Review finds communities are safer, supported and more financially resilient

People in East Lothian are safer, have better support to care and are more financially resilient thanks to work carried out by the East Lothian Partnership in 2024/25.

Established in law as statutory bodies, Community Planning Partnerships bring together public organisations and communities to identify priorities and plan services.

'Meaningful difference'

As a member of the East Lothian Partnership, we work closely with a wide range of local agencies including Police, NHS, East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership, Fire Service and the voluntary sector to address poverty and inequality and make a meaningful difference in the county.

A review of the Partnership’s key achievements in 2024/25 highlighted the benefits of this collective approach including:

• vital support for people living with dementia and their carers at the Musselburgh Meeting Centre. Regular sessions and peer support improved carers’ wellbeing while encouraging an inclusive and compassionate approach to dementia in the wider community
• early work to tackle emerging issues on police incidents, fires and antisocial behaviour, and to provide multi-agency support to tackle wider issues where needed, such as supporting a resident after a fire at their home where mental health and substance issues were present
• among other cases, an advice consortium supporting people with financial issues helped one local person write-off £72,000 on a mortgage shortfall that was being pursued despite the property being repossessed 11 years earlier

 Each of these examples involved a group of agencies working together to provide joined-up support.

LOIP 2026-2036

The East Lothian Partnership is in the final stages of preparing its 2026-2036 Local Outcomes Improvement Plan (LOIP). Following extensive engagement health, safety and poverty emerged as the top issues affecting people in East Lothian which has resulted in the new plan adopting Money Matters, Keeping Safe and Living Well as its key themes. The LOIP will be published in early 2026.

For further information please visit: The East Lothian Partnership website.

Information Hub 'One Stop Shop' at Prestonpans Community Centre

East Lothian Information Hubs are ‘One Stop Shop’ events where members of the public can engage with multiple organisations face-to-face. They offer information, advice, support and guidance around everyday living concerns and can answer enquiries on a range of subjects such as local social activities, financial support and health and wellbeing.

Upcoming event:

The next Information Hub event will be held on 

Monday 2 February

2:30pm to 4:30pm

Pestonpans Community Centre

Attending the event are a number of organisations and support services who will provide advice, information and support covering the following subject areas:

Health and wellbeing

• Changes (Mental Health)
• Eastspace (Mental Health)
• Ageing Well
• East Lothian Learning Disability Team
• Physical Activity Referral Programme
• NHS Lothian Mental Health Digital Team
• East Lothian Rehabilitation Service

Money matters

• Citizens Advice Bureau
• East Lothian Council Revenue and Rents
• East Lothian Housing Association

Employment support

• East Lothian Works
• Skills Development Scotland
• Job Centre / DWP
• Changeworks

Parent, child and family support

• Acorn Trust
• Families Together
• HomeStart
• Breastfeeding LENS
• Midlothian Sure Start
• NHS Lothian Infant Feeding Team

Advocacy and support

• CAPS
• Carers of East Lothian
• Milan

Food and community 

• Volunteer Centre East Lothian
• East Lothian Foodbank

Travel and climate

• East Lothian Climate Hub
• East Lothian Council Active Travel Team

There will be free refreshments and activities that young children can enjoy while parents speak to organisations.

More information is available at www.volunteereastlothian.org.uk/information-hubs

Free webinars to help employers boost recruitment and retention

East Lothian businesses are being offered free guidance to boost recruitment and retain staff through fair and flexible work. 

As part of East Lothian Community Wealth Building, and alongside our partners, we have launched a new series of free webinars to help local employers tackle skills shortages, strengthen retention and adopt fair, flexible working practices that benefit both businesses and staff.

The three online sessions, delivered in partnership with Flexible Working Scotland, will give local businesses practical guidance on how fair and flexible work can improve productivity, widen access to talent and support grant and tender readiness, among other benefits. 

The webinars will offer expert advice, tools and case studies on topics such as the Fair Work Framework, flexible job design, inclusive recruitment, predictable working patterns, and the business benefits of people-centred employment practices. Each session includes a local employer sharing real-world experiences and practical lessons learned. 

Webinar dates: The business benefits of fair and flexible working

• 29 January 10am to 11.30am - Small and Micro Employers (1 to 49 employees)
• 25 February midday to 1.30pm - Third Sector (charities etc)
• 10 March 10am to 11.30am - Medium and Large Employers (over 49 employees) 

The webinars are open to any employer based in or operating within East Lothian, from micro-businesses and charities to large private-sector employers - please highlight this to any businesses you know or deal with who may be interested..

Participation is free but places must be booked in advance.

 

Improve your Excel skills for free with Edinburgh College

  

We're working in partnership with Edinburgh College to offer Excel beginner, intermediate and advanced courses. These courses are designed to improve your excel skills, with funded places offered through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Multiply Programme.

The free courses will introduce learners to a range of practical skills and acquire relevant underpinning knowledge, learn how to create visualisations such as graphs and charts from data and interpret their meanings. They will learn the foundational understanding of Excel that is necessary to create and work electronically with spreadsheets and to organise, calculate, analyse, revise, update and present data in a numerical and visual form. They will also learn the power of data analysis and presentation and explore issues relating to data security and data bias to make informed, intelligent organisational decisions. All courses will be delivered in the evenings at Edinburgh College's Milton Road campus 24 Milton Road East, Edinburgh EH15 2PP.

Session dates	Level	Time	Room
12 February 2026	Beginner	6pm to 9pm	M1-16, Edinburgh College, Milton Road
26 February 2026	Intermediate/Advanced	6pm to 9pm	M1-16, Edinburgh College, Milton Road
19 March 2026	Beginner	6pm to 9pm	M1-16, Edinburgh College, Milton Road
26 March 2026	Intermediate/Advanced	6pm to 9pm	M1-16, Edinburgh College, Milton Road
23 April 2026	Beginner	6pm to 9pm	M1-16, Edinburgh College, Milton Road
30 April 2026	Intermediate/Advanced	6pm to 9pm	M1-16, Edinburgh College, Milton Road

Please note: these courses are not run by our Organisational Development service.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about these courses before applying, please email Mac McLoughlin at Edinburgh College.