Politics: Important steps out of lockdown will help families
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I was very sad to hear of the passing of the legendary Marc Ellington who will be known to so many of you.
Marc and his wife Karen took over the Lairdship of Gardenstown and Crovie and was involved in too many cultural and heritage projects to list here.
His work with young people in our area in the Scottish Traditional Skills Training Centre made a difference to so many.
He will be greatly missed.
This week children in early year settings and primary one to three have returned to childcare and primary schools across the north-east.
This is an important step forward as we begin a gradual route out of lockdown across Aberdeenshire and Scotland as a whole.
I know not every parent will have had the opportunity for their children to return to their nursery or childminder or to school and I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who is still facing the challenge of working from home as well as having to home-school too.
For parents whose children have returned to school, please remember you must continue to work from home and please remember FACTS.
Wear a face covering, avoid crowded places, clean your hands regularly, keep a two-metre distance from anyone not in your household and if you do start to display symptoms please self-isolated and get tested.
From early March, routine indoor visiting of care home residents by relatives, friends and carers will be able to resume.
This will be very welcome news for many relatives of loved ones living in care homes.
The announcement means that from next month, care home residents will have been able to have up to two designated visitors each and one visit a week for each visitor.
There’s now a wide range of protections now in place against Covid-19 for care home residents and as a result it means some contact can resume both for the wellbeing of residents and their loved ones.
Visitors will need to wear face covering and any PPE requested by the care home and will strongly be encouraged to take a Covid test on-site.
I know restrictions on visiting have been so difficult for families and care home residents and I would also like to thank care home staff who have done such an incredible job during the pandemic.
The Scottish Government has announced funding which will help to address inequality and provide opportunities for women interested in a career in rural and aquaculture sectors.
The Women in the Rural Economy Training Fund will give women the chance to develop their skills and talents with the help of £100,000 worth of practical training provided by the Scottish Government.
The fund follows on from the Women in Agriculture Practical Training Fund, which opened last month.
The aim of the funding is to help address the current gender imbalance within a range of industries including land-based engineering, conservation and aquaculture.
There is a clear need for providing women with more access to training and reskilling opportunities.
We know that the pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on women’s jobs and incomes so funding such as this is more important than ever.
