Care for Carers package needed to support mental health of 3 million NHS and care staff
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP, Labour’s Shadow Mental Health Ministerhas called for a shake-up of mental health support to ensure that, for the first time ever, 3.1 million NHS and care workers get the same fast-tracked help and advice.
Labour has designed a new four-stage Care for Carers package to cover all NHS and social care staff in England, including contracted workers such as porters, cleaners and support staff who are doing vital and often distressing work during the coronavirus pandemic and are more likely to be low paid and on insecure contracts.
The package, staffed by paid professionals, includes:
1. A new national hotline available 24 hours a day, seven days a week
2. Follow-up support, including specialist assessments and referrals
3. Intervention and treatment, including specialised PTSD support
4. Follow-up and sign-posted to external services, such as alcohol and addiction services
Current support available is inadequate because it does not cover private sector staff doing NHS and social care work, and there are long waiting lists and significant regional variations. In some areas, nurses can wait for a year for an appointment. The current Covid-19 support hotline offers emotional support and signposting, but does not lead on to psychological therapies.
Labour is also calling for the Government to appoint a new independent national wellbeing guardian to coordinate and oversee the support, and to hold the Government and NHS employers to account.
The watchdog would work with unions, NHS Trusts, local authorities and care providers to ensure all staff know how to access the scheme and give them the confidence that their wellbeing was being championed and protected.
The pandemic has exacerbated an already grim picture for staff mental health. Almost five million working days were lost to poor mental health in 2019; stress is estimated to account for over 30% of NHS staff absence at a cost of up to £400 million a year; the BMA says 41% of doctors suffer with depression, anxiety, stress and other mental health conditions relating to their work; and more than half of carers say they are emotionally exhausted, according to the IPPR.
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan said:“Even before the pandemic hit, the case for investing in this kind of support was clear. Coronavirus has exacerbated the existing crisis in mental health.
“Many NHS and social care staff have been scared of going to work, and they have lost patients and colleagues. It has been heartbreaking to witness the toll this virus has taken on staff mental health.
“Current support is not good enough, and without a tailored, fast-tracked service for staff who have faced death and despair every day for over three months, our frontline heroes will continue to be failed.
“We need to care for our carers. It is time for the Government to give back to those who have sacrificed so much to keep our loved ones safe. Unless our staff are protected, they cannot continue their vital work of keeping us all safe.”
Unite, the UK and Ireland’s largest union, has welcomed Labour’s demands to provide fast-tracked mental health services for three million NHS and care workers.
The union said Labour’s plans would provide ‘much needed support’for the mental wellbeing of health and care staff who have faced increased pressures and distress during the pandemic.
Unite national officer Jacalyn Williams said:“These plans would create much needed support for the mental health of NHS and care staff who have faced the brunt of the worst impacts of the pandemic day after day.
“Having lost patients and colleagues, and with the threat of the virus to themselves and their loved ones ever present, it is no surprise that the mental health of staff in the health and social care sector has suffered.
“After years of service cuts, staff shortages and increased workloads, there was already a mental health crisis amongst health and social care workers, but the pandemic has made the situation a lot worse.
“Unite welcomes Labour’s proposals and calls on the government to implement them as soon as possible.”
Commenting on Labour’s plans for a mental health package for NHS and care staff, UNISON assistant general secretary Christina McAnea said:“Health and care staff have been working under huge pressures over the past few months, while most of us have been safe at home.
“Fears about falling ill, passing the virus on to loved ones or those they care for, and working without adequate safety kit have only added to the stress.
“Even before the pandemic hit, overworked staff were suffering with their mental health. The Covid crisis will only have heightened these problems.
“Health and care workers who’ve been up against it since March, need time off to recharge their batteries and support to help them cope with what they’ve been through.
“A one-size-fits-all approach of occupational health assistance won’t work. Support must be much more tailored to suit individual needs than is currently the case.
“The government needs to get much better at looking after all of those who do so much to look after all of us.”
Boris Johnson set out his much-anticipated ‘road map’ in an address to the nation last night. While Johnson is Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as he pointed out himself, much of his speech applies to England only:
It is now almost two months since the people of this country began to put up with restrictions on their freedom – your freedom – of a kind that we have never seen before in peace or war.
And you have shown the good sense to support those rules overwhelmingly.
You have put up with all the hardships of that programme of social distancing.
Because you understand that as things stand, and as the experience of every other country has shown, it’s the only way to defeat the coronavirus – the most vicious threat this country has faced in my lifetime.
And though the death toll has been tragic, and the suffering immense.
And though we grieve for all those we have lost.
It is a fact that by adopting those measures we prevented this country from being engulfed by what could have been a catastrophe in which the reasonable worst case scenario was half a million fatalities.
And it is thanks to your effort and sacrifice in stopping the spread of this disease that the death rate is coming down and hospital admissions are coming down.
And thanks to you we have protected our NHS and saved many thousands of lives.
And so I know – you know – that it would be madness now to throw away that achievement by allowing a second spike.
We must stay alert.
We must continue to control the virus and save lives.
And yet we must also recognise that this campaign against the virus has come at colossal cost to our way of life.
We can see it all around us in the shuttered shops and abandoned businesses and darkened pubs and restaurants.
And there are millions of people who are both fearful of this terrible disease, and at the same time also fearful of what this long period of enforced inactivity will do to their livelihoods and their mental and physical wellbeing.
To their futures and the futures of their children.
So I want to provide tonight – for you – the shape of a plan to address both fears. Both to beat the virus and provide the first sketch of a road map for reopening society.
A sense of the way ahead, and when and how and on what basis we will take the decisions to proceed.
I will be setting out more details in Parliament tomorrow and taking questions from the public in the evening.
I have consulted across the political spectrum, across all four nations of the UK.
And though different parts of the country are experiencing the pandemic at different rates.
And though it is right to be flexible in our response.
I believe that as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom – Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, there is a strong resolve to defeat this together.
And today a general consensus on what we could do.
And I stress could. Because although we have a plan, it is a conditional plan.
And since our priority is to protect the public and save lives, we cannot move forward unless we satisfy the five tests.
We must protect our NHS.
We must see sustained falls in the death rate.
We must see sustained and considerable falls in the rate of infection.
We must sort out our challenges in getting enough PPE to the people who need it, and yes, it is a global problem but we must fix it.
And last, we must make sure that any measures we take do not force the reproduction rate of the disease – the R – back up over one, so that we have the kind of exponential growth we were facing a few weeks ago.
And to chart our progress and to avoid going back to square one, we are establishing a new Covid Alert System run by a new Joint Biosecurity Centre.
And that Covid Alert Level will be determined primarily by R and the number of coronavirus cases.
And in turn that Covid Alert Level will tell us how tough we have to be in our social distancing measures – the lower the level the fewer the measures.
The higher the level, the tougher and stricter we will have to be.
There will be five alert levels.
Level One means the disease is no longer present in the UK and Level Five is the most critical – the kind of situation we could have had if the NHS had been overwhelmed.
Over the period of the lockdown we have been in Level Four, and it is thanks to your sacrifice we are now in a position to begin to move in steps to Level Three.
And as we go everyone will have a role to play in keeping the R down.
By staying alert and following the rules.
And to keep pushing the number of infections down there are two more things we must do.
We must reverse rapidly the awful epidemics in care homes and in the NHS, and though the numbers are coming down sharply now, there is plainly much more to be done.
And if we are to control this virus, then we must have a world-beating system for testing potential victims, and for tracing their contacts.
So that – all told – we are testing literally hundreds of thousands of people every day. (? – Ed.)
We have made fast progress on testing – but there is so much more to do now, and we can.
When this began, we hadn’t seen this disease before, and we didn’t fully understand its effects.
With every day we are getting more and more data.
We are shining the light of science on this invisible killer, and we will pick it up where it strikes.
Because our new system will be able in time to detect local flare-ups – in your area – as well as giving us a national picture.
And yet when I look at where we are tonight, we have the R below one, between 0.5 and 0.9 – but potentially only just below one.
And though we have made progress in satisfying at least some of the conditions I have given.
We have by no means fulfilled all of them.
And so no, this is not the time simply to end the lockdown this week. Instead we are taking the first careful steps to modify our measures.
And the first step is a change of emphasis that we hope that people will act on this week.
We said that you should work from home if you can, and only go to work if you must.
We now need to stress that anyone who can’t work from home, for instance those in construction or manufacturing, should be actively encouraged to go to work. (NB: England only – Ed.)
And we want it to be safe for you to get to work. So you should avoid public transport if at all possible – because we must and will maintain social distancing, and capacity will therefore be limited.
So work from home if you can, but you should go to work if you can’t work from home.
And to ensure you are safe at work we have been working to establish new guidance for employers to make workplaces COVID-secure.
And when you do go to work, if possible do so by car or even better by walking or bicycle. But just as with workplaces, public transport operators will also be following COVID-secure standards.
And from this Wednesday, we want to encourage people to take more and even unlimited amounts of outdoor exercise.
You can sit in the sun in your local park, you can drive to other destinations, you can even play sports but only with members of your own household. (NB this only applies in England – Ed.)
You must obey the rules on social distancing and to enforce those rules we will increase the fines for the small minority who break them.
And so every day, with ever increasing data, we will be monitoring the R and the number of new infections, and the progress we are making, and if we as a nation begin to fulfil the conditions I have set out, then in the next few weeks and months we may be able to go further.
In step two – at the earliest by June 1 – after half term – we believe we may be in a position to begin the phased reopening of shops and to get primary pupils back into schools, in stages, beginning with reception, Year 1 and Year 6 (NB: England only – Ed.)
Our ambition is that secondary pupils facing exams next year will get at least some time with their teachers before the holidays. And we will shortly be setting out detailed guidance on how to make it work in schools and shops and on transport.
And step three – at the earliest by July – and subject to all these conditions and further scientific advice; if and only if the numbers support it, we will hope to re-open at least some of the hospitality industry and other public places, provided they are safe and enforce social distancing.
Throughout this period of the next two months we will be driven not by mere hope or economic necessity. We are going to be driven by the science, the data and public health.
And I must stress again that all of this is conditional, it all depends on a series of big Ifs. It depends on all of us – the entire country – to follow the advice, to observe social distancing, and to keep that R down.
And to prevent re-infection from abroad, I am serving notice that it will soon be the time – with transmission significantly lower – to impose quarantine on people coming into this country by air.
And it is because of your efforts to get the R down and the number of infections down here, that this measure will now be effective.
And of course we will be monitoring our progress locally, regionally, and nationally and if there are outbreaks, if there are problems, we will not hesitate to put on the brakes.
We have been through the initial peak – but it is coming down the mountain that is often more dangerous.
We have a route, and we have a plan, and everyone in government has the all-consuming pressure and challenge to save lives, restore livelihoods and gradually restore the freedoms that we need.
But in the end this is a plan that everyone must make work.
And when I look at what you have done already.
The patience and common sense you have shown.
The fortitude of the elderly whose isolation we all want to end as fast as we can.
The incredible bravery and hard work of our NHS staff, our care workers.
The devotion and self-sacrifice of all those in every walk of life who are helping us to beat this disease.
Police, bus drivers, train drivers, pharmacists, supermarket workers, road hauliers, bin collectors, cleaners, security guards, postal workers, our teachers and a thousand more.
The scientists who are working round the clock to find a vaccine.
When I think of the millions of everyday acts of kindness and thoughtfulness that are being performed across this country.
And that have helped to get us through this first phase.
I know that we can use this plan to get us through the next.
And if we can’t do it by those dates, and if the alert level won’t allow it, we will simply wait and go on until we have got it right.
We will come back from this devilish illness.
We will come back to health, and robust health.
And though the UK will be changed by this experience, I believe we can be stronger and better than ever before. More resilient, more innovative, more economically dynamic, but also more generous and more sharing.
But for now we must stay alert, control the virus and save lives.
Thank you very much.
Keir Starmer, Leader of the Labour Party, responding to the Prime Minister’s statement, said: “This statement raises more questions than it answers, and we see the prospect of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland pulling in different directions.
“The Prime Minister appears to be effectively telling millions of people to go back to work without a clear plan for safety or clear guidance as to how to get there without using public transport.
“What the country wanted tonight was clarity and consensus, but we haven’t got either of those.”
Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI Director General, said: “Today marks the first glimmer of light for our faltering economy. A phased and careful return to work is the only way to protect jobs and pay for future public services. The Prime Minister has set out the first steps for how this can happen.
“Businesses are keen to open and get our economy back on its feet. But they also know putting health first is the only sustainable route to economic recovery. The message of continued vigilance is right.
“This announcement marks the start of a long process. While stopping work was necessarily fast and immediate, restarting will be slower and more complex. It must go hand-in-hand with plans for schools, transport, testing and access to PPE. Firms will want to see a roadmap, with dates they can plan for.
“Success will rest on flexibility within a framework: clear guidance which firms can adapt for their particular circumstances. Financial support will also need to evolve for sectors moving at different speeds – some remaining in hibernation, while others get ready to open safely.
“The coming weeks should see business, government and employee representatives working together as part of a national effort built on openness and trust. This is the only way to revive the UK economy and protect both lives and livelihoods.”
Responding to the statement by the prime minister, the leader of the Unite union has called for “clarity and caution”as the country continues to combat the coronavirus which has left the UK with one of the worst death tolls in Europe.
Len McCluskey, Unite general secretary, said: “The decisions taken by the UK government in the coming days will shape the health and wealth of this country, not just in the immediate term but for generations to come.
“It is absolutely vital then that the UK government proceeds with total clarity and maximum caution as it works to pull the country out of lockdown – and that it gets the sequencing of the return to work right.
“People cannot get to work safely unless there is safe transport for them to use. Yet there is now a real risk that in a few hours’ time, workers will be cramming onto public transport, putting at risk their lives and those of others. This has not been thought through and the failure to do so places working people in danger.
“Similarly, issuing safety guidance to employers instead of definite, mandatory instructions is not acceptable. This runs a huge risk that some employers will follow the advice while others do not, and we urgently need to hear more from government about how it will install the inspection and enforcement systems necessary to support safe working.
“Unions like Unite have a wealth of health and safety expertise and we are already working with responsible employers to ensure that working people can be confident that they can be safe both at work and on the way to work.
“There is a standing army of tens of thousands of trades union safety representatives that could be deployed in a national effort to unlock the economy in a safe, responsible way. To fail to enlist this pool of people expert in keeping people safe at work is simply bewildering.
“We are very concerned that at the very point we need to build clarity and confidence, doing everything possible to avert a second spike, that this next phase is unfolding in a jumbled, confusing manner.
“Of course, we want to get the economy back on its feet as soon as possible but with such enormous sacrifices given by so many already, we have to honour those who have lost their lives along with those who are caring for us through this crisis by keeping people safe and by building a future of which this country can be proud.
STUC General Secretary Designate Roz Foyer said:“The Prime Minister’s management of this crisis has been so woeful that few will have any confidence in what he has laid out this evening.
“This is a three-month road map in the hands of a government that doesn’t even seem to know what it is doing from one day to the next.
“Boris Johnson has apparently announced the return to work of hundreds of thousands of non-essential workers in areas such as construction and manufacturing. In so doing he in endangering people’s lives. The Government hasn’t even published guidance on how workers will be kept safe.
“His statement that all workers who cannot work from home should go to work will cause incredible confusion and massive concern. We urgently need clarity on how workers who cannot work from home and cannot safely attend their workplace will be treated.
“And at no point did he make it clear that he was talking about England only, rather than the whole of the UK. The strain on the delivery of a four-nation approach now seems intolerable.
“Our five red lines for relaxing lockdown remain the same and apply just as much for the Scottish Government as they do Westminster.
“We need to be far further ahead in testing, have a proper contact tracing system in place, have ready supplies of PPE for any workplaces that is to re-open, and have enforcement measures in place. Each work sector must be treated according to its distinct characteristics and governed by guidelines agreed with unions. And there must be no implied threat of loss of income for workers not able to return to work. The job retention scheme must stay in place with no further reductions in levels of pay support.
“As we have made clear, we believe the Scottish Government’s more safety-first approach is broadly the right one, particularly as doubts about the R value in Scotland persist.
“We have also welcomed their willingness to negotiate the sector by sector guidance with unions. However as ongoing failures on PPE, testing and guidance for care homes show, there is not an ounce of room for complacency.
“Unions will test the strategy of the Scottish Government every step of the way and fight to ensure that the safety of workers and of the wider public remains that number one concern.”
The Prime Minister will reveal more detail when he addresses parliament today and a guidance document will be produced this afternoon.
Boris Johnson will also take questions from the public when he leads the daily press briefing at 5.30pm.
Chancellor announces additional £300 BILLION to keep UK afloat
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect against the economic emergency caused by the coronavirus.
This includes unlimited loans and guarantees to support firms and help them manage cashflows through this period. The Chancellor will make available an initial £330 billion of guarantees – equivalent to 15% of UK GDP – and there could be more to come.
At last week’s Budget, the Chancellor provided £30 billion of support to the economy to deal with the crisis by investing in public services, increasing support for vulnerable people and providing business with tax reliefs and loans.
He said he would take further action as the situation evolved and today outlines further measures, including:
To ensure that businesses have access to the funds they need, \the UK Government will provide:
support for liquidity amongst large firms, with a major new scheme being launched by the Bank of England to help them bridge Coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans
increasing the amount businesses can borrow through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme from £1.2 million to £5 million, and ensuring businesses can access the first 6 months of that finance interest free, as Government will cover the first 6 months of interest payments
including new legal powers in the Covid Bill enabling us to offer whatever further financial support we think necessary to businesses
Providing £20 billion of business rates support and grant funding to help the most-affected firms manage their cashflow through this period by:
giving all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England a 100% business rates holiday for the next 12 months
increasing grants to small businesses eligible for Small Business Rate Relief from £3,000 to £10,000
providing further £25,000 grants to retail, hospitality and leisure businesses operating from smaller premises, with a rateable value over £15,000 and below £51,000
Mortgage lenders have agreed they will support customers that are experiencing issues with their finances as a result of Covid-19, including through payment holidays of up to 3 months. This will give people the necessary time to recover and ensure they do not have to pay a penny towards their mortgage in the interim.
Confirmation that government advice to avoid pubs, clubs and theatres etc. is sufficient for businesses to claim on their insurance where they have appropriate business interruption cover for pandemics in place.
To support the food industry and help provide meals for people who need to self-isolate, the UK government will relax planning regulations to allow pubs and restaurants to start providing takeaways without a planning application.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: “We will do whatever it takes to protect our people and businesses from the effects of this global economic emergency brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic.
“The interventions I am setting out today will help support businesses of all sizes – so they can continue operating during these unprecedented times.”
The action announced yesterday means that over £3.5 billion in additional funding will be provided to the devolved administrations for support to businesses in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Chancellor will expand on his plans to keep the economy afloat later today and an announcement of support for people who live in rented accommodation is expected this week.
Labour’s John McDonnell MP, Shadow Chancellor, responding to Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s coronavirus update, said: “People are being laid off today and losing their incomes. We are disappointed that this package does not address their concerns.
“The further announcements laid out by the Chancellor lack the certainty required amidst growing public anxiety and still do not go far enough in protecting workers, renters and those who are losing their jobs, or in fully supporting businesses at the scale necessary.
“In particular, the Chancellor’s claim that new forms of employment support will be developed does not appreciate the urgency and gravity of the situation. Workers and businesses need to know now that they will be supported, not in a few days’ time.
“Labour will continue to engage with the Government to ensure we have the proper scale of interventions required to secure proper funding of public services at the time of crisis, public control and oversight of those key services, a strong safety net, and the wellbeing of all.”
Gareth Shaw, Head of Money at Which?, said: “The measures announced by the chancellor, such as a three-month mortgage holiday scheme, are an important first step to helping millions of consumers who may face financial hardship during the coronavirus crisis.
“The government must move swiftly to ensure those in need of assistance get clear information about how these schemes will work in practice – and that the process for doing so is straightforward, ensuring consumers can easily access the support they need in the challenging months ahead.”
Responding to chancellor Rishi Sunak’s package of support for businesses and the prime minister’s pledge to do `whatever it takes’ to support people and jobs through the corona virus crisis, the head of the UK’s leading union, Unite, has said that his union stands ready to play their part throughout this time of crisis.
Len McCluskey, Unite’s general secretary said: “It is abundantly clear that we need a package of measures equal to the public health and economic emergencies now upon us.
“Urgent and considerable action is needed by government to avert personal and industrial catastrophe.
“Unite is pleased to have heard the prime minister and chancellor say very clearly that they `will do whatever it takes’ to protect public health and the economy’s health. We will hold them to that.
“However, we remain extremely concerned that workers’ and individuals’ own capacity to act on the public health advice will remain seriously compromised because the direct economic support has not yet been provided by government. This must change and urgently. Providing wage support and covering rents must be a priority.
“It is welcome that those hit by the virus will have a three month mortgage holiday should they need it, but what about the vast majority of people who rent? They need to know that they can put food on the table and keep a roof over their families’ heads. Only then will they feel able to play their part in tackling this public health emergency.
“We urgently need for the government to introduce now the sort of measures that we have seen implemented in our competitor nations, including paying workers 75 per cent plus of their salary while they are forced to be at home as has been introduced in Denmark and Holland. UK workers deserve the same efforts and assistance.”
Sainsbury’s bosses have insulted staff by tabling a wage CUT in the guise of a pay offer, says Unite, the UK’s largest trade union.
Unite, which has thousands of members across the supermarket giant, said a one per cent pay increase that has been offered to staff is in fact a pay cut when the 2.5 per cent rate of inflation is considered.
The union said the offer was an ‘insult’ to staff who during the last two years have endured changes to their contracts and a failed merger with Asda.
Many staff did not receive a pay increase when their contracts changed in 2018 and are on less money than they were prior to the changes, Unite, which is consulting members over how to react to the offer, said.
Unite national officer for food, drink and agriculture, Bev Clarkson, said: “This offer is an insult to staff who have gone through two years of unpopular contract changes and the uncertainty caused by the ill-fated Asda merger.
“Offering a paltry one per cent rise in the face of a retail price index of 2.5 per cent is simply unacceptable.
“Unite will do everything in its power to ensure our members are offered a pay deal that reflects the cost of living and their hard work. Sainsbury’s needs to stop penny pinching and table a sensible offer.”
With all the votes now counted, the Conservatives now have a clear majority at Westminster. They have 365 seats, while the Labour Party had a disastrous night – their worst since the 1930s.
But while England voted to ‘get Brexit done’, it was a markedly different story north of the border where the SNP cemented their position as the dominant force in Scottish politics, winning 48 of the 59 seats- a rise of 13. Continue reading Comments on the general election result
Unite Scotland is to hold a strike ballot at Lothian Buses. If the ballot is successful, action is likely to take place in August during the Edinburgh Fal Festival – traditionally the capital’s busiest month. In a previous ballot in April, 94% of Unite members supported industrial action. The latest ballot opens on Thursday.Continue reading On the buses: no laughing matter as Festival disruption looms
Unite the union has highlighted a number of shocking stories from cleaners in Edinburgh schools due to council service cutbacks. Unite’s ‘Fight for 5’ campaign to improve cleaning standards has uncovered a number of practices that compromise health and safety due to a lack of school cleaners, and cleaning materials.
In one instance a cleaning supervisor had to visit several other community buildings to ensure a major Edinburgh high school had sufficient materials to begin an afternoon cleaning shift.
Unite has been informed of cleaners being shipped from various schools across Edinburgh city in order to complete afternoon cleaning shifts. Cleaners have also complained to Unite about the lack of health and safety training, and the union has been made aware of cleaners working with machinery and hazardous equipment without any proper structured training.
The union has spoken to cleaners and heard from teachers within Edinburgh schools, who are bringing in wet wipes to clean teaching tables due to the pressure being put on under-resourced and under-staffed cleaners.
Mary Alexander, Unite’s deputy Scottish secretary, said: “Unite has launched our ‘Fight for 5’ campaign to improve cleaning standards and provision in Edinburgh schools.
“Unite has heard numerous stories from cleaners across the city highlighting the lack of cleaning materials, and staff due to council cuts. Cleaners are in some instances being transported around schools to address the lack of provision. The situation is compromising health and safety standards. It is a ridiculous situation where those working in our schools have to bring in cleaning materials to compensate for the lack of cleaning staff, and also a lack of materials. We believe those pupils, parents and the general Edinburgh public deserve better.”
It is estimated that Edinburgh city council has endured £250 million of budget cuts in the last five years. It will face at least £41 million of cuts in the coming financial year and a predicted £106 million in the following three years.
Local youth and community worker, Luke Campbell, has been elected as Vice-Chair of the Community, Youth Workers, and Not-for-profit National Sector Industrial Committee with Unite the Union.
