Greens leading debate at Holyrood today
Solar eclipse on Friday
Traffic Scotland
The Variety of Life at Summerhall
Council breaking down barriers for deaf customers
The Scottish Greens will lead a Holyrood debate on the need to end in-work poverty, and will put to a vote the case for all those working or in training to get £10 an hour by 2020 later today.
The Greens are highlighting the fact that the apprenticeship wage is currently only £2.73 an hour for those in their first year, which means that some young people up to the age of 25 are working 30 hours a week for a monthly wage packet of just £327.60.
They will invite other political parties to vote on a motion which calls for a £10 minimum wage for all by 2020, and other measures such as a tax to redistribute the wealth of the richest one per cent in society.
Scottish Green MSP Patrick Harvie, a member of Holyrood’s economy committee, said:
“Hundreds of thousands of working age adults in Scotland are living in poverty. They have been let down by an economic policy pursued by successive governments, wrongly assuming that if we make the rich richer some of that money will trickle down.
“At the same time we’ve seen the welfare system being used to subsidise poverty wages when we should be putting real money in people’s pockets for them to live decent lives. It’s simply unacceptable that someone in their mid-twenties can be in an apprenticeship earning less than £3 an hour. What sort of message does this send about the value we place on our young people?
“By making sure everyone’s wage meets their basic needs we can get to grips with the inequality that is doing so much damage in our country.”
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This Friday morning drivers are being warned that there will be a partial solar eclipse which may mean twilight just at the end of the morning rush hour.
In fact there will be a Supermoon on Thursday evening, it is the spring equinox and there is a solar eclipse all at once! This is the last eclipse for about ten years according to the scientists.
The Super Moon means that the moon is closer to the earth than normal.
In Edinburgh you should see around 95% of the sun being obscured at 9.35 am. But do remember not to look directly at the sun when it is visible!
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The team at Traffic Scotland have launched new video which explains the service and how information is received, monitored and distributed to road users all over Scotland.
Traffic Scotland collects and distributes real time information relating to incidents, congestion and events currently happening throughout the network on behalf of Transport Scotland. This video shows the public the systems we have in place and details how these are utilised to reach a wide audience.
Traffic Scotland’s aim is to provide drivers with information which will allow them to make an informed decision about their journey before they travel. Details are provided to ensure the best use is made of the network but also to improve the safety and efficiency of the roads.
The video has been created to show the public some of the faces behind the service and how these teams work to ensure the network runs as smoothly as possible.
Watch them in the control room here:
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At Summerhall next month there will be an evening of entertainment featuring music, comedy, aerial acrobatics, performance, magic and more. There will be a pay bar with all the usual offerings including of course Summerhall-brewed Barney’s beer and Pickering’s gin.
The fundraiser is in aid of two children’s charities – Hope and Play for the Children of Gaza who build safe recreation areas for traumatised children in Gaza and Orkidstudio’s project to build a girls’ school in Sierra Leone.
On the night there will be an art auction with work from some of Scotland’s most exciting artists and a raffle with prizes donated by local businesses.
The event will have a dedicated Facebook page very soon – but meantime tickets are on sale at the Summerhall website: http://www.summerhall.co.uk/2015/the-variety-of-life/
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An innovative new service that will make it easier for deaf people to access City of Edinburgh Council services has been welcomed.
The hard of hearing will be able to access public services independently via Contact SCOTLAND, the online video relay interpreting service, which is the first of its kind in the UK.
Launched this month by the Scottish Government, Contact SCOTLAND will allow people to get in touch with local authorities using a video link so that they can use sign language, which is then interpreted to public service staff.
Councillor Ricky Henderson, Health, Social Care and Housing Convener, said that the project will help to break down barriers.
He said: “This project is very welcome. It’s important that the services many people take for granted are equally accessible to the deaf community.
“The video interpreting service will mean that they won’t have to rely on someone calling the Council on their behalf any more. It will help many to overcome these communication barriers and will, in turn, lead to an improved quality of life.”
Contact SCOTLAND can be accessed at www.contactscotland-bsl.org
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
