Category: Politics
0 Grangemouth by David Thomson
0 Brands go bland
UK to follow example of Australia, where cigarettes must be sold in drab packets with graphic health warnings.
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0 Social Housing for Armed Forces
Jamie Mann
Ex-service personnel will have an advantage finding a home in Scotland’s capital. City of Edinburgh Council have announced that time spent in the armed forces will will be seen as equal to the time civilians have been awaiting a home on Edinburgh’s housing register, EdIndex. The partnership between the Council and 20 Housing Associations and Co-operatives in Edinburgh, EdIndex allows the public to apply for social and mid-rent housing as well as shared-ownership.
The decision was confirmed yesterday at the Health, Social Care and Housing Committee and was owed to the hardships of ex-servicemen and women in finding social housing following their time spent living abroad or in service accommodation.
Armed forces personnel will still be treated equally to civilians on the housing register however, those serving will have their time abroad taken into account. For example those who have served five years will receive the same consideration as someone who has been on the register for council housing for five years.
These new regulations will apply to service personnel whom have registered with EdIndex within three years of leaving the armed forces.
The City of Edinburgh Council website advises:
“There is not enough social housing in Edinburgh for everyone who applies for it. If you are not considered in priority need for social housing you could be waiting many years before you are successful for a house.”
In addition to the this agreement, it was also decided that the City Council and the Ministry of Defense would collaborate to provide specialist advice to armed forces personnel planning on living in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh’s Government notes that 16,600 new homes are required over a decade with an average of 138 bids for each Council and home advertise don the Key to Choice Website.
And what do you think?
Here’s what the general public thought when we hit the streets to find out:
0 Scotland’s Winter Warmth Worries
Hollie Smith
- Alex Salmond meets Al Gore
As the battle over the effects of climate change rages on, the ultimate question on people’s mind is how the SNP government are going to ensure that last year’s winter chaos doesn’t ensue again this year.
It’s widely accepted that weather in Scotland is unpredictable, and that carrying an umbrella and sunglasses isn’t uncommon during the summer months, or the autumn months for that matter.
For instance, today – as predicted – the sun is splitting the sky the air is once again filled with a soothing heat and people are turned out in their summer finery. Our advice to them: keep that umbrella close by – and a set of wellies for that matter; for it is predicted, by weather experts, that October is to bring with it snow.
As previously reported, James Madden, of Exacta Weather, told the press that an early winter looks likely. He said:
“I expect to see the first signs of some moderate to heavy snowfalls as early as October or November in certain parts of the UK.”
Now is the time for MPs and MSPs to take heid. With the fuel poverty budget having being cut by 1/3 over the past 12 months, and the energy price hike of 20 per cent initiated by Scottish Power, what communities really want to know is how the SNP plan to protect the vulnerable.
Last year, over 3,000 people died of cold related illnesses, in Scotland. Not that it is comparable in terms of world atrocities, but the figure even outnumbers the amount of people who tragically died in the Twin Towers attacks.
Madden also commented, ‘I expect December, January and February to experience below-average temperatures, with the heaviest snowfall occurring within the time frame of November to January across many parts of the UK.’
As the Low Carbon Investment Conference rolls through town, prominent figures and researchers of climate change, including Al Gore, will be addressing the people of Scotland on the matter. First Alex Sammond has even said of the development of renewable energy in Scotland, that it is ‘a turning point like the discovery of a new world or the change from hunter-gathering to agriculture’.
Undeniably Scotland’s contribution to in adopting renewable energy is of critical importance for the future, however, perhaps instead of setting sights on developments of so far in future, efforts should be focused on the here and now.
There appears to be a lot of questions and a distinct lack of answers. In the meantime, the advice given by the Scottish government is to check on your neighbours during extreme bouts of cold. Today though, that won’t be necessary.
