Best Start Foods payments are increasing this month marking the achievement of another commitment for the first 100 days of the Scottish Government.
Social Security Minister (and local MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith) Ben Macpherson paid a visit to Fresh Start’s Pantry on Ferry Road Drive at lunchtime to meet staff and customers who are benefitting from the payments.
The payment supports low income families to buy healthy food for children under the age of three, and forms part of the Scottish Government’s national mission of eradicating child poverty.
Best Start Foods is part of a package of five family payments administered by Social Security Scotland. It is made every four weeks on a pre-paid card to buy healthy food including eggs, milk, fruit, vegetables and pulses. The payment is increasing to £18 from £17 during pregnancy and for any children between one and three years old. It’s also increasing to £36 from £34 for children under one.
Between December 2018 when the first payment started and 31 May 2021, £60.8 million has been paid to 179,575 families for Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods -£16.7 million of these payments were for Best Start Foods.
Social Security Minister Ben Macpherson said: “Unwarranted welfare cuts by the UK Government and the impacts of the pandemic are putting even greater pressure on family budgets.
“It’s our priority to do everything within our power to eradicate child poverty across Scotland. We committed to increasing Best Start Foods within the first 100 days of this Government and we have swiftly delivered.
“We have also delivered on our 100 day commitment to pay £100 as part of Scottish Child Payment Bridging Payments worth £520 in both 2020 and 2021. Families will now have received £200 for each eligible child this year, almost two years ahead of the planned full roll-out of Scottish Child Payment for older children.
“We are set to invest £77 million both this year and next through this measure which is expected to benefit around 145,000 children and young people in receipt of Free School Meals on the basis of low income.
“Families in Scotland now have a unique package of payments that will help them as their child grows and I encourage all families on low incomes to check what they are entitled to. There are many forms of support available to ensure every child in Scotland has the best start in life.”
Further information on all five family payment can be found by visiting:
Newpartnership launches new website for carers of people with dementia
This week a partnership between Edinburgh charity Hearts & Minds, Designed by Society, Wee Culture and Edel Roddy launched a new website with valuable resources for unpaid and professional carers of people with dementia and anyone who has an interest in care for people in the later stages of dementia.
All of the partners have direct experience of working in the area of later stage dementia and developing resources. The project was funded by Dementia Series Development Trust.
The Treasure We Seek Project is based on the principles of the work of Hearts & Minds Elderflowers who use the art of therapeutic clowning to encourage moments of engagement, communication and movement with ladies and gents with dementia. The project took those principles and developed two sets of resources ‘Valuables’ and ‘Treasure Hunt’
Project LeadEdel Roddy explained: “The Treasure We Seek website was launched this week offering two free resources for people to feel connected to people living with later stage dementia.
“The resources have been developed with the hope they will be useful across a range of settings including schools, community groups, carers organisations and care settings, and we were thrilled with people’s responses.
“Initial feedback highlighted that people have started to develop ideas about how they will try out the resources, and potentially make them their own, with friends, family and in work settings. Attendees at the launch even helped us think about other contexts in which these resources could be used, the possibilities of which feel exciting.
“If you missed the launch you can find the resources on www.thetreasureweseek.net and we’d like to hear from anybody who tests them out or has thoughts or ideas about this work they’d like to share.”
These resources will help relatives and professionals to cope and care and also to evaluate how they feel and take notice of their own wellbeing so they don’t feel stressed or isolated.
Hearts & Minds is an award winning Scottish charity that works in collaboration with paediatric healthcare units, respite centres, schools for learners with complex additional support needs and Dementia units to deliver laughter, friendship and support to those who need it most.
Our Clowndoctors Programme supports children and young people to cope with life in a hospital, hospice or respite care setting and in schools for learners with complex additional support needs.
Our Elderflowers Programme helps people living with dementia or dementia-related conditions in hospitals and residential care homes.
Through playfulness, smiles and laughter, we help all of these vulnerable people to deal with the anxiety, fear, confusion and sadness that their situations and conditions may bring.
Dr Gayle Rice is an experience researcher and designer for Designed by Society. Her research background is qualitative and creative and focuses on people’s current and desired experiences. Her design practice involves designing to enable improvements in people’s experiences of social interactions.
Wee Culture
Belinda Dewar is a registered nurse, researcher, educator and practice developer with a career spanning over 30 years. She is currently Director of Wee Culture which aims to support people to explore and enhance culture.
She previously held the position of Professor of Practice Improvement at the University of the West of Scotland and the Lead for My Home Life Scotland.
The Dementia Series Development Trust
Dementia Series Development Trust is a charity with a vision to improve the lives of those living with dementia through the funding of activities which support this aim.
The Principles which guide the work of the DSDT are:
Proactive
Pump priming
Partnership
The Disruption Award funds projects which strive to disrupt some of the old ways that people think about dementia, and communicate new ideas that reframe it.
£5 million to help families be there for children in hospital
A new fund has been launched to help families with the costs of visiting and providing essential care for their children in hospital.
The Young Patients Family Fund will support the parents and siblings of young inpatients by covering expenses for travel, food and overnight accommodation where necessary.
Initial investment of £5 million has been set aside for the fund, although actual spend will depend on demand.
Public Health Minister Maree Todd launched the fund at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh, where she met with Deborah Robertson whose 10-year-old son Zak is an inpatient receiving treatment for Cystic Fibrosis.
Ms Todd said: “When a hospital stay is necessary, families want to focus on the health and wellbeing of their child, without the worry of the financial costs around being there for them.
“This fund will provide support when it is most needed, and is an extension of our Neonatal Expenses Fund, which covers costs for the parents of sick or premature newborn babies.
“The Young Patients Family Fund extends the support to cover the families of all inpatients from birth up to the age of 18.”
Associate Director of Policy, Influencing and Voice at the charity Young Lives vs Cancer Helen Gravestock said: “When a child is diagnosed with cancer, the whole family’s world turns upside down.
“Parents often have to stop working, children can be taken out of school and suddenly they have to travel miles for life-saving treatment. The last thing they should be worrying about is how to afford the petrol to be by their child’s bedside.
“On average, families spend an extra £600 every month while their child is having cancer treatment.
“The Young Patients Family Fund will be very much welcomed by children and young people with cancer and their families. Young Lives vs Cancer looks forward to working with colleagues in Scotland to ensure that all eligible families can benefit from it.”
NHS Lothian’s Service Director for Women’s and Children’s Services Allister Short, said: “When a child or young person requires a stay in hospital, it can be a really challenging time for them and their family, and anything that helps to reduce this stress is a really welcome step.
“This new fund really will make a big difference for families not just here in Lothian, but across Scotland.”
Bliss Scotland Chief Executive, Caroline Lee-Davey, said: “This new fund will now mean that parents of premature and sick babies who need hospital care once their neonatal treatment is over will continue to be supported throughout their hospital journey.
“We will continue to work with the Scottish Government to ensure the Fund meets the needs of families and will keep campaigning for the other UK nations to introduce similar support for families with a baby in neonatal care.”
• Led by PureGym Ambassador Sir Chris Hoy, PureGym is partnering with the Scotland-based charity Social Bite, which aims to raise £1 million to break the cycle of homelessness
• Social Bite’s Break the Cycle fundraising campaign includes a 60-mile cycle from Glasgow to Edinburgh on Sunday 5th September 2021 as well as a number of other physical challenges.
PureGym, the UK’s leading gym operator, is proud to be partnering with Social Bite, a Scotland-based charity that aims to end homelessness through pioneering employment, food, and housing initiatives, on its Break the Cycle campaign.
Led by 6x Olympic champion and PureGym Ambassador, Sir Chris Hoy, PureGym’s Scottish gym staff and members will undertake a number of physical challenges to help Social Bite fundraise £1 million to build two new villages – and they need your help!
Homelessness is a growing problem in the UK and the current provision of temporary accommodation like hostels and B&Bs does not provide suitable, supportive, or cost-effective environments to enable people to escape the cycle of homelessness. Social Bite’s solution is to bring vacant land back into use by creating community villages with prefabricated housing and a community hub.
The charity also invests in providing tailored support to upskill residents and provide them with opportunities that enable them to sustain their own secure tenancies.
The first Social Bite Village was launched in Granton in 2018 and the charity has recently launched a campaign, in partnership with PureGym and Sir Chris Hoy, to help build two more Social Bite Villages, which are planned to be in Glasgow and London. PureGym will be supporting Social Bite’s Break The Cycle fundraising campaign in three key ways:
• Setting off from the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow, supporters will cycle a challenging 60-mile route with Sir Chris Hoy across Scotland’s central belt, crossing the finish line in Edinburgh – near to the flagship Social Bite Village in Granton. PureGym has built a team of riders from across all of its Scottish gyms and is encouraging anybody to sign up to join the team with an exclusive discount code[1].
• Supporters can take part in 60-minute charity spin classes every Thursday throughout August in PureGym’s Scottish clubs[2].
• PureGym will be hosting a continuous 24 hour ‘spinathon’ on Wednesday 25 August, involving gym staff in three of PureGym’s Scottish clubs[3].
For anyone not in Scotland, supporters can join the official Break the Cycle virtual challenge or do a virtual challenge of their choice. Whether it’s being sponsored for 60 miles or 60 minutes of exercise it doesn’t matter – all of the money raised will contribute to Social Bite’s efforts to break the cycle of homelessness.
Sir Chris Hoy, PureGym Ambassador and Scotland’s 6x Olympic champion, said: “The pandemic has exacerbated the already severe problem of homelessness across the UK, whilst also demonstrating the importance of exercise in protecting the nation’s physical and mental wellbeing.
“I can’t think of a better charitable campaign to support than Social Bite’s Break the Cycle campaign, which will raise funds to help rebuild people’s lives, whilst also improving the health and fitness of the nation. We are looking for people across the UK to join in the fight, whether you’re cycling 60 miles or doing 60 minutes of exercise at home you can help us to break the cycle of homelessness.”
Josh Littlejohn MBE, Social Bite co-Founder, said: “We are really excited to be teaming up with PureGym. The amazing support of their clubs, colleagues and members will help make two new Social Bite Villages a reality.
“Since opening the first Village in Edinburgh, 39 people have been helped with a home and support through the project.
“The money we raise from our Break the Cycle fundraising campaign will enable us to develop communities that will have a transformative impact on people’s lives in two more cities.
We’re so grateful to everyone taking on a challenge – every effort you make and every penny you raise will be helping someone break the cycle of homelessness. Thank you.”
More than 300,000 tax credits customers have just over one week to renew their claims before the 31 July deadline, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has warned.
As the deadline approaches, customers are being urged not to leave their renewal until the last minute and risk their payments being stopped. The quickest and easiest way to complete a renewal is via GOV.UK. Customers can manage their tax credits online.
Once tax credits customers have completed their renewal, they can use their online account to check its progress and find out when they will hear back from HMRC.
This year, about 28,000 customers have used the official HMRC app on their smartphone to renew their tax credits. The app allows customers to:
report any tax credits changes and complete their renewal
check their tax credits payments schedule, and
find out how much they have earned for the year.
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said: “Tax credits payments can provide our customers with vital financial support. There is just one week left to renew your claim – don’t delay and do it online by searching ‘tax credits’ on GOV.UK.”
Customers do not need to report any temporary falls in their working hours as a result of coronavirus. Unless their hours have permanently changed, they will continue to be treated as if they are working their normal hours for up to eight weeks after the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme closes.
Any self-employed individuals who have claimed a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant will need to declare the grant payments. Search ‘working out your income for tax credit/self-employment’ on GOV.UK.
But if there is a change in a customer’s circumstances that could affect their tax credits, they must report the changes to HMRC. These include changes to:
· living arrangements
· childcare
· working hours, or
· income (increase or decrease).
Post Office card accounts are closing. From 30 November 2021, HMRC will stop making payments of Child Benefit, Guardians Allowance and tax credits, into Post Office card accounts. HMRC is reminding any tax credits and Child Benefit customers who use this account to receive their payments, that they will need to notify HMRC of their new bank account details.
HMRC is encouraging customers to act now so they do not miss any payments once their Post Office account closes. They can contact HMRC’s helpline (0345 300 3900), update their details while renewing tax credits or use their Personal Tax Account. To find out how to open a bank account, visit Citizens Advice.
HMRC is also urging customers to be careful if they are contacted out of the blue by someone asking for money or personal information. The department sees a high number of fraudsters calling, texting or emailing people claiming to be from HMRC.
If in doubt, HMRC advises customers not to reply directly to anything suspicious, but to contact HMRC straight away and to search GOV.UK for ‘HMRC scams’.
LifeCare Edinburgh has received £1,000 from Arnold Clark’s Community Fund to help the charity deliver its essential care to hundreds of older people living across the North of the city.
The renowned local charity offers registered care, outreach activities and help at home services for older people. Established in 1941, the organisation supports elderly clients suffering with dementia, mobility issues, those experiencing isolation and loneliness, food poverty, mental health problems and offers dedicated support for carers.
LifeCare’s vital services have not stopped through the pandemic. Since March 2020, the charity has supported over 770 elderly individuals with vital positive support designed to protect and maintain the physical and mental health needs of some of the most isolated older members of the community.
The committed team has worked tirelessly to safely deliver essential care, practical help and companionship activities to ensure older people received the support they needed to stay well. The charity also launched several important new initiatives, such as their hugely successful meals on wheels service, specifically designed to help support the most isolated and vulnerable.
Margaret Stewart, Care Service Manager at LifeCare said: “Throughout LifeCare, we have worked tirelessly to ensure no client in need went without our dedicated support and contact.
“We have delivered over 7,500 hours of registered care through the crisis to date, over 10,000 hours of help within the home, made over 4,300 calls to carers most in need and served up over 10,000 hot nutritious meals to doorsteps.
“We simply could not deliver this vital care without the generous support from our funders. A huge thank you to Arnold Clark for this recent award which will help us to continue to care for those who need our help.”
Chief Executive and Group Managing Director Eddie Hawthorne said: “The Arnold Clark Community Fund is here to connect us with our local communities, and we’re delighted that we’ve been able to help LifeCare with this grant.
“The past year has been challenging for so many of us, which is why it’s important that organisations like LifeCare, who work so hard improve the lives of others, continue to get the support they need.
“We hope this grant will make a difference and help them continue to provide essential care to the elderly living in Edinburgh.”
Edinburgh charities Streetwork and Edinburgh Food Project have welcomed donations totalling £10,000 from Amazon Development Centre Scotland.
Streetwork, a service provided by Simon Community Scotland, has been offering care and guidance to those who are experiencing homeless or at risk of homelessness in Edinburgh for 25 years.
The charity provides expert advice and compassionate support, working to connect people to the services they need. The mission of the charity is to enable a life off the streets, showing dignity and respect to everyone.
The charity works with City of Edinburgh Council, so staff have direct links to accommodation that is available immediately. The charity also offers a 24-hour freephone line that provides information for anyone who needs it.
Edinburgh Food Project operates eight foodbanks across the northwest, central and east of Edinburgh. The charity also offers a range of support to people including housing and benefits advice, a money advice service and a mental health and wellbeing project.
Edinburgh Food Project’s mission is to provide emergency support to people in crisis whilst also addressing the underlying causes of food poverty.
Commenting on the donation, Graeme Smith, Managing Director at Amazon Development Centre Scotland, said: “We are pleased to support Streetwork and Edinburgh Food Project with these donations.
“We understand how difficult the last year has been for people at risk of hunger and homelessness and these charities have gone above and beyond to support the Edinburgh community.”
Lorraine McGrath, Chief Executive, with Simon Community Scotland added: “We want to say a big thank you to the Amazon team for this donation. It means a lot to us to have this support at this time.
“COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the community and the demand for our services have rocketed. This donation will give our staff and volunteers a boost so we can continue to help those experiencing the most extreme impacts of homelessness including rough sleeping in Edinburgh.”
Angus Robertson, MSP for Edinburgh Central, said: “I welcome Amazon’s donation to Streetwork and Edinburgh Food Project, two important charities making a positive impact in the city.”
Amazon Development Centre Scotland has been based in Edinburgh since 2004 and is responsible for devising and growing innovations that bring new levels of choice and convenience to hundreds of millions of customers around the world.
It houses teams of leading engineers, scientists, designers and product managers who work on everything from interactive user interface design to large-scale distributed systems and machine learning.
Community donations are one of a number of ways in which Amazon is supporting communities across the UK during COVID-19.
Throughout the pandemic Amazon has provided disadvantaged students with free online STEM resources and supported virtual classrooms with no-cost resources from AWS and Amazon Future Engineer.
The company has also teamed up with charity partner Magic Breakfast to deliver more than four million healthy breakfasts to children at risk of hunger in disadvantaged areas around the UK.
For more information on how Amazon is supporting the UK during COVID-19, click here.
Healthcare company, Enertor, has announced its support for the exceptional work of the Regional Infectious Diseases Unit and staff at the Western General Hospital in NHS Lothian. As part of the Save the Nation’s Soles campaign, Enertor wishes to give thanks to all those who have and continue to work hard on their feet throughout Covid-19.
Through the month of July, for every 5 pairs of protective insoles purchased at Enertor, 1 pair will be donated to the hospital staff. A presentation will then take place in August.
The Western General Hospital is the second group to receive thanks from the UK insole manufacturer. Through June, and the efforts of communities across the UK, 500 pairs of gifted Enertor insoles were secured for the District Nurses across Braintree, Witham and Halstead, Essex. A presentation is planned next week, to deliver the 500 insoles to the key workers.
“Every single one of our staff, from nurses to doctors, porters to therapists, receptionists to pharmacists have been working tirelessly, often in excess of 12 hour shifts to ensure their patients’ health and wellbeing. Our ward nurses can log over 20,000 steps in just one shift so you can imagine how tired their feet feel.
“We are incredibly touched by the support of Enertor and excited to receive the gifted insoles in August for our team. It’s so important we keep our staff on their feet and injury free. We know these insoles will help to keep our staff mobile, aid their posture and generally reduce the stress on their bodies.
“We are a real team at WGH and we want to show our appreciation in any way we can for their continued efforts at this incredibly tough time.”
Over a single day our feet can support hundreds of tons, with just one step exerting a force twice our body weight. Imagine the stress on the bodies of our health care professionals and community services through the pandemic.
In order to send thanks, Enertor needs your help …
The company are calling on local communities to nominate groups of people they’d like to thank – be it volunteers or key workers, hospital staff to Covid test and vaccination centre volunteers, postal staff emergency services to school teachers – groups who you think are making a huge difference with their efforts day in, day out.
Nick Beresford, CEO of Enertor says: “When the local community nominated the RIDU at Western General Hospital, we were thrilled, as we couldn’t think of more worthy recipients. They have been at the front line of this terrible pandemic, putting themselves at risk and we would really like to thank them for all their tireless and wonderful work.
“This campaign has been created to recognise the many extraordinary people across the country that have and are still spending a huge amount of time on their feet as key workers, volunteering, delivering, cleaning, caring and many other important roles through the pandemic.
“We all know how debilitating lower limb and foot pain can be – 90% of impact comes through our feet with little realisation of the damage this can do to the body. Now more than ever, injury prevention is becoming crucial, in helping to keep our key workers and community heroes healthy and mobile.
“We will come through this crisis, but the only way through is together and so we wanted to do our bit to support and send our thanks for their continued efforts and devotion to saving the nation.
“Our insoles are trusted by podiatrists, the NHS and the British Army. They help all kinds of foot and leg injuries and pain such as stress fractures, Achilles tendinopathy, plantar fasciitis and shin splints.”
HOW CAN YOU SHOW YOUR SUPPORT?
To give thanks to your local heroes and heroines, visit
to nominate your chosen group and learn more about the vital role insoles can play in keeping you safe, mobile and injury free.
The nominated organisation must comprise over 50 people and each nomination will require the name of the group, a named contact to receive the donation if chosen and a short reason as to their hard work and deserving of the protective insoles. Each month, one chosen organisation will be presented with their donation.
Enertor PX1 insoles offer the first shock-absorbing technology specifically developed for protecting the feet and body from ground forces. Transmitting impact forces horizontally through the insole, shockwaves are greatly reduced through the leg.
The shoe inserts also help to improve lower limb alignment, reduce fatigue and reduce tibia and femur rotation and the stress this puts on joints. 91% of foot pain sufferers reported an improvement in the level of pain and 75% confirm that our insoles healed their plantar fasciitis.
Trusted by podiatrists, the NHS and British Army, the PX1 insole boasts flexibility, comfort, durability and energy returning properties, priced at just £34.99
Now that Covid-19 restrictions are easing, you may be thinking about re-starting services and face-to-face volunteering activities. Lateral Flow Devices (LFDs) are one of the measures you can put in place to help you resume services safely and with confidence (writes Volunteer Edinburgh Chief Officer PAUL WILSON).
Volunteer Edinburgh is a “distribution centre” for LFDs for small or local voluntary organisations or community groups.
If you would like some testing kits to distribute to your staff, volunteers or service users these are available for collection from the Volunteer Edinburgh office at 222 Leith Walk between 10am and 4pm, Monday to Friday.
While we are not operating an appointment system for collection it would be much appreciated if you could call us on 0131 225 0630 to let us know roughly what time you will be coming: as we only have limited staff in the office this will ensure that someone is available to help you when you arrive.
For information on how to use the LFDs please see the Scottish Government guidance HERE and for information on testing, vaccinations and self-isolation support please click HERE.
