The Edinburgh Reporter January 2021

6
NEWS
by Cliff Hague of the Cockburn
Association
The coming year will see our
city address the legacy of its
connections with slavery and
colonialism. This "hidden history"
came to the fore in 2020 with
the Black Lives Matter protests
following the killing of George
Floyd while in police custody in
Minneapolis.
The calls for action in opposition
to racism reached far beyond
America, including Edinburgh. Our
council has set up the Edinburgh
Slavery and Colonialism Legacy
Review Group. I have accepted
the invitation to be a member.
Our remit is to consider and make
recommendations on Edinburgh’s
slavery and colonialism legacy
in the civic realm. We are tasked
to focus on any features within
the council boundary which
commemorate those with close
links to slavery and colonialism,
including, but not limited to, public
statues and monuments, street or
building names.
The Group will work to deliver
recommendations about how that
legacy should be addressed, both
The Edinburgh Reporter
Looking again at slavery links
Mural of Frederick Douglass Photo Martin P McAdam
The Scottish Government
overspent its 2019/20 budget by
nearly £700 million responding to
the Covid-19 pandemic.
Net spending for the year across
the consolidated accounts was
£39,385 million - £669 million
more than budget.
Two large business support
schemes agreed in March that
cost £912 million.
But the pandemic delayed
publication of its medium-term
financial strategy to January 2021,
squeezing the time for scrutiny
by MSPs ahead of the 2021/22
budget. Responding to Covid-19
and EU withdrawal has also placed
considerable strain on staff across
the organisation.
Government loans of £3.5
million to Prestwick Airport and £9
million to Burntisland Fabrications
Ltd were written down in the
2019/20 financial year.
This follows a trend of loans and
guarantees for private companies
deteriorating in value, including
£45 million previously provided to
Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd.
Stephen Boyle, Auditor General
for Scotland, said: "Covid-19
in the short-term and long-term.
In looking at Edinburgh’s public
realm through this lens, we need
to find ways to connect the past
to the cause of racial justice
today for all our citizens. I hope
that a basis can be laid for future
generations in this diverse city
to share understanding of our
intertwined histories.
We cannot pretend that
Edinburgh developed in isolation
from the Atlantic slave trade
and the period of Empire that
followed, events which still have
consequences today. The starting
point is the databases that have
been compiled from the list of
persons who were compensated
for the loss of their slaves at the
time of abolition.
Abolitionists also need to be
recognised, for example the
legendary Frederick Douglass who
escaped from slavery in Maryland
and inspired many by his oratory
when he visited Edinburgh. Truth
and reconciliation need to guide
our work. It will not be easy, and
coronavirus adds to the hurdles
to be overcome. The work of the
Review Group needs to enrich
understanding of Edinburgh’s
history for all who live here or visit
our great city.
Govt spending needs more clarity
is understandably having a
significant effect on the Scottish
Government's finances.
"It's now more important than
ever that the next financial
strategy has clear links between
spending plans and what that
money is expected to achieve,
as Scotland contends with the
pandemic's ongoing impact.
"The Scottish Government
also needs to clearly outline its
plans for future investment in
private companies to increase
transparency and value for money."
Food growing strategy - public's comments invited
Citizens in Edinburgh are being
encouraged to have their say on
the Council’s first food growing
strategy.
The strategy aims to encourage
people to get more involved
in local food production,
promote local and sustainable
consumption and help improve
issues such as biodiversity, health,
food security and address poverty
in the capital.Supported by Edible
Edinburgh, the Growing Locally
consultation is looking for people’s
views on food growing, from
growing in gardens and allotments
or as part of a community growing
project.
The consultation is looking
to find out: Ways in which the
purchase of local and sustainable
food could be increased, to
help to reduce the city’s carbon
emissions as well as supporting
the Edinburgh’s green recovery
from Covid-19.
How could local food growing
help to reduce food poverty and
improve health and wellbeing.
How the Council and others in
the city can help support people
to become more involved in local
growing.
Edible Edinburgh chair, Councillor
George Gordon, said: "The Growing
Locally strategy aims to reduce
carbon emissions, support local
food growing businesses, increase
land availability for food growing,
reduce inequalities and increase
awareness and choice around
healthy and sustainable food.
"We are calling for citizens to
contribute to the consultation
as to how they feel local food
growing can help respond to these
challenges, as well as help create
a vibrant and thriving sustainable
food economy in Edinburgh for
everyone."
Brenda Black, Director of
Edinburgh Community Food and
member of Edible Edinburgh
said: "The Growing Locally
strategy aims to help promote
better food relationships within
our communities by connecting
people through well-being, through
encouraging local growing and
consumption of healthy and
sustainable food.
"This consultation provides the
opportunity to hear your views
on how we can help tackle these
issues together as a city."
The draft food growing strategy
was first approved for consultation
by Council Committee in February
2020, but the online consultation
was delayed due to the outbreak
of Covid-19.
The consultation runs until 18
January and will be supported
with online events published on
the Edible Edinburgh website.
edible-edinburgh.org
Hope for 2021
Jeremy Balfour Lothians MSP
writes: "As we step into 2021
there is a sense of cautious hope
spreading throughout the nation.
Hope that vaccines will work.
Hope that cases will fall. Hope that
this strange way of life will finally
end. I share in this hope, however,
it is not my only hope for 2021.
Despite 1 in 5 Scots having
some form of disability, for the
last five years I have been the only
MSP in Holyrood with a physical
disability. I find it frustrating that a
country priding itself on inclusivity
fails to have representation
for one of the biggest minority
groups. Looking ahead I see an
opportunity to change this.
In 2021 we vote in the Scottish
Election choosing representatives
for the next five years. It is my
hope that we will be able to look
around and see people with all
kinds of disabilities taking seats
on every side of the chamber,
and that Holyrood will lead the
way, showing what true disability
inclusion looks like.I hope that
young people with a disability can
look to Holyrood and be inspired
as they see people just like them
speaking up and having their
voice heard. I hope that this year
the tide will change for disability
representation.
Free parking
at hospitals
The Health Secretary Jeane
Freeman confirmed that car
parking will continue to be free for
staff, visitors and patients at three
hospitals in Scotland including the
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh until
the end of March 2021.
At the beginning of the
Covid-19 pandemic, The Scottish
Government began paying the car
park providers, enabling them to
lift charges at the three Scottish
PFI hospitals.
The initial three month
suspension was announced by
Ms Freeman in March. It was then
extended until January 2021 and
now there is an agreement in place
until March 2021.
Ms Freeman said: “I am glad that
we are able to continue providing
this support to our hardworking
NHS staff and to patients and their
visitors. I know from the letters
I receive that free car parking is
particularly appreciated by staff
who are working day and night to
care for their patients during this
pandemic.
“It is down to their extraordinary
efforts that the NHS remains
open. The staff of the NHS should
not experience any unnecessary
difficulties whilst they continue to
go above and beyond during the
Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Scottish Government is
continuing to work on a long term
solution to the issue of car parking
changes.”
Parking at Glasgow Royal
Infirmary and Ninewells Hospital in
Dundee is also free.
St Vincent Bar
gets Covid-19
rules warning
The St Vincent Bar in
Stockbridge was issued with a
written warning by the Licensing
Board.
The board spent almost two
hours considering an application
by Police Scotland to review the
licence under which St Vincent Bar
Scotland Limited sells alcohol.
There were 17 complaints from
13 separate sources since June
this year all concerned with the
behaviour of people outside the
bar. It was acknowledged that
some of the crowd of up to 60
at one point who congregated
outside or on the steps of St
Stephen's Church, apparently
flouting Covid-19 restrictions, may
not have all been customers.
Some people on the church steps
had bags from supermarkets and
at least one person seen by the
police brought their own chair. The
board agreed that not everyone
was a customer.
One of the company directors,
Christopher Grierson, is also a
personal licence holder. He was
present at the virtual meeting to
answer questions along with his
solicitor Alistair MacDonald.
Convener, Cllr Norman Work,
said at the end of the meeting to
Mr Grierson: "You may think you
have got off lightly here, but we
do take these seriously. If you do
come back again then I hope you
realise that we are giving you the
opportunity to show that you can
work on this. I hope that you take
what you have heard from the
board as a serious matter."
Cllr Howie asked if complaints
aligned with the opening hours of
the bar, and the police confirmed
that they did. His was a lone
voice appearing to take a sterner
approach to the review.
Mr McDonald pointed out that
nothing in the review related to
anything illegal. He said that his
clients had complied with any
police guidance and that there
were no significant recent issues.
He stated that since a meeting of
the bar owners with the Licensing
Standard Officers and police in
mid-November the bar employs
a member of staff whose job it
is to move people on outside. He
also said the bar is willing to look
at alternative drinks containers if
necessary.
Chris Grierson offered to reroute
the queue north of the bar down
towards St Stephen Street which
he thought might help get round
this issue. There are chalk marks
and notices all round the bar and
in the street, telling those who
are buying drinks to move on. Mr
Grierson said that they now have
a member of staff outside at all
times during opening hours and
generally most people asked do
move on.
He also said that they do not
serve people again if they have not
moved on when previously asked.