Tag: coronavirus pandemic

Communites Funding Package: Supporting local neighbourhoods through the pandemic

A combined total of £1 billion has been allocated to help local communities through the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and to build resilience in public services in the past year.

Of this, more than £550 million has been committed through the Communities Funding Package – launched a year ago this week. This has been distributed across councils, local services and initiatives supporting those in need.

Key elements include:

  • more than £140 million on tackling food insecurity, with over £51 million to enable the continued provision of Free School Meals during school closures and holiday periods
  • help for local councils to meet people’s needs over the winter period, with £40 million of financial insecurity funding and £30 million to help people impacted by COVID restrictions and guidance. In conjunction with the Freephone national assistance helpline, councils have provided support to access and afford essentials, including food and fuel
  • almost £80 million awarded to third sector and community organisations through the Wellbeing Fund, Supporting Communities Fund and the Third Sector Resilience Fund
  • the continuing Community and Third Sector Recovery Programme, which is expected to make £44 million of awards by this summer

On top of the £550 million communities funding package, a further £479 million has been awarded to local councils to meet demand for local services, and build resilience across the sector.

Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government Aileen Campbell said: “We know that the impacts of the pandemic have been felt unevenly across Scotland, with many of the most disadvantaged or marginalised bearing the heaviest weight.

“This significant investment has helped protect people and communities during these unprecedented times.

“We have worked hand in hand with councils, third sector partners and communities themselves to direct funding where it was needed most and to ensure that support is there when people need it most.

“I want to thank everyone involved, right across Scotland, in this unprecedented response – demonstrating what a caring country Scotland is and protecting people.”

Michelle Carruthers, Chief Executive of Food Train, which received funding as part of the strategic national investment in order to continue delivering food parcels to older people, said: “There is no doubt in my mind: the support funding we have received from the Scottish Government during the pandemic has driven our ability to respond to the 70% rise in need for our grocery shopping service. 

“The pandemic shone a harsh spotlight on food insecurity issues facing older people which Food Train has responded to through increasing our regional coverage of grocery deliveries, increased meals shared via our Meal Makers project and a new service, Food Train Connects, matching volunteers and older people in areas where we don’t have a branch.”

The Communities Funding mapping tool highlights investment across Scotland, including by local authority. 

Steet Cred? Royal Bank teams up with rap artist Nova Scotia The Truth after Covid puts life on hold

  • New survey finds young people are some of the most anxious when thinking about their financial security and futures, as country begins to emerge from lockdown
  • Rapper Nova Scotia The Truth – who spent award win on Zoom rather than at annual celebration – fronts new campaign to encourage people to think about what they want from their future
  • Bank calls on the public to consider their financial situation as research shows more than half have parked a key ‘life moment’ during lockdown

New research from Royal Bank of Scotland has found that more than half (56%) of 18–34-year-olds in Scotland put a ‘life moment’ (e.g. wedding, graduation, buying their first home) on hold during the last 12 months.

Of those with life moments planned, almost a third (31%) said ‘financial insecurity’ caused by the pandemic had affected these plans, with one in ten (10%) citing a loss of employment and 8% affected by their lack of financial knowledge.

More than a fifth (22%) of all 18-34-year-olds said they feel anxious about money troubles in a post-Covid world compared with less than one in ten (9%) of those aged 55+.

As the country takes the first steps towards re-opening, Royal Bank has committed to improving the nation’s financial capabilities by offering every person a free Financial Health Check, to reduce money anxieties and help them achieve their goals.

To encourage signups for the service and urge young people to think about their future, the bank has enlisted the support of rapper and DJ, Shaheeda Sinckler aka Nova Scotia The Truth, who was crowned Scottish Album of the Year winner 2020.

The 25-year-old rap artist, who lives in Edinburgh but had plans to buy a new home in Glasgow, has seen her life put on pause with live gigs postponed, missed family moments and adjusting to a virtual existence with college, career planning and even collecting her SAY Award from behind the screen, rather than on-stage at Edinburgh’s Summerhall.

Shaheeda has been commissioned by the bank to write and produce an exclusive new track about the implications of 2020 and making future dreams happen – it’s due for release later this year.  

Despite the increased financial anxieties among young people, almost 2/5ths (39%) do believe the pandemic has made them better at financial planning and when asked about the things they are looking forward to once restrictions allow it, key sources of excitement for 18-34-year-olds in Scotland include:

·       Going on holiday (74%)

·       Date nights (50%)

·       Attending a live gig (48%)

·       A return to education (22%)

·       Buying a house (20%)

Shaheeda Sinckler, Nova Scotia The Truth, said: “At the start of 2020, I planned to move back to Glasgow and focus on gigging but because of the pandemic, I’ve had to stay at home with my family. It’s not been the easiest year but I’m lucky I’ve been able to focus on creative projects and do my college work virtually, I know not everyone has been so fortunate.

“The pandemic has given us time to reflect on our lives and the way we structure them and for me, that involved streamlining my finances to make sure I’m setting myself up well for when life goes back to normal. If you’ve got a plan in place now and the right support, you can achieve your goals quicker.”

Malcolm Buchanan, Chair, Scotland Board, Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “The impact of the pandemic on people’s plans – and their financial situation – has been immense.

“Directly or indirectly, everyone has been touched by it. Through our conversations with our younger customers and colleagues, a group who are normally working towards their future plans and goals, it is clear that many dreams and life moments have been paused. This is understandable given the climate.

“Shaheeda’s story has shown that it has impacted everyone, whether in the public eye or not.

“It has been challenging and there is a long way to go but we’ve seen that some people have reappraised what they want from life, whether it is a new life goal or even plans to set up their own business in the future.

“Regardless of how long it takes for people to get back on their feet, we want to help give everyone the support and skills they need to help them make their dreams a reality and help them plan for the future.”

Royal Bank is making financial management easier by providing the following:

·       Financial Health Check – A free 20-minute conversation with a senior advisor who provides guidance to make banking simpler, and tips for everyday spending or achieving future goals. This could include setting savings targets, advice on tracking monthly spending and creating budgets. Customers can choose to chat in a branch or over the phone. personal.rbs.co.uk/personal/financial-health-check.html

·       Royal Bank of Scotland app – Customers using Royal Bank of Scotland’s award-winning app will now be able to easily see where their money is going with the new ‘spending’ tab which will show them how much they’re spending each month, helping them stay in control of their money.

·       MoneySense – MoneySense provides parents and teachers with the tools to give young people the confidence to use money responsibly on their own. MoneySense is fully digital and downloadable, it can be delivered by teachers in schools. It’s the longest-running bank-led financial education programme for young people in the UK.

‘A brightening light’: world wakening up to Vaccine Equity

At the halfway point in the World Health Organization and Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ 100-day challenge, a movement of people and organizations is now uniting together under the banner of vaccine equity.

WHO welcomes the new commitments made by France, Germany, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America to COVAX and equitable allocation of vaccines.

Backed by 190 countries and economies, COVAX is the global mechanism best positioned to deliver vaccines to the world and end the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There is a growing movement behind vaccine equity and I welcome that world leaders are stepping up to the challenge by making new commitments to effectively end this pandemic by sharing doses and increasing funds to COVAX,” said Dr Tedros, Director-General of the World Health Organization.

“This can’t be business as usual and there is an urgent need for countries to share doses and technology, scale up manufacturing and ensure that there is a sustainable supply of vaccines so that everyone, everywhere can receive a vaccine.”

Close to 7000 people and hundreds of organizations have already signed on to a vaccine equity declaration that directly calls on governments and manufacturers to speed up regulatory processes, boost manufacturing by sharing know-how and technology, and ensure that doses are shared equitably.

There is a specific call to start with all health and care workers, who have been on the frontlines of this pandemic for more than a year. 

Heads of state and sports stars like Romain Grosjean; international agencies including UNICEF, UN Development Programme, UN Women and the World Food Programme; sporting organizations like the International Olympic Committee, World Rugby and FIFA; networks focused on faith, gender and youth, and civil society groups like the Elders, Global Health Council, Nursing Now, Pandemic Action Network, UHC2030 and Women in Global Health,*– these and many more have signed on to the broad based movement, which recognizes the moral, economic and global security imperative of equitable vaccine distribution.

Dr Keith C Rowley, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, and Chairman of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) said, “Today, thankfully we are at that place where we now have tested and proven vaccines.

“A brightening light is shining on our way towards a more successful response to the still marauding virus.”

The movement for vaccine equity is growing, and to prevent virus variants from undermining our health technologies and hampering an already sluggish global economic recovery, it is critical that leaders continue to step up to ensure that we end this pandemic as quickly as possible. Individuals and organizations everywhere are encouraged to join in this crucial effort.

See the declaration at who.int/vaccinequity