Covid-19 & 3rd Sector Update 16/09/2022
LOCAL & NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
VOLUNTEERING
SERVICE UPDATES
FUNDING
TRAINING & EVENT
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
LOCAL & NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
Period Poverty: Councils and education providers will be legally required to make period products available free of charge to anyone who needs them since the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act came into force on Monday 15 August. MORE INFO
Vaccine: People aged 65 and over as well as frontline health and social care staff will be first in line for a winter booster jab to protect the most vulnerable from COVID-19 and ease the pressure on hospitals. Letters with appointment times for those aged 65 and over will begin landing on doormats this week so the NHS can get ahead of any potential surge in infections. The booster jabs will be given at the same time as the flu vaccine to those eligible where possible – evidence shows that administration of both vaccines together is a safe and efficient way to deliver maximum protection over the winter months. From 22 August the online portal will be available for health and social care workers to book their appointments. Staff should book on the portal or follow advice from their boards on any local arrangements. Appointments for all other priority groups will be made available as the programme progresses – people in those groups should wait until they are contacted or called forward. MORE INFO
Adult Disability Payment opens for new applications across Scotland. It replaces the UK Government’s Personal Independence Payment. The benefit provides financial support to people aged between 16 and state pension age who are disabled, have a long-term health condition or have a terminal illness. People already receiving the UK Government’s Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance do not need to apply for Adult Disability Payment. These existing awards will transfer automatically from the DWP to Social Security Scotland. Cases will transfer in stages starting from this summer and this process is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. MORE INFO
VOLUNTEERING
VCEL Above & Beyond Volunteer Newsletter
Volunteer Newsletter August 2022
SERVICE UPDATES
MYPAS are recruiting:
Social Security Scotland: Drop Ins every Tuesday's (10am to 2pm) at the Volunteer Centre for extra support applying for benefits in Scotland. FLYER
Royal Mail: See this important message about stamps from the Royal Mail. ‘We’re adding barcodes to all our regular ‘everyday’ stamps. These are the stamps that will be very familiar to you. They feature the profile of Her Majesty the Queen on a plain coloured background. We’re giving you plenty of notice about this change and any non-barcoded stamps you have will still be valid until 31 January 2023. If you won’t be able to use all of your stamps by that date you can swap them out for new barcoded ones. You can carry on using any non-barcoded stamps you have until 31 January 2023. For most people that will mean they have time to use up any of the old stamps they have before that date and you don’t need to swap anything out. If you have too many stamps to use them up before this date you can exchange them for new barcoded ones through Royal Mail’s ‘Swap Out’ scheme.’ MORE INFO
OSCR: On 25 July 2022, every person listed with OSCR as a principal contact for a charity received an email with new log in instructions. People who are the principal contact for multiple charities also recieved a seperate email listing all the charities they are associated with. After logging in to the upgraded OSCR Online system, charity users will have the option to invite up to another two users to access a charity’s record. Please check your email inbox and junk email folders for these invites. If you are a principal contact of a charity and did not receive an invitation to the new system by 31 July 2022, please email info@oscr.org.uk
SCVO Tracker: SCVO has published research on the current challenges facing third sector organisations. A large majority (86 per cent) of organisations also reported rising costs since December 2021, with the most common rises being: Cost of materials and supplies (63 per cent); Transport costs (53 per cent); Staffing costs (47 per cent); Energy costs (45 per cent). Of organisations seeing rising costs of any kind, 42 per cent felt this affected their ability to deliver their core services or activities. With groups across Scotland facing challenges, the three months to April 2022 saw just half (50 per cent) of organisations able to meet or exceed their planned programmes or services. A further 43 per cent were able to meet them partially. Although many remain confident of continuing, SCVO believes that planned, multi-year funding is key to ensuring that vital public services provided by charities and voluntary groups can continue. FULL ARTICLE
FUNDING
Dunbar & East Linton Area Partnership General Fund Phase 2
List of key dates relating to applications for phase two of the general fund. Please contact the Connected Communities team if you have an idea that requires Area Partnership funding.
Deadline: 9 October 2022
Overview
smckinlay1@eastlothian.gov.uk
The Stevenston Charitable Trust
The Trustees’ support projects in the Lothians and Borders with a focus on the encouragement of participation in and promotion of accessibility to music and the arts, and the advancement of health.
Deadline: 15 December 2022
https://www.turcanconnell.com/the-stevenston-charitable-trust#sthash.HXIc9jGx.dpuf
Ian Findlay Path Fund
This £1.5 million fund is for the improvement of path networks to increase walking, wheeling and cycling, for a happier, healthier, greener Scotland. The fund supports path management projects that:
Improve accessibility and resilience of existing paths between homes, community facilities, active travel routes and public transport facilities.
Remove barriers to make existing paths more accessible to more people.
Link paths to community destinations such as homes and public transport connections.
Improve and create routes to aid the development of 20-minute neighbourhoods.
The fund is open to a wide range of community and third sector organisations. Funding of £10,000 - £100,000 is available with 30% match funding required (15% can be in kind).
Deadline: Ongoing
https://www.pathsforall.org.uk/ian-findlay-path-fund
TRAINING & EVENTS
VCEL Trustee Training, we are providing free training session for trustees, board and management committee members in the Musselburgh, Wallyford & Whitecraig areas. There will be opportunities to share your experiences, ask questions and learn from others. This session will cover your roles and responsibilities, what good governance looks like and your duties under charity law.
When: 6.30pm on 21st September
Where: in VCEL, 56 High Street, Tranent
We hope you will take up this opportunity. To register, please respond to fiona@volunteereastlothian.org.uk
Developing policy and practice guidelines for working with young people aged 18 and under in relation to self harm, suicide attempts and deaths by suicide, two-hour workshop. The attached flyer is for an online Project Findings Workshop on research led by Sunderland and Teesside Universities on Developing Policy and Practice Guidelines for Working with Young People aged 18 and Under in Relation to Self-Harm, Suicide Attempts, and Deaths by Suicide. FLYER
Date: Wednesday 2nd November 2022 10.00-12.00.
For more information and to register your attendance please email Emma Cuthbertson e.cuthbertson@tees.ac.uk
Introduction to the project here: https://arc-nenc.nihr.ac.uk/news/study-aims-to-develop-guidelines-to-support-young-people-at-risk-of-self-harm/
Mental health and women involved in selling or exchanging sex in Scotland: Mental health is a core issue in the lives of women involved in selling or exchanging sex. In Scotland, the 2021 Snapshot by the Encompass Network of services supporting women involved revealed that 80% of the women supported disclosed a mental health issue. Following the publication of our CSE Aware Bulletin on Mental Health, this CSE Aware event will offer an introduction to the mental health needs of women involved in selling or exchanging sex in Scotland. We will reflect on the links between women’s mental wellbeing and their wider needs and discuss examples of good practice when responding to women. BOOKING
Harmful Sexual Behaviour, Tuesday 25th October 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). Please note you must download the application to your own device before you fill it in otherwise the next person who opens it will see your details. FLYER
CARES Conference 2022: Community Climate Action | Tuesday 27 September Join Local Energy Scotland on Tuesday 27 September in Scotland’s Climate Week to find out how communities can take climate action with the support of the Scottish Government’s Communtiy and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES). Plenary sessions will look at the global challenges around energy costs and climate change, and you’ll hear from the communities that are making a difference at a local level. Patrick Harvie MSP, Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights, will deliver a keynote speech. You’ll also hear inspirational case studies as well as the policy behind the action. In-depth ‘how to’ sessions will look at some of the key skills and actions needed to drive change. The day closes with a funding surgery where you can find out about the financial support that CARES offers. Be inspired and find out what your communtiy can do to make a difference. Find out more.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Planning with People: Community engagement and participation guidance - service user questionnaire
We’ve been asked to communicate this message from the Scottish Government. ‘Did you know that people living in Scotland have the right to get involved in the design and delivery of new health or social care services, and to comment on changes to existing services? When it comes to designing or making changes to these services, it is important that NHS Boards, Health and Social Care Partnerships, and Local Authorities listen to the views of people who might use them. The process of finding out your views is called ‘community engagement’. In March 2021, the Scottish Government and COSLA published jointly Planning with People: Community engagement and participation guidance. The guidance encourages collaboration between NHS Boards, Integration Joint Boards and Local Authorities. It also explains how people and communities can expect to engage with health and social care providers. It is important that ‘Planning with People’ remains relevant, therefore, by sharing your views and opinions, you will help to improve the engagement process by providing essential feedback on your personal experiences.
Deadline: 30 September 2022
https://consult.gov.scot/healthcare-quality-and-improvement/planning-with-people-service-user/
Your Police 2022-2023
Police Scotland has continued to meet the needs of our communities during a demanding and difficult period for the people of Scotland. Understanding the views and priorities of Scotland's diverse communities is fundamental to how Police Scotland responds to the needs of the public. Our public engagement activities help us improve how we deliver our policing services in local communities, ensuring they are accessible for everyone.
Deadline: 31 March 2023
https://consult.scotland.police.uk/strategy-insight-and-innovation/your-police-2022-2023/
Healthy Living
Want to be involved in research that can help us discover new ways of thinking about healthy living? Health behaviours like smoking or what we eat affect our health but so do life experiences, like financial problems. New research, at the University of Glasgow, aims to understand your views on how life experiences and health behaviours work together to affect our health and what can be done to help. There are no wrong answers, and everyone’s views are welcome. What does the research involve? For 1-2 hours of your time, you would take part in a face-to-face group discussion with 6-7 other people and a friendly researcher. Your personal details would remain confidential. We would reimburse your travel costs and provide lunch. To thank you, we would offer you a £20 voucher. Want more information on how to get involved? Please contact Dr Hamish Foster using the details below.
Email: hamish.foster@glasgow.ac.uk
Telephone: 0141 330 3907
Twitter: @hamishfoster
