TheâŻScottish Parliament’sâŻCross Party Group on Stroke â of which we are secretariat, is exploring the current position of emotional support available to people affected by stroke in Scotland. Our aim is to support stroke improvements in this area.
A vital part of this is to gather the views of people affected by stroke in Scotland.
We want to know: what support you received? Was it the right support for you?
Please have your say by completing out short online survey.
MSPs are asking for the public to share their views on the support that is currently available for disabled children and young people as they grow into adulthood.
The findings will be considered by the Scottish Parliamentâs Education, Children and Young People Committee as part of their scrutiny of a Bill which seeks to introduce more structured support for disabled children and young people in their transition to adulthood.
The Bill has been proposed by Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP, following on from work started by Johann Lamont in the last session of Parliament.
If passed, the Bill would make three main changes to the law:
the Scottish Government would need to have a strategy explaining how they are going to improve opportunities for disabled children and young people
a Scottish Government minister would be placed in charge of improving opportunities for disabled children and young people moving into adulthood
local authorities would need to have plans for each disabled child and young person as they move into adulthood
Sue Webber MSP, Convener of the Education, Children and Young People Committee said: âA young personâs transition to adulthood is a critical stage in their lives and our Committee wants to be sure that the right kind of support is available to help disabled children and young people as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.
âWe want to hear the views of disabled children and young people, their parents and their carers on these proposals.
âWeâre particularly keen to understand more about the how the support that is currently available is viewed.â
The Committeeâs call for views and survey on the Bill opened on 1 September and people can share their views until 27 October 2022.
TALKS to resolve the local government workers strike ended without an agreement being reached yesterday.
Unions had sought clarity over a 5% offer tabled at a meeting with local government organisation Cosla but the employers were unable to give sufficient reassurances to enable unions to call off planned strikes across the country.
This means the ongoing strike in Edinburgh will continue, with other council areas also being hit by industrial action for the first time today.
Edinburgh North and Leith SNP MP Deirdre Brock said the capital’s Labour-run council had failed to put forward a decent pay offer.
Edinburgh council’sLabour leader Cammy Day was criticised last week for offering just 3.5% to council workers while other council leaders were pushing for a 5%pay rise for their workers.
Ms Brock said: “The SNP in government put an extra ÂŁ140m on the table, on top of the ÂŁ100m extra given to councils earlier in the year, yet Labour refused to offer that money to refuse workers for over a week, leaving our capital streets an eyesore.
“Residents and tourists alike need to see a plan from Labour to clean up the capital starting today. All we’ve seen so far is ineptitude.”
Her Edinburgh SNP colleague Angus Robertson MSP weighed in:
The Labour administration in Edinburgh is propped up by the Scottish Conservatives and the Lib Dems, but the Tory Local Government spokesperson Miles Briggs MSP had a go at both the Labour-led council and the SNP Holyrood government:
Lamenting the city council’s ‘astounding’ lack of contingency planning – trade unions have made their plans very clear in the run-up to the strike – Lothians list MSP Miles Briggs said: “More could have been done to prepare the city, such as working with private companies or providing additional bins.
“The SNP government must get around the table and fix this before it’s too late. They cannot stand by and watch while a situation that they created by giving councils a poor funding settlement spirals out of control.”
Scotish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole Hamilton lays the blame squarely on the Scottish Government:
âThink of the white elephants the SNP has splurged cash on: independence, the ferries debacle, the embassies so they can play âdress-up diplomatâ. All of this could have gone to councils to allow them to settle these very reasonable pay expectations.â
Talking of white elephants, our cash-strapped city council chose yesterday to announce ÂŁ1 BILLION plans for a new North-South tram line … but that’s another story!
Responding to the Edinburgh refuse workersâ industrial action, Labour Lothian list MSP Foysul Choudhury said:âSNP representatives should get off their high horse about the ongoing industrial action when they should have been canvassing their own party in the Scottish Government to agree extra cash with COSLA for councils to pay workers a fair wage, rather than expecting Edinburgh City Council to cut services elsewhere.
âIt is up to the Scottish Government and COSLA to agree further funding, and then up to COSLA and the unions to agree the terms of any new pay deal, not Edinburgh City Council. As a former City Councillor, Deidre Brock knows this and yet has pretended otherwise in the media.
âNobody wants to see the streets of Edinburgh in their current state, but the ongoing industrial action shows what a crucial job refuse and recycling workers do and demonstrates why we should be paying them fairly for their work.
âAt the same time it is ridiculous for SNP representatives to lay the strike at the hands of a Labour-led council when it is their party which has repeatedly slashed local government budgets in real terms, forcing councils to cut their services to the bone.
âIf the SNP really wanted to avoid these strikes rather than play politics, they should have come to an agreement with COSLA sooner, or better still, avoided imposing successive years of painful austerity for local authorities across Scotland.â
UNITE City of Edinburgh Branch pointed out: “Misinformation on #edinburghbinstrikes today is rife. Strike is a national disputeâone council canât stop it. 14 more councils tomorrow.
“Local government funding has been slashed for a decade. Idea that 5% definitely would have stopped this is a fantasy. An insulting one at that.”
STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer is backing the striking unions. In a tweet yesterday, Ms Foyer said: “Solidarity to all of you. Keep fighting!
“All Scotlandâs local government workers deserve a decent pay rise for the vital work you do. Letâs show our support on the picket lines across Scotland tomorrow.”
PLANNED INDUSTRIAL ACTION:
Unison
School and early years workers will strike on 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September, joining UNISON waste and recycling staff who will have already started their strike action on 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th August and 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September.
Unite
Strikes will be held between the 18th August â 30th in Edinburgh with a second wave expected in a further 14 local authorities this week.
Aberdeen City, Angus, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Glasgow, Highland, Inverclyde, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian.
In the first wave of action cleansing workers will strike in Aberdeenshire, Clackmannanshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Stirling and South Lanarkshire councils for the first wave of strike action to take place on 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th August and 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September.
Cleansing workers will strike in Aberdeenshire, Clackmannanshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Stirling and South Lanarkshire councils for the first wave of strike action to take place on 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th August and 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September.
City of Edinburgh Council: Disruption to Waste Services
We appreciate the impact and inconvenience this will cause you and appreciate your understanding. Please help us to keep the city as clean and safe as possible during the strike by following this guidance:
Regularly check our website and Twitter account for updates on services suspended and when collections will restart in your area. Be aware normal collections may take a while to get back to schedule after the strike ends.
Donât put any bins, boxes or bags out for collection until the situation changes.
Stock up on strong black bags, and be prepared to fill, seal and store these with extra waste.
When separating your recycling, please try to flatten all cardboard and crush drinks cans and bottles. You can bag these up, separated, to empty into the recycling bin when you can.
Store waste sensibly and safely. If possible, use and share empty garage space with your neighbours or store bags in your garden or driveway.
Don’t store waste in stairwells or landings, where it could become a fire hazard.
Be careful not to block bin chutes or overfill them.
Keep all food waste separate and in an enclosed container, to help prevent smells attracting wildlife.
Talk to your neighbours and share responsibility for keeping spillages to a minimum. Help neighbours who may need support managing their waste. Explain the situation to those who may not have heard.
Please do not leave bags or any bulky items next to full bins. These will not get cleared away and could become a hazard.
Join with neighbours to do local litter picking clean ups, especially around on-street bins and litter bins on your street.
If a bin is full to overflowing, donât use it, particularly for dog fouling. Please either use a bin thatâs not full or take it home and double bag it to reduce smells.
Report a waste emergency
If you need to report an emergency issue where waste is causing injury or hazard call us and listen to select an option carefully. Phone 0131 608 1100, from Monday -Thursday 1000-1600 and Friday 1000-1500. After these hours, phone 0131 200 2000.
You can also email waste@edinburgh.gov.uk with the specific location and details of the issue.
Dogs Trust staff welcomed Sue Webber MSP to West Calder Rehoming Centre last week where she met handsome hounds patiently awaiting new homes.
As well as a tour of the West Lothian centre, the MSP for Lothian Region met with a number of the charityâs foster carers who were attending a âThank Dog Its Fostering Fridayâ event. Sue heard more about what fostering entails from couple Roy and Laura who have fostered for six years, in which time they have cared for over 135 dogs.
Speaking about the visit, Ms Webber said: âAs a dog owner myself I know how much a part of the family they are, so it was lovely to meet some of the fantastic dogs currently in Dogs Trust care especially new resident Phoebe.
âIt was also great to hear more about the charityâs fostering scheme and to meet foster carers Roy and Laura. It was incredibly inspiring to listen to them talk so passionately about the rescue dogs they have cared for and how rewarding an experience it is for them. I would encourage anyone interested in fostering to contact the charity and find out more.â
West Calder Rehoming Centre Manager Susan Tonner said: âWe were delighted to welcome Ms Webber and give her a tour of the centre.
“As we also had an event on that day for our wonderful fosterer carers, it was ideal that she was able to spend time with them and hear more about the benefits for our dogs of living in a home environment.
“She was very supportive of our Home from Home fostering scheme and its continued growth within Scotland, and we are grateful for that support.â
Dogs Trust is currently looking for Home from Home fosterers in Lothian and Borders. Anyone interested can call the centre on 01506 873459.
Anyone interested in rehoming three-year-old lurcher Phoebe, or any of the other four-legged friends in the charities care, click here:
New funding has been announced to cut carbon emissions in homes and commercial properties, as the Scottish Government continues to focus on delivering its net zero targets and support families with the cost of living.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Zero Carbon Buildings Minister Patrick Harvie announced ÂŁ16.2 million funding for five zero emission heat networks during a visit to ng Homes in Glasgow.
The announcement coincides with the first anniversary of the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party Parliamentary Group signing the Bute House Agreement, a plan to work together to build a green economic recovery from COVID, respond to the climate emergency and create a fairer country.
In its first year the agreement has delivered a range of benefits for households, communities and businesses and seen work begin on a number of longer-term reforms.
Particular progress has been made across a range of areas including:
Doubling the Scottish Child Payment to ÂŁ20 per week per eligible child from April 2022, with plans to extend eligibility to under 16s and further increasing the payment to ÂŁ25 per week by the end of 2022.
Bringing ScotRail into public ownership.
Introducing free bus travel for under 22s to cut the cost of living for young people, encourage sustainable travel behaviours early in their lives and improve access to education, leisure, and work.
Investing a record ÂŁ150 million in active travel in 2022-23, including more than doubling the funding for the National Cycle Network, a new walking fund, and supporting pilots for free bikes for school age children who cannot afford them.
Publishing Scotland’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation setting out how Scotland will transition to a wellbeing economy.
The Agreement set out a strategy for over a million homes to be using zero carbon heating systems by the end of the decade and allocating funds from a total planned investment of ÂŁ1.8 billion to cut energy bills, improved building energy efficiency and reduce climate emissions.
Scotlandâs Heat Network Fund offers long term funding support to deliver more climate-friendly ways of heating Scotlandâs homes and buildings. It has enabled the rollout of new zero emission heat networks and communal heating systems, as well as the expansion and decarbonisation of existing heat networks across Scotland.
Moving forward, the Scottish Government is primarily focused on four key tasks: reducing child poverty; addressing the climate crisis; the recovery from COVID of Scotlandâs public services including the delivery of the National Strategy for Economic Transformation; and the development of the prospectus for an independent Scotland and an independence referendum in October 2023.
The First Minister said: âThe world has changed substantially since the Agreement was reached 12 months ago. The conflict in Ukraine and the rising cost of living crisis have profoundly impacted everyoneâs lives.
âHowever, the stable and collaborative government provided by the Agreement, has helped to deliver immediate action in the face of these challenges, including supporting those displaced from Ukraine and using the powers that Ministers have to address the cost of living crisis.
âAction is needed now to support communities to respond to the cost of living and climate crises, and Scotlandâs Heat Network Fund is just one of the many initiatives that the Scottish Government has already undertaken.
“The projects that receive support from the Fund will fully align with the Scottish Governmentâs aim to eradicate fuel poverty by supplying heat at affordable prices to consumers, which is especially important now when we are seeing record rises in the cost of heating.
âThe Bute House Agreement was reached to equip us best to deal with the challenges we face, because we believe that new ideas and ways of working are required to deal with new problems. An unstable world needs more co-operation and more constructive working towards building a consensus, if governments are to be equal to what the people need of them.â
Mr Harvie said: âOne year on from the Scottish Greens entering government as part of the Bute House Agreement, I am proud of what this Government is doing to build a fairer, greener Scotland.
“From free bus transport for young people to doubling the Scottish Child Payment, we are committed to accelerating action to tackle the climate and cost of living crises.
âThe energy crisis households across Scotland now face is being driven by rocketing prices for gas, which we depend on for heat. We are clear that we need to redouble our efforts to improve the efficiency of our homes, making them more comfortable and cheaper to run, and end our reliance on gas for heat. Thatâs why we are investing ÂŁ1.8 billion in our green homes and buildings programme.
âDelivering a just transition to net-zero and seizing the opportunities this presents is a major focus of the Scottish Government, and rapidly increasing Scotlandâs renewable energy generating capacity and securing accompanying jobs and investment will be central to our work over the rest of the parliament.
âDuring the first year of the Agreement firm foundations have been built, demonstrating delivery and progress on shared policy priorities and adopting an approach that is both challenging and constructive.â
The Cubes of Perpetual Light will play new music commissions inspired by the themes of sustainability and growth during the Festival of Politics and Edinburgh International Book Festival
Specially designed âCubes of Perpetual Lightâ will come together in the Capital this summer to create a striking music installation featuring programmable light and quadraphonic sound.
The unique installation will appear in the iconic surroundings of the Parliament Garden in the Scottish Parliament, open to the public during the Festival of Politics, August 11-13 and Edinburgh International Culture Summit August 26-28.
A second installation will be installed during Edinburgh International Book Festival, 13â29 August.
The installation forms part of Dandelion, a major creative programme demonstrating the power of collective action through an ambitious âgrow your ownâ initiative that aims to reach communities across Scotland this summer.
Commissioned by EventScotland and funded by the Scottish Government,  Dandelion is Scotlandâs contribution to UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK.
At the centre of Dandelion, is a meeting of art and science through the creation of hundreds of unique miniature âgrowing cubesâ, called the âCubes of Perpetual Lightâ. The 1m x 1m cubes are designed to foster accelerated plant growing and have been developed to grow hundreds of seedlings under LED light, combining design craft, traditional horticultural expertise and technological innovation.
The Cubes arenât just miniature growing laboratories however, theyâre also the inspiration for new music which people are being invited to experience at festivals and venues across Scotland this summer, now arriving in Edinburgh.
The special installations are each unique, featuring a collection of cubes, with immersive lighting integrated with stunning quadraphonic speaker systems designed to best showcase the new music compositions playing âfromâ the cubes. This is the only opportunity to hear these unique compositions in their entirety.
For those unable to visit the cube installations in Edinburgh, they will also be visiting Inverness Botanic Gardens, 15â29 August, and on display at V&A Dundee until 30 August. This activity forms part of a summer-long programme of art, music, food and science for everyone to enjoy.
Leading musicians from Scotland and beyond have created 13 new music commissions for the Cubes of Perpetual Light, all inspired by themes of nature and sustainability.
The aim of the commissions, which can only be heard at the installations, is to encourage listeners to think more deeply about how, where and why plants grow. Each new music piece is commissioned by Dandelion with additional support for international work from British Council Scotland.
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The Edinburgh installation includes 13 tracks of new music from artists:
amiina & Kathleen MacInnes: A gorgeous collaboration bridging the mighty North Atlantic, from the Outer Hebrides to Iceland. South Uist native Kathleen MacInnes, one of Scotlandâs finest Gaelic folk singers comes together with amiina, from Reykjavik – a strings-and-electronica quartet whose packed portfolio includes many collaborations with Sigur RĂłs. This unique recording for Dandelion features Gaelic lullabies Crodh Chailein, Dhachaidh along with amiina composition blauwberâ.
Arooj Aftab & Maeve Gilchrist: Arooj Aftabâs music is a breath-taking blend of Sufi mysticism, contemporary classical, jazz, ambient and much more â and this year, she became the first Pakistani woman to win a Grammy. Her stunning new album Vulture Prince features Edinburgh-born harper, composer and producer Maeve Gilchrist, and the pair are teaming up again to create new music for Dandelion.
Claire M Singer: Claire M Singer is an acclaimed Scottish composer and performer whose acoustic and electronic music draws inspiration from the dramatic landscapes of her native country. The Director of Organ Reframed, a festival of new music that reimagines the epic sound of the organ, sheâs created a new multi-channel work featuring organs recorded in Aberdeenshire, Inverness, Stonehaven and Glasgow.
Vedanth Bharadwaj : Vedanth is a vocalist and composer born in Mumbai, India who trained in Classical music around the age of four, under Neyveli Santhanagopalan. He recorded two beautiful songs for Dandelion featuring himself on vocals, banjo and guitar along with Gurupriya Atreya on vocals. âVrukshan Se Mati Leâ is a song written by Surdas (an Indian mystic poet from the 16th century). He writes about how one ought to learn compassion from trees. Trees neither love you more when you water them, nor do they hate you if you cut them down. It provides us shade, while bearing all the heat from the sun on its own head. If you throw a stone at it, it gives you a fruit! Lucky are we, to live in a world among trees. Surdas pleads to us to learn compassion from trees, or at least, from the indigenous people.
Craig Armstrong & Steve Jones: Craig Armstrong is a BAFTA, Golden Globe and Grammy-winning Scottish born composer. Through his orchestral writing, electronic music and wide-ranging artistic collaborations in classical and film music, Craig Armstrongâs distinct compositional voice has received worldwide acclaim. For Dandelion he created âEndless (Study 1)’ with guitarist Steve Jones along with School of Scottish Studies field recordings from the 1960s to create a sense of limitless space and time for the listener.
Fergus McCreadie: Fergus McCreadie is one of the UKâs most exciting jazz musicians. Combining vital jazz sounds with influences drawn from Scottish traditional music, his brilliant third album Forest Floor came out in April to universal acclaim and has been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. His specially recorded Dandelion work âLife Cycleâ features piano and strings from Seonaid Aitken, Emma Pantel, Sarah Leonard & Juliette Lemoine.
Jason Singh: Jason Singh is a remarkable sound artist, beatboxer, producer and performer whose music is inspired by the natural world. Nicknamed âThe Human Samplerâ by Cerys Matthews, heâs worked with everyone from Sir David Attenborough to Talvin Singh. His composition for Dandelion, Droop, is a lament in response to our climate crisis. It is a collaborationâŻbetween plant, humans and technology and has been created by converting the electrical signals generated by the Camellia plant into musical notesâŻplayed through analogue and digital synthesisers.
Maya Youssef: Syriaâs Maya Youssef is the âQueen of the Qanunâ, an extraordinary 78-stringed Middle Eastern plucked zither. Her life-affirming music is rooted in the Arabic classical tradition but forges into jazz, Western classical and Latin music â as heard at the BBC Proms, WOMAD and now here on this special work for Dandelion: Back to Earth, Barley Blessing & Eastern Wind featuring Maya with Scottish musicians Innes White, Catriona Price, Craig Baxter, Alice Allen, Ciorstaidh Beaton and Arabic Nay player Moslem Rahal
Ravi Bandhu: Hailing from Sri Lanka, this acclaimed drummer, dancer and choreographer has taken his magnificent drum ensemble to stages as far afield as WOMAD in Reading and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.
Brian dâSouza: An award-winning sound artist aka Auntie Flo, DJ, producer and performer from Glasgow via Goa, Brian makes magic from a blend of electronic sounds and influences from around the globe. Winner of the 2019 Scottish Album of the Year Award for Radio Highlife, he recently debuted immersive installation The Soniferous Forest and for Dandelion has composed âSpring Symphony (Sage, Basil, Mint and Lavender)â – a biophilic soundscape that harnesses the power of nature through sound. It was created by using a Plant Wave device to pick up electromagnetic activity from the different plants which translated each into MIDI notes. These notes then literally âplayedâ samples of various traditional instruments from the Hebrides – including Clarsarch, Whistle, Flute, Pipes and Fiddle.âI then let the plants play… totally naturally to produce a kind of ‘acoustic ecologyâ.
Manu Delago: Thereâs no sound in music quite like the hang, a melodic percussion instrument invented only 20 years ago â and thereâs no better exponent of it than Manu Delago, whoâs performed with the likes of Björk, the Cinematic Orchestra, Ălafur Arnalds, Nitin Sawhney and Anoushka Shankar while making a succession of brilliant solo records.
PĂ druig Morrison: Accordionist PĂ druig Morrison was brought up surrounded by the culture, the music and the language of the Gaels. After bedding in the first Cube of Perpetual Light on the remote Hebridean island of Heisgeir, where his grandparents set up a pioneering experiment in sustainable living, PĂ druig is now making new music to help them grow.
This follows Dandelionâs latest project taking the Cubes of Perpetual Light on tour across Scotland throughout the month of August, traveling on specially designed electric cargo bikes.
The tour visits schools, parks, venues and Dandelion Unexpected Gardens where the commissioned music can be heard.
Music Director for Dandelion, Donald Shaw said: âJust as plants can grow from tiny seeds, great music can grow from small ideas that we nourish till they bloom into full art forms.Â
“The cubes can demonstrate accelerated growing in a wide range of settings, both the expected and unexpected. Placed in a particular environment they create a micro-world within a world, allowing musicians and listeners to imagine a sonic landscape that surrounds us, providing a space for contemplation and for us to imagine a future where we sow, grow and share differently.â
The Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament said:Â âThe Festival of Politics is all about opening the doors of the Scottish Parliament to people across the country with a variety of things on offer â from debate and discussion to exhibitions and music.
“The cubes of perpetual light is an example of how sustainability and art can come together to grab peopleâs attention and make people stop and think. I hope many people will take the opportunity to join us.â Â
Marie Christie, Head of Development, Events Industry at VisitScotland said:Â âIt’s fantastic to see so many incredible artists create new music inspired by Dandelionâs urgent themes of sustainability and our connection to the natural world.
“By fusing new music and new technologies, the cubes create unique ways for audiences to engage and connect with these issues. Itâs wonderful to see the cubes travel to Edinburgh to be part of the cityâs world-leading festivals, where audiences from Scotland and all over the world can experience them.â
Martin Green, Chief Creative Officer, UNBOXED said:Â “Dandelion is a brilliant coming together of artists, designers, technologists and scientists to make something special and important about what we eat, how it grows and how everyone can get involved in growing, wherever they live.
“Through the growing cubes, music and many opportunities to participate in growing initiatives, Dandelion is designed to inspire people to create a sustainable future. Dandelion is one of five UNBOXED projects taking place in Scotland this year as part UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK â a year-long celebration of creativity across the four nations.â
Dandelion is a joyous Scotland-wide celebration of sowing, growing and sharing. Commissioned by EventScotland and funded by the Scottish Government it is part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK. Dandelion reimagines our relationship with food and the planet and the way we celebrate it together.Â
People from across Scotland will be invited to join a Citizensâ Panel which will look to improve how the Parliament works with people across Scotland.
The 24-person panel, to be selected at random, will broadly reflect the demographic make-up of Scotland. The Citizensâ Panel on Participation will give members of the public a direct opportunity to influence change.
They will report to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee who recently launched an inquiry into public participation.
The panel is just one of the many ways the Committee is gathering views that will help inform how the Parliament involves, reflects and meets the needs of all the communities it represents, with a focus on improving engagement for those currently under-represented.
Participants do not need any prior knowledge to take part and the panel will receive support throughout the sessions, which will hear from speakers who are passionate about democracy and public participation, to help facilitate discussion and inform findings.
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Convener, Jackson Carlaw MSP, said:âThis is a unique opportunity to help shape the way the Scottish Parliament works with the people of Scotland and I would encourage everyone who receives an invitation over the coming weeks to register and get involved.
âWe know that the Parliament doesnât hear enough from some groups and communities and this Citizensâ Panel will bring together a diverse range of voices to make recommendations over how Holyrood can better connect and reflect the views of the people MSPs are here to represent.
âIf selected, your views could help to directly shape the future of the way the Scottish Parliament engages with communities across Scotland and improve public participation in decision making across the board.â
An exhibition showcasing some of the most thought-provoking photographs produced over the last year will go on display at the Scottish Parliament.
The World Press Photo exhibition will feature over 120 images illustrating some of the major issues facing the world today. From the effects of the climate crisis to civil rights movements, access to education and preserving indigenous practices and identities.
The free exhibition will be displayed in the Scottish Parliamentâs Main Hall from Thursday 28 July until Saturday 27 August.
Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP, said: âThis exhibition connects people to the stories that matter.
âYear after year, World Press Photo highlights the significant contribution of photojournalism to our understanding of the stories and people that make the headlines.
âThe Scottish Parliament is the only venue in the UK to host this global exhibition. I hope many of you get the opportunity to come to the Parliament to see this striking display.â
This year the winners were chosen out of 64,823 photographs and open format entries, by 4,066 photographers from 130 countries.
Some of the other images featured in the exhibition include:
World Press Photo of the year by Amber Bracken for the New York Times. Red dresses hung on crosses along a roadside commemorate children who died at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, an institution created to assimilate Indigenous children, following the detection of as many as 215 unmarked graves, Kamloops, British Columbia;
Antonella poses for her photograph in the kitchen at home, while in strict lockdown in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the day she made her promise not to cut her hair till she could resume person-to-person classes, taken by Irina Werning, Pulitzer Center;
Police agents arrest a man while his wife and family resist, during evictions of people from the San Isidro settlement, in Puerto Caldas, Risaralda, Colombia, taken by Vladimir Encina;
A protestor throws back a tear-gas canister that had been fired by security forces, during a march demanding an end to military rule in Khartoum, Sudan, taken by Faiz Abubakr Mohamed.
A targeted emergency response, on a par with action taken during the pandemic, is needed to address the energy bills crisis, says Holyroodâs Net Zero, Energy & Transport Committee in a report published today.
The report, which lays out the Committeeâs findings following an inquiry into rising energy prices, says the Scottish and UK Governments must provide more immediate, carefully targeted support to those struggling with increasing fuel bills.
The report highlights three areas where the Committee believe immediate action and targeted support for the most vulnerable could be improved. These include additional financial help for households, better energy education and advice services and acceleration of programmes to retrofit and insulate homes.
It also says that medium and long-term plans and strategies must accelerate to reduce future exposure to volatile energy prices and help meet net zero targets.
Dean Lockhart MSP, Convener of the Committee, said: âThis is a crisis unfolding in real time and one which we are told threatens âa catastrophic loss of lifeâ if swift action is not taken.
“We recognise some of the actions taken by the UK and Scottish Governments even over the short period of our inquiry, but more can and must be done now and in a more targeted way to get help to those most in need.
“Over the medium to longer term, it is also clear that we need to escape dependence on volatile international energy markets and accelerate all our efforts to enable this.
âFor now, our message is clear: the Scottish Government must demonstrate a targeted emergency response to this crisis, on a par with action taken during the pandemic, to ensure the least well off are not vulnerable to death or serious ill-health due to rising energy costs and associated cost of living expenses.â
In the report, the Committee agrees with the Scottish Government on the need to take action through available welfare provisions but asks them to set out how social security and other assistance will be targeted specifically at lower-paid families with young children, those with disabilities and health conditions, older people, and those identified as experiencing or at risk of experiencing fuel poverty.
The report says that a national publicity campaign â akin to those used during the pandemic â and increased support and funding for those providing advice and advocacy at a local level is needed, so that everyone in Scotland looking for help can find it.
The Committee also recommends that plans for a programme of home heating and insulation, towards which the Scottish Government has committed an investment of ÂŁ1.8bn, be accelerated and targeted at those most in need.
The Committee is writing separately to the Minister of State for the UK Government, Greg Hands MP, calling for similar urgent action in relation to matters for which he is responsible.
The big issues facing people in Scotland will feature at the Festival of Politics, with the programme for the event being unveiled today.
Taking place over three days from Thursday 11 until Saturday 13 August, the Festival features a number of online and in-person events taking place in the iconic surroundings of the Scottish Parliament.
Themes such as end of life choices, the state of the UK union, cost of living crisis, our climate, migration and equality will all feature. Alongside distinguished panel guests drawn from all walks of life across Scotland and beyond, sessions will allow festivalgoers to share their own experiences and ask questions.
The Debating Chamber will also see well-known figures address the audience in a series of âin conversationâ style events. On Thursday, philosopher Professor A.C. Grayling will talk about the three most urgent challenges facing the world today: climate change, technology and justice. On Friday, well-known footballer John Barnes will talk about his experiences of racism and what needs to be done to tackle this in modern society.
This year the Festival will also feature a rehearsed reading of Holding / Holding On from the National Theatre of Scotland scripted by Nicola McCartney in collaboration with care-experienced people and those within the care system. A powerful reading that has, at its heart, the intersection where care, class and poverty meet.Â
The Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, said: âThis programme that has been unveiled today captures the topics of conversations that are happening all over Scotland with family and friends around kitchen tables, on social media, in newspapers and on television.Â
âWe wanted to bring together those issues that are important to people and allow them to hear different perspectives drawn from people across civic society about how we can make a difference.
âI really do hope that there is something for everyone in this programme and Iâm delighted to be welcoming people back into the Parliament for this event.â
