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Community wellbeing in Almond & Western
Some of the services available to support you over Christmas
Today Glenigan, the construction industry’s leading insight and intelligence experts, release the November edition of its Construction Review.
This monthly report provides a detailed, comprehensive analysis of construction data, giving built environment and property professionals a unique insight into sector results, from the three months to the end of October 2021.
A significant takeaway from November’s figures is, whilst the decline in project starts continues to affect the sector, an uptick in approvals and contract awards demonstrates a degree of resilience.
Failure to Launch
Against the context of global skills shortages and persistent supply chain issues, inevitably the overall value of project starts during the three months to October declined.
This represented a 29% drop overall against the preceding three months to October 2021 and was 17% lower than the same period last year.
A softening in underlying work (< £100 million) (16%) and a sharp decline in major projects (> £100 million) down a massive 50% on the preceding three months this year supports the wider acknowledgement of a temporary autumn slump, following a summer of intense activity.
Reasons for Optimism
Supporting Glenigan’s predictions this downturn in project starts is a short-term challenge, an increase in detailed planning approvals and main contract awards highlights a healthy pipeline of future work in 2022 and beyond.
This emphasises the predictions found in Glenigan’s most recent industry Forecast (November 2021) which predicts sector-wide growth next year, despite the current disruption battles.
Analysing the data further, the value of main contracts awarded rose by 4% against the previous three months and was 32% up on a year ago.
Major contract awards rallied, following relatively poor performance between July – September. Although still lower compared to the three months to July (-8%), awards were up 20% compared to 2020.
Planning consents edged 2% higher against the preceding three months but were unchanged on a year ago. Nevertheless, approvals were 17% above the same period in 2019.
On-site activity remains stable
According to the latest official ONS data, the value of work carried out on-site picked up in September, having weakened in the previous two months. Again, external, global events had a major role to play. Likely, the recent energy and fuel crises will have only exacerbated the situation. This slight increase was not enough to prevent a 1.5% slip against the preceding three months, but was up 9.7% on 2020.
Looking to the sector split, residential new work fell back during the period coverage in this Review, with private and social housing falling by 3.5%.
Public non-residential and commercial output also declined, dropping by 12.8% and 5% respectively against the preceding three months.
Sector Focus
A general decline in underlying starts persisted across almost all sector verticals.
Underlying civil engineering work starts saw a fall of almost a third (-32%) compared with the previous three months to October, and were 43% down on a year earlier. This was highlighted through poor underlying infrastructure performance, 42% lower than a year ago. Utilities were also 45% lower.
Residential, retail, hotel & leisure, health and education also witnessed a decline in performance in the three months to October. For underlying residential, it was also 22% down on the same period last year.
Standing out from the crowd, underlying industrial project starts proved a pillar of strength, increasing 41% against the preceding three months as well as standing 38% higher than a year earlier.
Underlying office starts were also high, climbing 8% against the preceding three-month period to October, 23% higher than a year ago.
Likely these spikes are caused by a significant increase in ‘mission critical’ projects coming online and an even greater push from employers to get staff back into the formal workplace.
Regional Performance
London was the strongest performing part of the country for underlying project-starts, with starts rising 2% during the three months to October to stand 28% up on a year ago. Similar to previous reviews, the North West was the only other region to see an increase in underlying starts against the preceding three months (+3%) with starts also up 9% on a year ago.
Underlying starts continued to fall across the rest of the nation, with Wales performing particularly poorly, with value plummeting 51% against the preceding three months to stand 74% down on a year ago.
Commenting on the findings, Glenigan’s Economic Director, Allan Wilen says, “Tough times continue as disruptive global events continue to hit hard, however a gradual increase in contract awards and planning consents indicate momentum will soon start to revive.
“Of course, ready availability of personnel and material when shovels need to go into the ground will determine how long the slump in starts persists.
“Once again, there’s massive regional inconsistency, with only two parts of the country seeing an increase in activity. This will no doubt become a priority for the new LUHC Secretary, who will need to strike a balance across the nation to deliver on the government’s much trailed levelling-up agenda.”
To find out more about Glenigan, its expert insight and leading market analysis click here.
A new fund has been established to help tackle the impact of social isolation, loneliness and the mental health inequalities made worse by the pandemic. The £15 million Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund aims to support adult community-based initiatives across Scotland.
Grass roots community groups and organisations will be able to benefit from the funds to deliver activities and programmes to people to re-connect and revitalise communities building on examples of good practice which have emerged throughout the pandemic.
Mental Wellbeing Minister Kevin Stewart launched the fund at Saheliya in Edinburgh, a specialist mental health and well-being support organisation for black and minority ethnic women and girls.
Mr Stewart said: “This funding reflects the importance we place on promoting good mental health and early intervention for those in distress and will help develop a culture of mental wellbeing and prevention within local communities.
“It is vital now, more than ever as we start to re-open society that we support the mental health and wellbeing of individuals. I am very keen that this benefits communities across all of Scotland.
“I was pleased to be able to visit Saheliya this morning and meet some of the people involved with running and the project, and some of the people they help.”
A range of charity-support bodies and social enterprises, known as third sector interfaces, will manage the fund in partnership with local integrated health authorities and other partners including Community Planning Partnerships and local authority mental health leads.
The Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund is part of the wider £120 million Recovery and Renewal Fund announced in February 2021 to ensure delivery of the commitments set out in the Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan in response to the mental health need arising from the pandemic.
Projects aiming to help transform towns and neighbourhoods could apply to a new £10 million multi-year fund.
The Scotland Loves Local Fund aims to encourage people to think local first, and support businesses and enterprises in their community. The fund will provide match funding of between £5,000 and £25,000 for projects run by groups like town centre partnerships, chambers of commerce or community and charity trusts.
Administered by Scotland’s Towns Partnership it aims to bring new, suitable, creative projects and activity to towns and neighbourhoods – helping build local wealth and increase footfall and activity, while supporting local enterprise partnerships. Eligible projects could include things like community shops, marketing and digital schemes, or enabling larger construction projects delivery.
Community Wealth Minister (Eh? – Ed.) Tom Arthur said: “To support Scotland’s towns and neighbourhoods recover from the pandemic we are launching a new £10 million Scotland Loves Local Fund.
“This will provide 50% match funding for local projects between £5,000 and £25,000. Whether it be funding for small-scale improvements or adaptations, climate or active travel programmes, home delivery digital schemes, pop up shops and markets, or the direct funding or expansion of Scotland Loves Local loyalty card schemes – communities will be able to decide how best to improve their local area.
“This 100 day Scottish Government commitment reinforces our determination to support all our communities as they recover from the pandemic and will help strengthen the vital support being provided through the Scotland Loves Local marketing campaign and loyalty card scheme.”
Scotland’s Towns Partnership Chief Officer Phil Prentice said: “Over the coming years, this significant commitment from the Scottish Government will make a real difference – empowering communities to take action that will make their areas fairer, greener and more successful. We are delighted to be working with ministers to deliver this.
“This funding will unlock the great potential of our towns and neighbourhoods, allowing them not just to recover from the impact of Covid-19, but to create a stronger, more sustainable future which has localism at its heart. I would encourage interested organisations across Scotland to get their applications in.”
Director of Milngavie Business Improvement District and Business owner Wendy Ross said: “The Scotland Loves Local campaign was a massive help to Milngavie, especially at the peak of the pandemic when non-essential retail businesses were forced to close.
“Using the digital experience of our business improvement district place manager and his network of collaborators, the Loves Local funding was invested to build many e-commerce websites very quickly so we could continue to trade online, with click and collect and deliveries.
“This was a critical help for local businesses and really opened our eyes to aspects of the digital world that we knew little about. Using the Loves Local messaging and excellent #ThinkLocalFirst campaign, we used social media and milngavie.co.uk to reach local people. That really struck home and continues to do so.”
The Scotch Whisky Action Fund (SWAF) provides funding to eligible projects specifically set up to reduce the negative impacts of alcohol-related harm. Only open once a year, the fund is inviting new applications before the deadline at noon on Monday 28th June.
Managed by Foundation Scotland, SWAF has so far awarded over £800,000 to over 70 projects operating across the country since its launch in 2013. The fund is focused on supporting innovative initiatives and activities specifically designed to tackle alcohol-related harms in Scotland’s communities.
Groups such as Rowan Alba, Waverley Care, Edinburgh Young Carers Project, and Govan Youth Information Project have received project support.
Jennifer McPhail, Programmes Advisor at Foundation Scotland, said: “We’re delighted to be running this important funding stream again. Now in its eighth year, the Scotch Whisky Action Fund has already made a massive impact on individuals and communities affected by alcohol related harms.
“The alcohol industry plays an important role in Scottish society, and Scotch Whisky is at the heart of the industry. However, the misuse of alcohol through excessive or inappropriate consumption can have implications for health and a range of social problems, including anti-social behaviour, violence, family breakdown, problems with money and work. This can impact individuals, families and communities.
“The fund is not set up to support recovery or treatment of alcohol issues. Rather it’s for innovative projects that educate, raise awareness, and prevent future alcohol-related harm. Examples of projects include preventative training programmes and diversionary activities for young people, peer support groups for carers and family member counselling services.
“There are many examples of previously funded projects available on our website and we are advising interested groups to carefully read through all the guidance before applying. The closing date is coming up soon so we are encouraging those that are interested to progress quickly as the fund only opens once a year.”
Projects which secure funding from SWAF, and can demonstrate an impact after their first year of funding, may be able to receive further funding of up to £25,000 per annum for a maximum of three years, to support their initiative.
For full information, including eligibility criteria and application details visit, https://www.foundationscotland.org.uk/scotch-whisky-action-fund
Women and children experiencing or at risk of violence and domestic abuse will have increased access to support, with £4.25 million of additional funding for charities and projects across Scotland.
The additional investment will help respond to an increase in demand from victims of abuse for support services during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
More staff, increased hours for centres and helplines, improvements to IT and new digital resources and training will all allow services to be up-scaled so that more people can quickly and easily access help.
Updated guidance, developed in partnership with COSLA, is also already being used by local authorities to keep women and children safe.
Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie said: “The greater risks to women and children of domestic abuse with referrals to frontline services increasing during the pandemic is a major concern. It is atrocious that this is the case but we are focused on ensuring that frontline services can meet the increased demand for support.
“This extra funding will help to ensure these vital services are still able to provide support to people across the country, and the scale and innovation of these projects will provide a lifeline to many women and families.
“Any kind of violence is unacceptable and the safety and wellbeing needs of women and children need to be protected – that is even more important during a pandemic. Police Scotland continue to prioritise domestic abuse cases so I would also encourage anyone suffering violence and domestic abuse not to hesitate to get the support they need.”
Dr Marsha Scott, Chief Executive of Scottish Women’s Aid, said: “Our local Women’s Aid groups have shown extraordinary resilience and creativity in rapidly redesigning their services to continue supporting those experiencing domestic abuse throughout the pandemic. The challenges they’ve faced have been huge as COVID-19 has given abusers more tools to control and harm women and children.
“This injection of financial support will provide some much-needed stability for groups against a back drop of precarious, patchwork local funding. As lockdown and other measures ease, our local groups are anticipating even more demand for their specialist services as survivors begin to have more opportunities to seek support.
“Additionally, if faced with a second wave of the virus, this funding will strengthen the responses of groups and allow them to build on the progress they have made in delivering services remotely. This support from the Scottish Government will help local Women’s Aid services prepare to meet those needs and will mean that women, children and young people experiencing domestic abuse can access the help and advice they want, when they want it.”
Read more on Equally Safe, the Scottish Government’s strategy to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls.
Funding is confirmed to March 2021 and will be indicative to September 2021, subject to budgets for the 2021-22 financial year.
A list of the funded projects is below:
| Organisation/Project | Amount 2020/21 | Indicative Amount 2021/22 |
| Aberdeen Cyrenians | £32,739 | £32,239 |
| Action for Children Western Isles | £720 | £0 |
| Bridge funding for local CEDAR programmes | £67,158 | £67,158 |
| Children 1st – Scottish Borders | £18,000 | £18,000 |
| Committed to Ending Abuse | £16,000 | £16,000 |
| Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault West Lothian | £30,000 | £30,000 |
| Dumfries and Stewartry Women’s Aid | £27,500 | £27,500 |
| Equally Safe at School (Rape Crisis Scotland/Zero Tolerance) | £11,684 | £11,684 |
| Kingdom Abuse Survivors Project | £16,500 | £16,500 |
| Moray Rape Crisis Centre | £5,842 | £5,842 |
| Moray Women’s Aid | £12,517 | £12,517 |
| Rape Crisis Scotland – additional capacity for support | £676,584 | £676,584 |
| Rape Crisis Scotland – Helpline | £31,712 | £31,712 |
| Rape Crisis Scotland – National Advocacy Project | £242,907 | £242,907 |
| Rape Crisis Scotland – refresh funding services model | £15,000 | £0 |
| Red Cross – supporting vulnerable women | £4,963 | £4,963 |
| Respect Men’s Advice Line | £14,357 | £14,357 |
| Respekt (City of Edinburgh Council) | £24,380 | £24,380 |
| SACRO Another Way | £20,000 | £20,000 |
| Saheliya | £38,097 | £38,097 |
| SAY Women | £23,308 | £21,692 |
| Scottish Women’s Aid – enhanced support for women, children and young people through affiliated groups | £637,500 | £672,219 |
| Scottish Women’s Aid – improving digital infrastructure and communications for affiliated groups | £68,000 | £68,000 |
| Scottish Women’s Aid – affiliated groups staff health and wellbeing | £53,000 | £53,000 |
| TDAS Barnardos | £25,000 | £25,000 |
| West Dunbartonshire Council Support Service | £24,966 | £24,966 |
HELP AND SUPPORT AVAILABLE IN NORTH EDINBURGH
Final 2 North Edinburgh Food Network Info UPDATED 16 APRIL v3
North Edinburgh groups work together to support vulnerable residents
It started with a meeting called by local activist Willie Black at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre on 18 March. That initial discussion got the ball rolling, lit the fuse. From there, there were email from Spartans’ chief exec Douglas Samuel, quickly followed by another from local Lifelong Learning Development Officer Allan Hosey. A community campaign was building …
The idea? To coordinate a local community response to the unprecendented challenges posed to vulnerable people by the coronavirus.
Despite years of funding cuts, North Edinburgh retains a wealth of voluntary sector organisations able to adapt to changing circumstances, so who better to take on this major logistical challenge?
While individual community groups initially started their own support schemes for local folk through Muirhouse Millennium and Drylaw Neigbourhood Centres, pooling resources and sharing information offered a unique opportunity to devise and deliver a bespoke plan to ensure that North Edinburgh’s most vulnerable residents would not go hungry or be without basic essential supplies.
That was mid-March and three weeks later, following a regular series of Zoom meetings, hundreds of local people are seeing the benefit of local organisations working together in partnership.
A co-ordinated community response to the greatest public health emergency of our lives is now fully operational and is constantly being fine tuned as new information becomes available.
Hundreds of hot food, sandwiches and essential supplies pack deliveries are now being distributed from community hubs to all who need them on a daily basis, provided by project staff and a dedicated team of community volunteers.
Reflecting on progress so far, Spartans’ Dougie Samuel said: “It’s been great to be able to play our part in a wider community effort to help and support local families.
“The Academy has become a hub for the collection and redistribution of daily lunches and weekly food parcels for members of our community. In a true ‘bottom-up approach’ numerous community partners have come together to provide a co-ordinated support over these past few weeks.
“I’m super proud of the way in which numerous organisations, many of whom who did not have close day-to-day relationships previously, are pulling together as one.”
Among the community organisations involved in the sexily titled (!) North Edinburgh Cov-id 19 Foodshare Group are: Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, Drylaw Rainbow Club Daycare Centre, Fresh Start, Granton Community Gardeners, LIFT, Muirhouse Millennium Community Centre, North Edinburgh Arts, Pilton Community Health Project, Pilton Equalities Project (PEP), SCRAN Academy and The Spartans Community Football Academy. There may be more and apologies if I’ve missed you!
Local politicians and community councillors are also taking a leading role and community organisations like Granton Information Centre continue to provide advice and support for vulnerable people during these anxious times.
Willie Black, who continues to chair the foodshare group’s regular Zoom meetings, said: “Local People and organisations are working flat out and this has been a huge community effort.
“The biggest challenge facing us now is that of capacity. We need the politicians to get us the resources we need to keep the momentum going, because there’s no doubt the demand will increase in the days and weeks ahead.
“In particular we urgently need additional kitchen capacity and accessible community space for storage.
“News of additional government funding is very welcome and it’s key that this gets down to grassroots level as quickly as possible to enable this vital initiative to continue.”
The next Zoom meeting will take place on Thursday.
At the outset of the lockdown, social enterprise SCRAN Academy, based at Fet Lor Youth Club on Crewe Road South, launched a crowdfunding appeal to raise £12,000 to provide hot meals for those who need them.
Deliveries commenced on 20 March.
SCRAN’s John Loughton explained in the appeal: “We have had every bit of earned income and work cancelled since covid19 was announced, as well as having to sadly cancel supporting our young people face to face. This has been tough. But it’s right.
“Despite this, our charity staff and volunteers, working with others, responded in less than 24 hours and have now applied our catering and community experience into creating a supply chain where we are delivering a FREE, HEALTHY and SAFE meal every day to people across North Edinburgh and Leith (initially).
“We hope to help, love and support those most vulnerable to follow advice, reduce stress and stay home. Please help us support the OAPs, frail, struggling families, those with health conditions all access one wee crucial lifeline at this stage.
“Our direct partners include Prep Table Scotland, Pilton Equalities Project (PEP), Fet Lor Youth Club, Ryvoan Trust, Muirhouse Millenium Centre and many others including support from EdinburghCatering Co., ArtFe, EdinFoodSocial and many more locals.
“We’re delivering over 1,500 meals per week, your help will guarantee us at least £1000 a week over lockdown. Roughly £12 will feed 1 pensioner everyday for a week.
“The local community, MPs, MSPs, the NHS and others are supportive and we are taking stringent industry-level measures to maximise safety and hygiene.”
The total raised so far stands at £7500.
