Also in the news / Winter fuel payment, depopulation survey, SIC award nominations and more…
THE CHARITY representing older people in Scotland has welcomed a decision by the Scottish Government to partly re-instate the winter fuel payment which was cut by Labour shortly after the party came to power in Westminster in May.
Age Scotland described the move, announced in the Scottish Parliament this afternoon, as a “huge relief for older people”.
Social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville told parliament that the government would introduce a £41 million package in 2025/26 that would see qualifying pensioners receiving £300 or £200 depending on their age. All other pensioner households would receive £100 from next winter.
Age Scotland’s chief executive Katherine Crawford said: “Bringing back an energy support payment for all pensioners is very good news and will be a huge relief.
“It shows the power of this campaign and the relentless efforts from all quarters. The decision to remove the universal winter fuel payment by the UK Government, and its impact on pensioners this winter is nothing short of disastrous.”
Scottish Lib Dem MSP Willie Rennie however asked where this new money was suddenly coming from. Somerville responded that details would be revealed in next week’s budget.
ISLANDERS, and particularly those actively involved in Shetland heritage sector, are being asked to participate in a short survey about depopulation.
Run by Dr Andrew Jennings and Dr Andrew Lind from the Institute for Northern Studies at UHI, the Heritage in Depopulated European Areas project gathers information on the connections between heritage and population change.
The findings of this research will actively inform future policy and decision-making at a local, national and international level.
The survey can be found here.
FOUR TEAMS from Shetland Islands Council’s environment and estate operations service are finalists at a national public sector awards event, with winners to be announced next week.
The Association for Public Sector Excellence (APSE) will host its annual Performance Network Awards next Thursday, with the four Shetland Islands Council teams represented among local authority finalists from across the UK.
The council service is listed in the following categories:
- Environmental health – Best performer
- Refuse collection – Most improved performer
- Transport operations and vehicle maintenance – Best performer
- Building maintenance – Most improved performer
Executive manager Carl Symons said: “I’m delighted that the hard work of our staff to deliver public services in Shetland been recognised, as finalists across four categories at this year’s APSE Performance Network Awards.”
SHETLAND MSP Beatrice Wishart has raised stroke treatment concerns highlighting the postcode lottery of thrombectomy procedures across Scotland.
Thrombectomies are a procedure using a tube with a tiny, wire cage which is guided up through the body to the brain where a blood clot can be pulled out.
Only three stroke hubs carry out the procedure with people in the north of Scotland taken to Dundee. In 2023 only one in seven people in Scotland eligible for thrombectomy got one.
She said: “More needs to be done to ensure that there is no postcode lottery for stroke treatment. Thrombectomies are used across the World and despite being at war, Ukraine performs more thrombectomies per year than Scotland.
“The inequality of access for island and rural areas is of great concern when we know swift action during stroke treatment is critical.”
FOLLOWING Thursday’s farmers’ rally at Holyrood, Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston has called on the Scottish Government to deliver “proper funding” for agriculture.
The Conservative MSP said: “Farming needs support. It doesn’t need more taxes, more regulations, or more barriers. Farmers like myself want to feed this country, but we need confidence in the future to do so and to invest in our businesses.
“That’s why the SNP’s Scottish budget must deliver proper funding for farming, with consistency and focus. And our rural community needs the money withheld from the sector returned to where it belongs.”
Meanwhile, Scottish ministers have written to the UK Government expressing concern over the negative impact the UK budget is having on Scotland’s rural economy.
“We are writing to express our grave concern over the UK Government decisions in the UK Budget that will negatively impact Scotland’s rural economy. It is important that these issues be considered further, as a matter of urgency, particularly in light of the upcoming UK spending review,” the Scottish Government said in a letter to ministers in London.
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