If you are having issues viewing this email you can read the e-Magazine via my website here.

This month’s edition includes news on the anti-social behaviour at the Meadows, Spaces for People as well as two fantastic guest blogs from local constituents. There is also the usual Westminster updates, speeches and news paper articles.

REMINDER: Thursday 6th May is polling day for the Scottish Parliament elections 2021. Some of the polling stations have changed so click here to make sure you know where to vote on the day.

Please do feel free to get in touch if there is anything I can assist with.

Email: ian.murray.mp@parliament.uk

Telephone: 0131 662 4520

Facebook: Ian Murray for Edinburgh South

Twitter: IanMurrayMP

Website: ianmurraymp.com

Casework

This month the most popular items in my mail bag were constituents contacting about the vaccine, Spaces for People and anti-social behaviour at the Meadows.

Policy

For a full account of my voting please see the Public Whip website.

Every month hundreds of constituents get in touch on a whole host of policy issues ranging from bees to the nuclear deterrent. This month the most popular topics were the reduction in official development assistance (ODA) funding to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Centene and the NHS, the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.

Edinburgh South

Meadows Anti-Social Behaviour

Many across the city will have been aware of the increasing anti-social behaviour on the Meadows in recent weeks.

Young Climate Warriors – By constituent Aiden Ward

In November 2020 I was fortunate enough to be introduced to the Young Climate Warriors through my school.

Moredun anti-social behaviour

The Meadows is not the only area affected by anti-social behaviour. Communities in Moredun have also seen a rise in youth anti-social behaviour over lockdown.

Meadows Quiet Route and Braid Road

Following public pressure and representations from councillors Braid Road has been reopened southbound one-way with protected cycle lanes up either side.

Comiston Farmhouse Co-housing Project, by constituent John Cant

Thanks to Ian Murray’s newsletter, I found out about the Comiston Farmhouse co-housing project in time to join the group that will shortly be putting in an offer to purchase the site from Edinburgh Council.

Westminster

Amazon Delivery Drivers

Many constituents have contacted me this month about the working conditions of Amazon delivery drivers. These conditions are dangerous, exploitative and degrading. Amazon must urgently ensure safe working conditions and provide its drivers with employment rights and protections.

Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities

The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities has now published its report. Following publication there was a statement in the House of Commons about this matter.

’.

Scottish Questions 29th April

My tribute to HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, including a special thank you on behalf of the city of Edinburgh for the his role in setting up the Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

Grants and Funding

Lloyds Bank Foundation’s Racial Equity Funding Opens for Application

The new Racial Equality strand is open to charities with an income of between £25,000 and £1 million.

To be eligible, applicants need to be supporting people from specific minoritised communities to overcome any of the following 11 Complex Social Issues:

Addiction and dependency on alcohol, drugs and/or gambling

Asylum seekers and refugees

Care leavers

Domestic and sexual abuse

Homeless and vulnerably housed

Learning disabilities

Mental health

Offending, prison or community service

Sexual exploitation

Trafficking and modern slavery

Young parents

Successful applicants will receive:

Two-year unrestricted grants of £50,000

Support from the Foundation’s regional managers who will work with them to access a wide range of organisational development support to help meet identified needs.

The funding is intended for charities that can demonstrate that some of the services they provide are in-depth, holistic, and targeted at a particular Complex Social Issue.

This strand of funding does not support purely second-tier or infrastructure organisations, or organisations whose activities are purely campaigning.

There are no deadlines. Applications will be accepted throughout the year.

Funding for South East Scotland Tech Entrepreneurs – New Round Open

The Resident Entrepreneurs Programme is part of Creative Informatics, which aims to bring Edinburgh city’s creative industries and tech sector together, utilising innovative data-driven technologies to develop new products, businesses and experiences.

Projects can run for between three and nine months and applications should respond to one of the following R&D priorities:

Developing access to and engagement with new audiences and markets.

Developing new modalities of experience.

Unlocking the value of archives and data sets.

Exploring new business models for the creative industries.

Successful applicants will receive funding of up to £12,000 to support the development of a new product or service that uses data or data-driven technologies. Furthermore, each Resident Entrepreneur will be paired with a suitable mentor through the Creative Edinburgh mentoring scheme.

Resident Entrepreneurs can be individuals, partnerships or SMEs from creative/tech industries, from Edinburgh and all six of the Edinburgh and south east Scotland city regions (Edinburgh, Midlothian, East Lothian, West Lothian, Fife, and Scottish Borders).

Round 5 is now open and the deadline for applications is 19 May 2021

UK Social Entrepreneur Development Programme Accepting Applications

UnLtd, a charity that promotes social entrepreneurship in the United Kingdom, is inviting applications to its programme of funding and support for social entrepreneurs to help them nurture their social ventures and grow their impact.

Applications will be accepted from social entrepreneurs aged 16 and over who are living in the UK. To be eligible for support, the social entrepreneur must:

Have identified a social issue and developed a business model that works to solve it.

Be committed to, and have a track record of, delivering local, regional or national social impact at scale.

Be experienced, ambitious and capable of growing their venture.

Have a realistic growth plan.

Be committed to working full-time in their social venture.

The social venture must:

Be at least one year old and ideally less than five years old.

Be dynamic and ready to grow to local, regional or national scale and have a logical and appropriate plan to deliver this.

Have a compelling performance to date and/or a logical and appropriate plan for rapid growth to reach local, regional or national scale.

Not solely exist to secure investment in the year ahead.

Target beneficiaries predominantly based in the UK.

Grants of £500 to £5,000 are available to support start-up ventures, and grants of up to £15,000 to help established ventures grow and increase their impact.

The deadline for applications is 30 June 2021.

Tesco Community Grants Open for Applications

After a brief pause the Tesco Bags of Help Programme has been relaunched as the Tesco Community Grants programme. Tesco offers this grants programme to make a positive difference in the communities where it operates: where Tesco communities thrive so do Tesco businesses and colleagues.

This year, the funding is intended for local good causes that focus on supporting children and families.

Examples include:

Breakfast clubs.

Holiday clubs.

Food banks.

Equipment or non-statutory services for nurseries or schools eg forest schools, library books

Equipment for Brownie, Guide or Scout Groups eg camping equipment, badges

Environmental improvements

Play areas

Counselling and support services

Activities to support mental health

Activities or equipment to reduce social isolation

Equipment/kit for sports teams

Services or equipment to support health issues such as cancer or dementia

Equipment for village/community halls

The funding is for projects that are ready to be delivered, but it will not cover retrospective costs (already committed or spent such as design fees, planning permissions costs or community consultation).

The grants are decided by popular vote. Three projects in 575 local communities are voted on by customers in Tesco stores throughout the UK, with projects changing every three months.

Groups have an opportunity to receive a grant of £1,500, £1,000 or £500 depending on the number of votes their project receives.

There are no deadlines. This is a rolling programme and applications can be made at any time during the year.

Persimmon Community Champions Welcomes Applications for 2021 Awards

Set up in 2015 by Persimmon, the UK’s leading house builder, Community Champions is a national programme where charities and groups can apply for funding up to the value of £1,000 to match money they have already raised themselves. Groups and charities can apply every month for a donation.

Each of Persimmon Homes 31 business units as well as its PLC head office give away up to £2,000 every month (that’s £1,000 each to two community organisations or charities each month) for a total of up to £64,000 per month, or £768,000 per year.

This year, the Community Champions programme is open to all and does not have a specific focus as it did last year.

A wide range of good causes are supported including but not limited to food banks, hospices, carers support groups, schools, football clubs, swimming clubs, pet hospitals, ambulance services, and many others.

A simple online application form is available to complete on the Persimmon website. Groups should fill in the form, explaining why they deserve the donation, how much money they have raised and how much they need for a donation. This application will then be forwarded to the nearest local Persimmon business.

Winners will be informed direct during the month following their selection and the list of successful applications published at the end of that month.

Charities and groups which were previously unsuccessful can apply again.

Applications can be made at any time. There are no deadlines.

Clubs in Crisis Fund Opens for Local Applications Across the UK

The £4 million Clubs in Crisis Fund aims to support the UK’s smallest sports clubs that are at risk of closing their doors for good due to the impact of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. The funding is provided by the charity Made By Sport and administered by the UK Community Foundations network through its network of local community foundations.

Applications will be accepted from not-for-profit clubs or organisations with an annual turnover of less than £75,000 that intentionally use sport to deliver wider social outcomes.

The fund is looking for applications from clubs and community organisations using sport to improve the lives of young people (primarily between the ages of 5 and 25 years) through one or more of the following means:

Developing life skills

Building strong communities

Improving mental health

Developing employability skills

Reducing crime and anti-social behaviour.

The unrestricted one-off grants of up to £2,021 can be spent on core costs in addition to programme or capital costs. Funds can also be used towards match funding or for leverage for a larger programme.

Made by Sport CEO, Sophie Mason, commented:

“Whilst community sport provision is in a precarious state right now, there has never been more recognition that sport is fundamental to our individual, community and societal development. If sport at its most grassroots level is denied, we risk a huge rise in mental health issues, anti-social behaviour and lack of life skills that lead to better employment opportunities. This fund will make a massive difference to thousands of communities all across the UK.”

Groups must apply via the relevant community foundation in their area. Please note that each community foundation will have their own criteria, application process and deadline.

The application deadline varies across the country. In general, the closing dates range from the first week of May 2021 to the first week of June 2021. Groups must check with their local community foundation in order to avoid the disappointment of a missed deadline.

European Super League fiasco should lead to fans being given much greater say in football 

One of the things I’m desperate to do is get back to Tynecastle to watch Hearts as I’m fed-up moaning at the TV!

Scotland needs Labour’s ‘can-do’ attitude, not SNP’s ‘eye off the ball’ as drug deaths and child poverty blight the nation

As people prepare to meet up in larger groups tomorrow, there’s a real sense of excitement about the lifting of Covid restrictions. It feels as though it’s been a long year.

Edinburgh’s Meadows is a beautiful oasis and we must find a way to stop the violence and disorder

It’s been a long year and everyone has made huge sacrifices. Too many have lost loved ones, but the one silver lining has been the collective effort in our communities.

End the division: Let’s focus on what we can do

It’s hard to keep track of what Nicola Sturgeon’s latest ‘national mission’ is. In the last Parliament, she claimed it was education and closing the attainment gap. She failed.

Noticeboard