Charity launches urgent appeal

Scotland’s largest children’s charity, Aberlour Child Care Trust, is appealing to the nation to come together to help the thousands of children and their families who it expects will experience significant levels of poverty as a result of the Coronavirus.

Whilst the full-scale impact of Covid-19 is yet to be fully quantified, Aberlour Child Care Trust warns many families are already at breaking point and as the situation unfolds, will struggle to put food on their tables, heat and light their homes, or even meet basic and essential needs.

Aberlour has today called on supporters and members of the public to donate some of the money they will save as a result of working at home, such as the cost of a takeaway coffee or the price of a bus fare, to its Urgent Assistance Fund.

The Aberlour Urgent Assistance Fund makes cash payments to those most in need, helping them pay for a range emergency needs. The charity is expecting significant demand for money to pay for everything from food and toiletries, to household essentials, power cards and emergency clothing.

SallyAnn Kelly, Aberlour Chief Executive said: “Demand for our Urgent Assistance Fund before the Coronavirus struck was already at an unprecedented level. More than £57,000 had been given out so far this financial year and we expect this to climb sharply in the coming months.

“Covid-19 is now causing severe disruption to normal everyday life: jobs are already being cut and other businesses will take some time to recover. The result is that the people worst affected will be those on low incomes.

“Many people unable to work because they have contracted the virus will receive statutory sick pay however this is usually less than their normal wages and seldom sufficient to pay for all expenses a typical family may face.

“We know that so many people are desperate to help those less fortunate, but just don’t know how or what to do. That’s why we’re asking the public to donate some of the money they will save as a result of working from home, such as the cost of a takeaway coffee or their bus fare to work.

“If we all come together as a nation and help in a small, affordable way, it will make a huge difference to the most vulnerable in society as we help them through these unprecedented times.

“Please take this opportunity by donating to the Aberlour Urgent Assistance Fund so that children, young people and families don’t suffer as a result of Coronavirus.”

You can donate to Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund here: www.aberlour.org.uk/donate/

How Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund helped Sarah and her baby

Shortly after Sarah’s baby was born, both became unwell and were rushed to intensive care for a week. After recovering, they were due to be discharged when it became apparent that Sarah had very little income and no support from family. That meant after paying her household bills and baby essentials, there wasn’t enough money left to buy warm clothing.

Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund came to the rescue for Sarah and her baby. It provided Sarah with a sum of money to enable her to have food for her cupboards and freezer, warm clothes for her and her baby to minimise any repeat visits to hospital, and money for her gas and electricity meters.

If you require urgent assistance, you can apply to receive funding from Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund.

You’ll need a health professional, Social Worker, teacher, third sector organisation, clergy or other professional to support your application.

Full details.

Beware Coronavirus scams

Cifas, the UK’s leading fraud prevention service, is warning people not to fall victim to scams being circulated involving the coronavirus.

Fraudsters are increasingly targeting the public with emails, texts and WhatsApp messages offering advice and treatment for the coronavirus, as well as setting up fake websites selling products and offering ‘cures’.

Scammers have also been setting up bogus websites asking for donations for victims, or promoting awareness and prevention tips.

To help members of the public protect themselves from becoming a victim of fraud, Cifas is offering the following advice:

Be sceptical if you receive and email, text or WhatsApp message about the Coronavirus, and never click on any attachments or links.
Never provide personal data such as your full name, address and date of birth – scammers can use this information to steal your identity.
Don’t allow yourself to be pressured into donating money, and never make donations by cash or gift card, or send money through transfer agents such as Western Union or Moneygram.
If you think you’ve been the victim of a scam, then speak to your bank immediately and report any fraud to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

Mike Haley, CEO of Cifas, said: ‘Fraudsters are always looking for new ways to prey on people’s fear and anxieties, and so it’s very likely that these scams will only increase as Coronavirus spreads.

‘My advice is to not let fraudsters scare or pressure you into making any hasty decisions. Take your time and do your research, and remember to never hand over personal or financial details – don’t let criminals benefit from this serious situation.’

Kate Bevan, Which? Computing editor, said: “Scams are among the most prevalent types of crime in the UK so it is seriously worrying that coronavirus is creating a perfect environment for fraudsters and scammers to thrive using a range of loathsome tactics.

“Help protect yourself by being extra cautious before clicking on any unsolicited emails and texts or answering calls. Make sure your computers, mobile phones and tablets are supported by the latest security updates, and consider installing antivirus software to minimise threats.”

GIVE BLOOD: Advice for donors

At the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, we take great care to minimise any risk of harm to donors or patients. This is why we place a number of restrictions on who can donate at any given time – and why these constraints can and do change over time.

Statements 11/03/2020 – Update on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Giving blood is an essential activity. We must ensure hospitals are well stocked with blood and blood products at this time.
We are open, and our sessions are going ahead as normal.
If this changes, we will let you know.

Please make an extra special effort to give blood over the coming days, weeks and months. If you are fit and well and have not been impacted by COVID-19, it’s important you come forward to donate.

Am I eligible to donate?

Currently, you must not donate if you fall into one of the following categories:

You have COVID-19
You are in self-isolation with symptoms of possible COVID-19
You are well but are in self-isolation because other household members have symptoms of possible COVID-19

If you have shown symptoms of COVID-19, you must not donate until at least 14 days after final symptoms ceased.

If you were self-isolating because other household members were sick, but you remained symptom free yourself, you must not donate until 14 days after your first day of self-isolation.

Buses: A message from Lothian

I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on how the current COVID-19 situation is affecting Lothian.

We appreciate these are extraordinary circumstances we are operating in and we are putting plans in place as to how best to deal with a fast-changing situation. While the priority of maintaining services is of paramount importance, as the situation develops, we need to factor in the impact on staffing levels now being experienced.

Lothian has been part of the fabric of Edinburgh providing vital transport links for over 100 years and I would like to pay tribute to staff from across our business, who go above and beyond every day to deliver a service to the people of Edinburgh and the Lothians.

We are determined to carry out our duty of public service to our customers.

However, as you will all appreciate we are currently living through unprecedented times, and we would ask you all to bear with us and check our website and social media platforms for the latest service information.

Some reduction in service provision is inevitable however we are working with the Scottish Government, local authorities and stakeholders to keep the majority of our services running.

Any decisions we take will be made with the best interests of all of our staff and our customers at heart, prioritising critical links to hospitals where possible.

Meantime we encourage all of our customers to follow the guidelines set out by the Scottish Government and the NHS. We all have a role to play, and I would like to thank you for your ongoing support and cooperation at this time.

Finally, on behalf of the Lothian group, I want to thank our emergency services, in particular those working in the NHS for their incredible effort under extreme pressure in such testing times.

We would encourage all of our customers to plan their travel by checking for the latest service information which will be available on our mobile app, website and social media channels.

Thank You.

Nigel Serafini

Interim Managing Director, Lothian

Edinburgh Leisure to close venues

Edinburgh Leisure will be closing all its venues and golf courses from close of play today (Thursday, 19 March). Community access to the 22 high schools that it manages on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council have also been suspended.

The news follows the announcement from First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon that schools will close from Friday, 20 March.

June Peebles, CEO of Edinburgh Leisure said: “These are unprecedented and challenging times for everyone and we are communicating this news to all our stakeholders which includes staff, customers, service providers, tenants, partners, suppliers and volunteers as soon as possible.

“Like so many others affected by this pandemic, it is worrying times for everyone including our staff. Edinburgh Leisure is a charity; and every penny we receive from memberships, lets, events and funding is reinvested back into our venues and funds the services that we provide – therefore shutting our venues and therefore freezing customers’ memberships has huge consequences for us and also the health of Edinburgh.

“Whilst our customers won’t be able to keep active with Edinburgh Leisure for the time being, we will be looking at offering advice to our customers on tips for keeping moving remotely and access to classes via ‘Les Mills on demand’ so that customers can workout at home. And providing advice from Public Health Scotland allows people to not require to totally self-isolate, there is also the option of going for a walk or run outside.

“We really hope that once the situation passes that customers will return to Edinburgh Leisure venues to keep active and stay active once again and to continue supporting us as they have done for the last 22 years.”

There is currently no indication as to how long the venues will remain closed – reopening will be guided by advice from the Government and Public Health Scotland.

Like every customer facing business, Edinburgh Leisure has been receiving a high volume of calls to their Customer Accounts and Customer Enquiries team, which has meant a delayed response.

An Edinburgh Leisure spokesperson said: “We have been receiving a really high level of enquiries over the last week from customers. We would urge customers to bear with us and we will be back in touch with customers directly about their memberships in the coming days.”

Schools out ’til summer?

Schools and nurseries will close to pupils from the end of this week, the First Minister announced yesterday.

The Scottish Government is working closely with local authorities to mitigate the impact on three groups as a priority:

Vulnerable pupils and those receiving free school meals
Pupils undertaking coursework and preparing for exams
Key workers including doctors, nurses and emergency service workers who have children

Later today Education Secretary John Swinney will address Parliament to explain the measures being put in place and to address key questions that parents and pupils have.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “This has been one of the hardest decisions we have faced so far as we tackle the coronavirus. SAGE – our expert scientific advisers – are examining new advice that is very likely to tell us to close schools.

“We also know more and more schools are approaching a point where they have lost too many staff to continue as normal. At this stage I cannot promise schools and nurseries will reopen after the Easter break.

“There will require to be a lot of local flexibility and we are working closely with local authorities to put those arrangements in place.

“Teachers, school staff and those in the nursery sector will have a vital role in the weeks ahead and we will work with you to minimise the impact on all our young peoples’ education, and in particular the most vulnerable groups.”

This poses a number of challenges and questions for the government:

Up to 250,000 children in Scotland live in poverty and currently receive free school meals. How will these children receive their meals?

What can parents and carers do to educated their children at home?

More parents will have to take time off work to look after their children, further affecting the economy

Students’ exam results are important in determining their future. If exams are cancelled, how will student grades be asessed and university places allocated?

Councillor Stephen McCabe, COSLA Children and Young People Spokesperson, said: “We have been working closely with the Scottish Government and our local authority partners to consider the implications of the closure of schools and nurseries.

“It is vital that we support staff, parents and children and young people in these exceptional circumstances.

“We will continue this partnership work to ensure that local authorities get the right support and have the flexibility to make the decisions based on local circumstances. This will include support to the most vulnerable, our young people involved in exams and those who provide critical public services.”

Filmhouse closed

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL POSTPONED

In line with the UK Government and Scottish Government’s public health advice we are sad to announce that we will be closing both Filmhouse in Edinburgh and Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen from today (Wednesday 18th March) until further notice.

We are also announcing the postponement of the 74th EIFF in June, and are looking at which elements of the Festival can be delivered later in the year.

Our first priority is the health and wellbeing of our staff, filmmaker guests and audiences, and we wish you all health and strength through this difficult time.

Tickets purchased online for future screenings will be automatically refunded, however at this challenging time for the Filmhouse and Belmont cinemas we would ask you to consider converting your refund into a donation towards sustaining our charity and the work we will do in the future.

For tickets purchased at the Box Office, refunds will be available to customers when we re-open.

Memberships will be frozen until we are able to resume operating, but if you are able to consider continuing your membership payments it would be a significant support.

Other ways you can consider supporting the Filmhouse in Edinburgh and the Belmont Filmhouse is through the purchase of vouchers to gift or enjoy when we are able to resume our screenings programmes. Please consider making a donation or supporting the Festival by becoming an EIFF Friend.

Opportunities to support can be found on our websites www.filmhousecinema.com, www.belmontfilmhouse.com and www.edfilmfest.org.uk

We look forward to a brighter time when our cinemas can bring us all back together in a shared celebration of film, and its role in giving us a window on the best and most diverse stories and story tellers from across the world.

Meanwhile we’ll be doing our best to keep everyone’s spirits up and conversation going through our social media and digital channels and hope that many of you will engage with us, retaining what we can of our sense of community and sharing our passion for film.

CEO of Filmhouse in Edinburgh, Belmont Filmhouse Aberdeen and Edinburgh International Film Festival, Ken Hay said: “It is with huge regret that we have taken the necessary decision to both close the Filmhouse in Edinburgh and the Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen for the foreseeable future, as well as postpone Edinburgh International Film Festival 2020.

“Both Filmhouse and Belmont Filmhouse provide unique windows on the world for their local communities, however the health and wellbeing of our staff, filmmaker guests and audiences has to be the first consideration.

“As the longest running film festival in the world we are keen to continue even through these hard times, and we are looking at which elements of it may be delivered later in the year. We will keep you informed as plans develop.

“For now, we would like to thank our funders, sponsors, partners, staff, donors, patrons, filmmakers, sales agents, distributors, members and audiences for their loyalty, support and understanding in these unprecedented times.’

Coronavirus crisis being used as an excuse to fleece motorists at the pumps?

15 pence per litre of Wholesale falls being held back from drivers despite 50% drop in the Oil Price.

Since Christmas to March 13th:

Oil has fallen by 89% in Sterling
Fuel supply chain businesses have increased profit from drivers when they fill up, by 242% for petrol and 175% for diesel.
Wholesale petrol has fallen 24% yet retail has only fallen 1%
Wholesale diesel has fallen 19% yet retail has only fallen 3%
Since Christmas, the Average family car is paying £8.25 more to fill up their tank than necessary.

Since March 3^rdto March 13th:

Oil has fallen by 50% in Sterling
Fuel supply chain businesses have increased profit from drivers when they fill up, by 95% for petrol and 69% for diesel.
Wholesale petrol has fallen 15% yet retail has not changed
Wholesale diesel has fallen 8% yet retail risen by 1%

Petrol and diesel should now be at least 15 pence/litre lower at the pumps.

Howard Cox, Founder of FairFuelUK Campaign said: “The faceless fuel supply chain does it again, this time using a national crisis to line their already fat wallets.

“The Government must act now by putting in place a fuel pricing monitoring watchdog. The perennial cheating of the world’s highest taxed motorists, everytime oil prices change, must be scrutinised by an independent PumpWatch body. It borders on criminal behaviour.”

Data Analysis: https://www.fairfueluk.com/CoronaVirusPumpPrices.png

Data Source: FairFuelUK PumpWatch, Portland Analytics, RAC Foundation

Learn to Play Days Cancelled

Following the government’s announcements and the ongoing daily developments in regard to Coronavirus, the decision has been made to postpone the nationwide Learn to Play Day events that were planned for the weekend of 28th/29th March 2020.

Paul McManus, CEO of Music for All, the organisers of Learn to Play Day, said: “The safety of all event organisers and participants is of the utmost importance to us. This is a very current and fast-changing situation with the risks to people’s health likely to escalate alongside growing public concern.

“We understand that this decision comes as a disappointment, but ultimately, we all want the same thing – the health and safety of our communities. We will of course keep everyone updated as time progresses but, for now, we’d like to thank you and our partners for your understanding and patience during this difficult period.

“Despite the cancellation of Learn to Play, we do still encourage all musicians to keep playing for their own self-enjoyment and the physical and mental benefits of making music.”

Edinburgh Science Festival cancelled

Following close monitoring of the ever-changing situation regarding the global spread of COVID-19 and having held discussions with key partners, Edinburgh Science is sorry to announce the decision to cancel this year’s Edinburgh Science Festival, scheduled for 4-19 April.

With the Festival less than three weeks away from opening and a programme of over 270 events, this has been a complex process for the organisation to manage, but the health and wellbeing of the visitors, participants and staff remains Edinburgh Science’s number one priority.

The Festival’s key venue partners, the National Museum of Scotland, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and City Are Centre managed by Museums and Galleries Edinburgh on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council have all announced their closures today until further notice.

All customers will be refunded immediately. Should anyone experience a delay they are advised to contact boxoffice@scifest.co.uk.

The board and directors of Edinburgh Science would like to pay tribute to the hard work of the Festival’s core team in developing this programme and to the much wider network of dedicated and creative people they rely on for the successful delivery of all projects.

Festival and Creative Director Amanda Tyndall said: “Now more than ever it is imperative that the public have access to robust, evidence-based science, delivered in a manner that is accessible to them.

“The Science Festival remains committed to that goal and to working with our wonderful partners across the science sector to help connect people with the latest science in these unsettling and challenging times.

“We are exploring how we might do more online and whether any elements of the Festival might potentially be run later in the year and will keep you informed as plans develop. For now, we would like to thank our funders, sponsors, partners, participants and audiences for their loyalty, support and understanding in these unprecedented times.’’

Into the Blue, large-scale outdoor photography exhibition showcasing the beauty, biodiversity and fragility of Scottish coasts and seas, will go ahead as planned. It opens today on Portobello Promenade (Wednesday, 18 March).

This exhibition is curated by Emily Raemaekers from the Science Festival with support from Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters 2020. It’s a free, family-friendly and drop-in activity, open every day until 27 April.

Through a series of arresting images, Into the Blue invites its audiences to consider the human impact on and responsibility for water, one of the most precious resources on Earth, and ask how we can live in harmony with our watery, blue planet?