Screening of I Daniel Blake at DCA Cinema This Week - Free Entry for Unwaged Wednesday 2 November 2016

I Daniel Blake. Winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival is screening all this week and most of next at Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA). 

Veteran director Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake proves that he has lost none of his touch. This is an important, relevant, moving film about the way ordinary people are being treated by the bureaucracy of our modern welfare state. The film script was partly based on interviews with claimants in Dundee who had been on the end of sanctions.

On Wed 2 November 2016 all screenings of I, Daniel Blake will be free for unwaged customers at DCA - please bring a form of jobseeker or Employment & Support Allowance documentation to claim your free ticket. Their regular discount for unwaged visitors applies to the rest of the film's run until Thursday 10 November.

http://www.dca.org.uk/whats-on/event/i-daniel-blake

Implications of Recommendations of Independent Inquiry into the Death of Cults Academy Pupil Bailey Gwynne

The Report of the Independent Inquiry into the death of the senior pupil of Cults Academy in Aberdeen City, Bailey Gwynne, was launched on 11 October. The report made 21 recommendations.

Unfortunately, after the publication of the report, one recommendation dominated the news, "The Scottish Government should improve the resilience of schools to the threat posed by weapons and give consideration to amending the law in relation to searching pupils." I was contacted by the press about whether I was in favour of this or not.

Having read about this tragic case, I am convinced that the real challenge for our schools and pupils is how we develop pupil - teacher relationships that enable pupils to reveal to teachers that a pupil at school is carrying an offensive weapon. In the case of the pupil who stabbed and killed Bailey Gwynne, the Inquiry learned that he was known by several pupils to have had a knife on his person at school on numerous occasions, including the day of his altercation with Bailey Gwynne. This, I recognise, means overcoming pupil fears about being labelled as 'clypes'.

This is a copy of my response to the press:

"Labour's Education Spokesperson in Dundee said:

I am sure that our Executive Director of Family and Children's Service, Michael Wood, will be coming forward with a report to Committee. I should expect that this will provide a comprehensive response to the recommendations from Andrew Lowe's report which map how best we can respond in Dundee to try to prevent such a fatality in our schools. The inquiry report's recommendation about enhancing the right of senior teachers to search a pupil is clearly marked for the attention of the Scottish Government and is for the future.

I note that the inquiry reported that the death of schoolboy Bailey Gwynne might have been avoided if those who knew his killer carried weapons had reported it to school staff. This suggests to me that we shall need to consider how effectively our schools are promoting an ethos of openness to communication between pupils and teachers to support such disclosures."

More recently, the Director of Children and Families' Service, Michael Wood, has confirmed that after liaison with staff and trade unions, he will indeed be reporting to the Children and Families' Service Committee with recommendations about how we should respond to this tragedy in our schools here in Dundee.

Putting Bus Passengers First

This past week marked 30 years since the Thatcher government deregulated the bus industry.

Passenger numbers are now at a record low and the SNP won’t do what it takes to halt the decline and put passengers first.

It is too easy for bus companies to walk away from communities with little or no consultation, as we have seen in Glasgow, Fife and many other parts of the country. Lothian Buses, one of the few remaining publicly-owned bus operators, bucks the trend because it puts passengers before profit.

In an article for STV News, Neil Bibby MSP sets out the arguments for bus regulation, shifting the balance from the owners of the big bus companies to passengers and giving communities more public control over buses in their area.

Scottish Labour's campaign for meaningful regulation of bus services is gathering momentum and you can be a part of it. Sign and share our online petition, calling for bus regulation, here and together let’s put passengers first.

Read Neil Bibby's Detailed Report- Profits before passengers: How the SNP missed the bus on public transport

Dundee Fireworks Displays and Bonfires Saturday 5 November 2016 Baxter Park and Lochee Park

Free Fireworks Displays in Dundee - Saturday 5 November 2016

Lochee Park and Baxter Park, Dundee

6.00pm - Tay FM Roadshow

6.15pm - Lighting of The Bonfire

7.00pm - Fireworks Display

7.25pm - End

In the interests of public safety, please DO NOT bring fireworks, sparklers or Chinese lanterns to the displays.

Please note: there is no parking on site at Baxter Park and Lochee Park. Please use public transport or walk.

What's your Favourite Scottish Place?

Share your favourite Scottish places on the MyScottishPlace social media wall over the next few weeks – it’s a key part of the 2016 Festival of Architcture’s community engagement programme and can be accessed both via www.myscottishplace.com and via the homepage on www.foa2016.com

They’re keen for as many people as possible to tell them about their very own Scottish Place – it could be your home, your street, town or city – in essence your favourite places and spaces. Architecture is all around us, so everything counts! To share you need to use the hashtags below to get picked up onto the social media wall:

#MyFavouriteScottishPlaces – for your favourite local places
#LostScottishPlaces – abandoned areas of potential
#HiddenScottishPlaces – hidden and exciting places off the beaten track that only a local would know
#FutureScottishPlaces – how to improve your future environment

You can post via twitter, youtube, instagram as often as you like between now and the Festival finale on 18th November 2016, and you can share your thoughts, drawings, photos or videos!

Forthcoming Temporary Road Closure of Whinnybrae Broughty Ferry from Monday 31 October 2016

THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984
SECTION 14(1)

THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of carriageway resurfacing works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Whinnybrae (from Monifieth Road  to Rowanbank Gardens),Broughty Ferry, Dundee.

This notice comes into effect on Monday 31st October 2016 for 5 working days.

Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained.

Alternative routes for vehicles are available via Monifieth Road/Rowanbank Gardens and reverse.

For further information contact (01382) 433168.

Mike P Galloway
Director of City Development
Dundee City Council

Dundee Bus Users Consultation Meeting Monday 31 October 2016

A meeting has been arranged on Monday 31st October at 12.30pm in the Ashton Hall (Caird Hall) City Square, Dundee to discuss bus users views on the recent changes to bus timetables and routes in the city. 

The meeting will be chaired by the Bus Users Scotland Network and attended by Elsie Turbine (Director) of National Express Dundee/ Explore and Andrew Jarvis (Director) of Stagecoach. John Berry, Transport Officer with Dundee City Council and elected members will also be in attendance.  

Changes are affecting a lot of people, especially older people across Dundee. While the most affected areas appear to be Woodside, Clepington Road, Coldside and Mill O Mains I know there are also issues for bus users in The Ferry.

This meeting follows a successful meeting two weeks ago, where 80 members of the public, most of whom were elderly, attended to have their say. 

Please attend the meeting on Monday 31st October to put your views across on what the changes in service routes and timetables mean for you.

Commenting on Future Targeted Cash for Dundee Schools

 

Last week there were reports attributed to the Scottish Government that extra cash generated by an increase in the Council Tax for householders with properties in the top three council tax bands would be distributed directly to schools. This would be awarded per pupil of parents or carers on low incomes. This is my press response:

"I am cautious about giving this proposed extra cash for schools an unqualified welcome. Whoever made this announcement is getting ahead of themselves. Before any of this extra cash can be distributed to schools, it has to collected in the Council Tax for the next financial year beginning in April 2017. The details of the scheme are also very sketchy. For example, what is the per pupil premium amount? £300, £750? Over how many years might this extra cash be available for schools to spend? 

While extra cash from one Scottish Government hand is welcome, it may be more than wiped out by another reduction in the Council's block grant from another hand of the Scottish Government. This latter funding will not be revealed until December and might not be agreed in the Scottish Parliament until January 2017 and it is this cash that will continue to fund the greatest share of the expenditure in our schools. 

I think most parents and carers want reassurance from the SNP Administration of the Council that the overall cash for their children's education in our city schools will not be cut again in 2016-17."

Crude: An Exploration of Oil -Performances in Dundee until Sunday 23 October 2016

Crude: An Exploration Of Oil

Performances in Dundee 

Sat 8 October - Sun 23 October 2016

A new play from Scotland’s site-specific theatre specialists Grid Iron which investigates the most controversial industry in Scotland – oil. 

Focusing on the lives of offshore workers and the choices they make to work on the industrial islands of the North Sea, Crude also travels to the Niger Delta and the Arctic Circle to look at the global impact of oil production and its human and ecological cost. 

Crude traces not only the history of oil but also our huge, addicted reliance on the by-products of black gold:  our cars, our aeroplanes, our plastics that surround and almost literally wrap everything we do. 

Crude:  an exploration of oil.  Rooted in the local.  Encompassing the global.



"Grid Iron is not just a Scottish national treasure but one of the companies that has shaped British theatre over the last 20 years.”

The Guardian 

“We are fortunate in Scotland to have one of the best exponents of the site-specific genre in the world in Grid Iron.” 
The Scotsman

“Grid Iron are surely now one of the most sophisticated site-specific theatre makers in Europe”. 
The Times  

IMPORTANT INFORMATION 

There is no pedestrian or individual vehicle access to Port of Dundee. A bus will collect you in the city centre from the Greenmarket carpark (beside Dundee Science Centre/Dundee Contemporary Arts - DD1 4QB).
The bus will depart at 7.40pm (6.30pm on Sundays).
You will be returned to the car park by approx 10pm (8.50pm Sundays).
The car park is approx an 8 minute walk from the train station. Parking is free after 6pm.

DISABLED ACCESS INFORMATION: contact the box office for details. 

THE SHED WILL BE COLD. PLEASE WRAP UP WARM! 

NO PERSONS UNDER AGE 16 ARE PERMITTED WITHIN THE PORT

ALL  AUDIENCE MEMBERS  MUST  BRING  PHOTOGRAPHIC  ID  TO  GAIN  ENTRY  TO  THE  PORT  (PASSPORT  OR  DRIVING LICENCE) 

AT CHECKOUT YOU WILL BE ASKED FOR FULL NAMES OF EVERYONE IN YOUR PARTY. PORT SECURITY WILL NOT ALLOW ACCESS TO ANYBODY WHO HAS NOT REGISTERED


TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR COLLECTION IN ADVANCE FROM DUNDEE REP BOX OFFICE OR ON THE NIGHT FROM THE BUS DEPARTURE POINT (from 15 mins before departure).   

2017 Broughty Ferry Calendar on Sale

The 2017 Broughty Ferry Calendar is now available, priced £10. As before the calendar has been produced and funded by The Broughty Ferry Traders' Association to raise funds to support local good causes in Broughty Ferry and nearby. Last year the calendar generated a surplus of over £6,000 which allowed the BFTA to donate around £3,000 to a variety of local organisations and to fund several other initiatives which benefited The Ferry.

To achieve this, the BFTA committee have once again invited their members, who are willing, to sell the calendar without profit, (ie returning all monies to the BFTA Good Causes fund). 

Calendars available now from Eduardo Alessandro Studios, Gillies and many other retailers in The Ferry.

More Cycle Paths to Get Winter Maintenance 2016/17

At a meeting of the City Development Committee on Monday 26 September, the Committee was asked to confirm the Winter Maintenance programme for 2016/17; principally salting and gritting the roads and pavements. I asked for clarification about the Council's commitment to undertaking 'winter maintenance' on the principal off road cycle paths. The Head of Roads and Transportation confirmed that the pilot programme that extended salting and gritting to the Green Circular route between Broughty Ferry and Invergowrie in 2015/16 would be continued. This route had been chosen because it is the busiest all year cycle path used regularly by cycling commuters. Furthermore during the coming winter, this scheme would be extended to to other busy off-road cycle paths.