The future of Scotland’s town centres, and how the changing nature of retail and ecommerce has impacted them, is to be investigated by the Economy and Fair Work Committee.
The Parliamentary Committee is looking to identify the current challenges for high streets, and the barriers to their success, and to explore the extent to which an increasing use of ecommerce is impacting on Scotland’s town centres. It aims to propose action needed to support modern and thriving town centres.
The Committee’s inquiry has three areas of focus:
Keeping town centres alive – including how they have changed over recent years, their strengths and weaknesses, and who or what can drive positive change in Scottish town centres.
The new realities of Scottish retail – including how this sector has evolved over the last decade, the impact of these changes on town centres and what role fiscal policy levers should have in supporting this sector.
Ecommerce in Scotland – including the implications for businesses of increased online shopping and digital activity, and the role of Scottish SMEs in the ecommerce sector.
Speaking as the inquiry was launched, Claire Baker MSP, Convener of the Economy and Fair Work Committee said:“Scotland’s town centres have traditionally been the heartbeat of our communities bringing people together to live, work, shop and socialise.
“However, traditional town centres are under pressure and under threat, with too many shops closing and too many high streets dominated by ‘to let’ signs.
“Changing retail trends, including the growth in ecommerce and the expansion of retail park alternatives, combined with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, continues to create a difficult trading environment.”
The Convener continued:“We want to find out how to diversify and grow high street activity, and are particularly keen to hear from businesses and members of the public on what makes a successful and thriving town centre.
“Our inquiry is seeking to bring forward recommendations to demonstrate how Scotland’s town centres can thrive in this post pandemic world, and be vibrant, resilient and accessible places which meet the economic, social and environmental needs of our communities.”
Learning new things: where and how would you want to do it?
If you were looking to learn something new – whether it’s to get a job, for a hobby or just because you fancy it – where would you want to do it? At home? In a local school or community centre? With a local employer or community group? Online?
We’re working with our Granton Waterfront regeneration partners to find out what people living in the area think about learning – why is learning important to you?
How does it affect you and your life? What you would like to learn about? How do you learn best? What things help you learn? What things make it harder to learn?
Please give us your answers on our online questionnaire:
Crosslane Residential Developments (Crosslane), part of the Crosslane Property Group, is pleased to announce proposals to deliver a new form of residential living to Edinburgh.
Plans aim to introduce a new, innovative, renting concept to local residents, referred to as residential serviced living.
Residential serviced living is a new type of fully furnished accommodation, with shared social spaces focused on creating a vibrant sense of community and all-inclusive rents, covering utilities and other living costs.
Proposed plans are for a new residential development located at Ocean Point 2, next to Ocean Terminal in Leith, just two miles from Edinburgh city centre. The scheme will comprise of 293 units providing a mix of studio, 1, 2 and 3-bed apartments with 74 of these offered at affordable intermediate rent levels.
The proposed high-quality, new development will be entirely different to other residential accommodation. The entire building is designed to be the living environment. The principle is that residents sleep in their room but ‘live’ in the building, by taking advantage of the wide range of shared communal space and facilities available, generating a real sense of community within the development.
With many young professionals currently priced out of an expensive and highly competitive apartment- based rental marketplace in Edinburgh, this new concept provides affordable, accessible accommodation for local residents.
In addition to high-quality, fully furnished studios and apartments, residents living in the new development can enjoy the opportunity of making new friends and feeling part of a collaborative community by taking advantage of social spaces throughout the building.
Large, fully fitted shared kitchen and dining rooms on each floor, onsite cinema, relaxing drawing room and well-equipped onsite gym, are just a few examples of the facilities residents can use alongside their own room and ultra-fast WiFi.
Outdoor areas such as a courtyard and terrace area with fantastic views across the Firth of Forth promote an environment for improved wellbeing and mental health. Proposals also include study and working areas with office space for new business start-ups, entrepreneurs, SMEs and home working, providing a more flexible home/work/life hub, something which has become more important as a result of the pandemic.
The location of the development is just two miles from Edinburgh city centre and will provide convenient accommodation for those working in the capital.
A large cycle storage facility will be provided to encourage residents to cycle to work, or take public transport, helping to discourage car ownership. The extension of the tram line between Edinburgh and Ocean Terminal will provide connectivity between the development and Edinburgh city centre within 20 minutes, making it the ideal affordable accommodation choice for young professionals.
The development is also likely to be attractive to those seeking to live and work within Leith itself, taking advantage of local shops, bars, restaurants and cafés.
A Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) has been submitted to the City of Edinburgh Council, and a public consultation event will be held on Thursday 10th February 2022 between 3pm and 7pm to present details of the new development and give the public the chance to provide views, ask questions and comment on proposals.
This will be held digitally via www.oceanpoint2.com with a second event planned for March.
Mark Hughes, Managing Director at Crosslane Residential Developments, said:“Crosslane Property Group is an experienced developer and operator having already delivered more than 7,000 units across 30 previous developments.
“With our new and unique ‘residential serviced living’ concept, we aim to be the leading provider of community living in the UK and Europe. We have already secured a future pipeline of 3,000 units across six schemes for our new concept and continue to grow this to work towards our goal of delivering 5,000 units by 2025.
“Our Ocean Point 2 development in Edinburgh is incredibly appealing for both Leith and Edinburgh as a whole. Residential serviced living represents an innovative housing solution at a time when rental accommodation prices in the capital are soaring, and there are serious demands on housing supply.
“This development represents a commitment to provide affordable housing with a full range of shared communal amenities. Our concept of residents sleeping in their rooms and living in the building, will ensure they enjoy a more rewarding, holistic way of life, with improved social, mental and physical health and wellbeing.
“We have received very positive feedback from key stakeholders to date and look forward to presenting full details of proposals to the public to obtain their comments as we continue to incorporate feedback into our final plans.
“We are committed to ensuring the long-term success and integration of this project into the neighbourhood and look forward to the opportunity of working with local businesses to encourage residents to shop and eat out locally within the area.”
Crews of up to nine were routinely being mobilised in two fire appliances to an average 28,479 false alarms each year – equating to around 57,000 unnecessary blue light journeys.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service recently held a 12-week public consultation which provided communities and partners with three options to safely reduce these numbers.
The consultation identified that most stakeholders supported Option A which means that the SFRS will establish if Automatic Fire Alarms (AFAs) in workplaces have been triggered by an actual fire before sending any appliances.
This change, which will reduce attendance rates by up to 57 per cent, will come into effect in April 2023 and will bring Scotland into line with most other UK Fire and Rescue Services.
Hospitals, residential care homes and sleeping risk premises will remain exempt and appliances will continue to be mobilised automatically to any fire alarm activations within these facilities.
It is anticipated that 37,524 hours could now be released each year for firefighters to enhance their training – and carry out community safety work, including supporting the most vulnerable to stay safe from fires within the home.
SFRS Assistant Chief Officer Stuart Stevens said: “We are grateful to the public and our partners for sharing their views on our proposals.
“False alarms account for almost one third of fire and rescue activity across Scotland. They place a drain on front line services, increase risk to road users and cause interruption to the business sector and communities.
“The advantages of call challenging workplaces to reduce these callouts are clear,” said ACO Stevens.
“Making this change means we can carry out more training, community safety and fire prevention activity, as well as improving road safety and reducing our carbon impact.
“These unnecessary blue light journeys bring risks to our crews, other road users and pedestrians as well as impacting the environment with an estimated 575 tonnes of carbon emissions produced – the equivalent of heating 230 homes a year.
“Businesses will also experience less disruption as they no longer need to wait for us to attend to give the all clear after a false alarm.
“The legal responsibility for dealing with an AFA alert lies with the duty holder of a property and most UK fire and rescue services now seek confirmation of a fire before attending. Now the SFRS is making this change too.”
The Board paper, full consultation report and associated documents can be accessed online at:
Plans to deliver a new deal for tenants, with stronger rights, greater protections against eviction and access to greener, higher-quality, more affordable housing, have been launched.
The proposals, which are now open to public consultation, aim to deliver a fairer rented sector that meets the needs of tenants and welcomes responsible landlords.
They include:
increasing penalties for illegal evictions and stronger enforcement
restricting evictions during winter
giving tenants greater flexibility to personalise their homes and keep pets
developing a national system of rent controls for the private rented sector
introducing a new Housing Standard to apply to all homes
establishing a private rented sector regulator to uphold these standards and ensure the system is fair for both landlords and tenants
setting minimum standards for energy efficiency, making homes cheaper to heat while contributing to Scotland’s climate change targets
The measures form part of the Housing to 2040 strategy, published in March this year, and take forward several commitments made in the co-operation agreement with the Scottish Green Party. The results of the consultation will feed into the final version of the strategy to be published next year, with elements of the proposals put to the Scottish Parliament in a Housing Bill in 2023.
Tenants’ Rights Minister Patrick Harvie said: “Now is the time to do more for people who rent their homes, whether they are renting privately, from the council or from a housing association. Delivering a new deal for tenants is central to our ambitions for a fairer Scotland, tackling child poverty and meeting climate change targets.
“Above all else it will significantly improve the lives of Scotland’s tenants, giving them more stability, more choice over where they live and how they decorate their homes, and the confidence that their home will be of a high quality. At the same time it will recognise the interests of good quality, responsible landlords.
“We will be working in partnership with landlords, letting agents, tenants and others to deliver this strategy, and we want to gather the broadest range of views. I would encourage anyone with an interest to respond to our consultation.”
Alison Watson, Director of Shelter Scotland, said: “A warm, safe, and permanent home is a right not a privilege for everyone in Scotland. To make this a reality we need to ensure there is enough social housing for everyone who needs it, while strengthening the rights of tenants and empowering people to defend them.
“Shelter Scotland has long called for tenants’ rights and protections, in both the social and private sectors, to be strengthened to make sure no one can be denied their right to a home. Too many renters aren’t aware of their rights or don’t feel confident in enforcing them and that needs to change.
“This is an ambitious strategy, and it offers the chance to mend many aspects of a housing system that is currently failing thousands. We are excited to work with the Scottish Government to develop these ideas and build a better future for housing in Scotland.”
Sally Thomas, Chief Executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA), said: “We welcome the Scottish Government’s ambition that all tenants should have access to secure, good quality, affordable homes. We are also pleased the government has acknowledged the unique role housing associations have in delivering these outcomes to people right across Scotland.
“Fairness, quality and affordability are at the heart of the social housing sector, with our homes built to the highest standards, and tenants regularly engaged in important decisions.
“This consultation provides an opportunity to inform and shape the detail behind these important principles, not least to provide a clearer definition of affordability. SFHA and our members look forward to working with Scottish Government over the coming months to do this.”
Views sought on proposed legal duties for public bodies
Health and social care services, children’s services, police and other public bodies will have a legal duty to ‘ask and act’ to prevent homelessness under Scottish Government proposals.
The measures would be part of new laws aimed at preventing homelessness, based on recommendations from an expert group convened by the charity Crisis at the request of the Scottish Government. They would represent the biggest change to Scotland’s homelessness legislation in almost a decade.
Public bodies would have a legal duty to identify anyone at risk of homelessness and either take action themselves or refer on to more appropriate help.
A consultation on the plans, run jointly with COSLA, will give people with experience of homelessness, alongside those from the housing sector, public bodies and others, the chance to share their views and help shape Scotland’s approach to preventing homelessness.
Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said: “We know that the best way to end homelessness is to prevent it from happening in the first place. These new proposals build on the strong housing rights that already exist in Scotland for people who become homeless.
“Early action should be a shared public responsibility, giving people facing homelessness more choice and control over where they live.
“Homelessness is often a traumatic and unsettling experience that can have a profound impact on the lives of those involved, including children.
“By intervening at an earlier stage, and encouraging services to work together to respond to people’s needs, we can ensure fewer people and families are faced with having to re-build lives affected by homelessness.
“This will further add to our existing ambitious programme of work and investment to ensure everyone has a safe, warm place to call home.”
Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of Crisis, said: “We strongly support plans for new duties for public bodies to prevent homelessness in Scotland.
“Scotland has made huge progress in its journey towards ending homelessness in recent years, but while the country has powerful protections in place for people experiencing homelessness, far too many people are being forced to reach crisis point before they get the help they need.
“Everyone has a role to play in preventing homelessness, and by introducing new duties requiring public services to ask about someone’s housing situation, and offer them the help they need, we can build a truly world leading system of homelessness prevention.”
Councillor Kelly Parry, COSLA Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing said: “People have a right to a place they can call home. Rough sleeping and sofa surfing is something we have always worked to eliminate.
“We welcome the proposal that the duty to end homelessness will be shared with other public bodies and look forward to being closely engaged in the consultation with other partners”.
Fines for flytipping could be more than doubled as part of proposals being consulted on.
The consultation on a new National Litter and Flytipping Strategy proposes a range of measures to prevent litter and flytipping, improve data and strengthen enforcement.
This includes raising fines for flytipping from £200 to £500 – the maximum permitted by current legislation. The consultation also asks if they should be raised beyond this cap.
The introduction of a sustained national behaviour change campaign is also being proposed, aimed at breaking the cycle of littering and flytipping. This would be supported by new research, looking at why people continue to litter.
Launching the consultation, Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater said: “We want a Scotland that is free of the blight of litter and flytipping. That’s why we’re asking for views on a bold set of measures that could help make our streets, parks and public spaces free of rubbish.
“Litter and flytipping are not just a blight on local communities – they also cost millions of pounds every year in clean-up costs. We need to send a clear message that this behaviour will not be tolerated.
“We also need to understand why anti-litter measures are still not reaching some people. To address that, we are proposing not just a one off campaign, but a sustained push, backed by new research into why people litter.
“We also want to make better use of data to clamp down on illegal dumping. By understanding more about where and when flytipping takes place, we can be more effective in targeting interventions to stop it.”
Proposals include the increased and improved use of data to locate and target litter and flytipping hotspots. The creation of a national flytipping forum, chaired by the Circular Economy Minister, will also bring together key stakeholders in Scotland to discuss how to implement the new strategy and share best practice and insights relating to tackling flytipping.
Chief Executive Officer of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Terry A’Hearn, said: “Fly-tipping is not only immoral, it is illegal and waste crime poses a risk not only to human health and the environment, but also to urban and rural businesses, and communities.
“Waste dumped illegally in laybys, rural locations or holes in the ground, instead of being disposed of in the correct manner, means criminals are avoiding having to pay the costs a legal operator has to pay.
“Tackling waste crime is a priority for SEPA, and the information collected from this consultation could mean better sharing and co-ordination of flytipping data between us and partners, helping us manage our responses better.”
Chief Executive Officer of Zero Waste Scotland, Iain Gulland, said: “Litter and flytipping are illegal, dangerous, and entirely avoidable. In fact, half of all litter could have been recycled.
“The impact is more than the staggering clean-up costs – recklessly dumping items is damaging to our wildlife and communities. But despite tremendous efforts, it’s still a national issue.
“To tackle it, we need new ideas, new approaches and new collaborations, which is why Zero Waste Scotland implores everyone to take part in this public consultation.”
An inquiry into the cause of increased excess deaths in Scotland since the start of the pandemic has been launched by the COVID-19 Recovery Committee.
Recent data published by the Scottish Government shows deaths in Scotland are 11% above the average for this time of year and have been above the average for the last 26 weeks. The Committee will investigate whether this rise in deaths is being caused by COVID-19 directly, or the indirect health effects of the pandemic.
The Committee is seeking views on the following questions:
• Has the public health emergency shifted from COVID-19 deaths to deaths from non-COVID-19 conditions? • Is there evidence that patients are now presenting with greater acuity? • What accounts for the deaths from non-COVID-19 conditions? • Is there enough of a strategic focus on the indirect health impacts of the pandemic? • What are the realistic options open to the government in addressing the indirect health impact of the virus in winter 2021/22?
Speaking as the inquiry was launched, Siobhian Brown MSP, Convener of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee said: “The latest data released by the Scottish Government shows an alarming rise in the number of excess deaths since the start of the pandemic.
“Recent media reports suggest the pandemic has led to delays and decreases in the number of patients being diagnosed with illnesses, such as cancers, which can negatively impact the efficacy of treatment.
“We are keen to learn more about the indirect health impacts of the pandemic and whether the public health emergency has shifted from COVID-19 deaths to deaths from non-COVID-19 conditions.
“Every death is a tragedy, whether caused by COVID-19 or not, and it is essential that we establish the root causes of these deaths and find out what has led to this spike in the number of lives being lost.”
A Bill which would pardon miners convicted of offences during the 1984-1985 miners’ strike is to be scrutinised by a Scottish Parliament Committee.
The Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee is seeking views from the public, academics and other interested stakeholders on the Miners’ Strike (Pardons) (Scotland) Bill.
If passed, the Bill would automatically pardon those convicted of offences which occurred during the course of a miner’s participation of a picket line, demonstration, or other similar gathering in supporting the strikes or while travelling to or from a picket line or demonstration.
Recognising the strain placed on police and community relationships during the strike, the legislation is an attempt to bring reconciliation between those upholding the law and those who were fighting to protect their jobs, livelihoods and communities.
Committee Convener Joe FitzPatrick MSP said:“Many of those who took part and were convicted for their participation in the miners’ strike have had to live with the consequences and the resulting stigma for decades.
“This Bill seeks to provide some closure to communities across Scotland by pardoning those found guilty of certain offences during those bitter disputes.
“As we launch this inquiry, we want to find out if this legislation is the right approach to achieve reconciliation and right those historical injustices or if there are alternative ways we can reach that goal.
“In seeking views to aid our scrutiny, we particularly want to hear about how far the proposed pardons go and whether they cover the right people and offences.”
The call for views closes on 14 January 2022 and you can share your views here:
Tougher action on the sale and use of fireworks and tackling the misuse of pyrotechnics has been backed in a new consultation.
The public consultation, which attracted a total of 1,739 responses, asked for views on the Scottish Government’s Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Bill.
The proposed Bill follows the report of an independent Fireworks Review Group which recommended tightening legislation to reduce the harm fireworks can cause.
The consultation, published today, shows that of those who responded on these individual issues:
92% agreed with the introduction of a new offence to criminalise the supply of fireworks to under-18s
84% backed the introduction of a fireworks licensing system
77% backed a new offence of being in possession of a pyrotechnic in a public place without reasonable excuse or lawful authority
70% agreed with extending police powers to allow a stop and search provision in relation to pyrotechnics
more than 60% agreed with restrictions for the general public on the days fireworks can be sold and used
Community Safety Minister Ash Regan said: “The consultation builds on a significant programme of engagement and evidence gathering and demonstrated the range of views among those who responded.
“I am committed to making our communities safer and we have already moved quickly to introduce regulations restricting the times of day and the volume of fireworks that can be supplied to the public – as well as the times fireworks can be set off.
“We are intent on further improving safety for communities across Scotland by taking forward the Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Bill at the earliest opportunity to ensure appropriate action is taken over the sale and use of fireworks and to reduce the misuse of pyrotechnic devices such as flares.”
