Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Armed Forces personnel help with vaccines
Hardy pair mount gruelling charity challenge
Twenty-one personnel from across the Armed Forces will deploy to NHS Lanarkshire health board to help administer doses of the Covid-19 vaccines.
Under the Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) scheme, personnel from across all three services will be deployed for up to five weeks.
Helping to accelerate Scotland’s vaccination delivery programme, the support will comprise of 18 vaccinators, two registered health professionals and one command and control manager.
They will form two vaccine support teams and will deploy across Lanarkshire as required.
Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack said: “It’s pleasing to see our fantastic British Armed Forces continuing to play a key role in keeping us safe and helping defeat Covid.
“Their deployment to the central belt will help with Scotland’s vital vaccination programme and ensure an acceleration of jabs into arms.
“There is much to be hopeful about in the fight against Covid thanks to the UK Government procuring and paying for millions of vaccine doses for people in all parts of the UK and the dedication and professionalism of the NHS and our military.”
Working alongside NHS colleagues as part of Operation RESCRIPT, the vaccination teams will be co-ordinated by the Joint Military Command (JMC) Scotland, based at Redford Barracks in Edinburgh, and will be commanded by Brigadier Ben Wrench.
Commander Joint Military Command Scotland, Brigadier Ben Wrench, said: “The Armed Forces have been assisting in the fight against the coronavirus across Scotland from the outset, providing support to the lifesaving and protecting work performed by NHS Scotland and their partners.
“As the Commander of the Joint Military Command Scotland, I am extremely proud that we in the Armed Forces can contribute towards this national effort, standing with and supporting the NHS to help protect the people of Scotland .”
Throughout the pandemic members of the Armed Forces have been involved in supporting Scotland’s Covid-19 response with the deployment of planners, logistics specialists and aircraft medical evacuation capabilities.
Between February and April this year, more than 550 personnel were deployed in Scotland – 320 General Duties personnel helped to establish a community testing network; 88 medically trained personnel administered vaccines across Scotland; and almost 100 members of the Fifebased Royal Scots Dragoon Guards assisted in the establishment and operation of 80 vaccination centres.
Pupils and staff at a Caldercruix school enjoyed a massive dose of silver lining to their day after scooping a top honour from UNICEF.
Glengowan Primary was accredited with the Silver Rights Aware Award for “learning and teaching about, and through, children’s rights”.
Glengowan’s rights respecting schools (RRS) co-ordinator, Laura Mccabe, decided to research and analyse what impact pupils’ voices have within a RRS as part of her own education – and the school promptly adopted a rights-based approach.
Laura told the Advertiser: “I became RRS co-ordinator while completing my Masters in educational leadership and professional inquiry, so I decided to research children’s rights and it changed the whole school’s values, vision and practices.
“More importantly, the children are now learning about their rights, through their rights and for their rights, all of which are at the heart of UNICEF’S RRS Award.
“UNICEF’S professional adviser for the West of Scotland, Steven Kidd, assessed the school to see whether it would be accredited with the Silver Rights Aware
Award, and we were delighted to learn it had been successful.
“The school achieved the Bronze – Rights Committed Award at the end of 2019 and was on track to scoop the silver award when the pandemic hit, which unfortunately delayed the accreditation. But the children did not let this stop them.”
Laura added: “This award would not have been accredited if it weren’t for the hard work and efforts of all the children at Glengowan, despite the challenging times we have all faced.
“Special recognition must be given to P4 kids as they were active participants during the assessment.
“They loved being able to share their knowledge of the UNCRC with Steven and really enjoyed showcasing some of their work.
“Glengowan Primary could not be any prouder to receive this accreditation, for the children, the staff and the community.
“Since embarking on our RRS journey, and developing a rights-based approach, this has now became firmly embedded within our school’s ethos, vision, values and practice.
“The school will continue to explore learning and teaching opportunities about, through and for children’s rights, and look forward to achieving gold in the future.”
North Lanarkshire Council has announced extra funding to help tackle littering and fly-tipping across the area.
An investment of £500,000 will be used to carry out community-led clean-ups, address issues of fly-tipping and make hard landscaping improvements.
Approximately £400,000 of the funding will be allocated to community boards to decide on local priorities, while the remaining money will be used to support communities across North Lanarkshire in areas such as Keep Scotland Beautiful’s “National Summer Clean” campaign and a public engagement and education initiative.
In addition, £280,000 will be invested in each of the next two years to increase enforcement action against those responsible for littering, dog fouling and fly-tipping with the employment of three environmental protection officers.
This work is part of the Recovernl programme, which aims to deliver activity supporting the recovery, re-opening and redesign of services, while protecting the public and staff.
Nicole Paterson from the council told the Advertiser: “Throughout the pandemic, we have very much welcomed the increased use of local parks and green spaces for exercise and leisure.
“But unfortunately this has also seen a rise in littering, dog fouling, vandalism and fly-tipping across our communities.
“While our cleansing and waste services have continued, we have unfortunately seen a decline in the quality of our local environment.
“As part of our recovery plans, the council will be investing in our parks, streets and open spaces for everyone to enjoy and benefit from.
“To do this effectively and sustainably, we need the help of local people.
“We will be encouraging community groups to carry out litter picks, engage with school pupils about the benefits of looking after our local environment and asking the public to report incidents of antisocial behaviour to help us identify those responsible.”
To promote the benefits of the environment on health and well-being, and the importance of looking after green spaces, the council is also supporting a range of education and leisure projects.
During the summer, there will be opportunities for adults, families and young adults to take part in activities including a forest school, the John Muir Award, Duke of Edinburgh scheme, the North Lanarkshire Climate Change Ambassador Project, and Outdoor Discovery award.
“All I could think about was being sick.”
Not exactly the physical and mental state you want to be in during a charity running challenge – especially when you’re not even halfway through it.
But that was the scenario for Andy Mccreadie when he took on a gruelling sponsored fundraiser recently that would give most people the boak.
Joined by Muirhead man Andy Coyle, who runs Coyle Construction in Rutherglen, the ex-army pals ran up and down Tinto Hill 18 times in an attempt to clock up the same accumulated height of Mount Everest.
The superfit duo were aiming to complete the distance within 24 hours in order to earn sponsorship cash for St Andrew’s Hospice.
Andy Mccreadie, of Hamilton, said: “It was a really good day and we did a lot better than we expected.
“We anticipated the whole challenge was going to take us between 21 and 22 hours, but we completed it in 19 hours and 14 minutes.
“That was starting at 10am on the
Saturday and finishing at 5.14am on the Sunday morning.
“We’d worked out that we’d do it successfully if we managed to get up and down the hill in an average of 80 minutes.
“But I did the first run in 47 minutes and Andy did his in 50 minutes, so it was looking positive from the beginning.”
Two good laps at the start didn’t guarantee success as there were another 16 to go and the guys knew that serious fatigue would kick in at some point.
They took on Tinto Hill in rounds, one resting while the other ran up and down, and had a campervan base at the bottom with food and drink supplies to keep going.
“The fatigue kicked in at around the six-hour mark,” said Andy. “I started to feel tired and I was struggling to think straight and take things on board.
“On some of the runs up the hill all I could think about was being sick.
“That’s because pasta I’d eaten was sitting in my stomach, but we were just trying to get food in us to keep going.
“By the end, taking some of those energy gels was a life-saver.”
Mount Everest stands at 8848 metres, while Tinto Hill is 502m from the car park.
By summiting the Lanarkshire hill 18 times, the 29-year-old men also covered a distance of about 78 miles.
Mccreadie, an IT worker with Natwest, and Coyle, have raised almost £4000 for the Airdrie hospice.
The pair, who both previously served together as soldiers with the 1 Scots regiment, had been in training for months ahead of the challenge.
Andy Mccreadie said: “The training was intense for three months non-stop. I’m back at the gym doing Crossfit again, but I wouldn’t be doing anything mental like this again for a while.”
Neil Gray says families with children could enjoy a guaranteed income of at least £37,000 a year in an independent Scotland.
The dad-of-four, who represents Airdrie & Shotts, called for a “greater distribution of wealth” following the release of the SNP’S “route map to a fair and independent Scotland”.
The Social Justice and Fairness Commission report outlined radical social justice policies that could be implemented in the event the country votes to govern itself following a second independence referendum.
It says urgent action is needed to “repair the holes” in the social security “safety net”.
A minimum income guarantee (MIG) is an option that could be considered as an alternative to Universal Basic Income (UIB) – which would see every adult receive a set amount.
The minimum income has been based on figures by a social justice charity organisation that is working to solve poverty in the UK; The Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
“I think their figures for a single person were £19,200 a year, and for a couple with children around £18,700 per person a year,” Mr Gray said.
“I think that would provide a far greater investment in people than we are seeing at the moment and would provide far greater security,”
The income could come from a combination of a minimum wage, tax allowances, and other benefits.
Set up in 2019, the Social Justice and Fairness Commission is chaired by Scotland’s former Health Secretary Shona Robison, with Mr Gray fulfilling the role of deputy convener.
Its aim is to find the best solutions for tackling poverty if the country becomes independent from the UK.
The route map is described as “model for inclusive decision-making that truly empowers the people of Scotland”.
The commission is also exploring ways to tackle homelessness and the country’s drugs and addictions problem with a “human rights-based approach,” an expansion of residential rehab services and the possibility of setting up a Citizen’s Assembly to have a “considered discussion” about decriminalising drugs for personal use.
Ideas on “progressive taxation better aligned with social security” feature heavily in the report as does a land value tax that would hit large estate owners most. The paper states this represents a huge area of untapped resource.
“There needs to be a greater distribution of wealth in Scotland at the moment,” the MSP said. “We have a huge amount of wealth tied up in land.”
There is nothing in the report to indicate how the recommendations would be paid for, but the 35-year-old believes tackling tax avoidance could help with affordability.
Mr Gray added: “There are loopholes around international transactions, people being able to hide their money, which is why we are talking about simplifying the tax system, making sure it is more progressive, and working with other nations around the world.”
The commission’s report was published as Scotland’s children’s commissioner Bruce Adamson joined with his counterparts in Wales and Northern Ireland in calling for the UK Government to end what they have labelled the “discriminatory” two child limit on Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit.