9am Briefing: Technical fault hits ambulance call centres

Published on Monday 4 October 2010 12:55

A TECHNICAL fault affected 999 calls to two of the Scottish Ambulance Service's three call centres.

The error, which occurred between midnight and 3.30am on Tuesday at the Edinburgh and Aberdeen branches, meant emergency calls were being diverted to operators in Glasgow.

It is the second time in three months that the service has been hit by problems. In July no 999 calls were received in all of Scotland's call centres for several hours, instead being diverted to Belfast and the North of England.

The ambulance service said it was investigating the reason for the fault.

Biomass research call

MSP Robin Harper, MSP Malcolm Chisholm and several other objectors have today sent an open letter to the Scottish government calling for independent research on plans to develop biomass plants across the country.

The correspondence, organised by Greener Leith, has also attracted support from Cllr Gordon Munro and many residents across Edinburgh.

They are asking the government to conduct research into the sustainability of the four large-scale biomass plants proposed by Forth Energy in Edinburgh, Dundee, Rosyth and Grangemouth. A spokesman for Greener Leith claimed US research contradicted the green claims made by Forth Energy.

Film centre plans revived

LONG-running plans for a multi-million-pound film centre in Edinburgh are set to be revived more than 15 years after the idea was first floated, it was reported today.

The head of Scotland's new film body, already backed by Sir Sean Connery, vowed to make it one of his top priorities.

Gavin Miller, who is now responsible for the capital's Filmhouse cinema and its long-running film festival, said a new state-of-the-art complex could be delivered in the next five to ten years if funding could be secured.

Baxters close store

A MAJOR Scottish food company has been forced to close a flagship restaurant and store in Edinburgh due to dwindling customers.

Baxters, the jam and soup-making dynasty, has shut its waterfront eaterie at Ocean Terminal in Leith, seven years after it opened its doors.

The restaurant and giftshop at Ocean Terminal are to be replaced by a Frankie and Benny's restaurant, but the family-run company has decided to keep open a food store at Ocean Terminal.