Mel Young receives humanitarian honour

Sir Tom Farmer, Mel Young, Ann Budge and the Lord Provost - image credit Phyllis Stephen

Humanitarian honour for Edinburgh's Mel Young

Published Thursday, 26th January 2017

An Edinburgh-based advocate for the homeless has been recognised by the city’s Lord Provost after earning an award from the United States Sports Academy.

Mel Young, founder of the Homeless World Cup and the Scottish Big Issue, follows in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, Tiger Woods, Andre Agassi and Michael Jordan to be named winner of the Academy’s prestigious 2016 Jackie Robinson Humanitarian Award. 

The international recognition is presented to an individual ‘who has demonstrated a concern for mankind’. Mel’s leadership of the Homeless World Cup has helped change the lives of over one million people across the globe and the tournament continues to help over 100,000 homeless people every year.

Marking Edinburgh’s pride in the Award and all that he has achieved, the Lord Provost invited Mel to be recognised with a reception at the City Chambers where the Jackie Robinson medal and certificate was showcased.

Mel Young said: "I'm honoured to receive this award and humbled by the recognition. It's not really for me but for everyone, all of the volunteers involved in the Homeless World Cup.

"One of the key reasons the tournament works is because of the common language of football that everyone understands. It was fabulous to have two people in this room, Ann Budge and Sir Tom Farmer who at different times have saved our city’s football clubs. These clubs mean so much for Edinburgh and to the people who watch the games. That is the power of football!"

“I spoke recently at the City Vision 2050 launch and I hope that many people get involved in that because this is a great city here in Edinburgh. It is great to be part of the conversation. One of the first issues raised during that launch was that people do not want any more poverty in the city. That is fabulous and something to start with."

The Lord Provost Donald Wilson said: “Mel’s tireless efforts have had a truly global impact. It is incredible to think that the passion of one man in Edinburgh has led to over one million people across the globe receiving help through the Homeless World Cup.

"Mel’s passion and modesty is admirable and I was delighted to pass on the city’s immense pride in all that he has achieved. There aren’t many people you can look in the eye and think, this person has really changed the world. Mel is one such rare individual.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITOR

The Jackie Robinson Humanitarian Award states it is only presented to those who exhibit the qualities of dedication, grace under pressure, personal sacrifice, compassion, hope, and dignity that characterise the promotion of human welfare and social reform.

Mel Young has been president of the Homeless World Cup since 2003 and is the Chairman for SportScotland, the national sports agency for Scotland. He has five honorary degrees from Scottish Universities and is a Senior Fellow of the World Economic Forum. He has co-founded multiple publications including the Big Issue in Scotland.

A movie about the Homeless World Cup starring Colin Farrell is due to start production this year.

Further rise in tram passenger journeys

Edinburgh’s tram system is continuing to perform ahead of expectations, new figures released yesterday (23rd January) have revealed ...

... half a million more passenger journeys were made on the hugely successful network last year, delivering year on year growth of 10%.

Total passenger journeys for 2016 stood at 5.6 million journeys and Edinburgh Trams General Manager Lea Harrison said: “We are continuing to perform way ahead of our business model targets and we’re absolutely delighted to be able to demonstrate that both the people of Edinburgh and visitors to the city are using our services in such significant numbers.

“The tram has now firmly established itself as a major part of the city’s public transport infrastructure and, as we continue to make service improvements we hope to attract even more customers in the future.”

In order to meet customer demand, a new enhanced service pattern was introduced at the start of the year with trams now running from every 7 minutes throughout the day, including weekends.

Mr Harrison added: “Our customers want more services, more often, so we’re now running extra trams. It is further evidence of the rapid progress the system has made since its launch at the end of May 2014.”

George Lowder, Chief Executive of Transport for Edinburgh, said: “Edinburgh Trams has demonstrated another strong performance in 2016, proving that it is a key part of Edinburgh’s integrated transport network. These results are very encouraging. The growth in patronage shows an increase in people using public transport who previously were not.

"2016 was a year of service enhancements introducing faster, more frequent, services and the hard work undertaken by Lea and the Team at Edinburgh Trams has paid off with this positive result.”

Transport Convener Councillor Lesley Hinds said: “These are fantastic figures, showing that trams are continuing to build on their success as an important part of the Capital’s growing public transport offer. With the outstanding 97% passenger satisfaction results from the most recent survey, Edinburgh Trams have a great deal to be proud of – congratulations to everyone there, and keep up the good work!”

Transport Vice Convener Councillor Adam McVey said: “Edinburgh Trams are going from strength to strength, performing ahead of targets and adapting and evolving their service to meet their customers’ needs. This welcome increase in passenger journeys shows the continued – and growing – appeal of public transport to residents, commuters and visitors as a way of getting around and exploring Edinburgh.”

(News release issued today by Edinburgh Trams)

Votes at 16 for upcoming Local Council Elections

I've got a short piece in the local Newspaper today, on the issue of 'Votes at 16' - for those interested, I'll reproduce the main text below ...

Votes at 16 good for local democracy

On Thursday 4^th May this year, 16 and 17 year-olds will be able to vote in Local Council elections for the first time here in Scotland. Personally, I very warmly welcome this extension of the electoral franchise.

Evidence from the 2014 referendum, here in Scotland, shows that 16 and 17-year-olds had a higher turnout rate (75%), than those aged 18 to 24, and even those aged 25 to 34. And academics have also demonstrated that voting is habitual; one of the best predictors of non-voting is not having voted in the first election for which you were of age. 

And in a time of declining turnout, it’s right that politicians from across the political spectrum should get behind measures to boost the rate of first-time and habitual voting, encouraging more citizens to elect their representatives and to hold politicians to account.

So yes, I do welcome the fact that in June 2015, the Scottish Parliament unanimously passed a law to let 16 and 17 year-olds vote in all future Local Elections. No Political Party argued against it, and we should all be doing everything we can, between now and May, to promote as high a participation rate as possible.

This is a positive challenge for us all to embrace – as individuals, as Political Parties, for schools – to equip our younger citizens with the tools and the knowhow to get informed and to get involved.

And Scotland is by no means alone, or the first, to extend the franchise in this way. 16 and 17 year-olds can already vote in the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey; while Wales is considering similar measures to those of Scotland. In fact, those elections where 16 and 17 year-olds are not yet allowed to vote (most notably Westminster general elections) are looking increasingly isolated.

But like all potential voters, 16 and 17 year-olds do need to be on the Electoral Register, and I would strongly encourage those who will be eligible to vote to check that they are duly registered. It’s very easy to do – it literally takes only a few minutes by visiting: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote ; and you have until Monday 17^th April to register, which will then enable you to vote in the Council Elections on Thursday 4^th May 2017.

Votes at 16 – combined with balanced high-quality citizenship education – will better nurture tomorrow’s voters, activists and politicians, and contribute greatly to building a better local democracy.

Councillor Andrew Burns

Leader, City of Edinburgh Council

January Leader's Report

January 2017

2050 Edinburgh City Vision

Since the launch of the 2050 Edinburgh City Vision project last September, we have had a fantastic response from individuals and businesses on the type of city we want Edinburgh to be in the future. This isn't a Council vision, but a vision for the city. Council officers' role is to facilitate and support this conversation. We asked three simple questions: What is great about Edinburgh now? What could be better? What should the city be like in the year 2050? From the responses we have had to date, four key themes have emerged: that Edinburgh in 2050 should be CONNECTED, INSPIRED, FAIR and THRIVING. How does that feel to you; does it resonate with your view of Edinburgh? We still want to hear your thoughts and ideas so if you haven't already, please have your say at edinburgh.org/2050 and on social media using #Edinburgh2050.

Councillor Andrew Burns Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council

---

 

Positive progress for Waste Action Plan 

 

I was delighted to see progress being made to improve our Waste and Cleansing service, thanks to a comprehensive action plan developed by staff in the department.

Since its launch in November, the Waste and Cleansing Improvement Plan has seen a reduction in missed collections and an increase in street cleansing enquiries addressed within timescale.

While these results are promising, there is still a long way to go, and we're really focusing our resources to achieve outstanding actions. What's more, the successful Our Edinburgh campaign will continue to roll out across the city, tackling anti-social behaviour like fly-tipping and litter-dropping by generating pride in our surroundings.

The initiative has already seen a 52% rise in the amount of litter binned in the Grassmarket in its first phase and, in its second, exposed more than 50% of Leith Walk businesses who do not properly dispose of their waste.

---

 

Lights, camera, action. visitors! 

 

"Edinburgh seems to have been built as a film set" - or so said Capital-born cinema legend Sir Sean Connery. And with the hotly anticipated world premiere of T2 Trainspotting happening right here this coming weekend, Edinburgh's stealing the limelight on the big screen once again.

As a resident, it's very exciting seeing your own city on the silver screen, or to catch a glimpse of actors and extras in costume ready to shoot scenes for hit historical drama Outlander - as I and many of my colleagues have done on our way to work recently!

Having top movies and TV programmes filmed here is also a huge draw for visitors, and Edinburgh is fast becoming a must-visit 'set-jetting' destination - testament to our commitment to making the Capital as 'film-friendly' as possible.

With the prospect of another major comic book blockbuster joining the hundreds of movies and programmes shot in Edinburgh each year, it's clear our great city's decision to become one of the first UK cities to adopt a Film Charter was clearly a wise one.

---

 

Air Quality: a challenge for us all 

 

Poor air quality is one of the biggest challenges all cities face - and Edinburgh is no different. While I welcome recent figures demonstrating that our concerted efforts to reduce air pollution are having a positive impact, there's far more we can and must do.

We're working with our partners and the Scottish Government to make sure we're taking the best and most appropriate actions to improve Edinburgh's air quality and I'm delighted that we've won cross-party support on the Council for our multi-stranded approach.

Now it's about keeping up the momentum and harnessing this shared commitment so that we make the Capital's air quality - and quality of life - as good as it can possibly be. All of us can play our part and small changes to your routine, such as walking to work or taking the tram to the shops, can make a real difference.

---

 

Another festive success 

 

Edinburgh's Hogmanay countdown to 2017 proved to be one of the busiest yet with 75,000 revellers at the famous Street Party, Old Town Ceilidh and Concert in the Gardens headlined by Paolo Nutini. The midnight moment was beamed all over the world and visitors joined us from 80 different countries.

Alongside Edinburgh's Christmas, these celebrations are a fantastic success story for the city, contributing close to £241.5m to the local economy and cementing Edinburgh's reputation as a top winter destination.

These events have blossomed in recent years and are well placed to continue doing so without the need for as much funding support from the Council. Our priority will, of course, continue to be ensuring best value for the city while retaining Edinburgh's position as a fantastic winter destination in this milestone year.

---

 

A milestone year for the Festival City 

 

In 2017, we celebrate the 70th anniversary year of Edinburgh, 'The Festival City'. Every summer, the details of the city's packed festival programmes are hotly anticipated and this year is sure to offer something extra special.

We have committed additional support to ensure this will be an extra special year and it has already got off to a fantastic start. If you can't wait until March - when most programmes are set to be released - watch the 70th anniversary teaser from Festivals Edinburgh: a nostalgic look at art, comedy, dance, theatre, film and the spoken word at many of our festivals over the years.

---

 

Stay in the picture 

 

Keep yourself in the picture with our news section online. Watch live full Council and some committee meetings on our webcast. Join the debate on Twitter #edinwebcast

If you wish to unsubscribe please email us.

Follow us on Twitter	Watch our webcasts	Follow us on Facebook

 

January Full Council Meeting

January's Full Council Meeting is just a week away - it takes place at 10am next Thursday 26th January ...

... all the reports are now up on Committee Papers On-Line (CPOL), and you can access the main agenda directly here; and each of the individual reports separately via this link.

Of course, as every month, if you're so minded - you can watch all the proceedings live here ...

... or the meeting will be archived a few hours after it finishes for viewing at your leisure!
 

January's Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee

All of the Reports are now published for January's "Corporate Policy and Strategy" Committee; it meets at 10am, next Tuesday, 24th January.

The relevant paperwork is now in the public domain: the main Agenda can be found here ...

... and all of the individual Reports can be accessed via Committee Papers on-Line (CPOL) as linked from here.

Couple of Reports that may be of interest:

• Sustainability Policies
• Festival and Events Core Programme

And, of course, as usual the "Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee" meetings are all webcast live - and thereafter archived!

All available via here --- it's TV; but possibly not like you've ever seen before ;-)

Canon Kenyon Wright

I was very sorry indeed to hear of the recent death of Canon Kenyon Wright - the news was reported here ...

... during the early 1990's, when I was heavily involved in many of the devolution-campaigns of the day, alongside colleagues like Campbell Christie and Bob McLean; Kenyon showed me an enormous amount of personal generosity; and was particularly helpful when we separately launched Fairshare (archived website here; and background here) - the campaign for a fair, local voting system.

I've even spotted an old BBC story of some 16-years ago, from the actual day of the campaign launch, which is fascinating to read all these years later :-)

My thoughts are with Kenyon's family and friends.

A new primary school for south east Edinburgh ...

Views sought on proposed new Primary School for South East Edinburgh

Consultation for a new primary school in south east Edinburgh starts today (Monday 16 January).

The statutory consultation(external link) is taking place due to the significant new housing development proposed within the area because of the Local Development Plan (LDP).

This is the first consultation for a new school as a result of the LDP as school roll projections show that pupils from the new housing will lead to accommodation pressures by 2020.

A site within the ‘Broomhills’ housing development site to the south of Frogston Road East and between Burdiehouse Road and Broomhills Road has been identified for the new school.

The consultation paper outlines the proposed catchment area for the new school which if implemented will lead to changes to the current catchment areas of: Gracemount Primary School, Gilmerton Primary School, Liberton Primary School, Gracemount High School and Liberton High School.

As part of the consultation there will be two public meetings at Gilmerton Primary School (31 January between 6.30pm and 8.30pm) and Gracemount Primary School (9 February between 6.30pm and 8.30pm).

Councillor Cammy Day, Education Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “The significant housing development planned for south east Edinburgh means we will need a new primary school in the area because of expected accommodation pressures.

“The statutory consultation starts today and allows parents and school communities an opportunity to have their say on plans for the new primary school and related catchment changes. I would urge everyone to take part as we want to listen and take on board the views of everyone affected by this proposal.”

The consultation will end on Friday 3 March and all comments received will be detailed in a report expected to go to the City of Edinburgh Council in June 2017.

Additional information:

The Council has a legal obligation to carry out a statutory consultation under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 as amended by the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. 

Full details at: www.edinburgh.gov.uk/newsoutheastschool(external link).

so long, Social Media ...

Back in August, I announced that I wouldn't be standing for a fifth term-of-office when all of us next go to the polls (this coming May) for the Local Council elections --- that blog-post can still be found here ...

... and as I promised at the time, in my ongoing role as Edinburgh Council Leader, I am continuing to fulfil all of my duties to the very best of my abilities --- and will do so right through until the close-of-poll at 10pm on Thursday 4th May 2017.

Last August, avid readers may also have spotted that this blog was somewhat surprisingly 10-years old ... and many readers will additionally know that I've maintained an active presence on Facebook, Twitter etc. for almost as lengthy a period of time ;-)

And I've thoroughly enjoyed (which I do hope has come across!) using all forms of Social Media over the last decade or so --- but, with 16-weeks to go until Local Election Day, I'm flagging up well in-advance ... so there's absolutely no room for dubiety on the day ... that as at 10pm on Thursday 4th May 2017, I'm intending to say "so-long, Social Media" and will completely wind-up both my Facebook and Twitter accounts, and also cease this blog.

I'll archive everything that I possibly can via this blog-presence; but whilst being visible as a record, none of it will thereafter be 'live' and/or 'maintained'.

There's never going to be a 'good time' to do this, but I've promised myself (and been very open about the fact) that I'm moving on to focus on other personal interests that will not involve front-line politics whatsoever --- and, as of 1-second past 10pm on the 4th May, I won't be a politician and reckon that will be as good a time as any to say cheerio to social media!

VERY IMPORTANTLY --- my mobile number, home phone number, home e-mail address, and physical home address; will all be exactly the same thereafter ...

... so if anyone wants to communicate with me, all they will need to do is either: pick up the phone, send me an e-mail, and/or even chap my front door ;-)

Who knows what could happen; I might even end up expanding my circle of friends :-))

Call for nominations for 3 Community Council elections

Nominations for 3 X Edinburgh Community Councils now open

Residents of the 'Craigmillar', 'Drylaw/Telford' and 'Old Town' community council areas who are passionate about their area are invited to play an active role and have their say on local issues. 

Community councils give local residents and community groups such as youth forums, parent councils and student bodies a chance to influence what happens in their area. Members get involved in a wide range of activities, comment on planning and licensing applications, take part in community campaigns and work with others to improve the local area.

Community Councils are represented on each of the 12 Neighbourhood Partnerships(external link)where they work with local elected members, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, NHS Lothian and the voluntary sector to identify and deliver local priorities.

Meetings are usually held once a month and members can get involved in a variety of issues. Recent activities include: successfully lobbying to increase the frequency of a bus service, setting up a book festival and delivering an annual health fair.

Councillor Maureen Child, Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee Convener, said: "Democracy is a powerful force at all levels. By joining your local community council you can make a real difference to your neighbourhood, meet new people, learn new skills and take action on issues raised by local residents.

“We are looking for people of all ages and from all walks of life to get involved.  Ideas, energy and enthusiasm are welcomed and the Council will provide support to get the best from being a community council member. I’d like to encourage anyone who’s interested in local democracy to get involved – be part of something great."

People aged 16 years or older and are registered to vote can join. The nomination period for the community council elections runs from Monday 9 January to Monday 30 January 2017. Elections, where required, will take place on Thursday 23 February 2017. You can apply as an individual or as a local interest group, such as a Parent Council, a Friends of Parks group or sports club.

"Painting Edinburgh Red"

Come join Edinburgh Labour for a fundraising dinner with fantastic speakers.

Raising money for the forthcoming council elections; join your comrades, colleagues and friends to listen to our keynote speaker Owen Jones.

Owen Jones is a British columnist, author, commentator and political activist with a democratic socialist perspective. He writes a column for The Guardian and for the New Statesman. https://www.theguardian.com/profile/owen-jones

We are also looking forward to Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale, and our local Lothians' MSPs and MP, Neil Findlay, Daniel Johnson and Ian Murray, joining us for what promises to be an inspiring and entertaining evening. Our compere for the evening will be Susan Morrison.

Support your local Edinburgh Labour candidates by listening to inspiring speakers, eating delicious food, and the obligatory raffle with amazing prizes!

Friday 10th February 2017
Arriving at 7pm, dinner at 7.30pm
Radisson Blu Hotel, 80 High Street Edinburgh EH1 1TH

The event URL is:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/come-join-edinburgh-labour-for-a-fundraising-dinner-with-fantastic-speakers-tickets-30206114301

... and/or tickets at £50 available from Lesley Hinds:
lhinds@blueyonder.co.uk

---

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to one and all ...

... promises to be a very busy few months, on the immediate horizon, so was very glad to get a bit of rest-and-recuperation over the festive-period.

Didn't leave Edinburgh much at all over the last few weeks, and was great to spend some time with the family - and, of course, manage to set a few bonfires at the Allotment :-)

The 'old-shed' recycling project is still very much work-in-progess!

At least the main Allotment-plot (see below) is all in reasonably good order!