45th Vice President of the US, Al Gore, is speaking in Edinburgh this morning at The Scottish Low Carbon Investment Conference at the EICC. The conference is examining what can be done to help Scotland achieve its ambitious 2020 carbon emissions targets.
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That certainly could have been one reason for the traffic around the city centre this morning which was almost at a standstill. We were out doing a quick car journey and were beaten on the same route by a cyclist. The Council’s Transport Committee met yesterday but decided not to bind itself to any time scale for repairing roads in the central area as the programme of works relating to the trams has not yet been agreed.
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Today is International Right to Know Day. We have fairly robust Freedom of Information legislation here in Scotland and an Information Commissioner who favours transparency, but still we cannot always find out just as much as residents of other jurisdictions, or as easily.
The Scottish Information Commissioner has just ruled in the case of Michael Campbell v The City of Edinburgh Council and has advised that the council did not comply with the statutory time limits for producing information, and was in breach of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act (FOISA).
The facts are that Mr Campbell wrote to the council on 1 April 2011 asking for more information about a statutory notice issued by the council. (Presumably the statutory notice related to a property he owned.) The council is obliged by FOISA to respond to such a request within 20 days. They did not do so, and, in addition, when Mr Campbell again wrote on 11 May to request a review of his request, they did not reply to that letter either.
When the council was advised by the Information Commissioner’s office that the matter had been passed to them for investigation, the council simply acknowledged receipt of the email on 4 August, and sent a reply to Mr Campbell on 17 August which did not actually answer his request for information.
The Information Commissioner has therefore found against the Council and has given them until 13 October to reply to Mr Campbell fully.
The excuse given? The Council say that they have received rather a lot of requests for information about statutory notices.
There is another similar case brought by James McLean v The City of Edinburgh Council to the Information Commissioner where the council was also found to have been in breach of the time limits in a case involving information about roof and chimney repairs.
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A man was seriously injured in a house fire in Leith last night. The 69 year old resident of a sheltered housing complex was taken to hospital after being pulled out of the house on Thorntree Street in Leith by fire crews.
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The Annual Volunteer Recruitment Fair is on today from 11am until 7pm
At St Paul’s and St George’s Church, on York Place, Edinburgh (at the top of Broughton Street)
Free Entry – no need to book – just turn-up!
Charities, voluntary organisations and community groups are searching for volunteers, people like you! After more than a decade, the Annual Volunteer Recruitment Fair is firmly positioned as the capital city’s volunteering event of the year. It will showcase volunteering opportunities from across the city, putting potential volunteers in touch with hundreds of organisations.
If you’re considering volunteering, this is a fantastic opportunity to meet face to face with over 50 organisations currently looking for volunteers, plus access hundreds of other volunteering opportunities, all under one roof. Last year our volunteer recruitment fair helped over 1,200 people in their search for volunteering opportunities to make connections with the organisations that needed them. Make sure you’re one of them this year.
We know that amongst the many benefits of volunteering, trying out different kinds of work and building experience towards employment is often an important factor in thinking about volunteering options. Because of this we’ll be running volunteering and employment workshops throughout the fair that you can drop into and talk about how volunteering can give you the added advantage to get you that new job. Volunteering is a great way to use and develop your skills, help you to make new friends and contacts, boost your confidence and general wellbeing, and of course, make a difference!
The Fair will feature: ** a youth volunteering stall * * volunteering and employment specialists * * organic café * * access to hundreds of volunteering opportunities across the city * * over 50 organisations looking for volunteers*
