DRYLAW Telford Community Council will meet tomorrow (Wednesday 27th April) at 7pm in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre..
With the council elections just a week away, the Community Council has invited Inverleith ward candidates along for an informal opportunity to meet CC members and find out what issues are important to them.
Unfortunately the meeting is not open to the public.
Secretary Pam Higgins explained: “Due to covid restrictions – room size specifically – we cannot accommodate an open meeting at present.
“This is a meeting for the candidates to meet their potential Community Council so that the transition is easier post elections. We hope that in the near future we can fully open up to the community again.”
The following ten candidates are standing in Inverleith:
Jule BANDEL – Scottish Green Party
Stuart HERRING – Scottish Conservative and Unionist
Phil HOLDEN – Scottish Family Party: Pro-Family, Pro-Marriage, Pro-Life
Tam LAIRD – Scottish Libertarian Party
Stephen MCNAMARA – Independent
Max MITCHELL – Scottish Conservative and Unionist
Mhairi MUNRO-BAIN – Labour and Co-operative Party
Vicky NICOLSON – Scottish National Party (SNP)
Hal OSLER – Scottish Liberal Democrats
Malcolm Alexander WOOD – Scottish Liberal Democrats.
Four of them will be elected to represent Inverleith next Thursday.
Inverleith councillors elected last time (May 2017) were:
Gavin BARRIE – Scottish National Party (SNP)
Max MITCHELL – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Hal OSLER – Scottish Liberal Democrats
Iain WHYTE – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.
After the series of four winter meetings in November, December, January and February — when we approved a new constitution for EACC — we’ve taken a pause before our next ordinary meeting, provisionally scheduled for Thursday 26 May at 7pm on Zoom.
Please let me know if you want to raise any particular issue at the May meeting.
In the future, we may resume the special meetings that were a feature of EACC activities in 2020-1, when we covered public spaces management, carbon neutrality, and biodiversity.
Possible future subjects are local democracy, best practice on making and analysing consultations, and practical approaches to energy efficiency and de-carbonization. We may also include the ‘held-over’ subject of guidance for community council treasurers.
The EACC Appeal (for funding – Ed.) was successful. As of now, we have received at least £700 from some 16 community councils. We hope this will enable us to to pay for a minutes secretary and establish a new website. We will also have a new bank account.
Our weekly drop-in community gardening sessions, on Thursdays from 1 – 3pm, are open to everyone.
The community garden is inside the allotment, go through the gate from the back of Toby Carvery car park, past the containers, and its the gate on your right.
Last week we prepped beds, planted strawberries, beans and peas. More bed prep and making paths and areas for fruit bushes for this week.
Dress for the weather, wellies for the mud are best”
Edinburgh Association of Community Councils appeals to members for financial support
The Edinburgh Association of Community Councils (EACC) is making a one-time appeal for funds.
Like community councils, we need to pay for a website, video-conferencing and meeting facilities, and help with documenting meetings etc.
Unlike community councils, we are not receiving financial support from either the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) or the Edinburgh Partnership, the higher level body to which both CEC and EACC belong.
Why is this? Community councils are statutory bodies and EACC is officially recognised by CEC as representing them in Edinburgh. Until a few years ago, EACC were getting a grant, similar to those given to individual community councils. This was authorised by Edinburgh Partnership, but paid by CEC from its community services budget.
Paul Lawrence, CEC Director of Place, has told us that funding hasn’t been provided to EACC since 2017-8. Inevitably there are conflicting explanations of why. We asked Paula McLeay, CEC Head of Policy and Insight, if the grant could be reinstated, but the answer was no.
EACC is unique among Edinburgh Partnership members in being totally voluntary and unfunded. This is unsustainable and we will continue to negotiate for the grant to be restored.
In the meantime we have no money, so we are launching this appeal for funds from Edinburgh’s community councils. (As a guide we are hoping to raise about £500 to maintain basic services.)
If you are willing to support EACC, we would be very grateful if you could send us funds by bank transfer:
Account number 30120430 Sort code 82 68 00 Account name Edinburgh Association of Community Councils
Edinburgh has a new, Stockbridge-based community radio station. Launched on Friday in the heart of the Bohemian village, Edinburgh’s Mix1 Radio will serve its listeners with entertainment and local information.
Stockbridge, Comely Bank and other neighbouring villages have a fabulous community spirit. You only have to walk along Stockbridge main street to find that out. So, with the community in mind local broadcaster, musician and designer Sam Hinks decided the time was right to start a station.
Sam said: “Experience is very important in the radio industry, although enthusiasm and ability to learn are just as important.
“We want to attract the best people to entertain and inform the local communities as well as align ourselves firmly with the individuals, businesses and organisations that make up the surrounding area.”
Mix1 Radio’s most important job is to engage with its listeners and be involved as much as possible with the communities. To that end they have set up a basement studio in the heart of Stockbridge, with a meeting area and admin facilities for the station to grow.
Local events will also be a part of the station’s community role. They will be available to engage in outside broadcasts and live entertainment in Stockbridge and surrounding Edinburgh. Contact the station for details.
Training is an aspect that will be very much embraced by the station. Local schools, colleges and individuals will be encouraged to get in touch.
If you feel you want to be involved with local radio, get in touch with Mix1 Radio. They are an all-encompassing company that will welcome you with open arms.
Look for the station on the internet, broadcasting via its website, mobile portal apps and on smart speakers (local Edinburgh city DAB to come soon).
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
The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) represents Scotland’s young people.
Democratically elected members listen to and recognise the issues that are most important to young people, ensuring that their voices are heard by decision-makers. All young people aged between 14 and 25 years old can stand for election to the SYP.
Following on from last year’s successful SYP elections in Edinburgh, one seat remains unfilled in Northern and Leith. SYP rules state that the vacancy should be filled.
Where a seat is vacant, it can be filled through existing youth structures.
We are therefore asking young people involved in pupil/student councils or other youth structures such as participation groups in youth work agencies if they are interested in becoming a Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament for Northern and Leith.
Interested young people must live, study (i.e. go to school or college) or work in the constituency.
