We’re looking for young people with a personal experience of care to volunteer with us. So, if you have used a care service, you could be just who we are looking for.
You don’t have to have qualifications – personal experience is what counts. You must be aged between 18-27 to apply.
Hear what some of our young inspection volunteers said here.
If you would like to find out more about becoming young inspection volunteer, need help to complete the application form or would like us to post you an application form – please email Julie Brown at get.involved@careinspectorate.gov.scot
Young adults (aged 18-24) are struggling with their mental health with 95 per cent feeling anxious in the last 12 months, and a fifth (21 per cent) experiencing these feelings all the time
● Generation dislocation – 70 per cent of young adults feel lonely even when around peers, friends, classmates, work colleagues
● 65% of young adults say musicians who have been open about their own emotional struggles are helping to destigmatise mental health – Billie Eilish, Lewis Capaldi and Selena Gomez are the most inspirational
A NEW survey shows a staggering 95 per cent of young people are struggling with their mental health.
The UK faces a mental health catastrophe as only 10 per cent of young adults love themselves completely, reveals blistering new research from Direct Line Insurance and mental health charity Mind.
Young adults are struggling with their mental health with 95 per cent feeling anxious in the last 12 months and over a fifth (21 per cent) experiencing these feelings all the time.
Almost half of young adults (46 per cent) have felt low often or all the time over this time period. Despite support services being readily available, more than one in twenty young people said that they feel uncomfortable discussing their mental health with anyone, 10 per cent of 18-year-olds not willing to speak about the topic at all.
Young people are experiencing a sense of dislocation, with almost three quarters (70 per cent) of young adults feeling lonely even when around peers, friends, classmates, work colleagues. They also have less energy than they did previously, 83 per cent saying this is true in the last 12 months.
When they do need a mental lift, 59 per cent of young adults turn to music to improve their mood and for a quarter (25 per cent) of this generation it makes them feel less lonely. Almost two thirds (65 per cent) of young adults say musicians are a force for good in opening discussions about mental health, with Billie Eilish, Ed Sheeran and Lewis Capaldi seen as inspirations. Music can be a vital outlet, as half (50 per cent) of young people experiencing poor mental health find it difficult discussing this with others.
The survey was carried out by Opinium across 2,000 18-24 year olds.
To highlight the link between music and a positive uplift in mood, Direct Line and Mind have worked with mental health advocate and London-based rapper Marc Jones, who has over five million music streams, to produce a new track, Day by Day, which encourages young people to be open about their mental health. It is free to download across all major streaming platforms for the month of April.
The track, developed by Marc Jones, 30, is an inspirational track to encourage young people to love themselves and to highlight there are support networks when they are struggling. The track is produced by London-based producer, RP9, whose notable collaborations include Ed Sheeran and Big Narstie.
Sam Taylor, Marketing Director, at Direct Line said:“The mental health of young adults is incredibly important and many are struggling to navigate these complex times.
“Understanding the issues faced by a generation of young adults we partnered with Marc Jones an inspirational musician to develop a track encouraging young people to open up about their mental health, whether that’s in the car when the song plays on the radio or at home, with friends streaming the track.”
Stephen Buckley, Head of Information at Mind said: “We are deeply concerned by the findings of this research – the fact that only 10% of young adults love themselves highlights the urgent need for support and resources to help this young generation navigate the complex challenges they face.
“We are excited to be part of the efforts of Direct Line and Marc Jones in producing the track ‘Day by Day’ to encourage young people to open up about their mental health and seek the support when needed.”
Niamh O’Connor, 23, from Worcester, said:“From a young age music has always been a part of my life so when I was diagnosed with anorexia over six years ago and was hospitalised for the first time, I found a lot of comfort in music.
“Whenever I felt upset or anxious, I would sit down at the piano in the hospital and play. Music became the only thing that helped take my mind off everything that was going on in my life.
“I was never one to talk openly about my feelings, but my therapist helped me to open up by asking me to play a piece of music that reflected my inner thoughts.
“Now I am able to use my experiences to create conversations with friends and we discuss how song melodies and lyrics resonate with us. This gives us the opportunity to talk openly about our mental health and support one another through music.”
Marc Jones added: “The purpose of my music has always been to lift spirits and encourage young people. This new track I released with Mind and Direct Line does just this.
“I personally have always turned to music when I am feeling low, it really helps and so does having charities like Mind, for expert support.”
The track Day By Day is available to stream on all major streaming platforms. Please find it on Spotify here.
Table One: Top ten inspirational artists for young people
Rank
Music Artist
1
Billie Eilish
2
Lewis Capaldi
3
Selena Gomez
4
Eminem
5
Ed Sheeran
6
Taylor Swift
7
Adele
8
Juice World
9
Dave
10
Demi Lovato
About Direct Line
Starting in 1985, Direct Line became the first UK insurance company to use the telephone as its main channel of communication. It provides motor, home, travel and pet insurance cover directly to customers by phone or online.
Direct Line general insurance policies are underwritten by U K Insurance Limited, Registered office: The Wharf, Neville Street, Leeds LS1 4AZ. Registered in England and Wales No 1179980. U K Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Direct Line and U K Insurance limited are both part of Direct Line Insurance Group plc.
Mind, the mental health charity, provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. They won’t give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets both support and respect. mind.org.uk
Mind has a confidential information and support line, Mind Infoline, available on 0300 123 3393 (lines open 9am – 6pm, Monday – Friday)
Mind’s online mental health community Side by Side is a safe space where anyone aged 18 and over with experience of a mental health problem can share their story, connect with others, access Mind’s wider information and resources, and give support in return. Find out more at www.sidebyside.mind.org.uk
Leading insurer NFU Mutual has partnered with industry body Scotland Food & Drink to launch the 2023 ‘Inspirational Young Person Award’.
Talented young people working in the food and drink industry are being encouraged to enter the fifth annual ‘Inspirational Young Person Award’.
The award seeks to uncover inspiring examples of talented people aged 16 to 26 who own, work, or study in the food and drink sector and who are a driving success in their field.
The award will highlight the innovation young people bring to Scotland’s food and drink businesses, as well as the important contribution they make to the sector’s long-term future.
Entries and nominations are now open and the closing date is 3rd July. The first, second and third place winners will be announced during Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight (5-20th September) and awarded cash prizes of £500, £300 and £200 respectively.
In recognition of the challenges the industry has faced economically in the last year and the part it can play environmentally such as cutting down on food waste, this year’s judges are looking for entrants who are adapting the way they work and contributing to the resilience of Scotland’s food and drink sector.
Last year’s winner was 23-year-old Craig Chambers, a Distiller at Dunnet Bay Distillers based in Thurso.
He impressed the judges with his natural flair for the distillery business and the way he identified improvements and helped create new recipes designed to reduce energy consumption during distilling by 90%, which helped the business maintain the original price point for customers as energy prices increased.
Since winning the award, Craig has expanded his horizons and is presently on a placement at a distillery in South America.
Craig said: “Winning this award was an amazing high-point for me. I have since been on a placement at a distillery in Argentina to learn even more about the industry and other food and drink cultures.
“The prize money came in very handy for my travels too.”
Mark McBrearty, NFU Mutual’s Regional Manager in Scotland and one of the judges for the award, said: “The importance of young people to Scotland’s food and drink sector cannot be overstated. This special award illustrates just how wide a contribution they make and how valuable their drive and innovation are to business success.
He added: “Like all industries, the food and drink sector has been facing some very challenging times. This year’s judging will consider how young people have responded to this and also adapted to the way they work environmentally, such as saving energy or cutting down on food waste.”
Iain Baxter, Chief Executive at Scotland Food & Drink, said: “I am really looking forward to discovering the wealth of talent – both culinary and business-focused – among the younger generation in our industry.
He added: “Scotland has a proud reputation nationally and internationally for its food, drink and hospitality. Supporting the future of our sector by recognising up and coming talent is crucial to its long-term success.”
How to Enter
The NFU Mutual and Scotland Food & Drink Inspirational Young Person Award 2022 is open for entries until 3rd July 2023. Submit your entry or make a nomination here.
Any individual between the ages of 16 and 26 who owns, works, or studies within a food and drink related business, organisation or institution can be nominated or enter on their own behalf.
The winner will receive £500, with the second and third place finalists receiving £300 and £200 respectively. Winners will be announced in September 2022.
For more information on the range of NFU Mutual insurance services, visit:
Young people aged from 5 to 17 who excel in what they do – regardless of any diversity – are to be celebrated in a new awards programme to be launched at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.
The Inspire Awards 2023 are a new initiative from the British Youth International College (BYITC), which was founded in 2015 by Glasgow-based academic and educator Dr Rashmi Mantri to help children learn maths.
Inspired by the success of the college, which now runs 10 global franchises, Dr Mantri hopes the new BYITC Inspire Awards will recognise ‘Super Achievers’ young people from all backgrounds who have excelled in fields including the environment, sports, media, art and creativity, science, technology, engineering & mathematics (STEM).
The awards will take place at the Scottish Parliament between 5.30pm to 7.30pm on Tuesday 6 June 2023 and will be overseen by a high-profile judging panel which includes Professor Eleanor Shaw OBE, Associate Principal of the University of Strathclyde, and entrepreneur Dr Poonam Gupta OBE, Chief Executive of PG Paper, an international paper company based in Scotland.
Dr Mantri said: “I’ve seen first hand how achievement in learning and skills can fill young people with confidence and show them how amazing they really are.
“Through BYITC, we’ve helped thousands of students excel in maths, English, programming and cyber security.
“Now with the Inspire Awards, we want to celebrate diversity and inclusion and recognise young people from all backgrounds who are making their futures brighter by learning and excelling in whatever they choose to do.”
There are eight categories in the BYITC Inspire Awards 2023 and 28 prizes. These are:
ENVIRONMENT
Global Warming Crusader
Share your project/work with regards to global warming and pollution
Best out of waste
Share your projects on creating useful things out of waste
Energy Conservation
Kids with exemplary achievement in the field of environmental awareness, conservation and preservation
Kids with exceptional Rubics-solving and speed-cubing skills
Best Robotics
Achievements in best robotic projects and designs
Super Scientist
Bring forward your scientific innovations
LANGUAGE & LITERATURE
Best Bookworm
Share the name of the best book that you have read and what are the learnings from it
Best Orator
Public speakers with exceptional oratory skills
Bring out the poet in you
Share your best creation in short poems
Young Authors
Share your best creations (Stories)
SPORTS
Chess Maestro
Share your achievements in Chess
Martial Arts Champ
Share your achievements in Karate, Judo, Taekwondo and Boxing
Badminton Champ
Share your achievements in Badminton
Cricket Champ
Share your achievements in Cricket
CULTURAL & SOCIAL
Best Foot Forward- Dance
Dance your way to the awards (Any style)
Singing Sensation
Sing your way to our hearts (Any style)
Best Youth Icon
Kids who are icons in their own fields and are inspiring kids around them (Any field)
Covid Hero
Share with us the good work you have done during COVID and Lockdown
Emerging Leader
Display your team leading skills
MEDIA
Young YouTuber/Young Influencer
Share your channel’s name and link and let us know about your fan following
Best Podcast
Share your 1-minute podcast with us (Any Topic)
Make a Minute Video
Share Your 1-minute video (Edited, any topic)
ART AND CREATIVITY
Best Creative Designer
Share your best creative specimen in Painting, Sketching, Doodling and Craft
Calligraphy
Share your best specimen in Calligraphy
Young Master Chef
Whip up a storm. Share a video of your best unique recipe
ACADEMICS
Best Performer
Star performer in any field
Whiz Kid
Share your problem-solving and decision-making skills
The other award judges are Professor Bill Buchanan OBE, Professor of Applied Cryptography at Edinburgh Napier University; Rohini Sharma Joshi OBE, Diversity and Inclusion Consultant; Derek Timpany, Education Management Consultant; Jai Aenugu, Founder of Aberdeen-based cyber security consultancy TechForce, and Harminder Berman, a former Arts Development Officer with culture and sports charity, Glasgow Life.
Dr Mantri set up BYITC after using an abacus to teach her son basic arithmetic. The college now runs global franchises, including Dubai and Sri Lanka, and recently launched its first UK franchise in Basingstoke, Hampshire.
Further UK franchises are anticipated in the coming months.
Fridays For Future have announced a global climate strike tomorrow, Friday 3 March, which will see protestors march from Middle Meadow Walk to the Scottish Parliament, departing at 11 am.
The organisers will emphasise the catastrophic effects that fossil fuels have on our planet and its people; the lives being sacrificed for new oil and gas.
Adam Ballard, a 17-year-old activist with Fridays For Future, said: “The climate crisis and the cost of living crisis have the same root cause: the refusal to move away from fossil fuels.
“There is no energy shortage; there is a corrupt system that prioritises profit over people. While ordinary people are forced to choose between heating and eating, the people in power and fossil fuel CEOs continue to make unimaginable profits.”
After the march, there will be a rally in front of the Scottish Parliament where speakers from supportive groups including Stop Rosebank, Youth in Resistance, the Edinburgh High School Students Union and Palestine Action will share words with the activists and lend their experiences.
Niamh Gill, 16, said, “The science clearly states there can be no more oil, gas or coal developments if we want a liveable future.
“The UK government is keeping Rosebank, Jackdaw and the newly proposed Whitehaven coal mine on the table, instead of securing and investing in a just transition to renewables for the workers and wider society, and climate justice for all.”
Harris, an 18-year-old activist added: “The Global North has already used up 90% of the carbon budget to have a chance of staying below 1.5 or 2 degrees of warming. Millions in the Global South are far more vulnerable to this crisis, despite having the least responsibility in causing it.
“Yet our countries, governments and corporations continue to exploit them and destroy their lives and communities in search of more profit. The facts are clear, fossil fuels are fatal.”
Fridays for Future Edinburgh are calling on everyone to join them on March 3rd to protest against fossil fuels and the UK Government’s continued expansion of fossil fuel projects.
For the last five Friday afternoons, the Craigroyston Community High School pupils below have been working with the Granton Youth Project and the City Art Centre to create artwork for an exhibition at the City Art Centre (Market Street) on Friday 17th February:
Lamiya Hossain
Faiza Manha
Leona May
Laura Mendoza
Biva Rahman
Yasmin Theisen De Figueiredo
Firdaws Yaich El Yahyaoui
If you are up town and able to, then please pop into the gallery between 2 – 4pm to meet the artists and see their fantastic artwork on display!
Changes to the care of children and the involvement of children in the criminal justice system are to come under scrutiny at the Scottish Parliament.
The Education, Children and Young People Committee will consider the proposals laid out in the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill and would like to hear the views of people from across Scotland.
The Bill changes how the justice system approaches offences committed by people under the age of 18. This will include allowing most 16- and 17-year-olds to attend a Children’s Hearing, rather than a court.
Changes would also be made to regulations around accommodations for young people. Under the proposals 16- and 17-year-olds, accused of or guilty of offences would not be held in Young Offenders Institutions or prisons, but instead would be sent to secure accommodation. The Bill would also change how care services providing residential accommodation to children are regulated.
The Committee is opening a call for views so it can hear the views of organisations supporting young people in conflict with the law, young people and parents. The Committee is also very interested in hearing the views of legal professionals, secure accommodation providers and victims of crime.
Following the end of the consultation the Committee plans to hold a series of evidence sessions to discuss the Bill, before reporting its findings to the Parliament later in the year.
Sue Webber, Convener of the Education, Children and Young People Committee said: “The Bill we will be scrutinising will allow all 16- and 17-year-olds to access the Children’s Hearings System for the first time.
“This aims to safeguard those at risk of harm and change how the justice system deals with young people who have committed offences. It also introduces a range of further measures designed to improve the way that children are treated, including ensuring no young person under the age of 18 will be sent to a Young Offenders’ Institution or prison.
“We want to get a thorough understanding of how the proposals in the Bill might impact on people across Scotland, including young people themselves, children’s support organisations and youth justice bodies.
“Please share your views on these proposals with our Committee before the 17 March 2023 deadline.”
HMRC has revealed that more pensioners filed a tax return for the 2020 to 2021 tax year compared to young people.
Overall, those aged 65 and over accounted for 16% of individuals who submitted a tax return, whereas 16 to 24 year olds made up 2.7% of total filers.
The new data is part of analysis by HMRC into the demographic data of the Self Assessment population.
The findings also show:
people aged 45 to 54 were the largest group of filers, accounting for 24% of all tax returns submitted
more than 294,000 16 to 24 year olds filed a return, making up 2.7% of total filers
62% of those who submitted a return last year were men, compared to 38% who were women
The data also showed that almost 146,000 people submitted their tax return at the earliest opportunity between 6 and 11 April 2021.
More than 12 million people are expected to file a Self Assessment tax return for the 2021 to 2022 tax year. Anyone yet to submit theirs has until 31 January to complete it, pay any tax owed or set up a payment plan, or risk having to pay a penalty.
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said: “Time is running out for anyone who has yet to start their tax return – there is a wide range of guidance and webinars available online for those who need a helping hand. Just search ‘Self Assessment’ on GOV.UK to make a start.“
Payments are also due on 31 January and customers still have time to decide which payment option is best for them. For customers who are due a refund, they should include their bank account details in their tax return so that if HMRC needs to repay them, it can be done quickly and securely.
Customers can now use the free and secure HMRC app to make Self Assessment payments, as well as accessing information which they need to complete their tax return, including their Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR), National Insurance number and employment history.
Those who are unable to pay their tax bill in full can access support and advice on GOV.UK. HMRC may be able to help by arranging an affordable payment plan, known as Time to Pay. Customers should try to do this online; go to GOV.UK for more information. Alternatively, they can contact the helpline.
HMRC has a wide range of resources to help customers complete their tax return, including guidance, webinars and YouTube videos.
Customers need to be aware of the risk of scams as criminals use Self Assessment as an opportunity to commit fraud. Customers should check HMRC’s scams advice on GOV.UK.
