Nearly 10,000 calls to a helpline for rape victims went unanswered last year due to a lack of resources, according to Rape Crisis Scotland. A new report by the charity, which runs the helpline, also says that 1,150 people seeking help had attempted to take their own lives after a sexual attack. Such was the demand for help that rape crisis centres struggled to cope, with some even forced to close their waiting lists at times.
Month: December 2019
FESTIVE BIN COLLECTION DATES
Unfortunately anything covered in glitter or foil-based paper cannot be recycled. If you want to check if the paper is foil, scrunch the paper up. If it springs back, then please put it in the general waste bin.
WILDLIFE SUFFER FROM SNP DECADE OF AUSTERITY
Scottish Government funding for major environment bodies has been slashed by 40 per cent over the last decade putting nature and the climate at risk, according to a new expert analysis, according to The Ferret investigative bureau. Scottish Environment Link, a coalition of more than 35 wildlife, countryside and campaign groups, estimates that almost £100 million has been cut from the budgets of public agencies in Scotland between 2010-11 and 2019-20. Amongst those who’ve been hit are Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), Scotland’s Rural College, the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh and environmental research institutes.
ELECTION ADVICE
Hat tip MT Rainey
HELENSBURGH SCOUTS GET SNAP SHOT OF LIFE AND WORK
The Helensburgh Scout group will all be taking pictures throughout the year to put together a charity calendar. After giving a brief on life as a photographer in the Royal Navy, Stevie gave some practical lessons to the young Scouts. This involved showing them some tips and tricks using their camera phones and getting them to carry out some tasks together.
BILL HEANEY’S NOTEBOOK COLUMN
I have been covering local government, national government and European government for the past half century almost, and I have never come across such a shambles as West Dunbartonshire Council. They couldn’t run a bath.” And such is their obsession with secrecy, that it wouldn’t raise an eyebrow if they were to suddenly switch their meetings to another hall across the road in Church Street. Don’t ask me which one. That really is a secret and, unlike the Council, its members are quite within their rights to keep it that way.