system this winter and in particular to bolster the caring workforce by increasing their numbers, providing them with additional support
Making additional funding of up to £48 million available to enable employers to provide an uplift to the hourly rate of pay for staff offering direct care within Adult Social Care to a minimum £10.02 per hour from the 1 December 2021
An additional £4 million to expand support for unpaid carers this winter, including to enable them to take breaks from caring
Developing options to remove non-residential charging as soon as possible
A call for views into the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill has been launched by several Scottish Parliament Committees.
The wide-ranging Scottish Government Bill, seeks to make permanent some of the temporary, emergency legislation introduced during the pandemic, and to extend others, which are due to expire by March 2022.
The Bill covers a number of policy areas including alcohol licensing, bankruptcy, justice, education (closing establishments and continuity of education), freedom of information, and vaccinations and immunisations.
Some key proposals outlined in the Bill include:
• maintaining provisions in the UK Coronavirus Act that enable Scottish Ministers to enact measures via public health regulations for any future public health threats, in line with powers that are already in place in England and Wales;
• maintaining provisions that grant Scottish Ministers power to restrict access to educational establishments on public health grounds;
• maintaining pre-eviction protocols relating to rent arrears in the private rented sector, placing more responsibility on landlords to ensure correct procedures are followed and that tenants are fully informed of their rights;
• allowing extended time-limits for criminal proceedings to temporarily remain in place to help the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service manage the backlog of cases arising from COVID-19; and allowing cases to continue to be heard through digital and physical means.
Four Parliament Committees will analyse the Bill. The COVID-19 Recovery Committee is the lead Committee scrutinising the Bill; while the Criminal Justice Committee will consider the justice policy measures; the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee will consider the tenancy and eviction policy measures; and the Education, Children and Young People Committee will look into education related provisions.
Speaking as the inquiry was launched, Siobhian Brown MSP (above), Convener of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee, said:“This pandemic has impacted almost every aspect of our lives, from restrictions on how we live, to mass vaccinations and significant changes in how public services are delivered.
“The threat of COVID-19 meant a great number of temporary, emergency legislatives measure were introduced at speed, but with these measures due to expire in March 2022, the time is now to decide which of these in the Bill should be put in place permanently.
“We recognise the size and scope of this Bill mean a diverse range of people and organisations may wish to comment on it. That’s why respondents will have the option to complete a short survey, where they can give their views on a specific aspect of the Bill, or a longer form, more detailed option is also available.”
“The Scottish Government’s stated aim for the Bill is to support Scotland’s recovery from the pandemic but we want to make sure it does not go too far, and that any changes which are made permanent act to benefit the people of Scotland and ease pressure on the public services we all rely on.”
The Convener continued:“Given the wide-ranging nature of this proposed legislation, the Parliament was keen to ensure it was given an appropriate level of scrutiny.
“That’s why we are bringing several Committees together, who will work collaboratively and use their specific areas of expertise in order to assess the impact of this Bill as effectively as possible.”
