Children and young people spending their Christmas in hospital this year are set to have an extra special experience – to see snow falling on the hospital – thanks to Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC).

To make sure that the last Christmas in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, before the move to its new home at Little France next year, is an extra-special one, ECHC is appealing to the people of Scotland to support their vital work that ensures children and young people get to be a child first and patient second this festive season.

To kick start the festive cheer on Friday December 1, the charity is going to make snow fall on the famous front of the hospital. The honour of turning on the magical projection has been given to Ruby Smith, who spent last Christmas in RHSC.

With just a month to go before Christmas day, ECHC is calling upon communities to help support its campaign to make Christmas extra special and asking Santa to stop at the hospital one last time.

Roslyn Neely, CEO of Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “Christmas is such an exciting time of year for children and we believe that being in hospital shouldn’t compromise its magic.

“Spending time in our homes, in the company of our families on Christmas morning is something that can often be taken for granted. But, children who need to spend Christmas in hospital shouldn’t have to feel like they’re missing out on anything.

“Many people don’t realise that the fun, distractions, games and décor that can help a child feel much less frightened when they come into the hospital, particularly during special occasions such as Christmas, are funded by us.

“We’re campaigning to make sure that children at the hospital get to spend December eagerly anticipating the arrival of Santa, presents and their loved ones. The work of the hospital doesn’t stop at Christmas but we hope that Santa will remember to stop here one last time.”

A donation of £15 could help provide fun, creativity and a distraction from treatment by delivering a wide variety of arts activities for children and young people. Gifting £30 could help fund our parents’ accommodation meaning parents and carers can stay close to their child in hospital. Nothing is more important than memories with family and a donation of £75 could help us put on a Christmas movie night.

If you would like more information on how to support the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity’s Christmas appeal, visit the website here: www.echcharity.org.

Scottish landlords and businesses are being warned not to miss the boat to secure fair rateable values, as the appeals deadline looms at the end of September.

Rating experts at Colliers International, the global commercial real estate agency and consultancy, say that following a revaluation that saw double-digit rate hikes in some areas and sectors, it has never been more important for landlords and tenants in Scotland to ensure that the rateable value placed on their property is accurate from the outset.

Louise Daly, associate director of Rating at Colliers International in Scotland, said: “Given the extremely restrictive nature of mid-valuation roll appeals in Scotland, ratepayers have a relatively short opportunity to submit a revaluation appeal and dispute any or all aspects of the valuation that were set from 1st April 2017. They now have less than a month remaining to do so.

“Ratepayers can of course submit their own revaluation appeals within the deadline of 30th September 2017, or they can seek representation to ensure that they are not put at any disadvantage given the complexities of complying with the current appeal system.”

John Webber, Head of Rating at Colliers, added: “Reform of some aspects of the business rates system in Scotland is expected to be soon, including a separate move from Valuation Appeal Committees to a Tribunal system. Ratepayers, therefore, need to stay alert to changes as they happen and ensure that their interests are protected. Lodging appeals now will ensure that any potential validity issues can be resolved- but only just in time. Businesses really cannot afford to delay further.”

Following the Rating Revaluation of 1st April 2017 many businesses have suffered large increases in their business rates. Unlike the rest of the UK, they were given just six months to appeal.

Moreover, despite the recent recommendations made by the Barclay Review panel to move towards a three-yearly revaluation cycle with a ‘tone date’ one year prior to the beginning of the revaluation, nothing has been agreed by the Government to date. Colliers believes that businesses are likely to face another five-yearly valuation cycle at present.

The situation in Scotland is even more precarious because the Barclay Review panel disappointingly did not make any recommendations in respect of the Material Change of Circumstance (MCC) issue north of the border. In Scotland MCC appeals are extremely limited in their scope – a result of High Court decisions made during the period of the 2010 Scottish revaluation cycle. This has made the present appeal system in Scotland much less competitive for ratepayers than in England.

Mr Webber concluded: “Even three-yearly valuation cycles would not go far enough to address specific, localised issues, which in England would have scope for reduction through an MCC appeal. Businesses therefore must not delay. Missing the boat now would be both lengthy and costly.”