Chief Executive, Angela Leitch

The summer holidays are in full swing which brings us to the end of the first 6 months of 2018.

During the first half of the year the Council agreed a further three year budget covering the period 2018/21. While many national studies have evidenced the reductions in local authority funding over the last ten years we, in East Lothian, continue to rise to the challenge and target resources to priority areas while continually looking to improve and change the way we do things.

It’s impressive, that against this backdrop, we have had several external assessments which have given recognition to the work carried out by teams across the organisation:

• A double success at the recent Scottish Awards for Business Excellence, organised by Quality Scotland, with a prestigious Recognised for Excellence 4 star award and a Good Practice Award for ‘Developing our Organisational Capability’;
• a Scrutiny Excellence Award for our Tenants Scrutiny Group, at the Tenants Information Service National Excellence Awards;
• APSE award success – highlighted last month – of Waste Services and Transportation colleagues; plus
• Dunbar Grammar School’s Mock Court Team swept to glory in the USA, beating stiff competition to become the new Transatlantic Moot Champions 2018.

And there have been many more!

I’m sure there will be many other opportunities to have the work of teams and individuals recognised as we progress through the second half of the year.

One milestone we will reach later this month is the signing of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal by the UK Government, the Scottish Government and the six local authorities in the region. This will bring more than £1.3 billion of investment over the next 15 years to the Edinburgh and South East Scotland region, and help us deliver one of the Council’s top priorities: growing the local economy. In East Lothian, the Deal includes the initial investment to develop the Food and Drink Innovation Campus at Queen Margaret University, a Regional Employability and Skills Programme and other infrastructure improvements which will help us to connect to other parts of the region. This has been a great example of our One Council approach with staff from several services working to put our plans together. Well done to everyone involved!

I hope that you have the opportunity to enjoy a holiday in the coming weeks and if you’re staying at home this year East Lothian has some fantastic events to offer including:

• the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open and Ladies Scottish Open golf tournaments, and the Scottish Senior Open (now rebranded the Staysure Tour) ;
• race meetings at Musselburgh Racecourse;
• Scotland’s National Air Show at East Fortune;
• Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the Brunton in Musselburgh and Fringe by the Sea in North Berwick;
• the Lammermuir Festival in September.

Find out more on the VisitEastLothian website.

These varied summer events are planned and supported by many of our colleagues and they provide opportunities to showcase our county at its best.

Whatever your plans this summer, do enjoy this great weather.

Double success for council at prestigious awards

The council had a remarkable double success at the Scottish Awards for Business Excellence 2017, organised by Quality Scotland.

The awards recognise commitment to organisational excellence, continuous improvement and quality.

We collected a prestigious Recognised for Excellence 4 star award. This is awarded between 3 and 5 stars and is based on a points system across a range of European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) ‘Concepts.’ It follows a visit to the council earlier this year by a team of assessors who spoke to employees in interviews and focus groups to find out more about our work. The council also submitted a detailed report with supporting evidence for assessment.

The council’s award reflects that we:

• Perform well and take change seriously
• Get things done and can demonstrate we have invested in practices that will lead to success
• Are going in the right direction

At the awards, it was said that the council “is committed to working with its partners and the people of the community it works within. The organisation is able to demonstrate a full understanding of its customer groups, existing and future, and uses a range of channels to anticipate changing needs. As a strategic focus they have set out four key priorities with the overarching aim to reduce inequalities.   A Transformation Programme is in place, the purpose of which is to move from improvement to excellence and there are lots of examples where staff are encouraged to become involved in improvement and innovation activity.”

We also received Quality Scotland’s Good Practice Award for the ‘Developing Organisational Capability’. The assessors highlighted that the council “clearly has a culture of working in partnership that is deployed right across the organisation,” with partners and staff encouraged “to look at how they can better work with others both inside and outside the organisation”.

The success of our six Area Partnerships was also highlighted, with the assessors remarking that they are “society driven and focus on the benefits to the community and towns that this organisation works in”.

Chief Executive Angela Leitch said:

“This double awards success is fantastic recognition for all of the hard work, collaboration and commitment to continuous improvement which is demonstrated across all East Lothian Council services, employees and our partners.

“The comments made at the awards’ ceremony are greatly encouraging for everyone in the council. It shows we are on the right track in progressing our plan to realise the vision of an even more prosperous, safe and sustainable East Lothian.

“Well done and thank you to all council colleagues who made this possible.”

Council Leader Willie Innes added:

“This is further confirmation that we are high-performing council with a clear plan in place to continue delivering excellent services to local residents. My thanks and congratulations to all council staff for this terrific achievement.”

Iain Clark, Chair of Musselburgh Area Partnership, said:

“It is great to see the council recognised for their collaborative working and the success of the six Area Partnerships. These Partnerships have been a key driver and enabler in East Lothian towards providing communities with greater influence. This structure provides community empowerment at a local level enabling communities to make real differences by delivering key projects in a local partnership working environment which aim to improve local communities and reduce inequalities. It is heartening to see that Area Partnerships and their volunteers have been seen as good practice as they continue to evolve and I congratulate the Council for receiving these awards.”

The EFQM Excellence Model (European Foundation for Quality Management) is the most widely use continuous improvement tool in the world. It can be used by any organisation regardless of size or sector.

The model allows organisation to evaluate their current performance to identify strengths and areas they would like to improve. It provides an overarching framework to guide continuous improvement projects or large transformation programmes and ensure they deliver tangible results.

Statement from Council Leader on return to Chamber

At the recent East Lothian Council meeting, Council Leader Willie Innes made the following statement:

"Provost, I realise that you have a full agenda before you today, but I would appreciate it, if you would allow me to say a few words to mark my return to council. When I took leave of absence I was overwhelmed, and frankly surprised by the kindness and support I received.

"I would like to thank Council Members of all parties for the best wishes they sent, particularly I would like to thank Councillor Hampshire for stepping into the breach and for his leadership over the last year, it must have been difficult having his own Cabinet responsibilities as well as the Leaders role to contend with.

"Council staff have also been very generous with their support and kind words and for that I am truly grateful.

"Provost, everyone in the Chamber is here to serve and or represent the public, to do our best to protect their interests, but sometimes it can feel at times a thankless task, so I can honestly say I was astounded by the level of support and kind wishes I received from members of the public right across East Lothian.

"Provost, we are so fortunate to have our NHS, like most of us I have always been proud of the NHS without fully realising why, I now know, the staff are magnificent, no other words do justice to their service to patients.

"Each and every one of them showed a level of professionalism and dedication that goes above and beyond, and really needs to be seen to be believed. During treatment I was cared for by staff from a host of different nationalities and all have been exceptional.

"One thing I was struck by, was the number of patients being treated, it seemed to be a never ending conveyor belt, many of them fighting battles far greater than my own, and doing it with far more courage, resilience and dignity than I, there are some inspirational people out there.

"Provost, you would not want anyone to suffer from cancer, but many will and if I could be so bold to offer some simple advice, I would say, take strength from your family and your friends, keep positive and trust in the professionals who care for you. I know I owe my family and friends a debt I can never repay.

"Finally I am delighted to be back and hope to play a part in serving our community."

'If I Were Provost' competition winners announced!

Ilma Ali and Louise Allan have been named as winners in East Lothian Council’s ‘If I Were Provost’ competition, as part of the Year of Young People.

The two winners, along with 16 shortlisted entrants, were announced at a prize giving ceremony in Haddington on Friday 22 June.

The council’s ‘If I Were Provost’ competition asked young people what they would do if they were ‘in charge’, how they would improve life for young people in the region, and what new policies they might introduce and why. Young people were invited to share their ideas in a creative way - for example, in a short story, letter, poem or graphic comic strip, and more than 200 entries across two age categories (8–13, and 14–18) were received.

Entries were judged anonymously by a judging panel comprising Callum Mark, General Manager at award winning Foxlake Adventures; triple Paralympic medallist Maria Lyle; and Celia Hodson, founder of social enterprise Hey Girls, along with Provost John McMillan and Councillor Shamin Akhtar, spokesperson for Education and Children’s Services.

Provost John McMillan said: “We were hugely impressed with the quality and range of entries we received, which ranged from drawings to poems, comic strips to letters. It was clear that everyone had really taken the challenge to heart, and had put a lot of thought and care into their entries.

“The judging panel really enjoyed the judging process, even though the task of choosing our winners was a difficult one. I want to thank each and every entrant for taking part and sharing with us your ideas – it’s clear that we can all play our part in improving life in East Lothian.”

Ilma and Louise were presented with a certificate and prizes from East Lothian attractions Foxlake Adventures, Scottish Seabird Centre, EnjoyLeisure and Musselburgh Racecourse. Young Ambassadors and Highly Commended entrants also received certificates and prizes.

Provost John McMillan explains: “Ilma’s entry, which included simple messages such as ‘Be kind to each other’, and ‘pick up litter because we need to save the environment’ really summed up what we can all do to make East Lothian – and life - better for everyone, not just for young people.

“Louise’s entry, which focused on education and teaching young people, used a really creative approach and asked us to think ‘outside the box’ – that we need to remember that everyone is unique and that we can all learn from each other.”

The two young winners will be invited to join Provost McMillan at selected events throughout the year to act as a young ambassador for the county.

The winning entries, along with entries shortlisted as ‘Young Ambassadors’, will be on display to the public at East Lothian libraries over July and August.

View the full list of winners on the council website.

Interested in using Skype?

Do you ever wish you could send colleagues a quick instant message or easily arrange conference calls or virtual meetings? Do you use Skype at home and wish you had something similar at work?

If the answer to any of these is yes then IT have a solution. Over the last two years we’ve been introducing Skype for Business across the council. This is the workplace version of Skype and it’s a powerful tool allowing more flexible ways to communicate both internally and externally.

Whether it’s checking people’s availability, sending a quick instant message to one or more people, holding a video conference call or arranging and running a meeting where some or all of those attending can’t make it to the venue Skype for Business could be for you.  It’s a powerful but easy to use communications tool that provides instant messaging, voice and video calls, presence management and Skype meetings.

The good news is that if you have suitable hardware IT will cover the set-up costs.       

For a quick overview check out this video

Please contact the IT Service Desk (itsd@eastlothian.gov.uk or call 01620 827205) to arrange a demo.

School Name Consultation - Haddington Infant School and King's Meadow Primary School

A consultation is now open regarding the name for the new primary school for Haddington and its associated catchment area.

Following the consultation that was undertaken in Spring 2018 to close Haddington Infant School and King’s Meadow Primary School and establish a new primary school and its associated catchment area for Haddington, we are now seeking suggestions for a new school name.

Suggestions for new names will be collected, along with explanations of why that name is suitable, before a shortlist of the most popular names is created. A vote for the most popular name will then be undertaken by pupils, parents and the wider community.

The consultation runs until Sunday 26 August 2018.

Suggestions can be submitted in the following ways:

• By visiting the East Lothian Council Consultation Hub
• By emailing educationconsultations@eastlothian.gov.uk
• By writing to School Name Consultation, East Lothian Council, John Muir House, Brewery Park, Haddington, EH41 3HA

Housing team scoops award for scrutiny work

The council's Tenants Scrutiny Group has scooped a top award at this year's Tenants Information Service’s awards.

The Tenants Information Service (TIS) National Excellence Awards: Inspire to Achieve, which took place on Saturday 9 June in Cumbernauld, saw housing organisations, tenants, residents, and community groups recognised for their outstanding work and commitment within the Scottish housing sector. 

East Lothian Council won the Scrutiny Excellence award, which recognises excellence in scrutiny practice by a housing organisation that others can learn from and that will inspire future tenant scrutiny in Scotland. It rewards exceptional tenant led scrutiny activities that create an outstanding improvement or change to individuals, the wider community, the housing organisation and housing service. 

TIS Chief Executive, Ilene Campbell, said: “The way that the council’s Scrutiny Group works to develop scrutiny is thorough and robust. East Lothian Council has made efforts to gain views from tenants about the value of being involved, and results indicate that tenants are clear they have an impact on improving services and gaining personal benefits. Their recent Scrutiny Approved Accreditation success shows that scrutiny is embedded within the organisational values.” 

The award follows last year’s recognition by TIS and Scotland’s Housing Network when the council was recognised with a Gold Standard award for its work involving tenants in the delivery of its housing services. The highest level of award was given following a review of the council’s tenant scrutiny framework which includes mystery shopping visits, auditing information that the council publishes on its Housing policies, and involving tenants in surveys, estate inspections and consultation events. 

Councillor Jim Goodfellow, Cabinet Spokesperson for Housing and Community Wellbeing at East Lothian Council, said: “This award is really fantastic news, and I pass on my congratulations to all of those who have been involved. This much deserved award recognises the commitment and dedication of our Housing staff, partners and tenant volunteers, all of whom work exceptionally hard to continually improve upon and deliver the excellent service that our tenants expect.”

Report gives positive insight into school leavers’ destinations

The number of school leavers in East Lothian who go on to further education, training or employment has increased for the second year in a row, and continues an overall improving trend since 2005. 

The ‘Positive School Leavers Destinations 2016/17’ report, presented at an Education committee of East Lothian Council, uses the ‘Increasing post school participation’ measure from Insight, which is considered to be a key benchmark for helping schools and local authorities understand their strengths and key areas for improvement in areas relating to post school participation and attainment. 

Positive destinations can be school leavers going into Higher or Further Education, training, and employment as well as apprenticeships, activity agreements or volunteering.

Councillor Shamin Akhtar, Cabinet Spokesperson for Education and Children’s Services, said: “It’s really great news that, once again, the number of young people in East Lothian who are leaving school and going on to a positive destination is at its highest ever level - and at 94%, this is almost all our young people. This is a fantastic achievement for all concerned."

Read the full story on our website.

Positive inspection report for Pinkie St Peter’s Primary School

Education Scotland has written to parents at Pinkie St Peter’s Primary School in Musselburgh to advise them of the positive outcome of their most recent inspection, which took place in September 2017.

Education Scotland noted the following key strengths:

• Strong relationships exist between staff and children across the school and nursery, which are based on shared values.
• In the nursery, children are motivated and confident and are able to make choices about their play, particularly outdoors. Across the primary stages, children are committed to and proud of being part of their school community.
• The committed staff team, led by the headteacher, work well together in their goal to secure positive outcomes for children. Wellbeing is central to the whole school community, and staff provide a nurturing learning environment where children receive effective support. 

Education Scotland – who also reported on Pinkie St Peter’s Primary School Nursery Class, which provides early learning and childcare for children aged three to five years old – has informed the authority that they plan to make no further inspections at the school. 

Fiona Robertson, Head of Education, said: “I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the school staff and pupils for their hard work in achieving positive outcomes for children and their families. I wish to thank Sarah Ogden in particular, our Head Teacher, for the strength of leadership and commitment that she has shown in recent months for the school to achieve this positive recognition.

“I am pleased to report that Education Scotland have advised us that no further inspections are planned at the school. I am also delighted to report that the school has made good progress with the areas for improvement identified within the report”

Local Housing Strategy agreed

Preventing homelessness and increasing the supply of housing across all tenures are among the key priorities of the new East Lothian Local Housing Strategy 2018-23.

New HR and payroll system – project team making progress

You may remember reading previously about our plans to introduce a new HR and Payroll system.

The aim of the system is to enable the delivery of more efficient processes for our employees, managers and core support services. Making it easier to book holidays, submit expense claims or overtime requests, access online pay slips, record training and enable remote access to your employee profile.

The council recently appointed Midland HR who will work closely with a project team to implement and host the new HR and Payroll system, iTrent.

“The appointment of Midland HR was the conclusion of an open tendering exercise and represents a significant milestone for the Council,” explains Jim Lamond, Head of Council Resources.

“When fully implemented, employees and managers will be able to access the system via a portal and find information in one place. This will save time for employees and is a smarter, more efficient way of doing things.”

Jim explained that the initial priority is to implement the payroll functionality before the end of March 2019. Looking ahead the features of the system, which will enable employees to move away from submitting manual forms, such as holiday cards or expense claims, is within the scope of the project.

To help everyone understand what changes are coming and when keep a look out for the project team’s communications.

In the meantime, if you have any questions please email hrpayrollsystem@eastlothian.gov.uk

Planning Committee refuses permission for holiday lodges at Humbie

The June Planning Committee discussed applications relating to holiday lodges at Humbie, coastal defences at North Berwick and amendments to planning conditions relating to housing development at Gullane.

 

Planning officials had recommended approval of an application for the construction of three holiday lodges, a micro-hydro plant and a solar panel array at Stobshiel Mains, near Humbie. After a debate, committee members voted six votes to five to refuse planning permission due to concerns about the potential impact on the working of the nearby farm and the impact of the development on the landscape. 

 

Planning permission was unanimously granted for the refurbishment of existing coastal defences at North Berwick Golf Club and the installation of new interventions such as the planting of marram grass, the refurbishment of a timber embankment and soft rock sandbags – to protect the current layout of the golf course and the associated dune paths.  

 

The final application was for the variation of conditions attached to existing planning permission for a new housing development at Fenton Gait East, Gullane. The application was unanimously approved so the developer no longer needs to provide a new footpath link through Muirfield Steading as there are already existing safe routes into Gullane. Landscaping details around the development were also altered slightly.

 

The relevant application numbers are: Gullane 18/00422/PM and 16/00587/PM, North Berwick 17/00767PM; and Humbie 16/00101/PP

 

Council response to Cockenzie Inchcape application

Council has recommended that Scottish Ministers refuse planning permission for an electricity substation on the former Cockenzie Power Station site.

 

The application for planning permission in principle, by Inch Cape Offshore Ltd, was initially registered by East Lothian Council as the planning authority in March 2018 but called in by Scottish Ministers in April before a decision could be taken by the council as it was deemed the application could be of national importance due to its connection to electricity generation.

 

At a full meeting of East Lothian Council on Tuesday 26 June the council’s official response to the application was agreed along with a recommendation that Ministers refuse the application on the grounds that the development would not make best use of the land available and could prejudice the future development of the site and the economic potential of the area.

 

The substation, cables and associated infrastructure is to export electricity from the Inch Cape Offshore Windfarm. The application site covers part of the Firth of Forth Special Protection Area and the Firth of Forth Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is also within the boundary of the Battle of Prestonpans site and incorporates part of the John Muir Way.

 

Environment spokesperson Councillor Norman Hampshire said: “I’m pleased that Council agreed to recommend refusal of this application by Scottish Ministers. The former Cockenzie Power Station site is key for us as a council in terms of the economic development of East Lothian and there are diverse views expressed by local residents and community groups which we would like to take into consideration when deciding the future of the site. Whilst recognising the importance of the application is respect of renewable energy, I believe the location and scale of this substation and associated works is wrong and would prevent us from making best use of the site.”

 

In the event that Scottish Ministers approve the application, Council also agreed to request conditions be attached to the approval, including:

• Council approval on the details of the buildings involved and the route of the adjusted coastal path, incorporating the John Muir Way

   

• Construction dust and noise management plans to be agreed by council

   

• A flood risk assessment to be approved by council and SEPA.

   

Events this summer

There's a fantastic line-up of events this summer - from golf tournaments, to air displays and music festivals, there's something for everyone this summer!

Highlights include:

• Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, 12 - 15 July, Gullane Golf Club
• Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open, 26-29 July, Gullane Golf Club
• Scotland's National Airshow, Sat 28 July, East Fortune
• Fringe by the Sea, 3-12 August, North Berwick
• Dunbar Street Art Trail, 19-25 August, Dunbar

The Visit East Lothian website has more info on what’s happening in East Lothian this summer.

 

East Lothian pupils premiere penicillin musical

East Lothian School children have premiered a new musical about antibiotics, ahead of a professional run at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. 

Pupils from Gullane Primary School performed ‘The Mould That Changed The World’, a new musical that aims to raise awareness of superbugs, by Charades Musicals, at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh this week. 

Gullane Primary School are the first school in the UK to perform the show. Children from Hitherfield Primary School in London will also present the show at London’s Science Museum on 4 July, before a professional production takes on a three week run at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. 

‘The Mould That Changed The World’ tells the story of antibiotics, from the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928, and ends in the present day with world leaders discussing the need for decisive action, to keep antibiotics working. 

Top antibiotics charity The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy teamed up with the University of Edinburgh and Charades Musicals to create the compelling story, which has been supported by Dr Catherine Calderwood, Chief Medical Officer of Scotland, and Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer of England.  

Maureen Tremmel, Head Teacher, said: “Firstly, I want to thank everyone who supported our crowdfunding effort to raise funds for the venue hire - we really appreciate everyone’s support, it’s very much appreciated.

“The children have gained so much from being involved with this production – not only have they learned about famous Scots, inventions and medical discoveries, but the show also has a really important message about the future of antibiotics, which the young people have really taken on board – all in a fun and engaging way. 

“The children have really enjoyed working with the professional theatre company and musicians, it’s been a really fantastic experience. It has also been really wonderful seeing the children engage with the show and really throw themselves in to the production to make it a success. I am just so proud of them!”

July highlights at The Brunton, Musselburgh

Scottish Chamber Orchestra | Wed 18 July, 7.30pm | £20 (£18)

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra blend ancient styles with bold modern flavours, meetings between the old and the new thread through this stimulating concert at The Brunton directed by SCO Leader Benjamin Marquise Gilmore.

The ancient Theorbo is in the spotlight for British composer Stephen Goss’ new Theorbo Concerto, performed by the spectacular Matthew Wadsworth. The internationally celebrated SCO is made up of a unique collection of talented musicians who inspire and connect with people of all ages. ­Formed in 1974 it is one of Scotland’s five National Performing Arts Companies and one of the country’s foremost cultural ambassadors.

The Orchestra produces the Virgin Money Fireworks Concert which has closed the International Festival since 1982.

Book now on 0131 665 2240 or www.thebrunton.co.uk

View more unmissable entertainment.
Download The Brunton's new summer / Fringe brochure.

 

Enjoy a wildlife tour in East Lothian

 

 

Hike with the Countryside Rangers - Saltoun Circuit

Sunday 29 July, 10am

Join the Countryside Ranger for a circular 9 mile walk taking in the Pencaitland Railway Walk, Saltoun Big Wood and the Birns and Tyne waters.

Cost:£10 per person per hike

Walking boots are recommended for all hikes, as well as waterproofs, hats and gloves. Routes may be varied depending on the weather conditions. Remember we can only proceed at the pace of the slowest person.

Please Note: These hikes are not suitable for children or for people with restricted mobility and no dogs are permitted on any of these hikes. As places are limited, bookings must be made prior to each and every hike. You will receive the exact meeting point via a confirmation email which is separate to the payment confirmation. Please check your junk email.

https://eastlothian.bookinglive.com/book/add/p/261 

 

 

A summer of fun with arts activities for ages 5 – 18

East Lothian Council’s Arts Service has programmed a fun packed summer of creative activities to fill the holidays. The programme includes: themed multi arts camps, youth theatre, musical theatre, streetdance, computer animation, outdoor theatre and more.

Art Camps take place in Haddington, Musselburgh, North Berwick and Dunbar. Young people aged 6 – 10 can enjoy a variety of art and craft activities during these multi day camps. An additional week with a Harry Potter theme takes place in Musselburgh for 9 – 13 year olds.

East Lothian Youth Theatre Network tutors are running drama programmes for ages 5 – 7 and 8 – 12, based at The Brunton in Musselburgh. Further drama skills workshops are also on offer for 12 – 18 year olds as well as the challenge to create a play in just 48 hours.

Streetdance and breakdance weeks led by dance professionals, take place in Musselburgh and North Berwick for P1 – 3 and P4 – 7, with an end of week showing of what has been learned.

It is great to get outdoors during the long holiday. Muddy Buddies lets young people aged 6 – 10 get creative at Lochend Woods, Dunbar; whilst in Musselburgh at day at the beach is on offer with Solar Photography and Beach Art.

For budding graffiti artists aged 7 – 11 there is a chance to spend half a day in Musselburgh, learning from Toby Larner, renowned for his robot art.

Computer Xplorers are back with their popular programme of: Lego Animation, Minecraft, Video Game Design and Music DJ. Workshops take place in Musselburgh and Dunbar.

All Summer Arts Activities can be booked at www.eastlothian.gov.uk/summeractivities

Also for families – Edinburgh Fringe Festival comes to Musselburgh:

This summer The Brunton once again brings the much loved Quantum Theatre back to Inversek Lodge Garden for a delightful selection of family outdoor theatre as part of their Fringe Festival line up. Shakespeare’s most enduringly popular comedy of love and intrigue, magic and mayhem, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is brought to life on Saturday 4 August and The Reluctant Dragon a touching, sweet and funny tale of friendship and derring-do, takes place on Saturday 18 August.

Tickets for outdoor theatre can be booked from The Brunton box office on 0131 665 2240 / thebrunton.co.uk . Inveresk Lodge Garden, Musselburgh is a National Trust for Scotland property.

Have you a Junior Explorer?

Countryside Ranger Summer Activities

Win tickets to Fringe at the Brunton events

JUST YOU AND ME - Jacqui Dankworth, Charlie Wood and band

British jazz diva and American vocalist/pianist, get together for a husband and wife duet concert celebrating some of the great musical partnerships of the 20th century. Featuring classic compositions from landmark recordings by legendary duos like Ray Charles and Betty Carter, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, George and Ira Gershwin, Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway, James Taylor and Carole King.

SAT 25 AUG 7.30PM / £18 (£16) / THEATRE

 

 

ÌMAR - BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Winners 2018 

Festival headliners throughout the UK, Europe and Canada, Ímar’s supergroup line-up features members of Mànran, RURA, Talisk and Barrule. This powerhouse instrumental quintet’s unmissable synergy centres on the overlapping cultural heritage between Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. All five musicians share a strong background and upbringing in traditional Irish music, underpinning the group’s distinctive qualities, in both instrumentation and material.

MON 27 AUG 7.30PM / £15 (£13) / THEATRE

 

To enter a competition to win a pair of tickets to either of these shows please send your name and contact details to Inform. If you have a preference please add which show you'd prefer. Closing Date for entries: 1 August

Spotlight on ...

This issue our staff spotlight falls on Lee McPherson ...

Name: Lee McPherson

Job Title: Qualified Gardener

How long have you been with East Lothian Council? 6 years. I was seasonal staff for one year in Haddington at the Peppercraig depot, and then I got a full-time job as an Amenity Operative. This job involved general gardening, litter picking etc. But 4 years ago I applied for the qualified gardener job at Peppercraig and now here I am. I’m a Qualified Gardener in Haddington and the surrounding areas including Garvald, Humbie, Gifford, East Saltoun and Athelstaneford.

What is your background? I was a photographer for 12 years, based in London. I came up here because I married a Scottish girl, and she wanted to move back up.

I had no experience in gardening before - I’ve always liked it - but I hadn’t done anything apart from a few weekend jobs. But I really enjoyed my six months as a seasonal worker with the council team, and I then started thinking about doing it as a full-time job. Luckily, that’s exactly what happened the following year and it’s just kicked off from there.

What does your job involve? My office is Neilson Park, and I look after this area with a couple of guys. I always need to have a wash because I get covered in dust - it’s hard work to get it all looking nice. It’s a time consuming job but I thoroughly enjoy being outside, especially during this time of year, this is what it’s all about.

We also do a lot work for the In Bloom Awards and are involved behind the scenes. Neilson Park is part of the judging route and we also look after the George Hotel corner and the station bed on West Road.

What do you like about your job? It’s good to be in the community, we’re always helping members the pubic with bits and pieces. The park is a nice place to be, when people walk through Neilson Park they often give compliments; especially once the bedding starts growing. I enjoy interactions with members of the public, I’m always asked questions.

I also love working with the squad, we have fun.

I’m also at college at the moment! I’m doing a SVQ 3 in Amenity Horticulture through the council. It’s great they’ve allowed us to do that.

What big projects have you been working on? Our biggest project recently was outside the Maitlandfield Hotel where we’ve replanted the bedding there in a range of red, yellow and purple shades for the Haddington 700 celebrations.  It’ll also tie into the Beautiful Scotland Awards Ceremony which is taking place across the road at St Mary’s in September.

What’s your favourite plant this time of year? I like all of them, but I especially like the wild flowers on the roundabouts.

Alan's pride at completing apprenticeship

Many people may think that it’s far too late in life to be starting college at the age of 50, but Carpentry and Joinery apprentice Alan Smith has put a nail in that theory.

Alan had been working as a labourer for the council since 2014 but jumped at the chance to come to Edinburgh College to complete a two-year apprenticeship.

Starting in 2016, Alan has honed his trade and leaves the college as the two-time winner of the Edinburgh College Carpentry and Joinery Apprentice of the Year. He collected his second honour at this year’s Prize Giving Ceremony on Friday 8 June.

Alan was also named the 2017 winner of the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) Apprentice of the Year award, after producing a portfolio of his work.

“Coming to college at the age I did was daunting. It was a challenge but I have really enjoyed it all," said Alan. "Through hard work, my determination to succeed and being able to help the young people around me, I leave the college very proud, having completed my apprenticeship.

“Winning the college Apprentice of the Year Award twice and the APSE Award is a huge honour, a great achievement and something I’m very proud of – it just goes to show you can teach an old dog new tricks.”Asked how he would summarise his Edinburgh College experience in three words, Alan said: “Daunting but enjoyable.”

Paul Grant, Service Manager for Property Maintenance, said: “While he may have started later in life than our typical craft apprentice, Alan can be rightly proud of achieving this award. He’s a valued member of our team, helping us provide a quality service to our customers”  

 

Meet the man behind council's electric cars

Alan Kelley, our Transport Compliance Officer, is responsible for the day-to-day running of the council fleet. We asked him about the growing importance of electric vehicles. 

“We use these vehicles because they have zero emissions and green benefits. Clean air is beneficial for people’s health and well-being – and we always want to do the right thing for the East Lothian environment,” says Alan.

“Not only that, the cost of running these vehicles is considerably better - the more electric vehicles we use, the more money we save as a council.

“We currently run 10 electric vehicles and are looking to extend this. It’s a priority for our team and we have a lot of joint ventures with different agencies in place.”

Golf tickets winner

Congratulations to Deborah Wright, Support Plan Broker in Community Care, who won last month's competition for two tickets to the final day of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at Gullane from 12-15th July. While not a golfer herself or a particular fan of the sport, Deborah says she attended the final day last time the event was held in Gullane and found it to be a great day out for a local.

We couldn't agree more!

So please remember to take advantage of the exclusive East Lothian Council staff discount for money off your tickets. Council employees can benefit from a £5 discount off single day tickets by using this exclusive link. Please note, the prices that appear are already discounted (e.g the price for a Sunday day tickets shows as £25, normal price would be £30).

Warning about dangers of blue-green algae

Hot and dry weather conditions have led to increase in algae production.

HWL Practitioners appointments

Massage (location JMH) - Susan Green 

• 3 August 11.00 and 13.30
• 17 August 9.00, 11.00, 13.30, 15.00 and 16.00
• 24 August 09.00, 10.00, 11.00, 12.30 and 13.30

 

 Massage (location JMH) - Angela Jones 

• 1 August 09.00, 10.30, 11.30, 12.15, 13.00 and 14.30
  22 August 09.45, 10.30 and 11.30

 

Podiatry (location JMH) - Lesley Nichol

• 1 August 09.00, 10.30, 11.30, 12.15, 13.00 and 14.30
• 22 August 09.45, 10.30 and 11.30

To check availability and book an appointment please e: hwl@eastlothian.gov.uk

Draft Transport Policy for children, young people and adults using ELHSCP-commissioned transport to access social care resources in East Lothian

New consultation open - please give us your views.

The Draft Transport Policy has been developed by a team of professionals drawn from East Lothian Council (ELC), East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership (ELHSCP) and Local Area Partnerships. They have reviewed all current policy in relation to transport to social care resources and examined good practice models from other local authority areas. This revised policy draft aims to support sustainable transport provision and procedures for the efficient administration of health and social care transport.

Find out more and take part in the consultation at https://eastlothianconsultations.co.uk/communications/draft-transport-policy-for-children-young-people-a/  

We are looking for a new carer representative and a new independent sector representative

The IJB’s remit includes:

Brunton room bookings

When making Quickbook bookings for meeting rooms at Brunton Hall, i.e. Esk Room 1, Esk Room 2, Esk Rooms 1 & 2 and Regent Room please note that the Meeting Room Accommodation Standards will no longer be added as an attachment to your confirmation email but can now be found on El.net  > Room Bookings.

The Meeting Room Accommodation Standards will assist you in making decisions about your preferred meeting room layout and any equipment that may be required for your event along with other useful information, e.g. Health and Safety, catering, etc.

Once you know your requirements, please email Bookings – Accommodation or tele: Ext 7625.  This information will be added to your booking and will allow for the Caretakers to have your meeting room ready prior to your arrival providing enough notice has been given, i.e. 24 hours.”

Congratulations to Library Service

The East Lothian Library Service made the final shortlist for The Bookseller’s Library of the Year Award.

The judging team noted: "A packed events programme and support for its school librarians gained East Lothian Council Library Service its shortlisting.

'The small council has 12 public libraries and six secondary schools, with the school librarians recently integrating with the public library service. East Lothian is now one of the very few councils in Scotland with a full-time qualified librarian in every secondary school, and the school librarians get professional support and leadership from the Schools & Young People’s Service at the council,specifically from senior librarian Agnes Guyon.

'The library service also has an impressive events programme, making use of support from Creative Scotland and the Scottish Book Trust to hold more than 30 author events last year, including with Judy Murray, cyclist Mark Beaumont, broadcaster Sally Magnusson and Katie Morag creator Mhairi Hedderwick.

'An extensive programme for Book Week Scotland, a young people’s book festival to celebrate the 700th anniversary of a charter granted to the town of Haddington by Robert the Bruce, and a series of adventure talks featuring the likes of writer Benedict Allen and filmmaker Gordon Buchanan are upcoming in 2018.'

"Author visits are something we’ve been really keen on," said area librarian Trina Gavan. "While it’s great to see authors at the Edinburgh Book Festival, that’s not affordable foreveryone. We want to present events that are accessible to everyone."

The library service also has its own book award, the Lennox Award, for titles aimed at those aged five to seven. The nominated authors attend an awards ceremony, while classes of schoolchildren give presentations to champion their favourite short- listed book.

Which? report places East Lothian Council in top tier for food safety

East Lothian Council is in the top bracket of the UK for food safety.

A new league table put together by consumer magazine Which? covers the whole of the UK and places East Lothian third highest in Scotland and in the top 25% of all UK authorities.

In 2016/17, 88% of East Lothian's food businesses were judged "broadly compliant" by council Environmental Health staff, achieving 98.5% of all planned interventions. ‘Broadly compliant’ is a categorisation that considers each food premises in three areas – hygiene standards, structural standards and confidence in management of the business. Depending upon the nature of any non-compliance, an officer will revisit the business to ensure that the necessary improvements have been made.

Cllr Norman Hampshire, Cabinet Spokesperson for Environment said: "The results of the Which? Report are welcome news for people consuming food in East Lothian. Both local residents and visitors to East Lothian can be assured that the overwhelming majority of our food businesses are fully compliant with current legislation.

"This data also shows that East Lothian Council is keeping up to date with our food inspections, and that we are visiting business at regular scheduled intervals.

"We have over 1,150 food businesses on our database and ultimately the hard work of our Environmental Health team makes this a safer place for our residents and visitors."

In June 2017, Food Standards Scotland audited the food safety function of the Council and reported Substantial Assurance: Controls are robust and well managed, with no required improvements and further identified two areas of Good Practice.

Customers across Scotland asked to use water wisely

Scottish Water is asking customers to use water wisely in their daily activities to help maintain supplies during the current period of hot summer weather.
Following a sustained dry period without any significant rainfall, customer usage has increased significantly. With the current weather conditions forecast to continue, Scottish Water is encouraging people to take simple but important steps to conserve our public water supplies.

In some areas there has been a 30% increase in demand for water during the summer so far and an additional 140 million litres are currently being produced and pushed through the system every day to meet current customer usage.

Scottish Water has been monitoring the situation closely and managing supplies across the country, including deploying additional resources to move water between distribution areas and tankering water to supplement local networks.  

Some water treatment works and distribution networks are working at near capacity to meet demand.  

Average reservoir levels are generally normal for this time of year but the current level of usage and continuing dry weather means stocks of stored water available for use are reducing.

Customers are being asked to reduce usage wherever possible. Businesses are also being asked to consider their usage and how they can use water more efficiently. Simple, practical steps which we encourage include:

• Taking shorter showers

• Using a watering can rather than a hose to water plants

• Using a bucket rather than a hose to wash vehicles; only washing windscreens/lights instead of the whole vehicle

• Turning off taps in the home whenever possible

• Using washing machines and dishwashers fully loaded

To help customers use water wisely, advice is available on their website www.scottishwater.co.uk/savewaterscotland or call Customer Helpline on 0800 0778 778.

Council travel insurance

Are you travelling on council or school business? Does your trip involve at least one night overnight stay? 

If so, you should ensure that you have adequate travel insurance to cover you in the event of cancellation, curtailment, illness or loss of property. The council has a group travel policy in place available for all Councillors, members of staff and children travelling on approved trips. 

Applications should be submitted as soon as you know the dates of your trip but at least four weeks prior to your leaving date, especially during school term times when we are very busy issuing policies for school trips. 

• Travel must be for council/school business or excursion either in the UK or foreign travel
• There must be at least one overnight stay
• Any medical conditions may have to be referred to the scheme underwriter
• A risk assessment may be required depending on the activity/country being visited     

 Some package trips may include insurance-please check you are not paying any additional charge as you cannot claim from two policies. 

Applications and queries should be emailed to Protective Services at insurance@eastlothian.gov.uk

 All travel applications forms are on ElNet (type insurance & claims forms in the search box). They are undergoing an update but the current ones are fine to use.

 

Former colleague Archie Martin

Sadly we have been advised of the sudden death of former East Lothian Council colleague, Archie Martin.

Archie came to East Lothian Council from Orkney Islands Council in October 1990 though he was originally from Musselburgh.   Archie worked in Planning as a landscape architect, though he also had a qualification in Planning, dealing with many of the Council’s environmental improvement projects throughout East Lothian under the Scotland’s Gardens Programme banner.

These included the gateway signs and planters to many of East Lothian’s towns and villages, the work on Court Street in Haddington to re-landscape the front of the Council Buildings and Corn Exchange, which used to be a car park, and at Civic Square and Winton Place in Tranent.  He also worked on environmental works to improve the common areas of many of the Council housing areas.  He also approved work to trees in conservation areas and to tree preservation orders, and provided advice on the landscape aspects of planning applications including appearing at local plan public Inquiries and planning appeals.

Archie took flexible retirement in 2010 and fully retired from the Council in December 2013.

His funeral is tomorrow (Weds 25 July) at 11am at Yester Kirk, Gifford to which friends are invited.

Seven East Lothian schools involved with new Finnish partnership

A partnership between schools in Finland and Scotland has been announced after Finnish educationalists said they were keen to learn from successes in Scottish schools.

Tesla wows East Lothian pupils in STEM career drive

Tesla, the electric vehicle company, wowed school pupils in East Lothian this week with a demonstration of their latest model, as part of an initiative to inspire young people to consider STEM careers. 

Around 60 young people from each of the county’s secondary schools attended the event which was organised by East Lothian Works, East Lothian’s employability hub. 

Tesla employees including Technician Oliver Hood, an ex-Ross High School pupil, welcomed the young people and talked about his journey into engineering since leaving school. Pupils heard about what career pathways and qualifications are needed to pursue a career in the industry and to work for Tesla in particular. 

Pupils enjoyed a demonstration of the Model X electric car, which can travel up to 351miles on a single charge, but a network of Superchargers means drivers can cover zero tail pipe emission electric miles all over Europe from northern Norway to Southern Spain. 

The event, which took place at Musselburgh Grammar School, follows a series of events organised by East Lothian Works that aim to inspire young people to consider Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subject areas and associated careers. Many of the young people attending had previously participated in East Lothian Works’ Girls Into STEM initiative or are involved with young engineering groups in school. 

Alison Hood, Team Leader at East Lothian Works said: “Our STEM events aim to inspire young people, and girls in particular, to consider different careers and pathways. We’re really trying to quash the idea some young people have that careers in science and engineering are not for them, and it’s really important that we challenge gender stereotypes – STEM is for everyone. 

“I want to say a huge thank you to Tesla for coming and speaking to our young people – it was really inspiring to hear about the vast opportunities that STEM careers offer. The young people were really engaged and enjoyed the car demonstration in particular – showing that engineering is not only incredibly relevant in the modern world, but that it can be fun too.” 

The Tesla event follows the success of similar events as part of a joint initiative between East Lothian Works with Regional Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce and Skills Development Scotland.

Council partnership funding awards

East Lothian Council has agreed a package of almost £5million in funding support to community councils, area partnerships and other partner agencies for 2018/19.

 

From the Adult Services / Health & Social Care Partnership and the Integration Joint Board, more than £500k will go to partner agencies including: £77,830 to CAPS, a mental health service based in Musselburgh; £63,502 to Carers of East Lothian; £61,887 to the RNIB; £46,263 to Deaf Action and £50,025 to the East Lothian Community Care Forum.

 

From the Children’s Services/ Health & Social Care Partnership and East Lothian Council budget, more than £600,000 will go to organisations including: £249,000 to Aberlour Childcare Trust; £104,040 to East Lothian Special Needs Playscheme and £96,240 to Children First.

 

Community Councils across East Lothian will receive just over £130,000 for administration and their local priority scheme budgets.

 

Area Partnerships will receive a devolved budget of almost £2 million to carry on their work delivering local priorities identified by each community.

 

More than £1.5million will go to various organisations in Community Partnership funding, including more than £200k to the First Step Community Project in Musselburgh; more than £77k to the Dunbar Community Development Company (Hallhill) and £99k to the Pennypit Project in Prestonpans.

 

Councillor Jim Goodfellow, spokesperson for Housing and Community Wellbeing, said: “It is essential for the council to work in partnership with other agencies and groups to deliver services to residents who are often the most vulnerable in our societies.

 

“We have some wonderful partner agencies in East Lothian delivering tailored support to many groups including the elderly, those with dementia, our very youngest residents and those struggling with financial or mental health issues or with varied additional needs. The council is delighted to be able to announce our continuing support to these groups.

 

“Community Councils and Area Partnerships have also been delivering key local priorities for a number of years, in close consultation with our communities and we are delighted to be able to continue this.

 

“Council budgets are being stretched more each year but our priority remains to work more effectively and in partnership with agencies who can help us to continue to support our residents and to deliver services that really make a difference. I’m sure this funding package will do just that.”

 

The full list of grant awards can be viewed in the members' library service

Council approves City Region Deal overview document

East Lothian Council has approved an outline of projects which will bring more than £1.3 billion of investment over the next 15 years to the Edinburgh and South East Scotland region.

Along with other councils; City of Edinburgh, Fife, Scottish Borders, Midlothian and West Lothian, East Lothian Council has been working on details of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region (ESESCR) Deal since 2016, which aims to build on the region’s strengths to deliver inclusive economic growth.

Once all partners have agreed the content of the Deal, it can be put forward for sign-off by the regional partners, Scottish and UK Governments.

Council Leader, Willie Innes, said: “There are significant benefits to East Lothian from the City Region Deal and we are delighted that the projects involved have now been developed in more detail so that our residents can see how this ambitious project will contribute to the local economy, including improving employment prospects and transport infrastructure, and reducing inequalities across our communities.

“The Food and Drink Innovation Campus at Queen Margaret University is important for East Lothian, Scotland’s Food & Drink County, as it will support innovation and quality in the food and drink industry. And with its business and employability focus, it will also contribute to ensuring we have a more highly skilled workforce and will help reduce barriers to employment. Complementing the deal, a Regional Employability and Skills Programme will deliver better outcomes for all the region and particularly those people facing significant disadvantages to securing and sustaining meaningful, high quality employment.

“Improvements to the Edinburgh City Bypass and Sherriffhall roundabout will also have a positive effect on East Lothian’s economy by improving our transport links to Edinburgh and beyond.

“We will also directly benefit from an expanded affordable housing programme, with a specific focus on Blindwells, which will help to address the shortage of affordable homes we are facing. This will allow more young people to continue to live and work in East Lothian and encourage more people to live and work here – building both our communities and our economy.”

Public Protection Training

East Lothian and Midlothian Public Protection have a wide range of training available in Child Protection, Adult Protection, Domestic Abuse / Violence Against Women and Girls, Drug and Alcohol Misuse and many other courses and workshops that cut across Public Protection.

Training can be accessed either by attending courses, workshops or online  

If you have any questions in relation to Public Protection training then please contact emppo@eastlothian.gov.uk

You can also check out the learning outcomes booklet for all courses.

Secondary school success in Viridor Eco Challenge

Pupils from Dunbar Grammar School and Knox Academy have won recognition for projects that have been hailed as “excellent” in a prestigious competition sponsored by Scotland’s leading recycling and renewable energy company, Viridor.

The two teams so impressed judges with their projects to improve the county’s sustainability and recycling rates that both groups have been declared winners in the East Lothian Schools Eco Challenge competition.

Viridor sponsored the competition to celebrate more than one million accident-free hours at the company’s Dunbar Energy Recovery Facility. The test challenged East Lothian secondary schools to design a project specifically related to sustainability and environmental improvement within East Lothian, and which aims to improve on any or all of the three Rs: Reducing, Reusing, or Recycling waste. 

The final presentation took place on Thursday in Haddington in front of four judges. Ideas included in the proposals from both teams ranged from enhanced recycling facilities within schools to easily obtainable zero-waste recipes which cut out the need for packaging. 

Provost John McMillan led the judging panel and said: “We were impressed and excited  by the quality of the proposals, and motivated to consider how we can take action and work together with schools and Viridor on these ideas and suggestions – the teams had clearly done their research, but it was their passion for the issues that really shone through.”

Katie Colquhuon from Viridor said: “This was an excellent way to celebrate more than one million accident-free hours at Viridor’s Dunbar Energy Recovery Facility. I was so impressed by the pupils’ creativity surrounding sustainability and to see the environmental opportunities they have identified for the local area.”

Tom Reid, Waste Services Manager, said: “It’s easy to see how we can implement some of their ideas into the work of our team. We have excellent rates of recycling in East Lothian, but until we get to a zero waste society and achieve a fully circular economy we need to work together to protect our shared future. I particularly liked the idea of the educational pack with online provision and allowing the schools to compare recycling rates across the county.”

Shamin Akhtar, cabinet spokesperson for Education and Children’s Services, said: “The young people who participated in this competition should be really proud of themselves. I really liked how the teams showed we can integrate environmental issues across the whole curriculum. I’ve certainly learned something today, and it’s clear that better environmental education is vital to ensuring that people take action.”

The teams from both schools will now go on to work together to develop their ideas for implementation and both have received £500 each to spend on Environmental and Educational improvements within their school.

The winning teams will also be invited to the Keep Scotland Beautiful awards ceremony in Haddington in September.

Self-Directed Support (SDS) thematic review

East Lothian Health & Social Care Partnership is being inspected by the Care Inspectorate on how effectively we have implemented Self-Directed Support. They will be looking at:

• Key performance outcomes
• Getting support at the right time
• Impact on staff
• Delivery of key processes
• Policy development and plans to support improvement in services
• Management and support of staff
• Leadership & direction

We will be keeping you up to date throughout the process with special Key Messages bulletins and updates on Inform and eUpdate.  A staff questionnaire will be circulated shortly to ELHSCP colleagues  to find out your thoughts on how SDS is being implemented – we really hope you will take a few minutes to complete it – it will really help.

July Employee Assistance Programme

Fine weather for a cycle ride!

ELC Healthy Working Lives have provided 4 bicycles for staff to book and use as required – for short periods. Why not take one out at lunchtime or after work?  

There is a Gents and a Ladies cycle located at John Muir House and the same at Penston / Randall House in Macmerry. The cycles will be allocated on a 'first come first served' basis and the borrower will be required to complete a loan agreement and a disclaimer sheet prior to using the cycle.

If you would like to borrow one of the cycles, please email hwl@eastlothian.gov.uk