ALEN Topics for Discussion

As part of a drive to better our service for young people we want to hear from people aged 16 to 24 years old about how they view our benefits, what they think, and how they use our website.

You can take part in the survey if you are aged 16 to 24 and have used Social Security Scotland.

Please share the link with any friends or relatives who are aged 16 to 24 and have applied for Social Security Scotland benefits: mygov.scot/research-16-to-24

Planning and Economy are already focusing on production of the next Local Development Plan.

At a meeting of the Council’s Infrastructure Services Committee (ISC) on Thursday (Jan 26), it was agreed that consultation should take place on a draft ‘Development Plan Scheme’ which will set out the timetable and anticipated consultation on a future Local Development Plan.
The Local Development Plan is an important document which governs where development can and cannot take place and its preparation is of keen interest to communities and the public who will encounter the long-term impacts of the proposals it makes.

Find out more and to have your say here: Aberdeenshire Council starts consultation on developing the Aberdeenshire Local Development Plan 2028 - Aberdeenshire Council

Engagement on this has now closed but a formal consultation period will run from 01 May - 31st July 2023.

You will find documents and further details here: Review of the Aberdeenshire Licensing Board’s Licensing Policy Statement | Engage Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire Council is reviewing its Community Asset Transfer Policy and we are seeking the views of our communities on the current policy documentation, particularly those groups that have previously shown or may have an interest in an Asset Transfer.

The consultation can be accessed by using the QR code below: -

The survey should take no longer than ten minutes to complete and will close at midnight on Sunday 23^rd April 2023.

Any queries can be sent by email to formartineareaoffice@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

or by telephoning the Formartine Area Team on 01467 536899.

In May 2021 we launched a website survey to find out more about our user needs and how the current website is used.

We asked different questions around the quality of information, navigation and look and feel. Your feedback helped us identify what we need to improve. One of the identified areas for improvement was the look and feel and how content is presented. We came up with a new proposed web design and we would like to ask what you think about it.

What you told us about the look and feel

What you told us about the look and feel of the current website:

• It is too wordy with too many links especially on the home page so it’s difficult to find the relevant link
• It needs to be simplified so information can be found easily and in a timely manner
• and fit for purpose
• You would like more appealing design with better layout, but you are also happy with the basic, plain text style design as it is distraction free

Poor design is considered as an issue by 30% but most of website users are generally ok with the look and feel of the current website (35.6% satisfied and 34.2% neither satisfied nor dissatisfied).

The new design: what we did

Here is what we aim to achieve with the new proposed design:

• Make the website easy to use for everybody
• Balance cleanliness and simplicity with appealing design
• Reduce number of links, make it less text heavy
• Make sure the design allows to prioritise quick and easy access to the most viewed information/pages

View the proposed draft designs using links:

• Home page
• Section page
• Content page

Link to provide feedback: Have your your say on the new design

If you use assistive technology and would like to check and feed back on how the new design would work for you, please contact our web team.

The Social Justice and Social Security Committee has launched a call for views inviting people and organisations across Scotland to share their views on the support parents would benefit from while seeking employment. 

As part of its inquiry into addressing child poverty through parental employment, the Committee is looking at how the Scottish Government is working with local authorities, employers and other partners and wants to understand how they are supporting parents find suitable jobs or move into better paid work.

The call for views follows the Committee having embarked on a series of visits to meet parents in different areas around Scotland. It builds upon the issues and ideas raised during those visits and asks people for their thoughts on what changes the Scottish Government could do that would have the most impact. 

The Committee is keen to hear from people across Scotland and is particularly interested in the views and experience of:

• employers
• lone parents
• people from an ethnic minority background
• families with a disabled adult or child
• young mothers (under 25)
• parents to a child under the age of one
• families with three, or more, children
• organisations who provide support

If you would like to take part, please submit your views using the online form linked to below.

The deadline for responses for the consultation is 5 April 2023.

Addressing child poverty through parental employment – national call for views

If you have any questions or queries about the consultation, please contact the Social Justice and Social Security clerking team by emailing: SJSS.Committee@parliament.scot.

Please read our privacy notice for information on sharing your views with a Committee and how your data will be handled.

Hearing from our veteran community is vital and that is why the Veterans’ Survey has launched!

This is the first-ever exercise to collect feedback from the veteran community across the UK coordinated by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs and the Office for National Statistics (ONS), supported by the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Veteran Support Office. Responses to the survey will help us better understand the experiences, needs and well-being of our veteran community, and guide future action.

We would appreciate your help in promoting the survey, and encouraging and supporting veterans to take part.

It is important we hear a wide range of views and we would like to encourage as many ex-UK Armed Forces veterans and their families to share feedback as possible.

Can you help by sharing the survey link on your website; in your newsletter; publication or through social media or events you may be taking part in?

You will find a stakeholder toolkit of resources on the ONS website. This includes digital posters; social media assets; FAQs; survey links and suggested social media and newsletter and promotional copy for use on your communications channels. These can be adapted as needed for your audience needs.

If you have questions about how the survey will run, please contact the ONS Veterans’ Survey team.

If you have a different query or would like to get in touch about communicating the survey to veterans, please contact the Office for Veterans’ Affairs.

We hope you can help us reach as many veterans across the UK as possible. Thank you very much for your help!

We are continuing the conversation with Aberdeenshire housing tenants who are experiencing fuel poverty or those who may be facing fuel poverty for the first time.

What can we do together to work towards reducing fuel poverty in relation to:

• Poor energy efficiency
• Low household income
• High energy prices
• How energy is used in the home

What are your experiences?

• Is there something you would like to get feedback on from the area you’re in?
• Is there a particular issue and you’re wanting to hear about how it may be affecting families?
• Do you want to know if the forum knows about your service?

There is an opportunity to put forward discussion points to the Lived Experience Online Forum, if you have any questions you would like to put to them or topics you would like them to discuss please email agnese.carter@aberdeenshire.gov.uk by Friday 24^th of June so the forum can collate responses for you in July.

Lived Experience Forum - Link

Thank you