a fairer scotland – how can we get there? the...
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Caddonfoot Parish Hall
The RMS Lancastria was sunk on 17th June 1940 on the way home after evacuating thousands of soldiers and British Nationals from the St Nazaire beaches. The huge loss of life was suppressed by the British Government. Mark Hirst will show a film and give a talk about this tragic event.
SATURDAY 12TH SEPTEMBER 2015
DOORS OPEN 7.00
PAY AT THE DOOR - £3 INCLUDING TEA &
BISCUITS
The Bridge
CHRISTMAS MARKET
for Voluntary Organisations
Saturday 14th November
10am - 3.30pm
in the Burgh Hall, Peebles
Stalls cost £10 for Bridge members
£15 for non-members
For more information or to book a stall
telephone 01721 723123
or email
Have You Renewed Your Bridge Membership?
Just a reminder for any outstanding membership fees to be paid. Payment of £10 can be made in person, or by post, at any area office. Please make cheques payable to The Bridge. Thank you to those who have already paid.
T he Scottish Government is launching a national conversation on social justice
and people are being asked to contribute ideas and practical solutions that can tackle inequalities. They would like to capture the voices of those with direct experience of poverty and social exclusion, so local charities and voluntary organisations are being asked to play a part in making those connections and to facilitate citizen-led conversations.
To get the conversation started, the Scottish Government has developed a resource pack and other material which can be downloaded from www.fairer.scot If you would like hard copies or more information, contact them on [email protected] You can also use this email to tell the Government what you found out during your conversations.
You can follow the conversation on social media at www.facebook.com/fairer.scot
A Fairer Scotland – How Can We Get There?
Google for Nonprofits has been launched in Scotland, giving charities here the opportunity to access a suite of premium Google services for free. The programme is being delivered in partnership with the Technology Trust, SCVO and Tech Soup Global - any organisation with a Scottish charity number can apply to join. Once approved, they will
get free access to Google Apps to cut IT costs and operate more efficiently. Google has also developed a number of online resources such as educational videos and information on how to improve your web and social media presence. For more information on this and other very low cost software offers for charities through the it-exchange programme, see www.technology-trust.org
Google Launches Free Service for Scottish Charities
I n our last Newsletter we told you we were planning a Conference at the end
of August on the new Community
Empowerment (Scotland) Act.
The conference has been postponed and we will now be holding a number of local awareness-raising sessions, followed up by a Conference in the new year. This will give everyone the opportunity to contribute to the next stages in the development of regulations to implement the new Act.
The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 17 June 2015. It provides a legal framework that will promote and encourage community empowerment and participation. The Bill creates new rights for community bodies and places new duties on public authorities.
The Bill received the Royal Assent on 24th July and is now an Act; each section has to be brought into force by a “Commencement Order”.
The Scottish Government will now work with community bodies, public authorities and third sector organisations to develop the orders, regulations and guidance needed to implement the Bill. The guidance will help people better understand the detail of what the legislation says. Once everyone is ready for it, the legislation will come into effect. The different Parts will be developed separately and will come into effect at different times. Information on progress will be posted on the Scottish Government website where you can also find the full text of the Bill “as passed”.
For more information on the Act—see
page 4
THE BRIDGE Issue 32 August 2015
THE BRIDGE
COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT
(SCOTLAND) ACT IS PASSED
Scottish Borders Council is developing a new co-ordinated approach for services improvement on a locality basis, and has started by running a pilot in the Cheviot
area.
The aim is to ensure that work across SBC, partners and the community is more co-ordinated and can focus on problem solving for the local area. A Locality Framework for each area identifies:
Demographic, economic and social information
Council assets (including assets for disposal, and capital investment)
Housing land, industrial land, parks and open spaces, etc
Services delivered, premises, existing locality teams
Partner and community information
Next comes Engaging the community: hearing directly from the community, who can then influence and be involved in service planning & delivery, improvement projects and finding solutions to problems.
Finally, based on evidence and discussion about what is required in a locality, a Local Action Plan is prepared with a limited number of time bound actions.
Regular Reviews of action at Local Area Forum meetings will provide an opportunity for communities to share their plans, co-ordinate activity, explore partnership working, and avoid duplication.
David Mallin from Hawick (recently retired from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service) has been appoint-ed by SBC to drive forward the Cheviot pilot.
NEW LOCALITIES APPROACH FOR
COUNCIL SERVICES - Cheviot Pilot
THE BRIDGE
Registered in Scotland as a Company Limited by Guarantee No 305830. Scottish Charity No SC037646.
www.the-bridge.uk.net
Head Office:
3 Roxburgh House Court, Roxburgh Street, Galashiels, TD1 1NY. 01896 755370
Executive Officer [email protected]
Area Offices:
Central Borders – 3 Roxburgh House Court, Roxburgh Street, Galashiels, TD1 1NY. 01896 755370
Manager [email protected]
Open Mon -Thurs 9.30am to 2.30pm
Roxburgh – 1 Veitch’s Close, Jedburgh, TD8 6AY. 01835 863554
Manager [email protected]
Open Mon – Fri 9.00am to 1pm
Tweeddale - Volunteer Resource Centre, School Brae, High Street, Peebles, EH45 8AL. 01721 723123
Manager [email protected]
Open Tues - Fri 9.30am to 1pm
Services:
Roxburgh Thrift Shop – 18 Canongate, Jedburgh, TD8 6AJ. 01835 869884
Tweeddale Thrift Shop – 15 High Street, Innerleithen, EH44 6HA. 01896 831427
Gala Wheels - based in Central area office 01896 755370 [email protected]
Teviot Wheels - based in Roxburgh area office 01835 863554 [email protected]
Tweed Wheels - based in Tweeddale area office 01721 723123 [email protected]
Appointments can be made in area offices outwith opening times
FROM THE CHAIR…
S ince the last Newsletter came out, The Bridge has
held its three “blethers” with members. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to the Tweeddale event but I did get to the other two sessions. I found being a fly on the wall at these a tremendously insightful and rewarding experience. My
grateful thanks go to all of you who came along and who contributed in such a ready and open way. As a consequence, we have received a range of views on how The Bridge engages with its members – and how its members engage with The Bridge – and you can be assured these will be actively followed up.
Coming up, there are two further important occasions when it’s hoped we can come together again. Sadly, the Conference on the new Community Empowerment Act which was flagged up in the last Newsletter has had to be postponed. However, the Interface Partnership – which brings together Volunteer Centre Borders, the Scottish Borders Social Enterprise Chamber, Berwickshire Association for Voluntary Service and ourselves, and which is planning the event – hopes to stage it later this year. As I’ve said previously in this column, the Act holds out major new opportunities for community groups – but also major challenges. A number of prominent people have raised the very valid point that the Act on its own risks simply empowering further those groups who already possess the necessary skills and experience to take advantage of the new opportunities now presented, whilst leaving still further behind those groups that are not as strong. It’s vital that we ensure this doesn’t happen in the Borders. So our planned seminar will be a chance for local groups not only to learn about what the Act itself provides but also to get a practical insight in to some of the issues which those looking perhaps to harness some of these new opportunities might face.
The second occasion on which we can come together is our own AGM which will take place in early October. Are AGMs a turn-off? They shouldn’t be! They are a chance for us to account to you – our members – for what we have done during the past year. They are also an opportunity to look ahead – something that in these changing and challenging times we all of us need to do. Let’s use the AGM to exchange views and concerns on this.
I hope therefore that we shall continue to meet each other in the coming months. There is much that we can share with each other.
Ian Yates
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The deal sees over £1.6 million invested in the region’s Active Schools programme, with further funding committed to supporting PE and delivering school sport and additional investment set aside to support grassroots initiatives in the region and to develop the potential of talented athletes.
The funding has been provided by Scottish Borders Council and sportscotland, with Borders Sport and Leisure set to deliver the relevant projects across the region over 4 years. Club sport will also be promoted through funding for the region’s Community Sports
Hubs and continued support for club sports development officers and the Clubsport Borders network.
Two years of funding has been committed to support local coaching initiatives through the provision of ongoing training and education opportunities for coaches and volunteers across the region and a review of the local coaching infrastructure will be carried out. For more information, go to www.bslt.org.uk/news
£1.9 Million Investment in Borders Sport
People’s Health Trust : Local groups and organisations with great ideas to make their communities even better places to live are invited to apply for funding to turn their ideas into reality.
Their ‘Active Communities’ funding programme is for community groups and not-for-profit organisations, with an income of less than £350,000 a year or an average of £350,000 over two years, seeking investment of between £5,000 and £50,000 for small and local projects lasting up to two years, genuinely designed and run by local people. By small, they mean just a small group of people on an estate, in a few streets or villages.
They are also looking for great ideas from communities of interest - a group of people
who have things in common and wish to come together to address something that is important to them. These ideas could be based in one neighbourhood, or cover a wider area.
It's an online process with a step by step guide from start to finish and uses money raised by society lotteries through The Health Lottery. Active Communities is currently open in the HealthEngage area which includes Dumfries and Galloway, North, East and South Ayrshire, Scottish Borders, North and South Lanarkshire (application deadline - 19 August, 1pm). Please note there is a focus on more disadvantaged areas, with a postcode eligibility check. For more information, see
www.peopleshealthtrust.org.uk
FUNDING NEWS
Challenge Fund
Applications are invited for the third round of the Challenge Fund, which is supported by the Scottish Government and BT. So if you work for or know an organisation that’s helping to develop the basic digital skills of its customers or its own staff then read on! The project must be focussed on developing the Basic Digital Skills of the organisation's staff or the people they're supporting. Six key focus groups will receive a greater weighting in the assessment stage (please note that they are unlikely to fund projects that are aimed at children). They are:
Older people, Disabled people, Ethnic minority groups, Remote and rural communities; People seeking benefits; Glasgow focus. Awards will range from £100 - £10,000.
SCVO are also working closely with organisations that have signed Scotland’s Digital Participation Charter to identify additional in-kind support (e.g. donations of equipment and volunteers). You can note your interest in this kind of support by ticking the box at the end of the application form.
For more information please email:
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FUNDING NEWS
Zero Waste Scotland has grants of up to £1800 so accredited re-use charities can offer staff a place on their training courses. Covers cost of tuition, travel and subsistence and any materials/equipment or materials needed. See this link for application form:
www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/content/repair-and-upcycling-training-grant-fund-third-sector-3rr001-200
Deadline August 31st 2015
The Big Lottery Fund has a number of grants programmes that are open to applications from groups in Scotland this summer. The Big Lottery Fund will be launching new funds later this year. In the meantime, groups that are seeking funding from them can consider applying to the following grants programmes.
Awards for All Communities and Families Fund Investing in Ideas Young Start
Scottish Land Fund
Further information about each grants programme can be found on their website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/scotland
Groups with questions about the grants can contact the BIG Advice Team Scotland by email at [email protected]
or by phone on 0300 123 7110
The GSK Impact Awards are open to health and well-being charities with an annual income between £25k and £2 million that are at least 3 years old. 10 winners will receive £30,000 each and 10 runners up will receive £3,000 each. The overall winner is awarded an additional £10,000. To apply, go to: www.kingsfund.org.uk
BBC Children in Need is calling on Scottish charities to apply for a share of the £49.1 million they raised last year. To find out more go to: www.bbc.co.uk/corporate2/childreninneed
The Gannochy Trust has launched their new Funding Strategy and Guidelines for 2015 to 2018. Over the next three years, a significant percentage of the Gannochy Trust’s funds will be made to smaller, community led groups that are supporting children, young people and people who are disadvantaged or vulnerable. Inspiring Young People is available Scotland wide and will support projects that make positive change in the lives of young people. There are three levels of grant, giving up to £40,000 per year. See their website: www.gannochytrust.org.uk/
The Big Lunch Scotland Seed Fund
The Big Lunch aims to get as many people as possible across the whole of the UK to have lunch with their neighbours in a simple act of community, friendship and fun. The Big Lunch has been granted a small seed fund by the Scottish Government to help grow the idea in Scotland. This is aimed at engaging communities who may face barriers to taking part, or for established Big Lunchers, to encourage a wider section of the community to get involved. There is also a separate fund to help people who have been through The Big Lunch Extras programme in Scotland to try out small projects in their communities. Up to £500 grants are available to get a project going. Deadline: 31 September 2015. Go to: www.thebiglunch.com/partners/scotland-seed-fund.php
Regional Screen Scotland – Micro-funding for Community Cinemas Up to £2,000 funding is available to small volunteer-run exhibition organisations, such as film societies and community cinemas to host special events, invite speakers and undertake other additional activity to support their 2015/16 programme. The awards will support small-scale exhibitors to diversify their programme, underwrite risk and promote their screenings. Organisations must be members of Film Hub Scotland (membership is free). www.regionalscreenscotland.org/funding-2/ Next deadline: 26 October 2015
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If you live in one of the following areas,
we would love to hear from you!
Ettrick and Yarrow, Upper Teviotdale and Borthwick Water, Tweedsmuir, Moffat Water, Lilliesleaf, Ashkirk and Midlem, Glen, Orchard Mains and
Traquair, Eskdalemuir.
We (Southern Uplands Partnership) have been commissioned by Community Broadband Scotland to undertake a survey of rural areas in the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway who may not be served by the current Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme being delivered through BT.
Our aim is to collate as much data as possible on your current service, location and desire for a better service so this can be used to explore the potential of a community
led initiative to deliver superfast broadband initially to the rural areas listed above.
We are aware that many of you have already completed a broadband survey in your community council area and we will endeavour to include these results where possible. However, it is vital that we get up to date information, so please take a moment to fill out our rural broadband survey at:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ettrickandbeyond or email [email protected]
We need to have all survey responses no later than Wednesday 2nd September 2015 Additional information on the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme can be found at
http://www.digitalscotland.org/superfast-broadband/
Frustrated By Your Rural Broadband Service?
T weed Wheels proudly presents our new Community Car, which will replace our
older vehicle. This specially adapted vehicle can accommodate along with the driver, three seated passengers, plus two passengers travelling in their own wheelchairs. It can be used by anyone living in Tweeddale who has a disability and cannot use public transport.
This new vehicle has been funded by the Hugh Fraser Foundation, Awards for All, Scottish Borders Council, Tweeddale Thrift Shop and the local community. Thank you to them on behalf of all of the people who will be using the Community Car.
For more information please call into the Tweeddale office of The Bridge, telephone
01721 723123, or email [email protected]
A New Community Car for Tweed Wheels
The Bridge AGM
Our AGM is on Tuesday 6th October 2015 from 7pm - 9pm in the Salmon Room, at the Buccleuch Hotel in St Boswells. Papers will be sent out shortly to our members with all the details. All welcome!
Free Food Hygiene Training for
Lunch Clubs
Scottish Borders Council has kindly agreed to fund certificated training by Borders College for anyone involved in food preparation with the numerous lunch clubs across the Scottish Borders. Contact your local office of The Bridge for information.
Volunteers, customers and staff with the new community car
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National Outcomes: Places a duty on Scottish Ministers to develop, consult on and publish a set of national outcomes for Scotland, which builds on the Government’s internationally acclaimed “Scotland Performs” framework.
Community Planning: Places Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) on a statutory footing and imposes duties on them around the planning and delivery of local outcomes, and the involvement of community bodies at all stages of community planning. Tackling inequalities will be a specific focus, and CPPs will have to produce “locality plans” at a more local level for areas experiencing particular disadvantage.
Participation Requests: Provides a mechanism for communities to have a more proactive role in having their voices heard in how services are planned and delivered.
Community Right to Buy: Amends the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, extending the community right to buy to all of Scotland, urban and rural, and improving procedures. It also introduces a new provision for community bodies to purchase land which is abandoned, neglected or causing harm to the environmental wellbeing of the community, where the owner is not willing to sell that land. This is if the purchase is in the public interest and compatible with the achievement of sustainable development of the land.
Asset Transfer Requests: Provides community bodies with a right to request to purchase, lease, manage or use land and buildings belonging to local authorities, Scottish public bodies or Scottish Ministers. There will be a presumption of agreement to requests, unless there are reasonable grounds for refusal. Reducing inequalities will be a factor for public authorities to consider when making a decision. Relevant authorities will be required to create and maintain a register of land which they will make available to the public.
Delegation of Forestry Commission Functions: Allows for different types of community bodies to be involved in forestry leasing.
Supporter Involvement in Football Clubs: The Scottish Government is committed to the principle that supporters should have a role in decision-making, or even ownership when the opportunity arises, of their football clubs. The Bill as passed provides powers for Ministers to make regulations to facilitate supporter involvement and give fans rights in these areas. The Scottish Government will shortly issue a consultation paper to explore the best way of taking this forward.
Common Good: Places a statutory duty on local authorities to establish and maintain a register of all property held by them for the common good. It also requires local authorities to publish their proposals and consult community bodies before disposing of or changing the use of common good assets.
Allotments: Updates and simplifies legislation on allotments. It requires local authorities to take reasonable steps to provide more allotments if waiting lists exceed certain trigger points and ensures appropriate protection for local authorities and plotholders. Provisions are made to allow the size of an allotment to be agreed between the person requesting an allotment and the local authority and to require fair rents to be set.
Participation in Public Decision-Making: A new regulation-making power enabling Ministers to require Scottish public authorities to promote and facilitate the participation of members of the public in the decisions and activities of the authority, including in the allocation of its resources. Involving people and communities in making decisions helps build community capacity and also helps the public sector identify local needs and priorities and target budgets more effectively.
Non-Domestic Rates: Provides for a new power which will allow local authorities to create and fund their own localised business rate relief schemes to better reflect local needs and support communities.
For more information visit
www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/Bills/77926.aspx
COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT: The Key Elements
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ASHKIRK VILLAGE HALL has taken on a new lease of life thanks to the worn out hall floor having a complete makeover at a cost of over £1,500.00. The timber strip floor had seen better days, much better days, as it hadn’t had a coat of varnish for over 30 years, and the cost of re-finishing it seemed out of reach.
The Hall has seen some refurbishment over the past twelve months with new lighting, repairs to outside areas, the installation of a new cooker and complete internal redecoration – all of which made the floor look even worse – but funds had become depleted. So the committee turned to the Central Borders Federation of Village Halls and asked for financial support. We were very pleased when this was approved by the other members present at the recent AGM held at Ettrickbridge. The Federation provided £1,000 towards the cost. Work started within two weeks and the hall is transformed. Without the Federation’s support the work couldn’t have been done for quite some time but now more events are planned to revitalise the fortunes of the hall, which is a much better venue.
The committee is are also grateful to the Federation for pointing us in the direction of ‘Borders Live Touring’ (Bridge Magazine)
who have supported entertainment at the hall. The first of which was the extremely well received ‘Keats Quartet’ and the next supported event will be a play called ‘END TO END on November 13
th performed by
‘The Gramophones’ - billed as “A daring and unusual journey in April 2012, made by three women from one end of Great Britain to the other.” Village halls simply cannot afford to put on this calibre of entertainment without input from BLT, and we are grateful to the Federation for putting us in touch. The Federation is great for all-round support, acting as a central hub which provides advice, contacts, administration support, as well as much-needed financial support - a friendly face and a real person on the phone.
Few organisations offer such wide-ranging help, and so Ashkirk says THANK YOU and I am sure many others who use the services of the Federation will echo the sentiment.
The Federation, what it does – and thanks from us…
By Ashkirk Village Hall
LATEST NEWS FROM OSCR - THE SCOTTISH CHARITY REGULATOR
CHARITY ACCOUNTS: OSCR has produced four new example accounts to illustrate how charities should prepare their accounts in accordance with the Scottish Charity Accounting Regulations and the new charity Statements of Recommended Practice (SORPs) that came into effect for charities with accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2015. You can find them at: www.oscr.org.uk/charities/managing-your-charity/charity-account
A further consultation has been announced to examine proposed changes to the UK-Irish Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP). The consultation runs until 18 September 2015 and further information is available from: www.charitiessorp.org/the-sorp-consultation-process/sorp-consultation-your-views-sought/
VILLAGE HALL ISSUES: OSCR is developing new guidance especially for village halls on the important and most common issues faced by village hall trustees. This will include making changes to your charity. They want help from support agencies like The Bridge and from village halls themselves to fully understand the issues and what the guidance should include.
To find out more and complete their survey, go to: www.oscr.org.uk/hot-topics/help-us-understand-village-hall-issues-survey