The Scottish Government are undertaking a huge piece of research into the response of Volunteering and Third Sector Organisations to the Covid-19 pandemic.
They are very keen to hear from volunteer involving organisations on their experience of volunteer involvement, good and bad, over the period of the pandemic. In order to build as clear a picture as possible it is important that as many organisations in Edinburgh as possible respond.
The deadline has now been extended to Tuesday 1 June.
This survey aims to gather information about:
How volunteering has contributed to the Third Sector response to the pandemic;
The challenges that the sector has faced in continuing to support volunteering during this time; and
Organisational perspectives on what is needed to support volunteering during the recovery period and beyond.
Survey reveals the items & activities Scots couldn’t go longer than a day without
– Wi-fi and mobile phones top the list of items Scottish respondents couldn’t go longer than a day without –
– Scots would rather go without a shower than their mobile phone –
A new survey of 2000 respondents from gadget insurance company Protect Your Bubble reveals which items or activities they couldn’t go longer than a day without.
Wi-Fi tops the list as over 65 percent of Scots revealed they couldn’t go longer than a day without it. This follows on from a record year in 2020 with 96 percent of UK households now having access to the internet.
Top 10 items/activities Scottish respondents couldn’t go longer than a day without
#
Item/Activity
% of respondents
1
Wi-Fi
65
2
Mobile phone
53
3
Showering/Bathing
49
4
Tea/coffee
48
5
Pets
39
6
TV
37
7
Going outside for exercise
25
8
Snacks
24
10=
Reading for leisure
17
10=
Car
17
What’s more, Scottish residence overwhelmingly prioritises their internet connectivity over hygiene – with a staggering 16 percent more people needing it over a quick shower in the day!
With whole host of stricter national restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic forcing Scottish residents to sit tight and work from home where possible, it’s no wonder that they’re prioritising connectivity. While not relying on it as much as the Welsh (71%), they’re needing it more than the UK average (60%).
The Scots are just as guilty when it comes to mobile phone usage, with 53 percent of respondents saying they couldn’t go a day without their phone. Whether it be for work purposes or trawling through social media, it’s clear the nation is hooked on their devices.
Despite Scots putting their phones and WIFI over hygiene, it turns out they might be the cleanest nation in the UK, as they’re the only country to prioritise having a good scrub over a morning cuppa.
It seems the Scots love affair with tea and coffee isn’t that strong, with less than half (48%) needing a cup daily – a whopping 18 percentage points down on Northern Ireland (66%) and 10 down on the Welsh (58%).
Pets (39%) closes out the top five items/activities that Scots can’t go longer than a day without, showing their devotion to their furry companions.
At the other end of the scale, it may come as no surprise to see ‘retail shopping’ and ‘seeing friends’ as the bottom two activities people can go longer than a day without, with only one percent viewing it as a priority.
With a struggling economy in these unprecedented times, and workers wanting to look after their disposable income, it’s no surprise that these are of low importance to people’s daily lives.
Bottom items/activities Scottish respondents couldn’t go longer than a day without
#
Item/Activity
% of respondents
1=
Retail Shopping
1
1=
Seeing Friends
1
3=
Beer
2
3=
Gambling
2
5=
Video games
3
5=
Wine
3
7
Seeing family
10
8
Microwave
12
It’s surprising to see ‘seeing family’ towards the bottom end of the table. However, this could be due to the national lockdown restricting the number of people you can see outside of your bubble.
That said, the longest period most respondents said they could go without family (27%) is a month – with 26 percent being fed up with just a week.
With Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon recently announcing the countries roadmap out of lockdown, it seems residents won’t have to wait much longer until they’re reunited with their loved ones.
James Brown, Director at Protect your bubble commented:“It’s really interesting to see what items or activities the UK public can or cannot go without for longer than a day. The pandemic has shifted peoples the perceptions of what they now view as a priority in their everyday lives.
“With mobile phones ranked highly for something people can’t go a day without, it’s important the public ensure their device is well-covered with the likes of insurance or mechanical breakdown cover should it ever get lost or damaged to minimise any disruption it may cause.”
New survey finds young people are some of the most anxious when thinking about their financial security and futures, as country begins to emerge from lockdown
Rapper Nova Scotia The Truth – who spent award win on Zoom rather than at annual celebration – fronts new campaign to encourage people to think about what they want from their future
Bank calls on the public to consider their financial situation as research shows more than half have parked a key ‘life moment’ during lockdown
New research from Royal Bank of Scotland has found that more than half (56%) of 18–34-year-olds in Scotland put a ‘life moment’ (e.g. wedding, graduation, buying their first home) on hold during the last 12 months.
Of those with life moments planned, almost a third (31%) said ‘financial insecurity’ caused by the pandemic had affected these plans, with one in ten (10%) citing a loss of employment and 8% affected by their lack of financial knowledge.
More than a fifth (22%) of all 18-34-year-olds said they feel anxious about money troubles in a post-Covid world compared with less than one in ten (9%) of those aged 55+.
As the country takes the first steps towards re-opening, Royal Bank has committed to improving the nation’s financial capabilities by offering every person a free Financial Health Check, to reduce money anxieties and help them achieve their goals.
To encourage signups for the service and urge young people to think about their future, the bank has enlisted the support of rapper and DJ, Shaheeda Sinckler aka Nova Scotia The Truth, who was crowned Scottish Album of the Year winner 2020.
The 25-year-old rap artist, who lives in Edinburgh but had plans to buy a new home in Glasgow, has seen her life put on pause with live gigs postponed, missed family moments and adjusting to a virtual existence with college, career planning and even collecting her SAY Award from behind the screen, rather than on-stage at Edinburgh’s Summerhall.
Shaheeda has been commissioned by the bank to write and produce an exclusive new track about the implications of 2020 and making future dreams happen – it’s due for release later this year.
Despite the increased financial anxieties among young people, almost 2/5ths (39%) do believe the pandemic has made them better at financial planning and when asked about the things they are looking forward to once restrictions allow it, key sources of excitement for 18-34-year-olds in Scotland include:
· Going on holiday (74%)
· Date nights (50%)
· Attending a live gig (48%)
· A return to education (22%)
· Buying a house (20%)
Shaheeda Sinckler, Nova Scotia The Truth, said: “At the start of 2020, I planned to move back to Glasgow and focus on gigging but because of the pandemic, I’ve had to stay at home with my family. It’s not been the easiest year but I’m lucky I’ve been able to focus on creative projects and do my college work virtually, I know not everyone has been so fortunate.
“The pandemic has given us time to reflect on our lives and the way we structure them and for me, that involved streamlining my finances to make sure I’m setting myself up well for when life goes back to normal. If you’ve got a plan in place now and the right support, you can achieve your goals quicker.”
Malcolm Buchanan, Chair, Scotland Board, Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “The impact of the pandemic on people’s plans – and their financial situation – has been immense.
“Directly or indirectly, everyone has been touched by it. Through our conversations with our younger customers and colleagues, a group who are normally working towards their future plans and goals, it is clear that many dreams and life moments have been paused. This is understandable given the climate.
“Shaheeda’s story has shown that it has impacted everyone, whether in the public eye or not.
“It has been challenging and there is a long way to go but we’ve seen that some people have reappraised what they want from life, whether it is a new life goal or even plans to set up their own business in the future.
“Regardless of how long it takes for people to get back on their feet, we want to help give everyone the support and skills they need to help them make their dreams a reality and help them plan for the future.”
Royal Bank is making financial management easier by providing the following:
· Financial Health Check – A free 20-minute conversation with a senior advisor who provides guidance to make banking simpler, and tips for everyday spending or achieving future goals. This could include setting savings targets, advice on tracking monthly spending and creating budgets. Customers can choose to chat in a branch or over the phone. personal.rbs.co.uk/personal/financial-health-check.html
· Royal Bank of Scotland app – Customers using Royal Bank of Scotland’s award-winning app will now be able to easily see where their money is going with the new ‘spending’ tab which will show them how much they’re spending each month, helping them stay in control of their money.
· MoneySense – MoneySense provides parents and teachers with the tools to give young people the confidence to use money responsibly on their own. MoneySense is fully digital and downloadable, it can be delivered by teachers in schools. It’s the longest-running bank-led financial education programme for young people in the UK.
Could you spare two minutes of your time please? We would love to know what you think of our community cafe (whether you have visited it or not). Your opinion matters to us.
A survey by BritainThinks, commissioned by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), has found that 73% of in-store shoppers say they usually or always purchase products that are on promotion when shopping, with a quarter (25%) of respondents suggesting that if there were no promotions, they would be concerned about the affordability of their shopping.
Nearly two thirds of participants (62%) also agreed that promotions are an important way to save money on food and drink, with nearly three quarters of participants (72%) wanting promotions to continue, finding them useful for saving money, stock up on food for the future and trying new products.
The findings come following news that the government remains committed to plans that would restrict promotions, including multibuys and buy-one-get-one-free deals.
Commenting on the findings, the FDF’s Chief Scientific Officer, Kate Halliwell, said:“The survey results clearly demonstrate that a large majority of in-store shoppers use promotions as a way to save money on their food and drink shopping. We’re extremely concerned that removing these promotions will add to the household’s food bill.
“There is evidence that during a recession, many people increasingly rely on promotions to help them save money. It’s predicted that the average shopping basket may increase by £600 a year without promotions in retail. We have already seen evidence of rising food costs – at the start of lockdown we saw a spike of 2.4% increase in food prices, fuelled by a 15% fall in promotions which accounted for over half of this inflationary spike.
“We urge the Government to consider these findings as they press on with their plans to restrict retail promotions and think about the impact this may have on the shopping basket and for shoppers during an incredibly difficult economic time.”
Big Garden Birdwatch is finally here! We’d love you to take part.
In your hour of watching, you’ll get to see the fascinating antics of your garden birds. From squabbling starlings, lively long-tailed tits to fluttering blue tits, you never know what will show up until you start looking, and it changes every minute!
Your Birdwatch creates a fascinating snapshot of how our garden birds are faring, and these add together to create an impressive big picture of garden birds all over the UK. We’d love you to add your sightings to the picture! Many of us have grown closer to nature over the past year – and Big Garden Birdwatch is an amazing way to celebrate that.
Of course, there’s always the chance that you don’t see anything during your Birdwatch. That’s fine – we’d still like to know, as it’s useful information for us. But we hope your hour is full of drama and perhaps even surprise! We’d love to hear your Birdwatch stories.
Share and join in the Birdwatch chat at #BigGardenBirdwatch
A new survey into the nation’s TV viewing habits reveals that, on average, Edinburgh viewers currently spend 28 hours of every week glued to their tellies, clocking up to 112 hours a month.
Commissioned by Samsung UK, the research shows that as many as 82 percent of those in the area surveyed said having good things to watch this January and February would help them get through the bleaker winter months.
With 80 percent of the British nation having enjoyed watching more TV during 2020, the research reveals that, in Edinburgh, the average household is set to enjoy 22 box set episodes, 10 sit-coms, six soap opera episodes and four football matches per month. Over a quarter of those polled said that in 2021 they could not live without their TVs.
In an average month this year, viewers in Edinburgh will also enjoy 14 reruns of their favourite shows, nine films, seven game shows and five reality shows – as well as a staggering 73 YouTube videos.
The research also uncovers that over the period of a month, people in Edinburgh will fall asleep in front of the TV three times, have four family feuds over what to watch, snuggle up with a furry friend five times and spill something on the carpet at least four times.
The True Crime genre TV capital of the UK is revealed to be London, with Brits in the city set to enjoy eight episodes each month.
Moreover, the research into TV habits reveals that the soap opera capital of the UK is officially Bristol, where residents will indulge in nine episodes of their favourite soap each month.
Meanwhile it was revealed that hardcore football fans are most likely to be found in Newcastle upon Tyne, watching up to six matches a month.
The research also found that Edinburgh is shifting from watching traditional terrestrial TV to using more modern streaming platforms.
Overall, 46 percent of the nation favours Netflix and this rings true for Edinburgh households, as 38 percent prefer to use this platform over anything else to get their entertainment fix.
Other popular streaming platforms across Edinburgh include Amazon Prime (10 percent), Disney+ (six percent) and BBC iPlayer (eight percent).
The old saying “Laughter is the best medicine” certainly rings true across the nation, as over half of Edinburgh based participants (68 percent) will be watching comedy shows to help keep spirits up throughout the beginning of the year.
In fact, viewers in the UK will laugh until they cry at least five times a month, with 66 percent of Edinburgh based adults admitting comedy is their favourite type of programme to watch. This was closely followed by documentaries (46 percent) true crime (36 percent), game shows (34 percent) and light entertainment (32 percent).
Deep Halder, Head of TV/AV Retail & Content Services, Samsung Electronics UK Ltd said: “As the nation is set to spend even more time at home this year, many of us will be turning to our TVs to provide some comfort and light relief during these times.
“At Samsung, we’re always listening to what our customers desire from their viewing experiences and with almost half turning to comedy shows, we’re proud to have recently launched Samsung’s own Comedy channel via Samsung TV Plus – our exclusive service which offers Smart TV owners instant access to over 80 live and on-demand TV channels for free, guaranteeing endless entertainment options.”
The survey also showed that selecting what to view on TV isn’t always plain sailing, with the average Edinburgh household spending 10 minutes per day bickering over what to watch and 15 minutes flicking through the channels.
One of the biggest frustrations, however, is often finding the remote in the first place, with the research revealing that they spend seven minutes every day searching for the elusive item.
To find out more about Samsung’s TV portfolio, from its pioneering QLED 8K TVs offering state-of-the-art technology, to its impeccably stylish range of lifestyle TVs with innovative features, please visit www.samsung.com/uk/.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a huge increase in the use of video calls as a way to stay connected with others and improve wellbeing.
Staying connected is especially important for people aged 70 and above who have been advised to self-isolate for long periods of time.
However, there may be barriers to video call use, including difficulties with hearing.
We are interested in finding out how and to what extent older people with hearing loss have been using video calls, focusing on ease or difficulty of use and any effects on feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Take part in our survey
We’ve launched a survey to find out about these things and we’d love you to take part, whether you use video calls frequently or hardly at all and whether you love them or loathe them (or something in between). You can complete the survey online or, if you prefer, fill in a paper copy.
It should take roughly half an hour. We will also conduct a smaller number of in-depth interviews to find out more detail about people’s experiences; you can volunteer for an interview via the survey.
If you’re interested, please register here. If you’d like any more information, please email ear.vcp@ucl.ac.uk or phone 02076798904.
If you prefer to fill in the survey on paper, we can send you a copy in the post.
All respondents can choose to be entered into a prize draw to win one of two £50 shopping vouchers.
This project is a collaboration between four different UCL departments: the Ear Institute, Centre for Behaviour Change, Division of Psychiatry and Institute of Health Informatics.
We will use the results of our investigations to write recommendations about making video conferencing more accessible to older people with hearing loss. We believe that the information we gather will be valuable in helping older people with hearing loss cope with further periods of isolation, either due to the pandemic or other life events.
Creative Scotland has published the findings from independent research looking at public attitudes to cultural participation and attendance in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Surveying a representative sample of the population in Scotland, this is the second wave of research, following the first wave which was completed in August 2020. The survey provides valuable insight regarding how the Covid-19 pandemic has changed attitudes towards, and engagement with, cultural activity and also looks at public attitudes towards cultural participation in the future.
Key findings include:
More than half the population (56%) say they really miss attending cultural venues and events
However, there is wariness amongst the culture-going public as regards returning to venues and events as restrictions ease, more so than with many other leisure activities
The vast majority of the population (98%) are engaging with cultural activity from home during the Covid-19 pandemic but only a small proportion (17%) say they are willing to pay for cultural content that has moved online due to the pandemic
Audiences are nevertheless looking forward to attending cultural activity when they can; are open to trying new experiences at different types of venue (70%); and audience levels look likely to return to pre-Covid levels, or increase, once a vaccine is widely available
Iain Munro, Creative Scotland Chief Executivesaid: “The impact on Scotland’s art and culture sector by the Covid-19 pandemic has been severe. This important and ongoing research helps us understand that impact from a public perspective and is helping inform our ongoing discussions with partners, including Scottish Government, regarding current and future support.
“The research also provides invaluable insight that will help shape our collaborative work with the sector in terms of recovery and renewal as we emerge from the impacts of the pandemic through 2021.”
The report summarising the findings from the research can be found on the Creative Scotland website. A further wave of this research is planned for Spring 2021.
Over two thirds of student renters (69 per cent) are concerned about their ability to pay their rent
A third of students believe that they would not be allowed to leave their tenancy agreement early due to the pandemic
57 per cent of those who have been self-isolating have not received any support from their accommodation provider
22 per cent of students have been unable to pay their rent in full over the past 4 month
Over two thirds of student renters (69 per cent) are worried about their ability to pay rent with around a quarter having been unable to pay rent (22 per cent) or bills (27 per cent) during the pandemic, a new survey from NUS (National Union of Students) has found. International students and students of colour are most likely to be extremely concerned.
Almost half of students live in rented accommodation of some sort, with around a third believing they would not be allowed to leave their tenancy agreement early due to the pandemic.
These problems are likely to be exacerbated with the most recent lockdown announcement that has left the majority of student renters still liable to pay for accommodation that they are not allowed to access.
The Coronavirus and Students Survey phase III took place in November and involved over 4,000 students, building upon the previous research issued by NUS in April and September 2020. A quarter of students have had to self-isolate during last (Autumn) term, or are currently self-isolating, while a small proportion have had to lockdown.
57 per cent of those who have been self-isolating have not received any support from their accommodation provider. Students have called for more regular check-ins, financial support and food deliveries to support them.
The proportion of students living with parents/guardians has gone up since September, now representing 30 per cent of students compared to 21 per cent. Prior to the pandemic a quarter of students were living with parents indicating some students have had to reconsider their living arrangements as a result of the pandemic.
Hillary Gyebi-Ababio, NUS Vice-President for Higher Education, said: “It is astonishing that the UK government has placed students under lockdown yet are still requiring them to pay rent for accommodation that they cannot legally access. It goes to show the level of disregard that this government has for students.
“We need rent rebates immediately to ensure that students are not out of pocket for rental payments of properties they are not living in. Over two-thirds of students are already concerned about their ability to make rental payments, and this will have only increased with the most recent lockdown announcement.
“Students deserve better than to be financially punished for following public health guidance.”
Ellen Fearon, NUS-USI President, said: “Governments have been dodging the problems facing student renters throughout the whole of this pandemic. We have consistently raised the fact that students are in a unique situation, being unable to claim Universal Credit and therefore unable to access housing support if they lose their income, but these calls have fallen on deaf ears.
“In September students were brought back onto campuses only for many classes to be moved online in a matter of weeks and for some students to find themselves effectively locked in their halls. It’s not surprising that so many students feel they have been exploited for profit. Students deserve better than to be used to prop up a failing business model.”
