Inside News - Spring 2024 edition

Insidenews 

Spring 2024 

Email your news to InsideNews@westlothian.gov.uk 

WEST LOTHIAN CELEBRATES 

APPRENTICE SUCCESS 

READ MORE ON P9 

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Scan the QR code to get the latest news and updates in your area by 

signing up to the council’s WhatsApp channel 

P3 

Record-breaking year 

for primary schools 

Hard-working West Lothian children recorded 

their best ever performance, and were above the 

Scottish average the national measurements. 

P7 

Course working for 

West Lothian women 

More West Lothian women are getting the skills 

they need for work, thanks to a course that helps 

them overcome the specific hurdles they face. 

P8 

Election staff 

needed 

We require staff to work on polling day 

and count roles.

A message from our Chief Executive 

Welcome back to Inside News. Inside News will bring you news from across the 

council on a regular basis. Please take time to read this new edition. 

I 

am pleased to be able to confirm that 

Inside News has been launched. It’s 

really important that we are able to learn 

about what is happening across our 

organisation, and that we’re able to share 

positive news with one another. 

As we all know, local authorities have been 

under pressure for a number of years now, 

but regardless of what the world has thrown 

at us in recent years, your commitment to our 

customers has never wavered. 

You may be aware that our council achieved 

and maintained the Customer Service 

Excellence Standard last month. The council 

has now held this standard for 25 consecutive 

years which is a remarkable achievement and 

something we should all be very proud of. In 

recognition of this achievement and the hard 

work and commitment of all staff to delivering 

excellent customer service, an additional 

day of annual leave has been awarded to all 

employees. 

The Customer Service Excellence Standard 

offers businesses a practical tool for driving 

customer-focused change within their 

organisation. The UK Government programme 

aims to make a tangible difference to 

customers. 

I have visited teams across the council this 

year and I know our commitment to serving 

the people of West Lothian remains strong. I 

look forward to meeting more teams in the 

coming months to hear about the work you’re 

undertaking to improve our services. 

There can be fewer roles more rewarding than 

fostering and adopting. Our new Fostering 

& Adoption team is tasked with overseeing 

fostering, short breaks for children with 

disabilities and adoption in West Lothian. A 

key aim of the new service is to try and ensure 

children and young people are able to remain 

in West Lothian. This includes helping brothers 

and sisters to remain together while in care. 

As part of their work, we want to see more 

children and young people having a safe and 

loving home, and that means increasing the 

number of people willing to foster and adopt 

them. This is a huge piece of work but one that 

is so important to vulnerable young people. 

Finally, congratulations to Cameron Stavert 

and Christopher Harkins who both made 

it to the final stages of Scottish APSE Trade 

Apprentice of the Year Awards recently. The 

apprentices from Building Services are very 

highly thought of within their teams and it 

is great to see their hard work recognised 

nationally. 

I hope you enjoy this edition of Inside News. 

Graham Hope 

Chief Executive 

Vans turn green for 

Community Payback team 

New electric vehicles are helping reduce the environmental 

impact of giving back to the West Lothian community. 

T 

he Community Payback 

- Unpaid Work Team have 

taken receipt of two new electric 

vans, after their previous vehicles 

reached the end of their working 

lifespan. 

The Maxus electric Deliver 9 vans 

will help the council reduce its 

carbon emissions while delivering 

essential services, as the council 

works towards becoming net zero 

before 2045. 

Gillian Oghene, Group Manager, 

said: “Community projects often 

include tasks which require vans such 

as furniture removals, deliveries on 

behalf of local charities, landscaping 

and community gardens, and 

working in partnership with a 

number of local charities.” 

Inveralmond Community 

High School were delighted 

to welcome former student 

Calum Leslie back to the school 

recently. 

The BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat presenter visited his old 

school recently, to speak to current pupils for a special 

documentary, Gay Marriage and Me, which is currently 

available to view on BBC iPlayer. 

He also took the chance to catch up with some of his 

former teachers who still work at the school. 

In recognition of the 

achieving the Customer 

Service Excellence (CSE) 

standard, which has 

now been held for 25 

consecutive years, the 

council has agreed an 

additional day of leave for 

all employees. 

For further details, 

Click here 

2 insidenews / Spring 2024

Record-breaking year for primary schools 

Hard-working West Lothian children recorded their best ever performance, and were above the Scottish average in all 

15 of the national measurements. 

N 

ational figures show that in 

Primary 1, 79% of pupils in West 

Lothian are meeting the expected 

levels of literacy, which is 3 percentage 

points above the national average. 

This rises to 81% in Primary 7, which 

is eight percentage points above the 

Scotland-wide average. 

Numeracy show a similar picture 

with 86% of pupils in West Lothian 

meeting the expected levels, one 

percentage point above the national 

average. 

The figure for Primary 7 in West Lothian 

is 85%, which is seven percentage 

points above the average for Scotland. 

West Lothian pupils were ranked top 

for achievement at primary school level 

amongst our comparator authorities. 

They were rated as third highest for 

literacy achievement and fourth highest 

for numeracy achievement out of all 32 

local authority areas in Scotland. 

Thanks to everyone who has played a role in this remarkable achievement from 

teachers and colleagues from across education, parents/carers and, 

of course, the dedicated pupils themselves. West Lothian 

continues to be one of the top local authority areas 

for primary education in Scotland. 

Greg Welsh 

Head of Education 

Knightsridge Community back 

together ahead of half century 

celebrations 

Very Good for Kirkhill 

E 

ducation Scotland have praised Kirkhill 

Nursery and Primary School following 

a recent routine inspection. 

During their visit, they talked to parents/ 

carers and children, and worked closely with 

the headteacher and staff. 

Headteacher Kirsty McLaren said: “We have 

done very well in our inspection and we will 

continue to focus on improving and caring for 

the children.” 

Praise for Dechmont Infant 

School 

T 

school has received praise for their 

positive relationships and approach to 

teaching science, technology, engineering 

and digital literacy. Inspectors from 

Education Scotland visited the school where 

they talked to parents/carers and children 

The highly effective and motivational 

leadership of the headteacher. The 

headteacher and staff ensure that high 

quality learning and teaching is leading to 

better outcomes for children. 

Staff who work together very well as 

a team. They engage enthusiastically 

in professional learning and support 

each other to learn and reflect effectively 

on their practice. 

and worked closely with the headteacher and 

staff. 

Headteacher Kirsty McLaren said: “We 

always seek to build positive relationships 

with our school community and partners. 

We are very pleased with the report and we 

will continue to work hard to develop and 

improve for our children.” 

A 

ll staff and pupils are now back at Knightsridge 

Primary School in Livingston, after being split up 

for the last 18 months due to essential repair work at 

the school. 

Both nearby Deans Primary School and Deans 

Community High School hosted Knightsridge pupils 

and staff to allow the works to be safely completed. 

Primary 6 and 7 pupils and the staff who support them 

were the last to return to the school recently, bringing 

the whole school community back together again. 

This reunites everyone at Knightsridge Primary 

School ready to start the celebrations to mark their 

50th anniversary later this year. 

Knightsridge Primary School Head Teacher Joanne 

Kerr said: 

“A huge thanks must also go to our friends at Deans 

Primary School and Deans Community High School 

for all their support in hosting us over the last 18 

months. The temporary moves went really well, and 

have helped improve the already strong connections 

between our cluster schools.” 

Email your news to InsideNews@westlothian.gov.uk or call 01506 282006 

insidenews / Spring 2024 3

St John The Baptist Primary School and Fauldhouse Nursery has received an 

exceptional report from Education Scotland and Care Inspectorate. 

Education Scotland 

Inspectors assessed the 

school against key quality 

indicators during their 

visit and awarded the 

highest rating of ‘excellent’ 

the category for raising 

attainment and achievement. 

I 

t is extremely rare for a school to receive this 

grade as since 2017, less than 1% of primary 

school inspection evaluations have received an 

‘excellent’ 

The school achieved the second highest rating of 

‘very good’ for the remaining quality indicator for 

learning, teaching and assessment. 

The Nursery was ranked as ‘very good’ against 

learning teaching and assessment and securing 

children’s progress. 

St John the Baptist RC Primary School and 

Fauldhouse Nursery, Head Teacher Angela Gardner 

said: “I am incredibly proud of our school community. 

As a staff team, we work to ensure both the 

school and nursery settings are fun, compassionate 

and nurturing environments where our children 

can learn and grow to achieve their potential. Our 

pupils are amazing and we are delighted with their 

achievements. They really are a credit to our school, 

their families and the wider community.” 

Your Garden Waste 

service is changing 

Garden 

Waste 

Permit 

Business Gateway team help inspire 

budding entrepreneurs 

Budding entrepreneurs were recently given an insight into 

how to keep things simple when it comes to turning their 

business dreams into reality thanks to the council’s Business 

Gateway team. 

Garden Waste 

collected 

From 1 June 2024 you must display a permit if you 

want to continue with your garden waste collection. 

If you don’t purchase and display a permit, only food 

waste will be collected. 

You can purchase your permit at: 

www.westlothian.gov.uk/brownbins or call 01506 280000. 

A permit costs £50 per household 

(maximum two brown bins per household). 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION 

All permits are valid from 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025. 

T 

he ‘Simplifying the Business Start Up Process’ event was organised 

and hosted by Business Gateway West Lothian advisers. 

It is estimated that new start businesses add more than £14.5million to 

the West Lothian economy. 

Economic Development manager, Alice Mitchell said: “Our team 

of dedicated trainers and advisers do a fantastic job in supporting 

prospective business owners from the outset and I’d like to thank them for 

their hard work in running this event.” 

4 insidenews / Issue 1

New shine for historic West Lothian fountain 

Work has been completed to revitalise a 

landmark West Lothian fountain. 

T 

he McLagan Fountain in Bathgate’s 

Steelyard has been hidden under a tent 

for most of January 2024 to allow for restoration 

and improvement work to be completed. 

The fountain was originally gifted to Bathgate 

in 1879 by Elizabeth McLagan, wife of MP Peter 

McLagan, to commemorate the opening of the 

town’s waterworks a year earlier. 

Peter McLagan was Scotland’s first MP of a 

mixed ethnic background and represented 

the Linlithgowshire constituency from 1865 to 

1893, by which time he had become Scotland’s 

longest- serving MP. Mr McLagan was also a 

strong believer in the temper ance movement 

of abstaining from alcohol, making the gift of 

easy access to clean drinking water particularly 

fitting. 

The project is being funded by Bathgate 

Town Centre Improvement Fund, as part of 

the West Lothian Council’s Capital Investment 

programme. 

Town Centre Manager Nairn Pearson and Jordan Sammutt, Operations Director, Hy Spec Services Limited. 

Picture courtesy of Stuart Vance/West Lothian Courier. 

New homes to 

support those with 

complex needs 

A new housing development for West Lothian 

residents with learning disabilities and complex care 

needs has been completed. 

T 

he £4.5 million development built on behalf of the West 

Lothian Council by Cruden Building East, will provide 16 

one-bedroom bungalows, designed to support individuals with 

learning disabilities to live independently. 

The modern facility in Cawburn Road, Pumpherston, has a 

range of features to support individuals who may face challenges 

due to specific sensory needs as well as being designed to 

support a range of Technology Enable Care which will support 

them to live with a degree of independence. 

Council showcases 

apprenticeship opportunities 

The Organisational Development Team opened the doors 

to Whitehill Service Centre during Scottish Apprenticeship 

Week in order to give prospective apprentices a glimpse into 

a career with the council. 

T 

he information evenings saw school pupils from West Lothian’s 

Secondary Schools invited to learn more about apprenticeship 

opportunities coming up with the council. 

Pupils and their families had the opportunity to speak to council operatives 

at ‘Apprenticeship Pods’ set up for each apprenticeship framework. 

Presentations were delivered by the Organisational Development team 

throughout the event taking hopeful applicants all the way through the 

application process including details on assessments and interviews. 



Cameras to be deployed 

in fight against fly tipping 

New mobile CCTV cameras are being rolled 

out across West Lothian in a bid to target 

offenders who dump waste in the local area. 

The cameras will be 

mounted at various 

known fly tipping 

hotspots identified by 

Operational Services and 

used to gather evidence 

to support prosecutions 

of anyone who dumps 

material on public land. 

Images will be recorded 

and will be checked on a 

regular basis. 

The vast majority of 

fly tipping is caused by 

commercial dumping. 

If you are having work 

done in your house/ 

garden, or if you are hiring 

a company to take waste 

away, households must 

make sure the company 

has a SEPA waste carrier’ 

licences – otherwise 

householders, as well as 

the company, could end 

up being fined if it is found 

to have been fly-tipped. 

Remember, if you pay to 

have your waste removed, 

you must check that your 

provider has a Waste 

Carrier’ Licence. 

Report 

FlyTipping 

Mentors wanted to help local 

school students 

West Lothian Council staff are being urged to share 

their skills by becoming a Career Ready mentor. 

The council works in partnership with social 

mobility charity Career Ready, to deliver a 

transformational programme that boosts the life 

chances of young people. 

T 

his aims to empower S5 and S6 year students who are at 

risk of not achieving their full potential, 

boosting their social capital and developing 

workplace skills. 

The Career Ready Programme targets 

students in S5 and S6 who would benefit 

from the support of a mentor, and includes 

council services hosting a young person for 

a 4-week internship. 

New approach for caring for young 

people in West Lothian 

The council has launched a new Family Based Care Service 

with a fresh approach to providing care options for young 

people in West Lothian. 

T 

he council has launched a new Family Based Care Service with a 

fresh approach to providing care options for young people in 

West Lothian. 

The new service is tasked with overseeing fostering, short breaks for 

children with disabilities and adoption in West Lothian. 

SUPPORTING 

TOMORROW’S 

WORKFORCE 

For more information please contact 

michelle.robertson@westlothian.gov.uk 

#WORKout 

yourfuture 


Course working for West Lothian women 

More West Lothian 

women are getting the 

skills they need for work, 

thanks to a course that 

helps them overcome the 

specific hurdles they face. 

A 

special event was held in Whitburn 

Partnership Centre recently to mark the 

latest graduates of the Women N2 Work Course, 

which offers support and assistance to women 

that are thinking of starting or returning to work. 

A total of five women completed the six-week 

course, which explores the barriers that 

women can face to gain fair and sustainable 

employment, and provides methods and 

techniques to overcome any employment 

related challenges. 

Run by employment experts from the council’s 

Access2employment service, the course 

covers a range of topics including wellbeing, 

empowerment & personal development, 

mock interview support, CV development, job 

searching, and more. 

St Kentigern’s Academy named 

CyberFirst Scottish Champions 

S 

t Kentigern’s Academy’s S2 girls were 

invited to participate in a UK wide 

Cyber Competition run by the National 

Cyber Security Centre. 

This was part of GCHQ, and sponsored 

by Morgan Stanley. The girls formed teams 

of up to four members and solved a range 

of coding, logic and encryption puzzles 

and were competing against schools from 

all over the UK. This year 28 S2 girls from St 

Kentigern’s took part. The competition had 

3608 teams from over 750 schools across 

the UK enter (12,500 girls in total). One 

of the school’s teams, made up of Julia, 

Elisana, Julia and Akosua won, becoming 

Scottish Champions. 

As Scottish Champions they were 

invited to Oxford to attend the CyberFirst 

winners’ event. The girls met with winners 

from each of our four nations, explored 

Oxford University and attended an Awards 

Ceremony and Gala dinner. 

Also, in recognition of all the good 

work undertaken by the school and other 

students at St Kentigern’s the school was 

awarded a CyberFirst Silver Award as one 

of the UK’s leading Cyber Schools. 

Garath Partridge (Computing Teacher 

and Lead) and Sarah Murray (Depute 

Headteacher) who accompanied the 

students to Oxford for the Awards. 

Time capsule 

captures first year at 

Calderwood 

A fascinating insight into the 

beginnings of Calderwood Primary 

and Nursery in East Calder has been 

buried for future generations to find. 

P 

upils were set a time capsule challenge 

which marked a year since the school was 

officially opened. The task was to select 

appropriate items to go into the time capsule, 

which represent their memories of the first year 

at the school. 

A special ceremony was held exactly one year 

later to bury the time capsule in the new 

playground containing items chosen by pupils, a 

school tie and a timeline of events. 



New hub for West Lothian youth at 101 

A fantastic new space for West 

Lothian young people has opened 

up in The Centre, Livingston. 

1 

01 Youth Project will provide a dedicated place for those aged 13 and over, with the former 

retail unit repurposed into a vibrant hub for youth activities and services. 

The ambitious project has seen a range of teams from across West Lothian Council work in 

partnership with public and private sector organisations to help deliver the unit, including: The 

Centre, Livingston; Mitie; MPACT; and NHS Lothian. 

Election staffing 

We require staff to work on polling day and count roles. 

Did you know: 

You don’t need to use any holiday entitlement to work at an election 

No experience is necessary as full training is provided 

All roles receive a payment 

If you are interested, please send any notes of interest or questions to 

Elections@westlothian.gov.uk 

New teams cleaning 

up our towns 

ew teams are being deployed at key 

N points across West Lothian’s town 

centres as part of a renewed focus on 

street cleansing. 

The new Town Centre teams have been 

created following consideration of public 

feedback into the appearance of town 

and village centres. This comes as part 

of approximately £2.9 million worth of 

investment from the council across street 

cleansing and environmental enforcement 

this year. 

They will be deployed on a cyclical 

pattern across town centres and will 

provide additional cleansing on top of 

the routine litter picking that is already 

carried out in these areas of high footfall. 

Voter ID required to vote 

in UK General Election 

The next UK General Election will mark the first time 

that voters in Scotland will be required to show voter ID 

when attending a polling station to vote. 

A 

lthough a date has yet to be set for 

the General Election, voters are 

advised to make themselves familiar with 

the forms of ID that will be acceptable as 

Voter ID come the election. 

You will only need to show one form of 

photo ID, but it needs to be the original 

version and not a photocopy. The name 

on your ID must be the 

same name you used to register to vote. 

If your name has changed you may 

be asked to produce additional forms of 

identification. 

You can still use some photo IDs even if 

they are out-of-date, as long as the photo 

still looks like you. 

If voters do not have any form of 

accepted ID they can apply for a free ID, 

known as the Voter Authority Certificate. 

Information on acceptable forms of photo ID you can use to vote in Scotland and 

further details on the Voter Authority Certificate can be found on the 

Electoral Commission website. 

8 insidenews / Issue 1

The West 

Lothian Way 

COMMUNICATION CUSTOMER GOVERNANCE 

The West Lothian Way is the council’s communications guidelines. It is our guide to communicating 

within and on behalf of West Lothian Council and sets the standards we want to achieve. 

C 

onsistency is of the utmost 

importance when we are working 

with our customers, both internally and 

externally. 

All staff should follow the West Lothian 

Way. 

The goal of The West Lothian Way is 

to provide an exceptional standard of 

professional practice in support of the 

council. 

We maintain a suite of professional 

standards guidance to support and quality 

assure our work, to make the best standard. 

The West Lothian Way provides practical 

guidance to staff on the standards required 

and gives us a comprehensive baseline 

for governance, customer service and 

communication standards. 

The West Lothian Way is available on the 

Intranet. Please visit: 

westlothian.gov.uk/westlothianway 

Two West Lothian Council 

Apprentices have been 

recognised by the Association 

for Public Service 

Excellence (APSE) Scotland. 

Cameron Stavert, who is a 

first-year apprentice electrician, 

picked up the Apprentice of the 

Year Award 2024. 

T 

The 19 year-old former Broxburn 

Academy pupil, was nominated for 

the award by colleagues as he was the 

standout apprentice in the last 12 

months in both the workplace and at 

college as he has undertaken his first 

year. 

Once he was selected as a finalist, 

Cameron had to undertake an interview 

process with APSE before he was 

selected as the Overall Apprentice of the 

Year winner. 

Cameron said: “Overall I’ve had a great 

experience. Every day has been different 

with fresh challenges and I have learnt 

a great deal from my colleagues and 

mentors and look forward to the work 

ahead. I would encourage anyone who is 

considering a trade apprenticeship to go 

for it.” 

Joining him at the award ceremony 

was Chris Harkins who is now in the third 

year of his apprenticeship and made it 

to the final of his category. The former St 

Kentigern’s Academy pupil is no stranger 

to recognition having been a previous 

APSE award winner during the second 

year of his apprenticeship. 

Our Waste Education team 

held their annual Prom 

Boutique recently to give preloved 

outfits a new life. 

They help ensures that dresses, suits, kilts 

and some beautiful shoes and accessories 

are recycled, and find a new home. 

P 

upils and teachers across West Lothian are 

invited along and for a small donation pupil can 

take away a new clothing item. 

By reusing our clothes, we aim to discourage ‘Fast 

Fashion’ and outfits which are only worn once and 

then thrown away. Clothing production has a big 

impact on our natural resources with around 300,000 

tonnes of perfectly good, re-usable clothing going to 

landfill every year in the UK. 

The Boutique also helps reduce the expense for 

families buying a brand-new outfit for what might be 

the highlight of a young person’s school year. 

I would definitely recommend any young person who is 

given the opportunity to start an apprenticeship to grab the 

opportunity with both hands. The people you meet, the skills 

you learn and the overall experience is something that will 

benefit you for the rest of your working life. Chris Harkins 

Caption from front page: David Newton, Electrical team leader, Lewis Forsyth, Electrical Team 

Coordinator, Building Services Manager, Grant Taylor. Middle – Katrina Jackson, Organisational 

Development Officer, Lewis Pearce and Robbie Brown (both Electricians and Mentors). Front – Cameron 

Stavert, Head of Housing, Customer & Building Services, Julie Whitelaw and Christopher Harkins. 


Lindsey Dickson, Lynn Yuill and Alison Towers from the 

council’s Waste Education Team 


Supporting Flexible Working Policy 

The council has approved a new Supporting Flexible Working Policy. 

The policy is being introduced following review of the flexible working 

provisions introduced in 2022 as part of the Flexible Working Pilot. 

A 

s part of the review the council 

considered the views of staff, 

managers and trade unions, looked at 

service performance and considered 

customer needs. The new Policy has been 

prepared with a view to prioritising service 

delivery while providing flexible working 

where possible. 

What are we keeping? 

Workstyle Categories 

The workstyle categories introduced by the 

Pilot have been adopted into the Policy. 

They are: Fixed working; hybrid working; 

home working; and mobile working. 

The workstyle category for each post will 

remain subject to change in accordance 

with service needs and role descriptions. 

Similarly, individual suitability for hybrid 

or homeworking will be subject to review 

where appropriate in support of employee 

wellbeing, changes to personal circumstances 

or employee performance. 

Core Hours 

Corporate core hours of 10am -12noon and 

2pm – 4pm (Monday to Thursday) and 10am 

– 12 noon and 2pm – 3.30pm (Friday) remain 

in place. 

Where local variations can be managed 

without impact on service delivery, Service 

Managers have scope to agree individual 

variations to core hours on an intermittent or 

regular basis. 

Home and Hybrid Working for Employees 

Where hybrid working is agreed, employees 

will continue to be required to be in the 

workplace for a minimum of 40% of their 

normal weekly hours. The 40% of normal 

weekly hours should be pro-rated for part 

time workers taking a common-sense 

approach without attendance in the 

workplace being counted down to hours and 

minutes. 

Managers must ensure that there are 

opportunities for regular in person team 

collaboration. In this regard, employees who 

undertake all their working hours from home 

must attend their council work base at least 

once per month. 

What is changing? 

Flexi Bandwidth 

An extended flexi-bandwidth of 7am – 7pm 

has been agreed. Employees should use the 

flexi-bandwidth to shift and flex working days 

as necessary and in line with business need, 

not to regularly work extended days at the 

extremes of the bandwidth. 

The length of a normal flexi day has 

not changed (7hrs 12mins for full-time 

employees working a normal Monday – 

Friday pattern) and work should be carried 

out at a time when there is a corresponding 

service need with suitable cover in teams 

across service operating hours. 

Line managers will continue to monitor 

flexi balances and when work is carried out to 

determine if: 

an employee needs support in 

prioritising workload; 

the service needs to prioritise what it can 

deliver within existing staff resources; 

the working hours appropriately reflect 

service need and peaks in customer 

demand. 

Where can I get further information? 

You can read the full Supporting 

Flexible Working Policy on 

Mytoolkit, where you can also access 

Homeworking Guidance for Employees 

and guidance on the Right to Request 

Flexible Working. 

Employee Financial Support Service 

Employees of West Lothian Council who are worried about money matters can 

access free, confidential advice tailored to your individual needs. 

T 

aking care of your finances is as important 

as looking after your physical and mental 

health. In fact, all three are closely linked and 

problems in just one area can have a big impact 

on our overall wellbeing and our work life 

balance. Simply put, happy and healthy 

employees are more productive and better able 

to manage the demands of work and personal 

life. 

West Lothian Council is a Living Wage accredited 

employer, which means that wage levels are set 

with the cost of living in mind. However, there is 

more to good financial health than just income. 

The Employee Financial Support Service can 

help you to look at your overall financial picture 

looking to maximise your income wherever 

possible, look at ways to reduce outgoing costs 

and help furnish you with practical skills to put 

you in control of your money. 

Universal Credit Support 

Universal Credit is a means-tested social security 

benefit that has been introduced to replace the 

old multi-benefit system. It is usually paid as one 

single monthly payment and, depending on your 

income and circumstances, you could be eligible 

for support with costs including housing, caring 

responsibilities and childcare costs. 

To check if you might be entitled entitled to 

Universal Credit, or any other social security 

benefits, use our entitlement calculator. 

Help with Childcare Costs 

Did you know that if you are employed you could 

be entitled help with childcare costs through the 

Tax-Free Childcare scheme? You could get up to 

£500 every three months (up to £2,000 a year) 

for each of your children to help with the costs 

of childcare. This goes up to £1,000 every three 

months if a child is disabled (up to £4,000 a year). 

This support is currently vastly underclaimed 

with less than 40% of eligible families enrolled in 

the scheme. 

Find out more. 

If you are in receipt of Universal Credit, you could 

claim back up to 85% of your childcare costs to 

help you with the costs of working. 

If eligible you could claim up to £950.92 for one 

child or £1,630.15 for two or more children each 

month. 

Find out more. 

Childcare support 

To find out more about which options 

for childcare support are best for your 

circumstances, click here to find out how much 

you could get. 


New social 

housing site in 

Livingston 

The development includes supported housing 

specifically for homeless young people. 

The development will see West Lothian Council 

become one of the first councils in the country 

to use modular construction to build housing. 

Emergency accommodation manager, Lorna Gray; Homeless 

Services Manager, Dawn Crow; Housing strategy & development 

manager, Marjory Mackie and Interim head of housing, customer 

and building services, Julie Whitelaw 

Youth Homeless 

Prevention – COSLA Award 

Housing, Customer & Building Service were the proud winners 

of a Cosla award for our Youth Homeless Prevention. 

T 

he Housing Need Service 

brought home the prestigious 

award for the work they do to achieve 

better outcomes for the most 

vulnerable young people who are at 

risk of becoming homeless. The team 

were shortlisted from hundreds of 

applications from councils across 

Scotland. 

This work is delivered jointly 

between Housing Need, Youth 

Action Project and Education, and it 

actively prevents homelessness from 

becoming a reality for young people. 

The project is the first of its kind in 

Scotland, and the team was delighted 

that the judging panel recognised a 

creative, new approach to providing 

a crucial service to those most at risk, 

and more importantly, the crucial role 

our staff play in making a difference to 

the lives of vulnerable young people. 

Council Tax 

e-bills saves time, 

money and the 

environment 

West Lothian Council staff 

who live in the authority are 

being urged to move to their 

Council Tax bills to email. 

Council staff can join the growing number of local residents making 

the move from paper bills, with over 5,000 residents making the 

change in the last year to take the total to more than 30,000. 

Reducing the number of paper bills printed delivers clear benefits 

for the environment, and email bills can also be sent out quicker 

and stored easier than traditional bills. 

It also saves the council money on paper, envelopes, printing and 

postage costs. 

Click here to register 

40 year milestone 

for Heather 

April 2024 was a 

milestone month for 

Assistant Registrar, 

Heather Leitch with 

the month marking 40 

years of service in local 

government in West 

Lothian. 

Heather began her career with Lothian Region in 1984 working in 

Trading Standards. 1990 saw Heather move service taking up a role 

in Community Education at Whitburn Community Centre. 

From there she has spent time in roles with West Lothian Council’s 

Customer Information Service and Registration Services where she 

can be found today conducting marriages for many happy couples. 

Heather said: “I can’t believe I have reached forty years’ service. I 

work with great people and really enjoy the work that I do. I meet 

so many different people and there can be few jobs in the council 

better than conducting marriages for happy couples.” 



Members of the Licensing Team marked a 

special milestone recently. 

Audrey, Lizanne, Michelle, Jane and Elaine have accumulated an 

amazing 194 years of service. 

Michelle has 40 years’ service 

Lizanne has 42 years’ service 

Audrey has 39 years’ service 

Jane has 37 years’ service 

Elaine has 36 years’ service 

Chief Solicitor, Carol Johnston added: “I am very lucky to have such 

experienced and dedicated officers in my service. Their commitment 

to the provision of excellent customer service and team working is 

outstanding.” 

The Licensing Team’s Managing Solicitor, Audrey Watson, who retires 

in June, said: “We have obviously known each other for a long, long 

time and it has been a pleasure to work with the team. I think the 

amount of service we’ve all given demonstrates how well we work 

together and how supportive we are of one another as a team. I will 

certainly miss the team when I retire.” 

Congratulations to… 

Tegan Scott and Kirsty McGraw from 

Revenues. 

Tegan recently passed the Institute of 

Revenues Rating and Valuation (IRRV) Council 

Tax exam as part of her IRRV Technician 

qualification. The qualification is designed 

for Local Taxation practitioners in the public 

and private sectors who wish to gain a 

professional qualification and further their 

careers 

Tegan is a Revenues Officer in the Revenues 

Unit Local Taxation Team. 

Kirsty McGraw recently passed IRRV Council 

Tax and Management exams as part of her 

Diploma qualification. The qualification is 

designed for Local Taxation practitioners in 

the public and private sectors who wish to 

progress to senior positions. Kirsty is a Section 

Leader in the Revenues Unit Local Taxation 

Team. 

Gillian Edwards being appointed as the Team 

Manager for Strategy and New Supply and 

Colin Morrison who has been appointed Team 

Leader – Delivery, both Housing. 

Maureen Colquhoun, 

from the Advice Shop, who 

is approaching 35 years of 

service with the council. In 

her time here, Maureen has 

supported many people to 

build their skills as adult learners and improve 

their confidence through volunteering. 

Alex Grant, Mhairi Grant and Lorraine 

McLean have all recently retired from Social 

Policy in March. We wish them all the best for 

the future and hope they enjoy the welldeserved 

downtime. 

Linden Raeburn and her 

fiancé John Scott. Linden 

and John met at work in 

the Advice Shop and are 

now set to get married in 

May this year. 

Happy Retirement Margaret Reid from 

Housing. After 40 years Margaret retired in 

March 2024. Her hard work and dedication will 

be missed by the team. 

Welcome to… 

Amy Sloan and Blair Fraser who have joined 

the Revenues Unit Local Taxation Team in 

the role of Revenues Officer undertaking the 

responsibilities for the billing, administration 

and recovery of Council Tax and Business 

Rates. 

Grace Lummi, recently started in the Empty 

Homes Officer role with Housing. 

Grace will be leading on an Empty Homes 

Strategy and bringing empty homes into use. 

Frazer Lord, who joins us from Key Housing 

Association to take up the Team Leader Assets 

role with Housing. 

It’s a girl – Congratulations 

to David Young from 

Housing and his wife/ 

partner Laura on the birth of 

a beautiful baby girl. Harriet 

was born Wednesday 28 

February, three weeks early 

but both mum and baby are doing well. 

Well done to… 

Adrienne Jenkins from Housing who 

competed in doubles event at the Hyrox 

competition in Glasgow over the 2nd and 3rd 

of March 2024, completing the course with an 

impressive PB time of 1hr and 23 mins. 

Kelly Storrie, 

Revenues Officer, 

helped raise over 

£900 for Homeless 

Charity, Steps To 

Hope. Kelly was part 

of a group who took 

part in an overnight 12 hour sleep out to raise 

funds & awareness for the Local Homeless & 

addictions charity Steps To Hope. 

Donate to Steps To Hope. 

Keep in 

touch... 

Inside News is your staff magazine. 

We want to hear about staff achievements (in and out of work), and news 

from all services. The next edition is planned for week beginning July 29. 

Email your news to insidenews@westlothian.gov.uk

Inside News - Spring 2024 edition

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