Nationwide Admiral Nurses : next Dementia clinics in Stirling

If you care for someone who has dementia or live with the diagnosis yourself, you can book a free 45-minute appointment with a dementia specialist Admiral Nurse for expert, tailored support, whatever your questions or concerns. The dementia clinics are being held at selected Nationwide branches across the UK. This service is for everyone – including non-members of Nationwide Building Society. All appointments are confidential and will take place in a private space within the branch. Stirling appointments are available on the 25th, 26th and 27th February in the Port Street Branch.

Details of how to book are here: Book an appointment at a Nationwide branch 

Information about Demential specialist Admiral Nurses is in this document: About Dementia Specialist Admiral Nurses

Stirling Council Community Development February 2025 News Bulletin

Stirling Council Community Development Team have published the February 2025 Issue of the CDNews Bulletin.

This issue includes: Pension Age Disability Benefit, Let’s Grow Network, Stirling 900 Celebrations, Funding, Disclosure Scotland Changes, Dementia-Inclusive Singing Group and more. Please distribute to your networks. If you have any problem accessing the Bulletin or would like the material in a different format, please let us know. All past Bulletins are on our website. 

If you would like an article included to promote your organisation’s activities or projects, please get in touch. Please pass to your networks and we’re happy to add anyone to our distribution list. The link to the Stirling Council page with the bulletin is  https://www.stirling.gov.uk/community-life-and-leisure/community-development-news-bulletins/community-development-news-bulletin-february-2025/

Scottish Goverment faster broadband Reaching 100% (R100) Survey

R100 Poster - FinalThe Scottish Goverment’s £600+ million Reaching 100% (R100)  programme is extending access to faster broadband to sub-30 Megabits per second homes and businesses who are unlikely to receive upgrades through commercial plans. You can find out more about R100 at: gov.scot/digitalconnectivity To understand whether and how households and organisations have benefited from R100, the Scottish Government is undertaking an evaluation of the programme. As part of this,  they have commissioned a survey of households and organisations who:

 

    • Are scheduled to receive broadband access via R100 but have not yet been connected
    • Have been provided with broadband access via R100 and have taken up the connection
    • Have been provided with broadband access via R100 but have not taken up the connection

 The surveys are available online and can be accessed at https://tinyurl.com/R100Evaluation

 The surveys are only open to properties covered by the R100 programme. If a property is covered by the programme, the associated address will come up as an option when the property postcode is entered by the survey respondent.

The deadline for all survey responses is currently 3 March 2025.

2025/26 Stirling Council Budget: consultation and engagement process

The Chair of the Bridge of Allan Community Council has sent the following letter to Stirling Council:

OFFICIAL

 

 

Date: 31 January 2025

Dear Stirling Council,

2025/26 Stirling Council Budget: consultation and engagement process 

In addition to our individual residents’ responses to the current budget engagement exercise, Bridge of Allan Community Council is writing on behalf of our community to express our concerns regarding both the process and the options being presented.

 We appreciate that generating savings options for consideration is a challenge, however we feel that the information provided has been insufficient to allow residents to fully consider options and provide informed feedback to support Elected Members to decide on the budget for 2025/26.

 On your engagement platform you state that £2.6m of savings are being consulted on with residents, and that a range of other savings, totalling more than £8m, have been identified which will not have a direct impact on the services resident’s use. No detail is provided on the £8m plus of savings identified, but we are struggling to understand how any savings made by Council will not have a direct impact on the services provided to residents.  Whether the savings are being generated from back-office functions, from restructures or from another route they will ultimately impact on the quality and efficiency of the services provided by Stirling Council to its residents.  We ask you to share publicly all information on the detail of these savings and an assessment of the impact, both positive and negative from these.

The savings presented for engagement are not supported with information on the potential impact should the saving be made, with detail instead describing the service as it is.  There is no detail of the impact assessments you have undertaken in relation to equalities, children’s rights, environment, or the Fairer Scotland Duty.  Without this level of detail, the engagement exercise you have undertaken feels tokenistic.  Unless you are willing to support residents to give an informed view it is hard to see what value you place on this exercise.  While we feel that asking respondents general questions about possible disproportionate impact of savings on people with one or more protected characteristic is positive it is not enough.  It does not give any opportunity to consider how factors such as poverty may exacerbate impact on some households, or how the cumulative impact of different savings may have a disproportionate impact on specific individuals, households or families.

Many of the options presented seem to relate to services aimed at supporting those most in need, such as services specifically aimed at supporting children and young people to engage in education, community and culture; supporting families; providing access to libraries and community facilities; homelessness and housing support; business development; and volunteering support. These are often the areas targeted on an annual basis for savings, which provides uncertainty for both those who use the services and the staff who provide them.  It also suggests they are valued less than services not being presented for consideration.

 While we recognise that savings must be made, and that the budget requires to be balanced, we do not feel that the options presented represent areas of true efficiency within the organisation.  Many of the options proposed will have a significant detrimental impact on members of our community who require most support and will have a cumulative long-term impact on outcomes for the communities who make up the Stirling Council area. 

 As a representative body for our area with a statutory basis, we have a role in supporting Council to engage with residents.  We have shared information on the engagement exercise with residents and urged them to have their say.  However the lack of detail on the options themselves, and the likely impact on residents is an area of significant concern for the Community Council and we would welcome a discussion on how this approach can be improved.

Regards

Amanda Coulthard

Chair, Bridge of Allan Community Council

Bridge of Allan Community Council

OFFICIAL

Residents Against Greenbelt Erosion coffee morning

The Residents Against Greenbelt Erosion (RAGE) campaigners are hosting a coffee morning to thank all those who contributed to their campaign against the Park of Keir development. RAGE are holding the event on Saturday, February 8 at Lecropt Kirk Hall from 10am-noon and say it will be an opportunity for anyone who has been involved in, or who is interested in, the campaign to ‘Save Park of Keir’ to meet and chat with others.

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