Celebrating Angus stories

Do you have an Angus business or organisation with a story to tell?
This year is the Year of Stories.This year is the Year of Stories.
This year is the Year of Stories.

The Year of Stories 2022 will provide businesses and organisations with opportunities to engage and inspire locals and visitors to discover, celebrate and share their own stories of Scotland.

The year will encourage locals and visitors to experience a diversity of voices, take part in events and explore the places, people and cultures connected to all forms of our stories, past and present.

The intention is that it will contribute to recovery from the pandemic and inspire new stories of Scotland to be shared.

Throughout July, a Year of Stories Festival will take place in Angus, with businesses and communities invited to submit events and activities which will showcase the stories of Angus and inspire people to visit.

Promotion of the Year of Stories Festival will start in May with the launch of the programme of events.

The deadline for submitting an event to be included in the printed programme is Friday, March 18.

Events submitted after this time will still be included in the online version.

If you would like to get involved, visit https://www.investinangus.com/yearofstoriesfestival to submit your event.

Living wage employer

LC Packaging UK, which has a base in Frockheim. has been accredited as a Living Wage Employer with a commitment to pay its directly employed and commissioned employees a real living wage of £9.90 per hour as a minimum salary.

UK Offices in Long Sutton, Grantham and Friockheim are working together to implement its new vision.

Spokesman Jim Stewart said: “This is an important part of our people strategy and we are delighted to have received this accreditation.”

UK Managing Director, Martin Schrooder, commented, “As an employer that strongly views people as its greatest asset, I am pleased and excited that we have received this accreditation.

"Without the efforts from our colleagues we would not be the business we are today”.

Record number of staff

NHS Tayside has recorded record numbers of staff levels this year with 12,519 employed by the health board – a 5.4 per cent increase over the past five years.

Across Scotland, more than 155,000 staff have been hired, with increases in whole-time equivalent (WTE) staff for ten consecutive years.

The number of doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives, allied health professionals and support staff working across Scotland’s hospitals and in communities increased by over 7000 in the past year alone.

SNP MSP for Angus South, Graeme Dey said: “Our NHS staff have shown incredible dedication and commitment to our health service in the past two years and beyond.

"The Scottish Government’s long-term investment in the workforce has accelerated since the outset of the pandemic and we are seeing that in reality, with a 5.4 per cent increase over the past five years here in Tayside. The SNP also continues to recognise the effort of our staff having offered them the best pay rise in the UK. They continue to be the best paid health staff compared to their counterparts in the rest of the UK.

“We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the staff who work in our NHS. Day in and day out, doctors, nurses and support staff deliver world class care for patients in Scotland. Staffing levels have now increased for ten consecutive years in NHS Scotland and have grown by over 28,500 (WTE) since 2006, meaning an extra 22.6 per cent of staff working in the health service.”

Scam warning

Scots have been warned not to get caught out by Census scammers as the official count of Scotland’s population begins.

Advice Direct Scotland said scammers may request money for a fine or fee, or ask for personal financial information like a national insurance number, bank details or debit or credit card details. Scotland’s Census will never ask for money or finance information.

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