- Fiscal Framework
- Love to Ride Edinburgh Cycle Challenge
- Active Travel
- Edinburgh University on EU Referendum
- Wonky Veg at Asda
Following John Swinney’s visit to London last Friday there seems to be no agreement between Holyrood and Westminster on the ‘fiscal framework’.
This is the announcement that both governments put out after the meeting:
The Rt Hon Greg Hands MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury and John Swinney, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy met in London today. They had a useful further discussion on Scotland’s fiscal framework.
The discussion made progress in a number of areas. The two governments have not yet been able to reach an overall agreement. They explored each other’s positions and confirmed their shared interest in reaching agreement.
Ministers asked officials to do further work, and are committed to updating the Scottish and UK Parliaments shortly.
Watch this space.
If you live or work in Edinburgh, sign up to the Love To Ride Edinburgh Cycle Challenge.
Open to everyone aged 13 and over, just register for free on the website, cycle for 10 minutes between 1 – 21 March and win some fantastic prizes including bikes, clothing, experiences, cinema tickets and more.
This is a great opportunity to get back on your bike, encourage young people and workers to cycle, and have fun with friends and colleagues.
You can sign up as an individual or as part of a workplace.
Register for free at www.lovetoride.net/edinburgh
Ahead of the Scottish Government’s budget decision this Wednesday, a coalition of transport and environmental groups backed by broadcaster Lesley Riddoch and University of Edinburgh Professor Chris Oliver have called on the Government to spend less money on building new trunk roads and motorways and more on supporting walking and cycling.
Spokes, Friends of the Earth Scotland, Pedal on Parliament, Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, Ramblers Scotland and Transform Scotland have issued a Parliamentary Briefing calling on the Government to transfer 1% of its proposed trunk roads and motorways budget to active travel.
The Scottish Government plans to spend £820 million next year on building trunk roads and motorways versus a meagre £41 million on improving walking and cycling paths.
Recently published transport statistics revealed that under 2% of journeys in Scotland are currently made by bike, showing that much more investment is needed if Scotland is to meet its vision for 10% of trips to be by bike by 2020.
Dave du Feu, cycling campaigner for Spokes said : “If Councils are expected to find cuts of 7% to non-care services, surely the government can find 1% from its own trunk roads budget to ensure that its policies on walking and cycling do not suffer.
“The last year or two have seen growing ambition and expertise in many Scottish Councils seeking to improve conditions for cycling, for example Edinburgh’s plan for a segregated route through the city centre, and other bold plans in Glasgow and Inverness. Just 1% from the government’s £820m trunk roads budget would help maintain this momentum rather than putting it at risk.”
Emilia Hanna, air pollution campaigner for Friends of the Earth Scotland said : “The Government has got its spending plans all wrong by pouring millions into roads which will create more traffic congestion, more air pollution, and more climate emissions. If it transfers just 1% of the cash it plans to spend on new polluting roads into active travel, this will support councils to get lots more people walking and cycling across Scotland.
Lesley Riddoch, broadcaster and journalist, said : “It’s not too late to make a big dent in Scotland’s bad habits with a relatively small amount of public cash. We know the sedentary lifestyle of many Scots is a killer, here’s a way to do something about it.”
You are invited to post images on social media of what the European Union means to you during the build-up to Britain’s referendum on EU membership.
You can upload a picture or video with the hashtag #myimageoftheEU on Twitter with a brief explanation of why it was chosen and where they are posting from.
The politically neutral project will use the images to track people’s impressions of Europe – positive, negative or ambivalent – and how their views change as the debate develops.
The campaign is organised by the University of Edinburgh’s Neuropolitics Research Lab, as part of the UK in a Changing Europe project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
The images will form part of an exhibition in the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh on 9 May, which is Europe Day.
Organiser Clare Llewellyn said: “When people think about the EU, what image does that conjure up in their minds? We are looking for suggestions beyond men in suits in Brussels. What do people see in their daily lives that evokes the European Union? What do EU symbols mean to them? How has the EU impacted them? We are especially keen to hear from people who do not feel part of the current debate.”
The search for images will run until after the referendum on EU membership. Submissions will be posted on Twitter at @myimageoftheEU.
More information can be found at: https://storify.com/ImagineEurope/myimageoftheeu
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[mc4wp_form id=”169103″]Supermarket Asda is launching its ‘Wonky Veg’ Box in 29 stores across Scotland, following customer feedback and campaigning. Asda has committed to making the selection box of ‘ugly’ fruit and vegetables a permanent initiative – and is committing to putting 10,000 boxes in to 550 stores, at least once a month.
This means that shoppers across Scotland will now be able to buy the much talked about £3.50 ‘Wonky Veg Box’, a new family sized box that includes nine in-season misshaped winter vegetable lines from Thursday 18th February.
It follows the resounding success of last week’s small trial at just a handful of Asda stores in the South of England.
Each box includes 5kg of fresh produce which is enough to feed a family of four for a working week and costs just £3.50 – 30% cheaper than standard lines. The contents of the wonky fruit and vegetable box will vary dependant on the season but customers can expect to see things such as: carrots, potatoes, peppers, cucumber, cabbage, leeks, parsnips and onions, to name a few.
Customer research shows that 65% of Asda customers are open to the idea of wonky veg and 75% are drawn in by the significantly low price, which led to the range becoming a permanent fixture in selected stores across Scotland.
This latest extension of the initiative by Asda alone will result in at least 500 tonnes of ‘waste’ fruit and vegetables being taken from farmers and sold in the supermarket by the end of 2016.
Ian Harrison, Asda’s produce quality director, said: “We’ve been absolutely overwhelmed by the response to our wonky vegetable box and think it shows just how conscious our customers are of food waste, particularly in the produce aisle. We knew from our initial research that customers aren’t phased by the odd knobble here or a bruise there and like the fact that our wonky range is a little bit cheaper, but including this ‘ugly’ veg in a mixed box format has helped customers save even more money and plan meals for the family for the whole week, ensuring nothing is thrown away, even when it’s taken out of the supermarket aisle.
“We’re extremely excited to be able to bring the wonky veg box to even more people across the UK and in turn, further support our growers to ensure we’re buying as much of their crop as possible.”
Maureen Watt, Minister for Public Health, added: “It’s great news that the wonky veg pilot is coming to Scottish stores. Asda have been one of the partners in our Eat Better Feel Better campaign, which aims to help and encourage people to eat a healthier diet.
“This initiative really fits in with the ethos of the campaign. The supply of low cost healthy food is an ideal way to break down one of the biggest barriers that can stop people from eating healthily.”
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