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Biggar Community Action Group was set up as an emergency response to the Covid pandemic in March 2020. The group responded to the immediate needs of those members of our community who were vulnerable, shielding or self isolating. With the easing of lockdown restrictions, we quickly became aware that many of the issues we identified in our community did not just go away. We realised that the pandemic simply highlighted problems which already existed and will continue to exist beyond Covid. Biggar Community Action Group is now a registered charity (a SCIO - Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation). We will continue to offer the services identified as long as there is a demand in our community and as long as we can procure the funds to do so. This is where we need your help. We have been fortunate to attract funding from several organisations to allow us to continue our work, but the funds are finite. Our ongoing services include: the delivery of shopping and prescriptions, a listening ear service, the provision of hot meals, afternoon teas, snow clearance and pavement gritting, dog walking, hospital transport. We also look to identify new needs in the community and will seek to provide relevant services wherever possible. We have set up a Justgiving page, which can be accessed HERE You can also donate via our website by clicking on the Donate button on our Home page. Please support our efforts by donating what you can. Thank you. Our Winter 2021 Newsletter is shown below. If you would like to read a PDF version, then please click HERE. We wish you all a very merry and bright Christmas and a happy and even brighter New Year.
We are aware that hospital transport has become quite a talking point for the residents of Biggar. It was high up on the priority list for requiring improvement in our area following a public consultation on Health, Social Care and Transport in June 2019, led by Biggar Community Council. In addition, initial analysis of the recent Community Action Plan survey has also highlighted it as a major concern. Biggar Community Action Group (BCAG) has been liaisingwith Getting Better Together, Shotts (GBT), who provide hospital transport for the whole of Lanarkshire and we have agreed a referral process for eligible residents of Biggar. The initial referral will come from BCAG, but for subsequent requests, a resident can contact GBT direct. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA are as follows: (these can be flexible, you can still contact us for consideration if you do not fit the criteria)
If you have a need for hospital transport, then please request this as soon as possible in advance of your appointment as the service is very busy. Please call BCAG’s Duty Manager on: 07376 318724 You may get an answerphone, but please leave a message and someone will get back to you within 24 hours. Notes:
(1) The eligibility for PTS will be decided by GBT, but there is a general awareness that PTS is not always efficient or appropriate and the eligibility criteria are unclear. (2) LCCT offers patients and their carers living in the NHS Lanarkshire area free transport for appointments. The service is primarily for people who have no other means of getting to their appointments and who couldn’t cope with hospital transport. Visit their website https://lcctdrivers.com/ or call them on 01698 355137 As of 24th October 2021, if you are a Co-op member, you will officially be able to support Biggar Community Action Group as part of the Co-op's Local Community Fund. This means that for every £1 you spend on selected Co-op branded products and services, 2p will go into your membership account and the same amount will support the local community organisation you elect to support. You need to swipe or scan your membership card when you shop, so it is really important that you become a Co-op member. Follow this link to sign up to become a Co-op member:
https://www.coop.co.uk/membership Please follow this link to our page on the Co-op membership website, where you can select us a the local cause you wish to support: https://membership.coop.co.uk/causes/60374 Although Biggar Community Action Group was set up to respond to the needs of our community during the pandemic, we have pledged to continue to support those vulnerable people whose needs have not simply disappeared as we ease out of the crisis. We continue to deliver shopping and prescriptions and hot meals twice a week, as well as offer a Listening Ear service. We arrange social events, such as Afternoon Teas and Christmas Lunches, to ease more anxious or cautious people into socialising with others. We continue to look for projects to support our local community. We are here to stay! So please support us through the Co-op's Local Community Fund; become a Co-op member today and select us as your local cause. Thank you. The legal requirement for physical distancing and limits on gatherings will be removed on 9 August when all venues across Scotland are able to re-open. Some protective measures will stay in place such as the use of face coverings indoors and the collection of contact details as part of Test and Protect. Capacity limits of 2000 people indoors and 5000 people outdoors will also remain in place although some exceptions may be possible on a case by case basis. These will be reviewed on a three weekly basis to ensure they remain proportionate. Adults identified as close contacts of someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 will also no longer be automatically required to self-isolate for 10 days from 9 August. Anyone who is double-vaccinated with at least two weeks passed since their second dose and who has no symptoms will be able to end self-isolation if they return a negative PCR test. The same conditions will also apply to anyone aged between five and 17 years old, even if they have not been vaccinated. The requirement to take a PCR test will not apply to children under the age of five. For full details please go to the Scottish Government website HERE South Lanarkshire Council alongside all other local authorities in Scotland have agreed with COSLA and the Scottish Government to allocate 1% of their annual budget through participatory budgeting. Participatory budgeting is a way for local people to have a direct say in how public money is spent and resources allocated. This practice is relatively new in Scotland but has been travelling across the world since the 1980’s, it is focussed on local people and public bodies working together to create better communities to live in. South Lanarkshire Council have been involved in a number of small grants based participatory budgeting processes but this process moves further than small grants. The process being launched today is valued at £2 million and is focussed on local people directing the council’s resources around footways and carriageways by identifying their priorities. SLC would like to encourage all residents to get involved in this process and play a part in continuing to grow and develop South Lanarkshire. If you would like to be involved in this process the link to the survey is below; https://wh1.snapsurveys.com/s.asp?k=161658444083 Please share this with friends and family to encourage them to get involved in this process also. If you have a query please contact the Community Participation and Development team on 0303 123 1017 Scottish Government will implement a series of stages for easing lockdown “when the epidemiological conditions allow”. Nicola Sturgeon said that the Scottish government would continue to aim to “suppress the virus to the lowest possible level and keep it there”.
Approximate dates are given in the document, and it says there will need to be a gap of at least three weeks between each stage. Stage 1: now to early March
Nicola Sturgeon said that the easing required “continuing to accept some trade-offs for a period, for example on international travel”. She said: “Travel restrictions are also essential and are likely to remain so for some time yet. Scottish Government has published a very useful infographic which Cleary outlines the "Stay at Home" guidance for mainland Scotland. This guidance is expected to last until mid-February at the earliest.
To read or download a PDF, please click HERE Through their Clyde Extension wind farm, SSE Renewables are making around £300,000 per year available for community and charitable projects. Over its lifetime it is expected that £7.5million will be invested in local projects. The first round is now open until its deadline of 31st March. All details including application guidance and application form can be found on their website HERE |
AuthorBCAG Archives
May 2022
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