Shelter appoints legal reps to save homes
PEOPLE in Scotland facing a court battle to save their home now have two new housing law champions to help them. Instead of being left to fight on their own, struggling tenants and homeowners can now...
View ArticleGroup urges more anti-Bedroom Tax campaigns
A LOCAL campaign group set up to provide support and information to people affected by the Bedroom Tax in Renfrewshire urged other communities to follow its example following the tragic death of...
View ArticleForum chief insists housing associations should stay local
A HOUSING leader has warned that communities will suffer if large housing associations continue to be formed from local authority housing stock transfers. Jim Harvie, director of the Glasgow and West...
View ArticleSMK campaigner awards extend deadline
SCOTTISH campaigners are being urged to put forward individuals and projects to the UK’s only awards programme for grassroots campaigners. The application process for the Shiela McKechnie Foundation...
View ArticleScotland’s food crisis
Welfare cuts have been linked to a huge surge in the use of food banks in Scotland
View ArticleMalnourished kids face a life-time of stunted development
Save the Children’s recent research incontrovertibly shows just how significant the impact of malnutrition on children really is. It flags up the vital importance of good nutrition for children’s...
View ArticleHonouring a new generation of campaigners
SCOTTISH campaigners and campaigning projects are being urged to enter the UK’s only awards programme for grassroots campaigners. The application process for the Sheila McKechnie Foundation (SMK)...
View ArticleBedroom tax burden begins to be felt in Scottish homes
FURTHER proof that disabled Scots are being hit hardest by welfare cuts has been published by a leading disability charity. Research by Capability Scotland shows the most vulnerable are going without...
View ArticleJenkins calls for a new economic model
THE future of RBS would be called into question if Scotland were to adopt a new economic model that is fit for purpose, according to Dr Tim Jenkins, director of the Great Transitions Initiative of the...
View ArticleOxfam backs UN’s Syrian appeal
OXFAM has urged governments to fund generously the UN’s appeal for the Syrian crisis, launched last week, both for work within Syria and for work in neighbouring countries sheltering refugees. Judith...
View ArticleWelfare report stops short
THE first findings from the Scottish Government’s Expert Working Group on Welfare Reform have received a mixed reception by the chief executive of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations....
View ArticleHousing stress impacting on Scots’ wellbeing
WORRIES about housing are affecting Scots’ overall wellbeing, new research has found. The research from Oxfam Scotland shows people’s concerns about having an affordable, secure home to live in have...
View ArticleGPs letters are vital for benefits appeals
LETTERS GPs provide in support of people with disabilities who are being assessed for benefits are essential to ensure people’s long-term health, charities said this week. Tressa Burke, chief executive...
View ArticleMoney doesn’t buy happiness
OXFAM Scotland’s Our Economy report has the potential to be a transformational moment in social history. It could herald an end to the post-war focus on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the key...
View ArticleWasps studios wins design awards
A GROUND-BREAKING studio complex for artists and creative businesses in Glasgow’s Merchant City has scooped four national awards for excellence. The £3.5m regeneration of South Block, a former textiles...
View ArticleFalse optimism in new child poverty figures
CAMPAIGNERS in Scotland for the abolition of child poverty have urged ministers to “ratchet up” their use of devolved powers to help alleviate the problem. The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in...
View ArticleDitch GDP and focus on prosperity, says Oxfam
SCOTLAND’S economic model is leading to increases in poverty and inequality, a major charity said this week. In the week that the leaders of the world’s wealthiest countries met at the G8 summit in...
View ArticleGovernment strategy announced to tackle fuel poverty
A STRATEGY described by ministers as “a significant milestone” was a timely move towards making homes more affordable for people to live in, Scotland’s national fuel poverty charity has claimed. Energy...
View ArticleDo welfare reforms violate human rights?
A COALITION of major disability charities in Scotland have called on MSPs to investigate human rights abuses resulting from welfare reform. The 12 include the Health and Social Care Alliance, Sense...
View ArticleLooked after children too readily forgotten, says charity
A SCOTTISH charity which has achieved success in providing support to vulnerable and high-risk young people has called for improved attention to the needs of children who are formally looked after at...
View ArticleIF campaign denies government collusion
LEADING aid agencies have defended a global anti-hunger campaign against claims it is being used by the UK Government to promote its international development work on the world stage. War on Want...
View ArticlePayday loans damaging lower income families
PAYDAY loans have become an epidemic among lower income families in Scotland with over 100 complaints being made about the lenders each week. The most common complaint is people having difficulty...
View ArticleMary’s Meals blessed by new Pope
POPE Francis has blessed the work of a Scottish charity tackling child poverty and hunger. Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, the founder and chief executive of Mary’s Meals, travelled to Rome after receiving a...
View ArticleOne in five skip meals to feed children
Many families are ‘struggling to feed their children’, new research has shown. The results of a new survey show more than 20% of parents have skipped meals, gone without food to feed their children or...
View ArticleWar on Want unnecessarily harsh on IF supporters
WAR on Want has caused a fair bit of controversy with its allegations over alleged collusion between aid charities and the UK government this week. The anti-poverty charity – which is no shrinking...
View ArticleHousing association says 70% of tenants in poverty
A LEADING Glasgow housing association has revealed 70% of its tenants are living in poverty. Research by Queens Cross Housing Association (QCHA), which was gathered before welfare reform measures were...
View ArticleGet help with your grand designs
As an architect, I know just how much people value their homes, which is why it’s so important to get the most out of your property and create a space you feel happy in. Architect in the House is a...
View ArticleScottish Government can do more to tackle bedroom tax
THE SCOTTISH Government should invest end of year budget savings in helping people and social landlords affected by the bedroom tax, a charity leader said this week. Responding to the Scottish...
View ArticleFalkirk scheme is blooming great
A FALKIRK housing development has been praised in a national environmental scheme for a project that gives older people the chance to develop their own garden. Bield’s housing complex at Thornhill...
View ArticleCharities must mobilise to axe the bedroom tax
THIS week the Scottish Government announced two crucial measures to help boost housing and mitigate the worse excesses of welfare cuts as well as the ongoing economic downturn. Some £44m will go to...
View ArticleScottish Government have seen sense in ending Right to Buy
The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) is delighted that the Scottish Government has decided to bring to an end to all forms of the Right to Buy in Scotland. The SFHA has long...
View ArticleEnding inequality is on all of us
IT was recently reported that the number of people using emergency food banks has more than doubled in Scotland in the last year according to the Trussell Trust. There is no stigma in getting help if...
View ArticleA recovery for social housing in sight
SCRAPPING right to buy legislation in Scotland will only help tackle Scotland’s social housing crisis if it is backed up by increased support from the Scottish Government. The SNP announced last week...
View ArticlePlease Listen as new Kibble play makes it on TV
A PLAY written by three pupils at Paisley’s Kibble Education and Care Centre has been filmed as part of a television documentary. Jonny Wilson and Daryl Shaw, both 16, and 13-year-old Jamielee Steel...
View ArticleThe power of tax
Action Aid has just launched a global tax campaign to make sure big companies start paying what they should
View ArticleHas UK society been brainwashed into hating people in poverty?
The Office of National Statistics has publicly disputed the Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith’s claim that 12,000 people had moved into work as a result of benefit cap trials this week. As...
View ArticleCouncils should stop creating pseudo-charities
COUNCILS in Scotland are damaging their reputation and that of charities by creating “pseudo charities” in the form of armslength trusts. The claim was made by charity leaders after it emerged that...
View ArticleINSP announces award finalists
THE Big Issue UK is a finalist in the Best Design category in the International Street Paper Awards. Its sister paper The Big Issue in the North is a finalist in three different categories including...
View ArticleKibble kids lend a hand to Malawi
YOUNGSTERS in some of the poorest parts of Malawi will benefit from school bags and equipment as a result of fundraising efforts from pupils at a centre for troubled teenagers. Pupils from Kibble...
View ArticleLack of support blamed for rising death rate
A WORRYING rise in alcohol-related deaths among women in Glasgow can be linked to a reduction in support, claims a leading expert. Peter McCann, chairman of Castle Craig Hospital, which treats drug and...
View ArticleAid agency calls for cash for Syrian crisis
OXFAM has issued an urgent call for public support of its Syria crisis appeal as its 2012-13 annual report reveals a record year for its charitable spend. In the face of a challenging year when overall...
View ArticleFamilies continue to be hit financially
MILLIONS of households are still being adversely affected by the financial crisis, a leading advice charity has said. Responding to new figures from consumer group, Which?, that show 9 million UK...
View ArticleFood poverty – time for justice
Food banks provide urgent support but they are not sustainable argues Martin Johnstone
View ArticlePayday lenders routinely breach guidelines
NEW research shows most payday lenders are in breach of government guidelines. Citizens Advice Scotland analysed 665 cases of payday loans finding 76% had grounds to officially mount a complaint. And...
View ArticleBedroom tax to be challenged in Scots court
CAMPAIGNERS in Scotland have vowed to take their own legal action against the bedroom tax after the High Court in London ruled that the tax did not illegally discriminate against disabled people....
View ArticleSome too poor to travel to food banks
SOME hard up Glaswegians can’t even afford to travel to food banks to pick up essential supplies, according to a local charity. Vincent Chudy, manager of Glasgow Central Citizens Advice Bureau, said...
View ArticleShould payday loans be banned?
NEW research from Citizens Advice this week suggests that three quarters of people with payday loans could have a cause for complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Sky-high interest rates, easy...
View ArticleCAS urges public to make complaints about payday lenders
CUSTOMERS are being encouraged to complain about payday lenders after it emerged that three in four borrowers may have grounds to mount official complaints. A report by Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS)...
View ArticleDunedin’s Hit Squad to carry on decorating
EDINBURGH-based social landlord Dunedin Canmore Housing has renewed funding for a vital Hit Squad service that helps people who were previously homeless in the city to decorate their new home. Dunedin...
View ArticleCampaigners issue eviction notices to bedroom tax collectors
CAMPAIGN groups in the west of Scotland have served eviction notices on offices run by local authorities, housing associations and MSPs in a new campaign demanding an end to the bedroom tax. Bin the...
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