Author: Mandi Dorward

Digital Mental Health Services for Aberdeenshire residents

From the 21st June, children, young people and adults living in Aberdeenshire can access online digital services to support positive mental health and wellbeing.

Kooth is a service for children and young people aged 10–18 years (up to 19th birthday) that offers a free online counselling and emotional well-being support service.  It provides a safe and secure means of accessing support from a professional team of qualified professionals, as well as providing access to many self-help tools and content. To access please register using this link  www.kooth.com

Kooth information for parents & young people (1) (1)

Togetherall provides support for young people and adults aged 16 years and upwards.  Trained accredited professionals are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, meaning that any adult who may be struggling can chose from a range of safe therapeutic services at a time that best suits them.  This service can be accessed by inputting your postcode at www.togetherall.com and creating a completely anonymous user account.

Togetherall_InteractivePDF_AberdeenshireCouncil (1)

 

Community Impact Assessment – Covid Survey

The Council and its Community Planning Partners are asking communities about the ongoing impact of Covid-19 and we want to hear from your group and its members.

Views are being sought on the ongoing effects of the pandemic over the past six months – a period that saw the country move into a second lockdown and more recently the introduction of a ‘levels’ system of restrictions. 

The feedback will form part of a ‘community impact assessment’ to help the Council and our Community Planning Partners, including NHS Grampian, Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Nestrans, gain a better understanding of the many different experiences of people across Aberdeenshire. 

The first survey, conducted in August last year, saw people comment on how Covid-19 had affected their jobs, education and safety in their communities since the lockdown in March 2020, as well as sharing details of their lifestyle, fitness habits and wellbeing. 

This second phase of the study will enable further understanding of the ongoing impact and any new or emerging issues, new challenges, and changes to individual and community priorities.  The result of the Community Impact Assessment helps the Council and its Community Planning Partners understand the needs and priorities of the communities and plan how to deliver services.

We are also trying to ensure that we reach as many people as possible and also hear from people that we did not hear from last time.  This includes men (only 18% of respondents to the last survey were men!) our younger residents and our older residents and our residents that have settled here from countries outside of the U.K.  

The surveys can be found at https://engage.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/cia and is open until early to mid-July. It should take between 15 and 20 minutes to complete. There’s an easy ready version, a short survey for young people, and versions in six other languages.

Those seeking additional information, or for a paper copy of the survey in a different format or language, should email garioch@aberdeenshire.gov.uk or call 03456 08 12 08.  We will supply prepaid return envelopes with paper copies, so you can just pop it in the post.

 

Planning Applications

Aberdeenshire Council – Weekly List 21 June 2021

The applications on the attached list have been Registered last week within the Kincardine & Mearns Area of Aberdeenshire Council and can be viewed using the online Planning Register (https://upa.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/online-applications/).

Any person wishing to make comment on an application should do so by the date specified in the list. Please note the date for comment will extend if neighbour notification or advertisement is required. Please quote the reference number and state clearly the grounds for making comment.

Comments can be submitted using the Planning Register when viewing the application. Alternatively, comments can be addressed to Aberdeenshire Council, Planning and Environment Service, Viewmount, Arduthie Road, Stonehaven, AB39 2DQ (or emailed to planningonline@aberdeenshire.gov.uk). Please note that any comment made will be published on the Planning Register.

Please note that some applications require to have site notices posted at the site. As a result of Covid-19, the Scottish Government has passed emergency legislation which now removes this requirement. The alternative is that these notices will be published in the documentation associated with the relevant planning application file published online on the Council’s Planning Public Access Register.

Head of Planning and Environment Service

2021 06 21 Weekly List of Planning Applications – Kincardine & Mearns

Welcome to the KDP Bulletin….  


Hillhead of Auquhirie – CLOSING DATE – 30TH JUNE
Hillhead of Auquhirie Wind Farm Community Fund is open until 30th June 2021. 
Applications to the fund can be made from groups and projects which benefit the communities living in the community council areas of:

  • Arbuthnott
  • Catterline, Kinneff & Dunnottar
  • Mearns
  • Stonehaven & District

Click here for the application form and guidelines. 
 
Adapt and Thrive to Remain Open into July
The Adapt and Thrive programme will welcome applications beyond the end of June and continue to support the recovery of the third sector. The Scottish Government has committed additional funding to respond to the substantial demand for the programme.
Adapt and Thrive aims to support organisations most financially affected by the pandemic to change, flex, innovate, or grow so they can be resilient and financially sustainable during and post COVID-19.
In addition to meeting the programme’s criteria, organisations seeking funding must ensure their work fits within one or both funding priorities:

  • Organisations operating in areas or with individuals who have suffered disproportionately from the effects of COVID-19.
  • Organisations working with people who have protected characteristics or the most vulnerable.

Early applications are encouraged before the fund’s closure later in July to allow for support and funding assessments to be carried out throughout July and August.
Find out more here. 
 
Covid Vaccination Centre
The Stonehaven vaccination clinic has moved from the Leisure Centre to the Stonehaven Town Hall.
If you have an appointment to get your vaccine, please attend at the Town Hall.
 
Dignity and the Right to Food – Responding to Food Insecurity
Nourish Scotland and the Poverty Truth Community are running these online workshops on finding sustainable solutions to food insecurity, grounded on dignity, human rights and a food systems approach.
24 June 2021, 2 – 4 pm
19 July 2021, 10 am – 12 pm
For more information and to book your place, click here. 

Aberdeenshire Equalities Outcomes Survey
Aberdeenshire Council is currently consulting in two areas – the development of equality outcomes and the development of the Community Engagement & Participation Policy. Details of how to take part are below.
There are a variety of ways that people can take part and the consultation is open until July 12th 2021.

  1. By completing the online consultation
  2. BSL Users can complete the online consultation  
  3. A paper copy of the consultation can be requested at any of the council’s Service points or selected Libraries (please check the website for current opening times). These can be returned to the Library or service point.
  4. Other Languages. The survey has been translated into six languages.  Latvian   Portoguese   Polish   Lithuanian   Arabic   Russian

#ShiftThePower 
#ShiftThePower supports organisations with passionate people to make meaningful change in their communities.  The fund is now open to grassroots organisations and charities with an income of £400,000 or less whose work fits one of two strategic themes:

  • Gender Justice – contributing to gender equality by reducing violence and discrimination based on gender and sexuality alongside increased opportunity, empowerment, and understanding for women, girls, and LGBTQI+ community.
  • A Safe Place to Be – supporting people who have experienced homelessness or have been forced from their homes in order to live safely. 

Funding is open until 20th August at 2pm.
Click here for more information.
 
Henry Smith Charity – Improving Lives
The Improving Lives grant programme provides grants to charitable organisations that help people when other sources of support have failed, are inappropriate, or are simply not available. They support established organisations delivering services directly to beneficiaries.
The six priority areas are:

  • Help at a Critical Moment
  • Positive Choices
  • Accommodation/Housing Support
  • Employment and Training
  • Financial Inclusion, Rights & Entitlements
  • Support Networks & Family

Visit the website for more details. 

KDP is here to help in any way we can.  Please let us know how we can support you or your organisation.  We will continue to share information and guidance in our Bulletins, however, due to the speed of change and quantity of information, the most current details will be found on our Facebook page (@kincardineshiredevelopmentpartnership).
 
Should you wish to get in touch, our contact details are as follows:
Jacky Niven              Development Officer                       jniven@kdp.scot
Margo Titmuss         Office/Windfarm Admin                  officesupport@kdp.scot

All of this information was correct at time of writing. 

Trading Standards

Doorstep Crime, Scams & Safety – Bulletin No. 23 

Whilst neither a scam nor doorstep crime, we have had a report from one resident who was trying to renew their Driving Licence, so started the process with an internet search for the correct gov.uk site to do so. Unknown to them, they chose a commercial site which had a high listing on the search engine’s results and followed through the process to its conclusion. The resident did get their Driving Licence in the end but it cost them £94 instead of the usual £14 (or for free if you’re over 70). The official web address for renewing a Driving Licence is https://www.gov.uk/renew-driving-licence but if you must use a search engine to do so, when the results of the search are returned and the top results on the first page say ‘Ad’ next to the web address, then these are commercial sites which have paid to be there. Look for the official wed address, ending in gov.uk, as above.

Doorstep Crime

Nothing to report

Scams

As you may be aware, this week and next (14th – 27th June) is the Citizens Advice Scams Awareness Fortnight campaign. Although CAB have not produced their own materials this year, they will still be very active in supporting the campaign on social media and hope that you will be too. You can find the Citizens Advice resources to support the campaign by clicking on the link below: Scams Awareness Fortnight – Citizens Advice

One resident was recently contacted by scammers pretending to be from Santander bank (He is a Santander customer). The caller display on the resident’s phone even showed the Santander Fraud Line number. When the resident answered the call, the caller advised him that there has been a couple of suspicious transactions on his account, that they would raise an incident, transfer the enquiry to a fraud investigator and that the resident would have to open new accounts and transfer his savings into these. Immediately smelling a rat, the resident said that he would not do this and hung up. He then contacted Santander who confirmed that there had been no suspicious transactions on his account. Clearly, this is the old ‘safe account’ scam with a new twist. Please remember that if you get such a call, it is a scam; no bank will ask you to do such a thing. As this resident did, simply hang up and contact your bank – but check for a dial tone on your phone first, in case the scammer has left the line open, as your outgoing call will simply go back to them. Or use a different phone. Also, the caller display was obviously showing a genuine Santander number which had been spoofed to mask the caller’s real phone number, so if you recognise such a number on your caller ID during one of these calls, please do not simply assume that it’s genuine.

Another resident was called at home by a woman purporting to work for an investment house in New York who wanted to buy the resident’s shares in a UK company as part of a takeover deal by her client. The woman offered to buy the shares at between £12 and £22 each, but the offer was time limited. Peculiarly, the company concerned had gone defunct 10 years ago and had only traded at share prices at below 3 pence for most of its history. Rightly sensing that something was amiss, the resident refused the ‘offer’, despite the woman’s persistence. This is, in essence, is a classic case of something being too good to be true. Often, a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is part of the deal (to keep things secret, so family and friends don’t persuade the victim to jettison the whole thing). Also, as we’ve discussed before, the element of urgency is a common aspect of scams, in this case a share buying scam. What often follows is that the victim gives over their personal details and agree to buy an insurance bond costing several thousand pounds. When the money has been paid, the scammer will disappear, along with the victim’s money.

Please note that the advice given in these bulletins has been deliberately kept simple, so that if you are faced with a scenario such as the ones discussed here where fear, panic and alarm are often tools used deliberately by scammers, you will know what to do at that time. Remember, after the initial panic is over, you may have rights which Trading Standards can help you with.

If you have been the victim of a Doorstep Crime or an attempted crime, whether Bogus Caller or Rogue Trader, please report the matter to Consumer Advice Scotland so that Trading Standards can build a detailed, ongoing picture of the activities of these scammers throughout the Shire. This would be a great help to us to tackle this sort of crime.

Contact

For urgent Trading Standards matters, contact Aberdeenshire Council’s Trading Standards at 01467 537222. For non-urgent enquiries, please contact Consumer Advice Scotland at https://www.consumeradvice.scot/ or on 0808 164 6000.

Contact Police Scotland on 999 if you need urgent assistance or 101 for non- urgent matters.

For more information about scams please visit Friends Against Scams at

https://www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk/