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UKRAINE
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LOCAL & NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
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VOLUNTEERING
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SERVICE UPDATES
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HR
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FUNDING
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TRAINING & EVENTS
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RESEARCH & BLOGS
UKRAINE
Safeguarding: Regulations have been passed to put in place a safe, fast and free vetting system for those who open their homes to displaced Ukrainians. Under the scheme, volunteer hosts will be able to apply for expedited disclosure checks. These enhanced checks will offer the same level of scrutiny as the initial checks carried out for those working with children and vulnerable adults. Sponsors will be contacted as part of the matching service and guided through the disclosure check application process. SAFEGUARDING
Health: People who ordinarily live in Ukraine will be able to access NHS services at no charge on the same basis as people living in Scotland. An amendment to current legislation will ensure that people who have fled Ukraine can access services such as maternity care, mental health services and treatment for specific conditions at no charge while they remain here.HEALTH
Humanitarian Support: Ready Scotland has updated their website with a range of different ways individuals and businesses can help. It has guidance on what to do if you have collected goods for Ukraine but can’t distribute them as anticipated. HUMANITARIAN SUPPORT
LOCAL & NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
Scotland’s Open Government Action Plan 2021-25, has been drawn up with Scotland’s Open Government Network – a coalition of citizens and civil society organisations. It will focus on involving people in decisions on making data open and accessible across key areas of government and understanding how public finances work. It will also allow people to participate in decision making on tackling the climate emergency and improving health and social care. OPEN GOVERNMENT
Land Ownership: Communities and individuals will soon have access to information to enable them to find out who has a controlling interest in Scotland’s land. As part of its long running commitment to improve transparency of land ownership, the Scottish Government is introducing a new Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest (RCI) in land on 1 April 2022. This public register provides key information about those who ultimately make decisions about the management or use of land, even if they are not necessarily registered as the owner, including overseas entities and trusts. LAND OWNERSHIP
Chancellor’s Spring Statement: The Chancellor made a number of announcements in his statement. Some of the most relevant to the third sector are:
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The income threshold for at which point people start paying National Insurance will rise to £12,570 in July
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The Employment Allowance, which gives relief to smaller businesses’ National Insurance payments, will increase from £4,000 to £5,000 from April
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Fuel duty will be cut by 5p per litre until March 2023
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Homeowners installing energy efficiency materials such as solar panels, heat pumps, or insulation will see VAT cut on these items from 5% to zero for five years
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Local authorities will get another £500m for the Household Support Fund from April, creating a £1bn fund to help vulnerable households with rising living costs BBC WEBSIT
VOLUNTEERING
Inspiring Volunteering Awards 2022: Volunteers’ Week is an annual celebration of the fantastic contribution that millions of volunteers make across the UK, and it’s taking place from the 1-7 June 2022. Volunteer Centre East Lothian is thrilled to announce that the nominations for this year’s Inspiring Volunteer Awards are now open! We can’t wait to see the nominations flying in! They are open until Thursday 21st April 5pm, so spread the word and get your thinking caps on as to who you might want to put forward for an award. For more information on the categories and how to nominate visit our website; https://www.volunteereastlothian.org.uk/inspiring-volunteering-awards-2022
Volunteering with Older Veterans :There are a range of opportunities available within Unforgotten Forces to work with and support older veterans. These include with the Legion Scotland Veterans Community Support Service, Sight Scotland Veterans, The Royal Air Forces Association and Erskine. Age Scotland’s is recruiting technical support volunteers for its Comradeship Circles group calls, and volunteer facilitators to help keep the chat going.
SERVICE UPDATES
Health Walks in East Lothian:Do you or know someone who enjoys walking and being out in the fresh air? If so, why not come along to one of our Health Walks? If you are interested in coming along, please find our programme attached. For more info or to sign up, please contact myself (Parvine) on 07718 117585 or emailpjazayeri@eastlothian.gov.ukFLYER
Community Justice Scotland:The Community Support Services tool is now live,here. It gives a factual overview of the range of community services in each of the 32 Scottish local authority areas. Includes details on sentencing measures such as Community Payback Orders, Drug Treatment and Testing Orders, Structured Deferred Sentences, Bail Supervision, Third Sector Programmes and other relevant statutory services and interventions. TOOLKIT
CAPS Independent Advocacy
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Individual Advocacy Worker (Eating Disorders)
36.25 hours per week (full-time). Salary: £25,027 per annum Location: Lothian-wide.
This post is an exciting opportunity to join CAPS’ Individual Advocacy team, which provides independent individual advocacy to adults in East Lothian or Midlothian who are experiencing a mental health issue or who are affected by their drug or alcohol use.
Closing Date: for applications is 14th April 2022 at 12 noon
https://capsadvocacy.org/news/individual-advocacy-worker-eating-disorders/ -
Individual Advocacy Team Leader
36.25 hours per week (full-time) Salary: £28,550 per annum Location: East Lothian and Midlothian with occasional work across Lothian.
We are looking to recruit a Team Leader to provide day to day management and support for our growing Individual Advocacy team.
Closing Date: for applications is Thursday 7th April 2022 at 12 noon
https://capsadvocacy.org/news/individual-advocacy-team-leader/
Scottish Pantry Network: The Scottish Pantry Network. It was established in 2020 and was driven by local people and volunteers. TSPN is an overarching network that gives support, guidance and moves to change policy relating to food insecurity through Pantries and communities. MORE INFO
Veterans Medical Welfare Service Reaches New Areas: DMWS, which offers medical welfare to veterans of all ages going through a period of NHS treatment, is expanding its service into Glasgow city and Edinburgh and Lothians. Read the story on p35 of The Shedder
HR
Home/hybrid working:ACAS guidance on responding to requests for home and hybrid working has been updated.HOME/HYBRID WORKING
FUNDING
Foyle Foundation: One-year grants only to cover core costs or essential equipment, to enable ongoing service provision, homeworking, or delivery of online digital services to charities that can show financial stability. The priority is support for local charities still active in their communities which are currently delivering services to the young, vulnerable, elderly, disadvantaged or the general community either directly or through online support if possible.
No Deadlines:Details and application
Investing in Communities: For those of you who are planning to apply, you will be interested to know that while the application forms are still not live, the Government has published the questions you will be asked. This would be a good time to start preparing your answers. The relevant links are:
Investing in Communities Fund: supplementary guidance – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Investing in Communities Fund round two: draft guidance note – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Investing in Communities Fund: application questions – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Investing in Communities Fund: climate action factsheet – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Closure of current Lottery funds: The National Lottery will close Community Led and Improving Lives programmes to applications from Friday 30 September 2022 and launch their new portfolio in early 2023. National Lottery Awards for All, Young Start and Scottish Land Fund are not part of this review and will remain open to applications. What this means for groups
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If they have already submitted an application to Community Led or Improving Lives it will be assessed as usual.
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If they already have an application form but haven’t applied yet, we’d advise they apply as soon as possible. If they’re no longer going to apply or are unsure of about the timescale for this, they should contact their Funding Officer.
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If they were considering applying to one of these programmes but haven’t discussed this with us or requested an application form yet, they should contact us as soon as possible so the Funding Officer in that area can advise them.
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If they have an existing grant under one of these which they wish to continue, they should speak to their Funding Officer if they’ve not already done so.
Funding for Faith Groups: The National Lottery has provided a useful blog post that outlines what they will fund relating to faith organisations. FAITH GROUPS
TRAINING & EVENTS
Protecting People from Serious Harm from Domestic Abuse: Assessing Risks and Referring to Marac (Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference) Thursday 12th May 2022, 9.30am-12:30pm
This multi-agency training aims to develop your confidence and skills in supporting victims/survivors who are at the highest risk of domestic abuse. We will cover: domestic abuse in Scotland and the local context; how to assess risk using the Domestic Abuse, Stalking, Harassment and Honour-based Violence Risk Identification Checklist (DASH RIC), an overview of Marac and our local arrangements and the Marac referral process. You must download the form to your computer and save it before you fill it in otherwise the next person who opens it will see your details. BOOKING
Intergenerational Training Opportunities: Check out our range of training courses which offer those coming totally new to intergenerational work and looking for a basic introduction to opportunities for people planning projects and wanting to learn more of the theory behind an intergenerational approach. Training (generationsworkingtogether.org)
Untangling the Knots Online Course with Scottish Centre for Conflict Resolution.
COURSE 1 DATES – 19th April (10:00 – 11:00), 20th April, 27th April and 4th May (all 10:00 – 12:30). You must attend all 4 sessions.
COURSE 2 DATES – 20th June (10:00 – 11:00) , 22nd June, 29th June and 6th July (all 10:00 – 12:30). You must attend all 4 sessions.
To register your interest for a space or for any further questions please email sccr@cyrenians.scot. Please put in your email which course dates you’d be interested in attending. Online Untangling the Knots Flyer 2022
Harmful Sexual Behaviour Thursday 19th May 2022 1pm – 4.30pm The course will raise awareness and support professionals, parents and carers in understanding and managing the needs of children and young people displaying problematic or harmful sexual behaviour (HSB). You must download the form to your computer and save it before you fill it in otherwise the next person who opens it will see your details. MORE INFO
RESEARCH & BLOGS
Planning for an ageing population: East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership is investigating the impact that ageing will have on East Lothian’s population and how we can improve services for older people in the future.
Closing Date: 18th April 2022
https://bit.ly/3teJjG6
East Lothian Council – Short Term Let Control Areas: New legislation has been brought in by the Scottish Government allowing local authorities to set up Control Areas for Short Term Lets. Prior to considering whether this is a necessary approach in East Lothian, the Planning Service is undertaking an 8-week period of public consultation to gather views and opinions on the Short Term Letting sector in East Lothian, and whether there is a need for a Control Areas or not. The results of the consultation will help to inform future Council decisions on the issue.
The consultation is being advertised through social media and is on the Councils consultation hub. The consultation is also being advertised through relevant housing and business contacts.
Closing Date: 11th April 2022
Short Term Let Control Areas – East Lothian Council – Citizen Space (eastlothianconsultations.co.uk)
Young Scot: Looking for feedback on Young Scot services including the Young Scot National Entitlement Card (NEC), discounts, and Young Scot Membership. Shaping the Future of Young Scot Membership (alchemer.eu)
Police Scotland – Your Police Survey: Understanding the views and priorities of Scotland’s diverse communities has played a vital role in shaping our response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Public feedback has driven positive changes to operational policing across Scotland during the most challenging of times.
Closing Date: 31st March 2022
https://consult.scotland.police.uk/surveys/your-police-2021-2022/
