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Welcome to the latest issue of the Equalities Participation Network (EPN) bulletin. The focus of the bulletin is
to share and exchange information amongst our members and anyone interested in equalities issues.
Thank you all, for your continued support of the EPN.
Fife Interfaith Peace Garden At the end of over 3 years of planning, setbacks and false dawns, the Fife Inter-faith Peace Garden was opened on the 26th May 2012 in Beveridge Park, Kirkcal-dy on one of the few good summer days of this year. The garden was designed by Fife Council Parks Department , it consists of a paved area, complete with benches and shrub-bery with the Peace Pole taking centre stage. The Peace Pole is constructed from stone donated and formed by local stonemason George Sweeney, the word-ing ‘Let Peace Prevail’ in English, Polish, Urdu and Arabic has been lovingly carved by another local artisan John Thompson. The garden was only possible through the generous funding provided through Awards for All Scotland and Fife Environ-ment Trust, the total cost of the Garden was in excess of £17k. Prior to the opening ceremony in the Park, a reception sponsored by the Dean Park Hotel was attended by local council-lors, politicians and religious leaders. Dr. Junaid Syed and Frank McFarlane from the Interfaith Group and Frances Hume from the Scottish Interfaith Council spoke of how the project had evolved from a very simple idea to become something beautiful that all those within the Interfaith Group can take tremendous pride and
which symbolises the Interfaith principles of understanding and tolerance. In the Park, the Chairman, Dr Junaid Syed welcomed the assembled crowd as The choir from the Church of Jesus of Latterday Saints in Dunfermline gave a beautiful rendition of “I’d like to teach the world to sing”. Councillor Judy Hamilton, a member of the Interfaith Group then intro-duced David Ross the Deputy Leader of Fife Council who unveiled the Peace Pole. The climax of the opening was a World Peace Flag Ceremony in which the World Peace Prayer Society paraded flags of every nation in the World, everyone at the event had an opportunity to participate. The event ended with the assembled gathering grouped around the pole to celebrate peace in the world and chanting peace in the many languages spoken by those attending. Finally Fair Trade Goody Bags were handed out, and many of the 100 or so people attending remained in the garden, networking, developing friendships and enjoying the sunshine. It is the fervent hope of the Interfaith Group that not only will the garden be a place of peace and quiet contemplation but that it will be used as a focal point for appropriate events within the park.
Internet Safety The Adult Protection Committee is creating a new project about internet safety for adults. There’s a wealth of information out there for children and young people but not so much for those of us who haven’t grown up with the technology of today, and aren’t so tech-savvy! We hope that the information will be particularly useful for older people, or people with learning disabilities. If you would like someone to come out to your group to talk about the project, or to be part of a Focus Group call Shona on 08451 555555 ext 442134.
Equalities Unit 5th
Floor Fife House Glenrothes KY7 5LT email: [email protected] Issue: 10 July 2012
2
News in Focus
Share your thoughts on welfare reform by e-
mailing us at [email protected]
The fol-The fol-lowing is lowing is from an from an article article
written by Angela written by Angela
HeyesHeyes——EqualityEquality and and Diversity Lead NHS Fife, Diversity Lead NHS Fife, during Diversity Week.during Diversity Week. “Being a victim of physical Being a victim of physical Being a victim of physical or mental abuse can cause or mental abuse can cause or mental abuse can cause terrible health problems. terrible health problems. terrible health problems. We are in a privileged posi-We are in a privileged posi-We are in a privileged posi-tion of being able to hold tion of being able to hold tion of being able to hold out a hand and support out a hand and support out a hand and support even one person to live free even one person to live free even one person to live free from fear. It is perhaps from fear. It is perhaps from fear. It is perhaps easy to believe that hate easy to believe that hate easy to believe that hate incidents do not happen in incidents do not happen in incidents do not happen in NHS Fife. In fact this could NHS Fife. In fact this could NHS Fife. In fact this could happen to any one of us, or happen to any one of us, or happen to any one of us, or to our friends or family. to our friends or family. to our friends or family. Hate incidents cause ill Hate incidents cause ill Hate incidents cause ill health, fear, low selfhealth, fear, low selfhealth, fear, low self---confidence, stress, demoti-confidence, stress, demoti-confidence, stress, demoti-vation and low staff morale. vation and low staff morale. vation and low staff morale. There is legislation to cover There is legislation to cover There is legislation to cover this, but importantly for me this, but importantly for me this, but importantly for me we need to be prepared to we need to be prepared to we need to be prepared to say that we will not accept say that we will not accept say that we will not accept this within our environment, this within our environment, this within our environment, because it is wrong. Staff because it is wrong. Staff because it is wrong. Staff and patients expect to be and patients expect to be and patients expect to be safe and we each have a safe and we each have a safe and we each have a responsibility to ensure that responsibility to ensure that responsibility to ensure that everyone is.everyone is.everyone is. There have been 14 hate There have been 14 hate There have been 14 hate incidents reported this year. incidents reported this year. incidents reported this year. I believe we are only report-I believe we are only report-I believe we are only report-ing the tip of the iceberg.ing the tip of the iceberg.ing the tip of the iceberg. These unacceptable acts These unacceptable acts against another human be-against another human be-ing are reported and man-ing are reported and man-aged as any other incident aged as any other incident is. We report on our Datix is. We report on our Datix Web system and as a result Web system and as a result of this we can deal with of this we can deal with individual issues and high-individual issues and high-light areas where the prob-light areas where the prob-lem happens more often. lem happens more often. We can then work with our We can then work with our partners and more im-partners and more im-portantly we can support portantly we can support our peers and service us-our peers and service us-ers.ers. It takes courage to take It takes courage to take action and report hate inci-action and report hate inci-dents. If we don’t take ac-dents. If we don’t take ac-tion we will always get the tion we will always get the same results and people same results and people will continue to suffer dis-will continue to suffer dis-crimination and ill treat-crimination and ill treat-ment.”ment.”
Fifers could lose up to £40 million following the UK Govern-
ment’s welfare reforms, according to a report prepared for
the council’s Executive Committee.
With around 40,000 people receiving welfare benefits in the
Kingdom, individuals, families, communities and the Fife
economy will be hard hit by changes to the system.
Deputy Leader of Fife Council and Executive Spokesperson
for Housing, Communities & Local Services, David Ross
said: “We want to wage war on child poverty and inequality
in our communities, but these changes will plunge more
families into debt and financial despair.
“All the evidence officers have gathered shows that more
people will be worse off. And the greatest impact will be on
the communities which are already the most disadvan-
taged.
“As individual households suffer, so will the local economy.
People on lower incomes tend to spend their money closer
to home and, if they have £40 million less in their pockets,
that’s also a huge loss to local shops and businesses.”
The biggest changes to the welfare system are due to take
effect next year (2013) but the council is urging people to
be informed and prepared.
Continued Mr Ross, “This is a national issue and infor-
mation is available from the Department for Work and Pen-
sions, Jobcentre Plus and a range of independent agen-
cies. There’s a lot of information about welfare reform on
the DWP website and if you can’t access the internet at
home, there are computers in our libraries and staff on
hand who can help you get online.
“It’s also important to make sure you’re claiming all the ben-
efits that you’re entitled to, because those who can least
afford to are often going without.
”The council has no control over welfare reform, but we’re
using the information we have about Fife’s benefit recipi-
ents and our local communities to plan for the impact these
changes will have. We’ll be looking at the support we can
offer locally and at how we can adapt council services to
cope with people’s changing needs.
“I know people are worried about their finances, their fami-
lies and their homes. The council will keep in touch with its
tenants and people who get housing or council tax benefit
to help them understand the changes, before they’re affect-
ed. And we will work with other local agencies to minimize
hardship throughout our communities.”
For more information about welfare reform see
www.dwp.gov.uk/policy
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Council warns of welfare reform impact
Convention on pre-venting and combat-ing violence against women
On 8th June the UK be-came the 20th member state of the Council of Europe to sign the first such agreement at a Eu-ropean level.
See inside
The Public sector Equality Duty
The revised public sector equality duty under the Equali-ty Act 2010 came into force at the end of May 2012. This requires public authorities to involve equality groups in set-ting equality outcomes - es-sentially measures which will improve the quality of life of people from equality groups. We are keen to in-volve you / the group you rep-resent in setting Fife Council's equality outcomes. Please let us know if you are interested in getting involved and we will get in touch with you soon and let you know how you can get involved. Contact: enquiry. [email protected]
Testimony for Peace
in
The Peace Garden Beve-
ridge Park Kirkcaldy
On
Friday13th July
At
6pm-6:15pm
All who are passionate about
peace are invited to come
along
3
A unique way of life Gypsies and Travellers have lived in Britain for hundreds Traditional Gypsy and Traveller values are similar to those aspired to by many in
the wider population: a strong sense of family and community and a close bond with the nat-ural environment. Jonny Jones, 14, runs a Gypsy and Traveller youth group with his brother. He explains why he loves his life in the field he shares with his mother, siblings and grandparents: “I live in one caravan with my brother – my mum and younger siblings have the one next door. My mum and dad split up when I was small, but my dad comes to stay in our field sometimes. I’ve travelled everywhere with my family, all round Britain and as far away as Greece. I like the way I’ve been brought up. I like hearing the rain on my trailer, and the birds outside. I like having my family around me.”
Scene from Appleby Horse Fair
4
Contents:
Ctrl + click on the subject or heading to take you directly to the article(s)
News in Focus
Equality duty guidance for Scottish public authorities Denying drugs or treatments on the grounds of age will be made illegal this October. Diversity Week tackles Hate Crime
Council warns of Welfare Reform impact
Welfare reform: Demos Report
Diversity Week 2013
Scottish Passported Benefits
In the News
Age
Age UK's More Money in Your Pocket
Enable Launches New Project To Combat Bullying In Schools
Disability
Vote Drumatik Drumgroup
Walk Ten to light up the night for Marie Curie Nurses Lay Members, East of Scotland Research Ethics Service (EoSRES) Mirror Image
Marriage and civil partnership
Majority of MSPs support equal marriage Race/Ethnicity
Dependent British Nationals and the ‘Zambrano’ case European Court of Human Rights Investigate Violence against Roma Gypsy
New research finds one quarter of asylum seekers are destitute
Migration Controversies - a simple guide
Contents:
Ctrl + click on the subject or heading to take you directly to the article(s)
News in Focus
Equality duty guidance for Scottish public authorities Denying drugs or treatments on the grounds of age will be made illegal this October. Diversity Week tackles Hate Crime
Council warns of Welfare Reform impact
Welfare reform: Demos Report
Diversity Week 2013
Scottish Passported Benefits
In the News
Age
Age UK's More Money in Your Pocket
Enable Launches New Project To Combat Bullying In Schools
Disability
Vote Drumatik Drumgroup
Walk Ten to light up the night for Marie Curie Nurses Lay Members, East of Scotland Research Ethics Service (EoSRES) Mirror Image
Marriage and civil partnership
Majority of MSPs support equal marriage Race/Ethnicity
Dependent British Nationals and the ‘Zambrano’ case European Court of Human Rights Investigate Violence against Roma Gypsy
New research finds one quarter of asylum seekers are destitute
Migration Controversies - a simple guide
Contents:
Ctrl + click on the subject or heading to take you directly to the article(s) or click on the logo
News in Focus
Equality duty guidance for Scottish public authorities Denying drugs or treatments on the grounds of age will be made illegal this October. Diversity Week tackles Hate Crime
Council warns of Welfare Reform impact
Welfare reform: Demos Report
Diversity Week 2013
Scottish Passported Benefits
In the News
Age
Age UK's More Money in Your Pocket
Enable Launches New Project To Combat Bullying In Schools
Disability
Vote Drumatik Drumgroup
Walk Ten to light up the night for Marie Curie Nurses Lay Members, East of Scotland Research Ethics Service (EoSRES) Mirror Image
Marriage and civil partnership
Majority of MSPs support equal marriage Race/Ethnicity
Dependent British Nationals and the ‘Zambrano’ case European Court of Human Rights Investigate Violence against Roma Gypsy
New research finds one quarter of asylum seekers are destitute
Migration Controversies - a simple guide
5
Religion and belief Good life, Good death, Good grief Sex UK signs Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence Sexual orientation Barclays named most gay-friendly Scottish employer on Stonewall Scotland 2012 list Events /Conferences/ Consultations National Diversity Awards 2012: Call for nominations Beyond the basics: developing your fundraising skills Burntisland Wednesday Social Club Legalisation and Publications The UK Government’s Welfare Reform Bill Funding £1,000 Community Grants Available Community Food and Health re-opens for applications Funding available for Holidays At Kielder Funding Scotland The Peter Vardy Charitable Fund New People and Communities fund open Interfaith Grant Week Funding for financial Literacy Projects Greggs Foundation Regional Grants Greggs Foundation Breakfast Club Grants St Andrews Community Trust Time to Live – funding available Scottish Natural Heritage Grants
6
In The News
What's the biggest decision facing the coalition? Lords reform? A euro refer-
endum? Punishing greedy and incompetent bankers? No, no, no.
The Local Government Association, in its report last week, said social care could soak up the vast majority of council spending by 2020 – so libraries and leisure centres will have to close to pay to ensure older people aren't sitting in urine-soaked clothes or starving in their own flats.
To read the full report from the Guardian :Click here
Poorest areas hit hardest by escalating childcare costs Families in many of the poorest areas in Britain are being forced to spend more than a quarter of their incomes on childcare, according to a report by Family Investments.
To read the full report from the Independent :Click here
Diversity Week 2013
Following our very successful Fife’s first Diversity week in March, we are now looking to-wards Diversity Week 2013. The event will again take place in March and our intention is to put together a planning group to organise next year’s event, if you or your organisation would be interested in being part of this group, we would like to hear from you. If your or-ganisation is considering running an event next year, you could consider planning for it to take place it during Diversity week, went it could take advantage of the added publicity. For more details contact the Equalities team at:[email protected] Scottish Passported Benefits: Consultation on changes required as a result of the introduction of Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment UK welfare reform requires Scottish Government to make changes to the way in which people access Scot-tish passported benefits. In the medium term, we would like to look more broadly at the way we deliver passported benefits, exploring whether we can make them easier to locate in times of need, simpler to un-derstand and more coherent as a whole. The UK Government has embarked on a wide-ranging programme of welfare reform, with a range of changes taking effect from April 2013. Many working age benefits relating to low income and disability will be replaced. Although social security is a reserved matter, Scottish Government use the receipt of various welfare bene-fits as a proxy measure for low-income or disability when assessing entitlement to Scottish-controlled bene-fits such as free school lunches and legal aid, among others. These are often known as “passported bene-fits” and include benefits-in kind, cash benefits or discounts on charges.
Click here for the Executive Summary Click here to return to main page
7
News in Focus
Equality Duty guidance for Scottish public authorities In May 2012, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) produced non-statutory guidance to support Scottish public authorities in meeting their equality duties. The guides provide an overview of the public sector equality duty, including the general equality duty, the specific duties and who they apply to. They cover what public authori-ties should do to meet the duty. This includes steps that are legally required, as well as recommended actions. More information can be found at Click here
Denying drugs or treatments on the grounds of age will be made illegal this
October.
Older patients may also be able to sue the NHS to challenge any decisions they believe amount to age discrimination. Workplace age discrimination is already illegal, but until now there had been no equivalent covering public and private services.
When the new law is introduced there will be specific exceptions, such as insurance companies still being able to use age when looking at risks and prices. Also, travel operators will continue offering free bus trav-el for over-60s. Age UK charity director-general Michelle Mitchell said: 'We welcome the overdue news that the ban on age discrimination in goods and services will finally become law in October. Age UK has long campaigned for this recognition that discrimination based on your date of birth is as indefensible in 21st century Britain as prejudice on the basis of race, gender, disa-bility or sexual orientation.
Diversity Week tackles Hate Crime
The following is abridged from an article written by Angela Heyes—Equality and Diversity Lead NHS Fife, during Diversity Week. “Being a victim of physical or mental abuse can cause terrible health problems. We are in a privi-leged position of being able to hold out a hand and support even one person to live free from fear. It is perhaps easy to believe that hate incidents do not happen in NHS Fife. In fact this could happen
to any one of us, or to our friends or family. Hate incidents cause ill health, fear, low self-confidence, stress, demoti-vation and low staff morale. There is legislation to cover this, but importantly for me we need to be prepared to say that we will not accept this within our environment, because it is wrong. Staff and patients expect to be safe and we each have a responsibility to ensure that everyone is. There have been 14 hate incidents reported this year. I believe we are only reporting the tip of the iceberg. These unacceptable acts against another human being are reported and managed as any other incident is. We report on our Datix Web system and as a result of this we can deal with individual issues and highlight areas where the problem happens more often. We can then work with our partners and more importantly we can support our peers and service users. It takes courage to take action and report hate incidents. If we don’t take action we will always get the same results and people will continue to suffer discrimination and ill treatment.”
Click here to return to main page
8
Council warns of welfare reform impact
Fifers could lose up to £40 million following the UK Government’s welfare reforms, according to a report prepared for the council’s Executive Committee. With around 40,000 people receiving welfare benefits in the Kingdom, individuals, families, communities and the Fife economy will be hard hit by changes to the sys-tem.
Deputy Leader of Fife Council and Executive Spokesperson for Housing, Communities & Local Services, David Ross said: “We want to wage war on child poverty and inequality in our communities, but these changes will plunge more families into debt and financial despair. “All the evidence officers have gathered shows that more people will be worse off. And the greatest im-pact will be on the communities which are already the most disadvantaged. “As individual households suffer, so will the local economy. People on lower incomes tend to spend their money closer to home and, if they have £40 million less in their pockets, that’s also a huge loss to local shops and businesses.” The biggest changes to the welfare system are due to take effect next year (2013) but the council is urg-ing people to be informed and prepared. Continued Mr Ross, “This is a national issue and information is available from theDepartment for Work and Pensions, Jobcentre Plus and a range of independent agencies. There’s a lot of information about welfare reform on the DWP website and if you can’t access the internet at home, there are computers in our libraries and staff on hand who can help you get online. “It’s also important to make sure you’re claiming all the benefits that you’re entitled to, because those who can least afford to are often going without. ”The council has no control over welfare reform, but we’re using the information we have about Fife’s benefit recipients and our local communities to plan for the impact these changes will have. We’ll be looking at the support we can offer locally and at how we can adapt council services to cope with peo-ple’s changing needs. “I know people are worried about their finances, their families and their homes. The council will keep in touch with its tenants and people who get housing or council tax benefit to help them understand the changes, before they’re affected. And we will work with other local agencies to minimise hardship throughout our communities.” For more information about welfare reform see www.dwp.gov.uk/policy Contact: Robert McGregor, Sustainable Communities Programme Manager Email: [email protected] Cllr. David Ross, Depute Leader Email: [email protected]
9
Welfare reform DESTINATION UNKNOWN
Shortly after the formation of the Coalition Government in May 2010, the Secre-tary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, laid the foundations for one of the most radical programmes of reform to the welfare benefits system since its creation. But his speech – ‘Welfare for the 21st Century’ –included a note of caution: the Government would have to ‘constantly remind themselves that we are here to help the poorest and most vulnerable in our society’. Since this time, the Government has initiated £18 billion worth of cuts to the benefits system. At the same time, it has reduced funding settlements for local authorities across the country. The fallout of these cuts is becoming more evident as councils look to raise eligibility criteria for social care, increase charges for services and in many cases even close them down. As the Coalition’s programme of spending cuts and welfare reforms have become clearer and more defined; so too has the impact on disabled people and their families. Since the first changes to benefits were announced in 2010, Demos has explored the impact of these on disabled people through the Destination Unknown series of reports on how six disabled households have been faring. The study found that disabled people stand to lose £9bn in benefits alone over the course of this Parliament. The fourth and final instalment of the project provides an overview of the experiences of these families and identifies the risks they and other disabled people face in the near future. To view the full report Click here or Ctrl and click on the logo to access the website The Council are looking at the impact of Welfare Reform on Fife Share your thoughts on welfare reform by e-mailing us at [email protected]
Age
Age UK's More Money in Your Pocket
The survey by TNS on behalf of Age UK of more than 1000 people aged 60 and over highlights the importance of Age UK’s ‘More Money in Your Pocket’ campaign - launched this month- encouraging people in later life to claim the benefits they are entitled to and maximise their retirement income.
The survey showed that just under three–quarters (72%) of those who claim benefits say that receiving the extra money had made a difference to their lives. For more information, click here. or Ctrl and click on the logo to access the website
Enable Launches New Project To Combat Bullying In Schools.
Eight out of 10 children who have a learning disability are bullied by their peers, a leading Scottish charity said this week. Enable Scotland is set to launch a three-year anti-bullying project aimed at school pupils in a bid to tackle the problem, during learning disability week. The project, Open Your Mind Not Your Mouth, will include an anti-bullying charter, which has been written by young people. Children can sign up to this charter through their schools, online and also via the project’s Facebook page, which will also provide information for anyone affected by bullying. Peter Scott, Enable Scotland’s chief executive, said: “Bullying and hate crime are major issues for our members, who tell us that for many the problems begin at school and continue into adulthood. “This ambitious project will see a core group of people who have learning disabilities work with over 7,500 young Scots over the next three years. It is hoped that the project will leave a lasting legacy, resulting in young people be-ing less likely to bully, or to tolerate bullying.”
In a report earlier this year, Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People highlighted that bul-lying of children who have a disability, including name calling and physical attacks, remains prevalent and acts as a major barrier to their social inclusion. Click here or Ctrl and click on the logo to access the website Click here to return to main page
10
Disability Scottish Passported Benefits: Consultation on changes required as a result of the intro-
duction of Universal Credit and Personal Independ-ence Payment
UK welfare reform requires Scottish Government to make changes to the way in which people access Scottish pass-ported benefits. In the medium term, we would like to look more broadly at the way we deliver passported benefits, exploring whether we can make them easier to locate in times of need, simpler to understand and more coherent as a whole. The UK Government has embarked on a wide-ranging programme of welfare reform, with a range of changes taking effect from April 2013. Many working age benefits relating to low income and disability will be replaced. Although social security is a reserved matter, Scottish Government use the receipt of various welfare benefits as a proxy measure for low-income or disability when assessing entitlement to Scottish-controlled benefits such as free school lunches and legal aid, among others. These are often known as “passported benefits” and include benefits-in kind, cash benefits or discounts on charges. Click here for the Executive Summary
The Council are looking at the impact of Welfare Reform on Fife Share your thoughts on welfare reform by e-mailing us at [email protected]
Lay Members, East of Scotland Research Ethics Service (EoSRES)
A Research Ethics Committee’s (REC) task is to consider the ethics of proposed research pro-jects which will mainly take place within the NHS. It is the duty of an REC to protect the interests of research participants. The committee reviews applications and gives an opinion as to whether the research is ethical. EoSRES currently has vacancies for members of the public (excluding healthcare professionals or anyone recently-retired from a health service background) who are interested in thinking about the issues from the perspective of a potential research participant and would like to develop knowledge of research ethics. Training provided in ethical review and also opportunities to debate challenging issues. When: 1
st Tuesday of every month, 2.30 – 6.00pm
Where: Lynebank Hospital, Halbeath Road, Dunfermline KY11 4UW More info: [email protected] for an application pack www.nres.nhs.uk for more details on RECs Click here to return to main page
11
Disability
Drumatik Drumgroup have made it to the semi-finals of the National Lottery
Awards 2012!
Drumatik are an inclusive community drumming group from Fife. They aim to challenge the stereotypi-cal ideas that society holds about people with a learning disability and show that ALL people have gifts, skills and talents. The 3 Arts projects with the most public votes go forward to the Lottery Awards final. Winners will re-ceive a £2000 cash prize. The Voting line ends on 22nd July - calls only cost 5p. The number to call is 0844 836 9674 You can also vote online at www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards. Drumatik are in the BEST ARTS PROJECT category. Please help them get to the final and tell everyone you know to vote for them. Many thanks.
Walk Ten to light up the night for Marie Curie Nurses
Saturday August 4, 2012, 6:00pm to 10:00pm (Registration from 6:00pm, walk begins at 7:00pm) Adults - £10 advance registration, £20 on the night. Under 16s go free, but must be accompanied by an adult. Go along to Hill of Tarvit this summer for a twilight 10k walk on August 4
th. Experience the breathtaking location
of the original Marie Curie Hospice and panoramic views of the sun setting over Fife. Hill of Tarvit provides an emotive backdrop for this walk through ancient pathways and farmland. Make sure you pack your picnic basket and join in the festival-like atmosphere on your return and gather to celebrate the work of your local Marie Curie Nurses with live music and entertainment.
There will be a spectacular fireworks display at 10pm to pay tribute to our Marie Curie Nurses. 10pm being espe-cially poignant as this is when many of our nurses begin their night shift - providing care and support to people with terminal illnesses and their families in their own homes.
The evening promises to be a memorable event you can share with family and friends. Visit www.mariecurie.org.uk/walkten for more information or to register, or call 08700 340 040.Hill of Tarvit, Cupar
Walk Ten for Marie Curie Nurses – Marshals Needed Volunteer marshals are needed to help with this special event If you are able to volunteer please contact Nicola on 0131 5613963, [email protected] Click here to return to main page
12
An Adult Protection project which will form part of Fife's programming to the Scottish Men-tal Health Arts and Film Festival (1-24 October) mhfestival.com Mirror Image project:
A new creative project from the Adult Protection Committee, which will form part of the Festi-val exhibition at Methil Heritage Centre. It's aim is to look at the word 'vulnerable' and how people feel about being described as 'vulnerable adults'. Although I've initially targeted it at older people and people with disabili-ties, it would be interesting to get everyone's viewpoint on this. We all have things which make us 'vulnerable', but some-times it's the situation
we find ourselves in, rather than being labelled 'a vulnerable adult'. The Festival theme of 'walk in my shoes' gives you a good opportunity to tell us 'what it's like to be YOU'. Does the public sometimes have a negative view about what it's like to be a older person or someone with a disability. Let's change that. Let's create a positive image! If you're interested in creating work for this project, please give me; Shona McEwan on 08451 55 55 55 ext 442134 or email: [email protected]
Marriage and civil Partnership and civil partnership
Majority of MSPs support equal marriage A majority of the Members of Scottish Parliament (MSPs) will vote for equal mar-riage, ensuring that the legislation, when introduced at Holryood, will be passed through, Scotland on Sunday reports. A survey of the 129 MSPs, conducted by the advocacy group Equality Network,
reveals that at least 69 have openly pledged that they support marriage equality, putting pressure on the First Minister, Alex Salmond, to press ahead with the issue, despite some concerns that it might cost them some SNP votes in the referendum on Scottish independence. Click here to read the full article
Race/Ethnicity Dependent British Nationals and ‘Zambrano’ The Zambrano case creates an exception to the normal immigration rules. In 2011 the European Court of Justice decided on Ruiz Zambrano (European citizenship) [2011] EUECJ C-34/09 based on EU free movement principles and it stated that: “A refusal to grant a right of residence to a third country national with dependent minor children in the Member State where those children are nationals and reside, and also a refusal to grant such a person a work permit…would lead to a situation where those children, citizens of the Union, would have to leave the territory of the Union in order to accompany their parents…In those circumstances, those citizens of the Union would, as a result, be unable to exercise the substance of the rights conferred on them by virtue of their status as citizens of the Union.”
What does this mean for the UK? Click here to find out more
Click here to return to main page
13
Race/Ethnicity
European Court of Human Rights Rules against Slovakia for Failure to Properly
Investigate Violence against Roma Gypsy
The judgment found the Slovak Republic violated Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights, prohibiting inhuman treatment and requiring the State to conduct an effective investigation into the incidents involving such kind of treatment. In particular, the Court stated that “...the authori-ties have not done all that could have been reasonably expected of them to investigate the incident, to establish identity of those responsible and, as the case may be, to draw consequences… the Court has taken into account the particular importance for an investigation into an attack with racial overtones to be pursued with vigour and impartiality, having regard to the need to reassert continu-ously society’s condemnation of racism and to maintain the confidence of minorities in the ability of the authorities to protect them from the threat of racist violence.” The ERRC welcomes the judgment, which is the latest in a series of rulings by the European Court dealing with violence against Roma and inadequate protection offered by the domestic legal system. However it is disappointing that the Court – whilst it did recognise the importance of the racial ele-ment of the attack – it did not take this opportunity to fully consider the issue of discrimination and to advance its jurisprudence on Article 14 of the Convention. The ERRC is concerned about the rising violence against Romani individuals across Europe, which is often not adequately addressed by law enforcement authorities.
To view the full report Click here
New research finds one quarter of asylum seekers in Glasgow are desti-tute
Researchers based at the Glasgow School for Business and Society at the city's Caledonian Univer-sity have found that one in four of all asylum seekers in the region are living in a state of poverty which has lasted on average for one and a half years. The study counted the number of people who presented as destitute to 13 support agencies and ser-vices over a one-week period from 5th March to 11th March 2012. Whilst the average time destitute was one and a half years, this varied from case to case, with survey participant being found to have been destitute for as long as six and a half years. People surveyed came from 29 different countries, the most common recorded being from Iran, Iraq, Sudan and Zimbabwe. Read more about this survey.
UK Migration Controversies - a simple guide
The trend towards increased immigration is common in most developed countries, but what might surprise many is that the proportion of the population born overseas is lower in the UK that most de-veloped countries, of 34 developed countries, the UK rank 19th (9.7%) way behind Australia (23.8%), Canada (19.1%) Ireland (15.1%) and Germany (13.1%) Click here Click here to return to main page
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Religion and Belief
Death is normal. We can all help each other with death, dying
and bereavement.
Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief is working to make Scotland a place where there is more openness about death, dying and bereavement so that:
People are aware of ways to live with death, dying and bereavement People feel better equipped to support each other through the difficult times that can come with
death, dying and bereavement
Our aims
Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief brings together individuals and organisations that share this vi-sion. We are interested to hear from any person or organisation who wants to work with us to make Scotland a place where people can be open about death, dying and bereavement. It is never too early to think about planning ahead for illness and death – making plans when you’re healthy means there is less to think about if you get sick. More information, click here or Ctrl and click on the logo to access the website
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Sex
Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and do-
mestic violence
On 8th June the UK became the 20th member state of the Council of Europe to sign the first such agreement at a European level.
This will require the UK and other parties to put in place a comprehensive package of measures to ad-dress violence and abuse experienced by all women, regardless of their immigration status. In particu-lar, that all women should have access to specialist support services (such as rape crisis and refuge provision, domestic violence services and support for ethnic minority women) and that policies, must be developed to tackle attitudes and behaviors in order to prevent violence in the first place. For more information; Click here or Ctrl and click on the logo to access the website
Sexual orientation
Barclays named most gay-friendly Scottish employer on Stonewall Scotland 2012 list
At the Stonewall Scotland Workplace Equality Index Awards 2012, Barclays received the award for Top Employer in Scotland for lesbian, gay and bisexual staff. Barclays is the highest placed Scottish employer on Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers 2012 which showcases Britain's best employers for gay staff, featuring seven Scottish employers. Click here or Ctrl and click on the logo to access the website Legalisation and Publications
The UK Government’s Welfare Reform Bill has now completed its passage through Parliament and became the Welfare Reform Act 2012 when it gained Royal Assent on 8 March 2012. For a copy click on the link Welfare Reform Act 2012 Click here to return to main page
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Events /Conferences/ Consultations
National Diversity Awards 2012: Call for nominations
National Diversity Awards. The awards are designed to showcase the efforts of those who have demonstrated an outstanding de-votion to enhancing equality, diversity and inclusion within today’s society. Nominate an individual or organisation today Click Here to go to the website (Ctrl Click)
Beyond the basics: developing your fundraising skills
Location Edinburgh, SCVO, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, EH3 6BB. Date 29/08/2012 The aim of this course is to develop the skills and knowledge of practicing fundraisers. The course objectives are: To understand the needs and criteria of a variety of funders, how best to approach them and build on relationships; how to develop and improve your organisation’s ‘case statements’ for funders and sup-porters to make your requests and proposals stand out; how to understand the role of planning, strategy and targets in organisational fundraising; and to identify new sources of support and extend the role of research. Website http://www.scvo.org.uk Enquiries [email protected]
Burntisland Wednesday Social Club
Toll Community Centre East Toll Park Kirkcaldy Road Burnitsland Fife KY3 9HA Contact details Mary Browlee Telephone: 08451 555555 Ext 441933 Email address: [email protected] Description Activities include Line Dancing and performances from local entertainers. They also have had cookery demonstrations from which they have produced a local Recipe book. The Group have a number of out-ings over the summer and a festive meal for the Older People in the community. There are currently 50 members aged between 50 -95. All Older People from Burntisland and surrounding areas will be made post welcome. Transport can be provided. Click here to return to main page
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Funding
Funding Scotland
Funding Scotland is a new organisation which aims to make applying for funding in Scotland quicker and easier. They do this by providing an online platform for organisations seeking funding and organisations offering funding to work more efficiently.
£1,000 COMMUNITY GRANTS AVAILABLE
The Voluntary Action Fund (VAF) has announced that its small community grant programme is
being extended for a further year.
Aimed at Scotland's smaller community groups and voluntary organisations, the programme will
provide grants of up to £1,000 and free training to groups with an annual income under
£25,000. Groups can apply for funding for a wide range of activities or operational costs. How-
ever, VAF is particularly keen to fund activities that will help build and develop strong organisa-
tions, for example:
* Training for committee members and volunteers
* Visits to other organisations and conferences
* Professional support and consultancy.
Applications for the Community Grant programme will be considered 3 times a year.
Applications should be submitted by the 16th July 2012, 17th September 2012 and 14th Janu-
ary 2013. Click here
Community Food and Health re-opens for applications Community Food and Health (Scotland) has announced that its annual small grants scheme is now open for appli-cations. Through the small grants scheme grants of between £500 to £3000 are available for groups and agencies in Scot-land who wish to improve access to, and take up of, a healthy, varied and balanced diet. Previous projects supported through the scheme include: The closing date will be the 10th August 2012. Click here
Funding available for Holidays at Kielder
Thanks to our generous benefactors we have been awarded funding for adults and children with disabilities, carers and young carers from Scotland, Scottish Borders and West of Scotland to have a holiday with us during 2012. It’s simple, give us a call on 01434 250232 or email [email protected] to request an application form. Complete and return the application to the address below and we will contact you with our availability and the fund-ing you can expect.
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Operating as a social enterprise, all income generated by Funding Scotland is reinvested into the operation and the continuous improvement of their services. Click here to return to main page
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Legalisation and Publications
The UK Government’s Welfare Reform Bill has now completed its passage through Parlia-ment and became the Welfare Reform Act 2012 when it gained Royal Assent on 8 March 2012. For a copy click Welfare Reform Act 2012 Click here to return to main page
Legalisation and Publications
The UK Government’s Welfare Reform Bill has now completed its passage through Parlia-ment and became the Welfare Reform Act 2012 when it gained Royal Assent on 8 March 2012. For a copy click Welfare Reform Act 2012 Click here to return to main page
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The Peter Vardy Charitable Fund The Peter Vardy Charitable Fund was launched operating as a means of distributing 10% of their annual profits to worthwhile causes in the communities where they operate across Scotland (Aberdeen, Motherwell, Perth, Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh). The grants are aimed at supporting youth-focused charities that could use some additional help.
People and Communities Fund
The new People and Communities Fund to promote and support community-led regeneration initiatives across Scot-land, is open for applications. The People and Communities Fund will invest in community anchor organisations that deliver local regeneration ac-tivity and promote change in our most disadvantaged communities. The fund will have particular focus on supporting initiatives to increase people’s chances of entering employment, from progressing further in current work to helping break down any barriers people face when considering employment. In addition to supporting employability, focus will also be on promoting future preventative spending, such as invest-ing in initiatives that will help improve health now to prevent future illness and hardship. Click here
Interfaith Week Grant The Interfaith Youth Trust has announced that it is making grants of between £300 and £500 available for events organised by and for young people focused around Inter Faith Week 18-27 November 2012. Grants are awarded for proposals for inter-faith activities by children and young people from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and oth-er faiths and those of no formal faith in understanding and co-operation. The age range for young people is 11-25 years. Priority will be given to projects which : . Actively involve young people in planning, running, and evaluation of the project . Promote positive action i.e. young people from different backgrounds coming together to address shared problems like improving green spaces; . Are run by non-statutory organisations, such as youth clubs, scout/guide groups, local voluntary and commu-nity organisations. The closing date for applications is the 1st September 2012. http://www.ifyouthtrust.org.uk/?page_id=8/
Funding for financial literacy projects
The MSE Charity has announced that its grants programme is now open for applications. The MSE Charity provides grants to both individuals and constituted community based groups (including schools) to help fight financial and con-sumer illiteracy and to educate and inform adults and children about consumer and debt issues. Grants of up to £5,000 are available for group projects such as self-help groups, workshops and other innovative schemes that seek to educate people about money, debt and consumer issues. Individuals over the age of 18 can apply for a grant of up to £500 to help pay towards a recognised and approved course that will help improve their ability to budget and man-age their finances. The grant can be used to pay for financial education course fees and other associated expenses. The closing date for applications will be the 31st May 2012.
https://www.msecharity.com/Default.aspx?
Greggs Foundation Regional Grants
Local Not for Profit Organisations with a turnover of £500,000 or less per year can apply for grants of up to £2,000 through the Greggs Foundation regional grants programme. Although Schools can also apply, projects must take place outside of the school day. The Greggs Foundation was established in 1987 by Ian Gregg, founder of the Greggs bakery retailer. The regional grants programme is administered by committees of volunteers from Gregg shops, bakeries and offices based in England, Scotland and Wales. They use their knowledge of the local area to make small grants to local organisations, in particular those that make a difference to people in need in the heart of Greggs'' local communities. The Greggs Foundation prioritises local organisations that help people in need in their local area. Although each ap-plication is considered on its merits, the Greggs Foundation is unlikely to fund an application that doesn’t' work in a highly disadvantaged area or support priority beneficiaries, these are: . Voluntary carers . People with disabilities . Older people . Homeless people.
The closing date for applications is the 19th May 2012. Click here Click here to return to main page
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Greggs Foundation Breakfast Club Grants
The Greggs Foundation breakfast club programme supports young people of primary school age who live in disadvantaged areas of the UK. The Greggs Foundation currently supports 180 breakfast clubs throughout England, Scotland and Wales. Schools that are interested in opening a breakfast club at your school must be able to show that at least 40% of your pupils qualify for free school meals and that the school serves a disadvantaged community. School should able to attract adult volunteers to help run the scheme and attendance at the club must be free for all pupils. The grant can even be used for games and sports equipment to help children play together. Greggs also provides bread donations from the nearest shop. Although applications can be made at any time, there is currently a waiting list for funding whilst new sponsorship partners are being identified. Click here
Scottish Natural Heritage Grants Our Community Action Grants are now open!
There is no set deadline for our Community Action Grants. You can apply, using our online grants
service, at any time.
We will confirm decisions within 20 working days.
Our Community Action Grants are specifically focused on getting more people and communities in-
volved in: - outdoor recreation, volunteering and outdoor learning - action to improve, protect and man-age habitats, species and landscapes - citizen science and biological recording
More detailed information on our funding priorities for Community Action Grants is available on our
website. See ‘Our funding priorities and outputs’ guidance which is attached for ease. For further information about how to apply for our Community Action Grants, please see the following page on our website: http://www.snh.gov.uk/funding/our-grants/how-apply/
For further information about how to apply, please see the following page on our website: http://www.snh.gov.uk/funding/our-grants/how-apply/
St Andrews Community Trust
The Trust was set up by the local community council and St Andrews Links Trust with various objectives and to assist groups which will benefit the people of St Andrews. Funds are allocated to clubs, charitable organisations and good causes in and around the town. For the next round of applications in October applications need to be with the secretary by September 18th or they will be held over until 2013. More information about the Trust is available at www.standrewscommunitytrust.co.uk where online application is available. Alternatively, applications can be put in writing to The Secretary, St Andrews Community Trust, c/o Murray, Donald, Drummond and Cook LLP, Kinburn Castle, St Andrews KY16 9DR.
Time to Live – funding available Time to Live is a new funding stream for carers in Fife to help with the costs of taking a break from caring. It can provide assistance with a range of costs associated with short breaks such as transport, accommodation, leisure activities or supported holidays. This funding is part of the Short Breaks Fund, administered by Shared Care Scot-land on behalf of the National Carer Organisations and the Scottish Government. CVS Fife is managing the fund locally with help from Fife Carers Centre, Crossroads Fife Central and Crossroads Dunfermline. We are aiming to publicise this funding as widely as possible so a broad cross-section of individual carers can have the opportunity to make an application for funding. We are aware that many voluntary organisations work di-rectly with carers; additionally, many organisations will have volunteers and members of staff who are carrying out a caring role. More information - on the aims of the Time to Live scheme, eligibility criteria and the application pro-cess - is available on the CVS Fife website:www.cvsfife.org/ttl. Applications now being accepted, with the deadline for final applications being 30 September 2012.
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Next issue of the bulletin
Issue 11 is due out in August 2012.
Please send us any items you wish to share by end of July. [email protected]
The bulletin is produced by the Equalities Unit of Fife Council on behalf of the (EPN).
While we do everything possible to ensure the transmission of accurate and appropriate material, we do not take responsibility for its content.
The forwarding of information to you should not be seen as an endorsement of any of the views expressed.
Distribution EPN members Lead Officer Equalities Group Senior Equalities Group Equality Leads Equalities Practitioners Group Fife Interfaith Group Health Partnership
