Interesting News

A Scottish Government strategy will help train professionals to spot the signs of human trafficking and provide new powers to disrupt trafficking activity. The Scottish Government's Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy also highlights the need to better publicise support for victims and confirms that public awareness activity will take place later this year. The strategy aims to identify victims and support them through safety and recovery; identify perpetrators and disrupt their activity and to address the conditions that foster trafficking and exploitation. Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Michael Matheson, said; Developing the Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy has included listening to victims themselves, who have provided a unique insight into the physical and psychological damage caused by trafficking. We have emphasised the need to let people know that there is support available for victims, wherever the are recovered in Scotland. "Exposing and eradicating t

Registration for Scotland's Baby Box will open on 15 June 2017 for all babies due on or after the 15 August this year. The Box is a strong signal of the Scottish Government's determination that every child, regardless of their circumstances, should get the best start in life. The Box shall include essential items for a child's first weeks and months, supporting all parents. Minister for Childcare and Early Years, Mark McDonald, said; "Scotland's Baby Box will help tackle deprivation, improve health and support parents, and we're proud to introduce it in Scotland. "It will include materials to promote the best possible outcomes for children and the Box itself will also provide a safe space for babies to sleep near their parents, to promote bonding and early attachment. "From January 2018, all Baby Boxes will be delivered at least four weeks before the baby's due date." Expectant mothers will register to receive their baby's b

Minister for Mental Health, Maureen Watt, has launched a new training resource to help meet the needs of people affected by trauma and abuse. The National Knowledge and Skills framework for trauma is designed to support people working in the public and third sectors in Scotland to support those affected by trauma, their families, carers and supporters. Ms Watt, said; "Trauma is a public health issue and how we deal with it and respond to those affected is everyone's business. We all have a part to plat. Therefore I'm delighted to highlight out commitment to improving outcomes for people affected by trauma. "Scotland is at the forefront of this work internationally. This is an ambitious and transformative approach, which is about building capability and capacity across all sectors to recognize and respond better to the needs of people affected by trauma and abuse." The training framework will be delivered by NHS Education for Scotland at the request of

The value of fish landings is at a record high, having increased by 29% to $563 million in 2016, according to the latest statistics published by the Scottish Government. The increase was mainly driven by a 41% increase in the value of landings for pelagic fish like herring and mackerel. Mackerel continues to be the most valuable stock, accounting for £169 million of Scottish landings. Fisheries Secretary, Fergus Ewing, said; "These latest statistics show he value of Scottish catch is at a record high with Scotland's fishing fleet and sea fisheries contributing £563 million in revenue to out economy. "The fishing industry plays a key role in our rural economy. It supports jobs and businesses at sea but also in our coastal communities, and contributes significantly to Scotland's world class food and drink success story."

Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham, yesterday confirmed that investment in the River Clyde has helped to tackle pollution and restore habitats. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) which monitors the water quality in Scotland's lochs and rivers has reported the Clyde is in significantly better health than expected thanks to investment by Scottish Water, SEPA, farmers and local authorities. The major improvement project is estimated to result in Scottish Water invest more than £600 million between 2010 and 2021, with the money going into wastewater treatment work and sewerage systems in the area. Meanwhile the Scottish Governments Water Environment Fund (WEF), which is administered by SEPA, has help to restore natural habitats by removing fish barriers and concrete channels to allow fish to reach the upper reaches of the Clyde catchment. The WEF fund has already invested £3.1 million in river restoration projects near Hamilton and Shotts, with more inve

Employment levels in Scotland during January to December 2016 reached a record high of 2,579,700, reflecting a huge improvement to the Scottish labour market. Scotland's Cheif Statistician published statistics on Regional Employment Patterns in Scotland from the Annual Population Survey on Tuesday. This publication presents annual estimates for a wide range of labour market indicators across local authority areas in Scotland for 2016. The report found that the employment level for men, aged 16 and over, has increased by 13,900 over the year and is at the highest level since 2008. While the youth unemployment rate decreased by 2.3% over the year, with the you employment rate also decreasing by 0.7%. Worryingly the trend reflected across the nation of pensioner workers has been reflected in the report, with the employment rate for people aged 65 and over increased from 5.2% in 2004 to 9.1% in 2016. Over half of workers over state pension age in Scotland said they has not ye

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that the people of Scotland must not allow terrorism to triumph and should go about their business as usual. Following confirmation that the UK's terror threat level has been raised to 'critical', the First Minister chaired a further Resilience Committee meeting in the early hours of yesterday morning, which was attended by the Deputy First Minister, the Justice Secretary, the Lord Advocate and senior officers from Police Scotland. At the meeting, ministers were briefed by Police Scotland about the practical implications for Scotland of the heightened security status. The First Minister said; "While raising the UK terror threat level to 'critical' has been judged a necessary response to the despicable attack in Manchester, we must not allow terrorism to triumph. "Police Scotland have already visibly increased their presence in locations such as transport hubs and city centers as a precaution. Security arr

On Tuesday evening First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, gave this statement to the Scottish Parliament about the Manchester attack; "Presiding Officer, "It is with great sadness that I rise to speak today. "Last night in Manchester we witnessed a horrific attack on innocent people enjoying a music concert. "My thoughts, those of this Parliament - indeed, the thoughts of all the people of Scotland - are with those who have lost loved ones or sustained injuries in this dreadful atrocity. "There can be nothing more cowardly than attacking children and young people enjoying a fun night out. "Across Scotland today we stand in solidarity with the people of Manchester - a great city with which so many people in Scotland share a close affinity. "I have this morning also written to Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Manchester, offering the condolences of the Scottish people and pledging any possible practical support that the Scottish Government or any

With the General Election on June 8th quickly approaching, political betting website BetOnPolitics.co.uk is offering readers live odds on all 650 constituencies. In the past few years political betting has become bis business. One firm alone took £3million on the last UK General Election, and £5million on last year's US Election. Unsurprisingly the bookmakers "anticipate huge bettering interest" on the 2017 snap election. Betting on a range of election markets, including voter turnout and odds for all 650 constituencies, updated in real time, will be live on betonpolitics.co.uk/category/constituency/ in the run-up to June 8th. Phil Loew, ediotr of the BetOnPolitics website, said; "As well as providing the very latest pre-election news, we'll also be working hard to inform our readers about the best odds available on various political markets. "Polls and Election betting markets may suggest that Prime Minister Theresa May is going to win the elec

The first mission in the Aurora programme, ExoMars, will search for traces of past and present life. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, or TGO for short, will be sent out to detect and characterize trace gases in the Martian atmosphere and gain a better understanding of methane and other atmospheric gases that could be evidence of biological or geological activity on the pant service. Set to launch in 2020, the ExoMars rover will search the red planet for signs of biosignatures from past life preserved within the subsurface, using a 2m drill. Prior to the launch of ExoMars, InSight, a NASA mission set to launch next year, will investigate the interior structure and processes of Mars by placing a single geophysical lander on Mars to study its deep interior. The hope is that the data collected from this missing will help scientists to understand the formation and evolution of terrestrial planets and determine the present level of tectonic activity - the movement of the planets surf

As the number of billionaires jumped 13% to 2,043 from 1,810, it was a record year for the richest people on earth. This news encourage leading Watford based outsources sales and marketing specialists, Karuna Events to launch a study into the wealthiest people on the planet. As the 2017 Forbes rich list was revealed, it was exciting to learn that those achieving billionaire's status is on the rise. an additional 233 billionaires were added to the list, and for the first time in 31 years over 2,000 ten-figure fortunes have been recorded. Encouragingly those improving their financial status outnumbered those who lost some or all their fortune by three to one. Mr Bill Gates continues to lead, taking the top spot for the fourth consecutive year. Mr Gates fortune is recorded at $86 billion, continuing his rein at near the top of the richest people in the world chart for the last 18 years. As entrepreneurship takes the spotlight again in its ability to create sustainable bill

A new training programme for young professionals has been launched by a leading South West Bespoke Training Services . Young Talent is a new six month programme for young professionals between 18-26 years old to develop business skills in those who have little working experience. Anne Messer, managing director and creator of the new programme, said: "The aim is to create highly competent employees with the ability to communicate effectively on all level, as well as helping them develop a detailed self-awareness. "Their dedication to purpose, their openness, an inclination toward putting people first and their inbuilt knowledge of the internet, social media and up-to-the-minute technology, presents countless opportunities to their employers." Know as the Millennial Generation, people born between 1982 and 2002, became the largest generation in history. Overtaking the Baby Boomers in 2015 at 91 million citizens, where the Baby Boomers totaled 77 million. As the

Breast augmentation has long topped the polls of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures, however, in the past many women have been put off by the thought of unnatural looking results and obvious scars. Now women can look to have the dream bust, with none of the fear as London's best kept secret is unveiled. The invisible touch is a boob job that offers women more natural looking breast augmentation with tiny scars. The Invisible Boob job, the creation of The Plastic surgery group - Mr Dan March and Mr Mo Akhavani - uses a 'keller funnel' to allow the surgeons to place even the most sizable implant through a small hole the size of a two pound coin. Marsh explained: "The Keller Funnel allows you to do a breast augmentation through a tiny incision that's 3cm or less, which is hidden in the crease in the breast. Most incisions are 5-7cm, but with the Invisible boob job the scars really do fade away to almost nothing. It has revolutionized how we do brea

Loch Carron flame shell beds have been designate as a Marine Protected Area (MPA). The endangered seabed habitat off the north west coast has been designated an MPA by the Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham. The protection has been enforced following an investigation by Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Government into claims that the vulnerable habitat had been damaged by scallop dredging. The inquiry confirmed the claims, and identified a viable plan for recovery.  To manage fishing activity, an urgent Marine Conservation Order will be out in place to prevent mobile gear fisheries in the area for one year. Ms Cunningham, said: "We take our duty to protect Scotland's rich marine environment extremely seriously and recognize the importance of safeguarding vulnerable habitats like flame shell beds. "The Scottish Government will now begin work immediately to identify if there are other areas which should be protected." The protection of ec

Jobs in sectors like science and healthcare could be sitting open on the jobs market for months and employers struggle for skilled applicants, according to new research by job search engine Adzuna. The study conducted in May this year analysed the proportion of advertised jobs lying unfilled after 90 days, to shine a light on the 'talent crunch' currently gripping some of the UK's sectors. Shockingly the figures revealed that over a fifth, 21% of Science and QA jobs currently on the market remain unfilled after being open to applicants for 90+ days. Closely behind healthcare and nursing positions are struggling to find skilled workers with 9.5% unable to fill the positions. Some cities are getting hit particularly hard. Employers in Cambridge and Brighton are struggling in particular, with 6.3% and 6.2% of jobs in these cities sitting unfilled respectively. However, Middlesbrough shows the highest rate of unfilled jobs, with 6.31% of positions left open after thre

To reduce waiting times in accident and emergency departments this year an extra £9 million is being invested into Scotland's unscheduled care sector. The news comes as a huge relief to major A&E sectors in Scotland's cities where waiting times and pressure on staff remains in need of major improvements. Health Secretary, Shona Robison, said: "Scotland's core A&Es have been the best performing in the UK for more than two years and we have already put record investment and increased staffing in our hospitals to achieve long-term, sustainable improvements. "However, we are determined to continue to improve and bring waiting times down further. This additional funding will allow us to continue this work. "Our action plan for unscheduled care has driven changes, speeding up the flow of patients and reducing delayed discharge. This is not just about improving systems in hospitals, but about taking advantage of health and social care integration

While the Scottish Government celebrates the success of the Real Living Wage initiative, and talk proudly of it's growth across the nation I find it hard to be happy about an £8.45 an hour wage when for years we've been promised a £10 an hour minimum. Though the current real living wage isn't too far off the promised £10 an hour it's still not a big enough difference to ensure a good life style for all citizens. With the cost of living increasing at a steeper rate than the national minimum wage, and the current conservative government aiming to remove human rights, and in so, the minimum wage entirely things do not stand to get better in the UK. Laden with student debts and the impossibility of owning your own home outright in most areas, citizen in the UK on the whole are under intense financial pressures with no promise of it getting better. I find it difficult to ignore the fact that council employees are paid standard wage. How are we supposed to believe

Gorgie City Farm has become the 800th Scottish-based living wage accredited employer, with employees benefiting from fair work principles which the Scottish Government would like become a national standard. The Scottish Government has set a target of reaching 1,000 Scottish-based living wage accredited employers by this autumn. Cabinet Secretary of Fair Work, Keith Brown, said: "This is a significant step in our drive to promote fairer working environments for Scottish employees and ensures people's basic wage continues to meet the reel cost of living. "Paying the Real Living Wage makes sense for businesses. It's an investment in people and all the evdience shows it leads to increased productivity and reduced staff absence, while sending a strong signal to customers about fairness. "We will continue to work with the 'Scottish Living Wage Accreditation Initiative' to encourage more businesses to recognise the benefits of paying the real living

Four mentoring services targeted at reducing reoffending will share £3.4 million in funding, announced Justice Secretary, Michael Matheson. These import services, delivered by third sector organisations across Scotland, provide practical, flexible one-to-one mentoring to individuals leaving prison. Only four schemes will receive funding; Shine , New Routes , Moving On and Tayside Council on Alcohol (TCA). Of the four scheme New Routes and Moving On works to support young men, while Shine is a national service for women leaving prison, on remand, or struggling to complete community sentences. TCA is the only service being funded which support both men and women. Mr Matheson, said: "One-to-one mentoring has been shown to turn people away from crime by helping them address practical or personal problems, such as relationship issues, accessing housing or healthcare, or finding training or work. Supporting people to overcome these challenges can stop them offending in the futur

Scotland has experienced a 6% surge in overseas visitors in 2016, show new figures. Figures published yesterday (Thursday, 18th) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) highlighted an extra 155,000  overseas visits were made to Scotland last year compared with 2015. A majority of the rise has come from North American tourists, who have been long time fans of the Scottish holiday. Visitors to Scotland from abroad spent an extra £155 million during their stay, a staggering increase of 9% compared to the previous year. The popularity for Scotland's main cities is also flourishing, providing a positive boost for the nation. Edinburgh has been ranked the second most popular city for overseas visitors, while Glasgow has come in sixth place. Tourism Secretary, Fiona Hyslop, said: "These figures underline Scotland's appeal as a world-class tourism destination and are a credit to our tourism industry's hard work to attract and welcome more than 2.7 million over

Figures released by UK wide charity Buttle UK has shown a staggering growth in the number of young victims exposed to domestic abuse. Buttle UK's exclusive figures show that the number of grants awarded to families affected by domestic abuse rose by 22% between 2015 and 2016. Over £1 million was awarded by the charity, who provide financial support to help children up to the age of 18, who's families were affected by domestic abuse last year alone. Alarmingly the charity reported nearly 10,000 children were referred to Buttle UK last year, who had been affected by domestic abuse. Out of these 3,384 children were aged four or under. These figures reflect the 35% rise in the number of reported abuse for children aged four and under in the UK compared to last years figures. Gerri McAndrew, CEO of Buttle UK, said: "Domestic abuse is an extensive and largely under-reported problem across the UK. Support services often assume that a child's needs can be met by a

Student teachers are receiving different training at universities, highlights a new Scottish Government report. Literacy has taken the biggest blow, with the analysis of initial teacher education (ITE) courses highlighting major variations in the time spent on key components of the curriculum, with the widest variation in the crucial area of literacy. With literacy at low levels in Scotland this is a serious blow to the education system in Scotland. Mr Swinney, said: "It is essential all teacher education programmes are of the highest quality. They must deliver appropriate content for literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing, as well as data literacy and equality, across both the primary and secondary sectors. "I am very concerned by the wide variations identified in this report, which have also been highlighted in evidence submitted to the Education and Skills Committee on workforce planning." The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) are responsi

Unemployment in Scotland has fallen, with 14,000 fewer unemployed citizens compared to the last quarter. The Office for National Statistics, January to March 2017 The Labour Market Statistics report, shows Scotland's ever growing strengths in regards to female employment in the labour market, with the female unemployment rate falling by 0.7% over the year. However, the youth employment rate has risen, now 3.9 percentage points higher than the previous year, with the level rising by 15,000 citizens. This shows a worrying trend for graduates who have been suffering under austerity with large debt and few job options.  MSP Keith Brown, the cabinet secretary for the economy, jobs and fair work, said: "Today's statistics show that Scotland's labour market continues to perform well in the face of significant economic challenges. Unemployment is down, employment is up and Scotland's youth unemployment rate is the 4th lowest in the EU. This is welcome news. &qu