Tag: Edinburgh North and Leith

Greenpeace: Government can still do more to tackle soaring energy bills

New data reveals that Edinburgh North and Leith residents would be able to save an estimated average of £1,294 through Government-funded home insulation and heat pump installation 

On weekends throughout February and March, Greenpeace Edinburgh spoke to people in Edinburgh about their energy bills, and the solutions to the cost of living and climate crisis.

Residents wrote eight messages to Deirdre Brock, MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, about their worries. These messages will be delivered next week, as part of the Warm This Winter mass lobby.

Local people also used the Affordable Energy Calculator [1] to see how much money they would save on their energy bills if our homes were well insulated and had cheaper, cleaner energy.  

Carrie from Newhaven wrote: ‘Help to combat energy costs has helped but costs are still too high. Funding for new home-owners to help insulate windows is needed.’  

Mark, a resident in North Edinburgh, wrote: ‘It would be great to see someone in the government stand up for lower energy bills and preparing homes for becoming sustainable and economical to maintain.’ 

Another local, Ros, wrote: ‘We need to prioritise those who need help during this time and make the cost of living crisis a lot more manageable than it currently is.’ 

Ian, a volunteer from Leith said: ‘The messages that people in Edinburgh North and Leith have written to Deirdre Brock MP show how people are still having to choose between heating and eating. 

But it doesn’t have to be this way. We need the Government to commit more money for home insulation and heat pumps to make our homes warmer, our bills cheaper and our carbon emissions lower.’  

Keeping the Energy Price Guarantee at £2,500 per month rather than raising it to £3000 is welcome but 7.5 million households in the UK will continue to be in fuel poverty from 1st April. If the Government makes the investment necessary to meet their currently unfunded 2030 targets for insulation, and support a UK heat pump programme, a typical UK home would see a difference of £1,832 a year, with savings ranging from around six hundred to several thousand pounds.  

Data from the Affordable Energy Calculator shows that people in Edinburgh North and Leith could save an estimated average of £1,294 on their energy bills by 2030.  

Hugh who lives in this constituency said: “‘I live in a rented flat in Leith and I was amazed to see that I would save £1,083 on my energy bill in 2030 if my home was properly insulated and was powered by a heat pump.

“I’d definitely recommend checking out the Affordable Energy Calculator to see how much you could save if the Government funded a UK-wide home insulation and heat pump programme.’  

Ian added: “On 31st March, Greenpeace volunteers and other constituents have invited Deirdre Brock to meet as part of the Warm This Winter Coalition’s mass lobby.

“We are asking Deirdre Brock to pledge to call for the expansion of Government-funded home insulation schemes, heat pump installation, more investment in renewable energy, and further support for vulnerable households with their energy bills.

“If you live in Edinburgh North and Leith, we’d love for you to join us in inviting Deirdre Brock to meet, or if you live elsewhere, check out the online map [below] to see if a meeting has already been organised with your MP.” 

  1. List of MPs who have pledged 
  2. Map showing events organised in constituencies for the Warm This Winter mass lobby 

EIJB cuts: candidate writes to Ben McPherson

Katrina Faccenda, Scottish Labour’s prospective candidate for Edinburgh North and Leith in next May’s Holyrood elections, has written to Public Finance Mnister (and local MSP) Ben McPherson over cuts to Edinburgh Integration Joint Board’s budget.

She explained: “Today I have written to Ben Macpherson MSP regarding the proposed cuts to services currently provided through the Edinburgh Integrated Joint Board.  Urgent action is needed and as the Minister for Public Finance and Migration, I think Ben must speak up on behalf of his constituents.

“I am incredibly concerned about the effects of more austerity-driven cuts In the Edinburgh Northern and Leith constituency where underfunding of local government has already had a devastating impact and there are already too many living in poverty and struggling with health inequality.”

The letter reads:

“Dear Ben,

I am Katrina Faccenda, prospective Labour MSP candidate for Edinburgh Northern & Leith.

Like many of Edinburgh’s citizens,  I felt the latest round of cuts to health and social care services in the city was really the final straw.(I refer to the Phase Zero cuts agreed by the EIJB (Edinburgh Integration Joint Board)).

The EIJB members confirmed that they are upset about the changes which will have a significant negative impact on Edinburgh’s most vulnerable residents.

Do you, as Edinburgh Northern and Leith’s representative in the Scottish Parliament, share my concern that these cuts will adversely affect people in the constituency? 

Even before coronavirus, three wards in this constituency were reported to have child poverty levels higher than 30% (Edinburgh Poverty Commission Interim Report, Sept 2019)

You have stated that you are ‘ focused on being a passionate voice in the Scottish Parliament for local communities and for positive change’. (parliament.scot, Current Members, Personal Information) As the Minister responsible for Public Finance how do you plan to protect the community from such reductions in vital services?

Best Regards

Katrina”

North and Leith candidates do ‘blindfold walk’ to get better idea of sight loss issues

Four Prospective Parliamentary Candidates for the Edinburgh North and Leith constituency took a stroll along Leith Walk wearing spectacles that simulate sight loss conditions yesterday. 

Gordon Munro (Labour and Co-operative Party), Iain McGill (Scottish Conservatives) and Heather Jane Astbury (Renew) were joined by Alan Dudley and guide-dog Gemma, with Deirdre Brock (SNP) doing the walk later with Alan Simpson.

All four candidates were aiming to gain a better idea of the everyday hazards faced by blind and partially sighted people.

Catriona Burness, campaigns manager for RNIB Scotland, said: “We know streets can’t always be free of clutter. But we can do more to make them accessible. That’s why we are urging elected MPs to help ensure that blind and partially sighted people are able to get out and about independently.

“Shared space developments, for example – which remove separations between cycleways, roads and pavements – are hazardous for blind and partially sighted pedestrians. We want MPs to act on growing concerns about these and deliver on the recommendations on accessible street design set out in Westminster’s  Women and Equalities Committee Report, ‘Building for Equality: Disability and the Built Environment’.”

Any questions?

Opportunities to get your questions answered at hustings events

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Pilton Community Health Project has organised hustings in both local constituency seats in the run up to the Westminster election in May.

Candidates for Edinburgh North and Leith have been invited to answer questions from local community on Thursday 19 March from 6.30 – 8pm at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre (soup will be available from 6pm).

Candidates for Edinburgh West have been invited to answer questions from the local community on Thursday 26 March from 6.30 – 8pm at Muirhouse Millennium Community Centre (soup will be available from 6pm).

http://pchp.org.uk/news/2015/your-questions-matter

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PIPPed off!

Disability benefit delays: Mark Lazarowicz MP attacks Government for letting down the most vulnerable

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Mark Lazarowicz MP has attacked the Government for long delays in assessing benefits claims. The North and Leith MP was speaking during n a debate at Westminster on the introduction of the new disability benefit, the Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

The Personal Independence Payment is being rolled out across the UK in stages to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and reassessments of certain categories of DLA claimants in Edinburgh began in January 2014.

The Government’s own target for completion of assessments is 16 weeks, but Mr Lazarowicz says there are long delays in even assessing claimants – a six month wait is typical and in some cases constituents the wait has been even longer.

Mark Lazarowicz said: “Claimants even with extremely serious conditions such as cancer are typically waiting at least 6 months just to be assessed and I have had constituents contact me who have waited as long as EIGHTEEN MONTHS.

“That means that people may struggle to afford the travel costs of hospital visits or be forced to sell their home as they face extreme hardship: I want to see the Government offer financial help to people in difficulty due to delays.

“And when PIP is awarded at a higher rate than previously paid under DLA, the increased payments are only backdated for a maximum of 28 days, even if the application had been submitted many months before. It is an outrage that people lose out on payments due to them simply because of delay caused by the government”.

“At the very least claims from anyone with a terminal condition must be fast tracked (even if their life expectancy is longer than six months where applications are currently fast tracked).

“Nobody trying to cope with a serious illness or disability should have to face additional worry of how to cope financially because of Government incompetence.”

Mark Lazarowicz’ speech in the debate can be found here.

Happy birthday CAB!

Local MP praises work of Citizen Advice service

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Mark Lazarowicz MP has pledged his support for Citizen’s Advice’s new campaign at a reception held to celebrate the charity’s 75th birthday. The Advice for the Future campaign aims to highlight the importance of free, impartial advice and get 100,000 people pledging their support.

Citizens Advice has launched the campaign as rising household bills, changes to the welfare system and a troubled jobs market mean that for many life is getting increasingly complicated. This means it’s even more important that people can access free, relevant and impartial advice to help make complex decisions.

Citizens Advice Scotland, the Scottish counterpart to Citizens Advice, opened its first bureau in September 1939 and so will also be celebrating its 75th anniversary later this year.

The North and Leith MP said: “I know from my work as a constituency MP just how valuable the service provided by Citizens Advice is to constituents: free, independent, impartial and trusted.

“The major changes to the benefit system introduced by this Government, sharply rising energy bills and the difficulty that many households have in just keeping their heads above water have left many more people turning to Citizens Advice for help.

“It has also used its first hand experience in dealing with the practical problems people face to contribute positively to debate on public policy which is why I and other Opposition MPs fought so hard against the restrictions that the Lobbying Act would have placed on charities.

“Largely run by volunteers though publicly funded, it supports the vulnerable and indeed anyone who needs advice: our society would struggle to cope without it.”

Citizens Advice celebrates its 75th anniversary this year:

• In 2013/14 the charity helped 2 million people to solve 5.5 million problems
• In 2012/13, 22,000 volunteers donated nearly 7 million hours to the service
• This amounts to a contribution of £109 million worth of volunteering hours.

Three cheers as local companies win Queen’s Award for Enterprise

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Three cheers as local companies win Queen’s Award for Enterprise

 Mark Lazarowicz, MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, has written to congratulate three businesses based in the constituency who have just won the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise. The companies are:

· HotDocs a document automation software company

· Petroleum Experts Ltd which develops petroleum-engineering software programs used to model and manage oil and gas fields, and

· The Innis & Gunn Brewing Company Ltd which produces speciality beers extremely popular in Canada, Sweden and the USA (as well as course in the UK!)

Mark (pictured below) said: “Three of the 13 Scottish winners of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise are based in Edinburgh North and Leith which is a success that we can be very proud of. All three – HotDocs, Innis & Gunn and Petroleum Experts – have managed to achieve major export growth at a time when the UK, like other countries, is keen to rebalance its economy and increase export sales.

“The Awards also highlighted their investment in product development as a major factor in that success which is why it is so important to ensure that SMEs can get the funding they need. It’s good to see that we have three local companies which appear to be so forward-looking and successful in developing products that the rest of the world wants to buy.”

This year there are 152 winners of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, 13 of which are based in Scotland.

The Queen’s Award is the UK’s most prestigious award for business enterprise and the winners will be celebrated at events at Buckingham Palace and the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) on 23 July.

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