Members of The Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee will meet next Monday (28 September 2026) to consider whether to progress proposals for new Short Term Let Control Areas across parts of Highland. At the special meeting, councillors will be asked to consider the findings of a public consultation on proposed control areas covering Inverness City and a wider Highland Rural area, before deciding whether the proposals should be submitted to Scottish Ministers for approval.
NHS Highland and The Highland Council are pleased to announce the launch of a new bespoke year-round transport service for renal haemodialysis patients across Highland. Funded through a grant from NHS Highland, the service marks the first phase of a new approach to patient transport delivery, designed to support the long-term development of a more sustainable, flexible and community-focused transport model for Highland.
Britain's energy costs have claimed another major industrial casualty, with chemicals giant INEOS announcing that it is suspending operations at three plants at its Saltend site near Hull. The decision affects facilities producing acetic acid, acetic anhydride and ethyl acetate.
Scotland is building an electricity system for a very different future. Wind farms, solar projects, battery storage, substations, pylons and new transmission lines are appearing across the country as the drive towards cleaner electricity gathers pace.
A huge floating oil production vessel that has spent the past two years in Scapa Flow could soon be heading for Loch Kishorn on the west coast of Scotland. The Western Isles FPSO - Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading, operated by Dana Petroleum and jointly owned with NEO Energy, arrived in Orkney in July 2024 after being towed from its former location in the North Sea.
Two new reports published in Scotland have put the spotlight on a question that is becoming increasingly important as government budgets come under pressure. Who actually benefits from the money spent on tackling poverty and reducing the cost of living? A new analysis by the Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI), prepared for the Poverty and Inequality Commission, examines the distributional impact of Scotland's Cost of Living Guarantee.
Businesses and social enterprises across the Highlands and Islands are being supported to explore the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence (AI) through two new support initiatives launched today by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) as part of AI Scotland. Applications are now open for the new AI Adoption Programme and AI Mentoring Support service, which are designed to help organisations understand, assess and implement AI technologies that can improve productivity, boost innovation and support growth.
Scotland and Ireland Strengthen Economic Links Between Gaelic Communities Scotland and Ireland are developing closer links between their Gaelic-speaking communities, with housing, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, tourism and the marine economy among the areas being explored for future cooperation. The initiative was highlighted during a visit to Skye by Ireland's President Catherine Connolly, who met representatives of Highland organisations including Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Highland Council.
Initial proposals designed to deliver fundamental reform of local governance have been set out to help shape the debate on improving public services. The possible changes, if implemented, could help achieve a better balance of decision-making powers across the public sector to ensure investment is focused on delivering improved services.
The Scottish Government is proposing a major reshaping of local government, with fewer regional authorities and many more community-level bodies making decisions closer to where people live. The language is about local democracy, stronger communities and bringing decisions closer to people.
Personal Independence Payment has become one of the fastest-growing areas of the UK welfare system. Now the Institute for Fiscal Studies is asking a more fundamental question than simply whether spending should go up or down.
Why Are British Electricity Prices So High? The IFS Looks Behind the Bill Britain has spent years trying to make its electricity system cleaner, but households and businesses are now paying some of the highest electricity prices in the developed world. A new report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) examines why electricity has become so expensive and asks whether the way Britain prices and taxes electricity needs to change.
Scotland's independence debate is moving back to the centre of Holyrood politics, with John Swinney's Scottish Government seeking parliamentary backing for Scotland's right to decide its constitutional future. The Scottish Parliament is due to debate a motion today, 22 September 2026, which states that “Scotland is a nation that has a right to decide its own future.” It was lodged by First Minister John Swinney on Monday 21 September.
There is an interesting economic development project taking shape at Montrose which deserves attention in Caithness. It is called ZeroFour, a 123-acre former RAF airfield being developed by Crown Estate Scotland in partnership with Angus Council.
Scotland's universities are facing a £200 million funding gap, but the figure may actually understate the scale of the problem. That is the conclusion of the first major report from a joint Scottish Government and Universities Scotland review into the long-term financial sustainability of higher education.
There is a potentially positive development taking shape in the world oil market which could become increasingly important over the next five years. Venezuela has some of the world's largest oil reserves, but years of underinvestment and a badly run-down industry have left the country producing only a fraction of what it once did.
Britain's public finances have produced another warning sign ahead of next month's Budget, with government borrowing rising sharply in August and running considerably ahead of the official forecast. The Office for National Statistics says the public sector borrowed £18.3 billion in August 2026, £2.9 billion more than in August last year and the second-highest August figure on record, behind the exceptional figure recorded during the pandemic in 2020.
Pet owners are about to get greater protection when dealing with veterinary practices, following a major Competition and Markets Authority investigation into the way the UK's veterinary market operates. The new rules begin coming into force from today, 22 September 2026, although most of the changes will be introduced gradually over the next 12 months.
Britain is becoming more directly involved in the latest Middle East crisis, although the Government is stressing that the role is defensive rather than an attempt to join the fighting in Yemen. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has agreed to a request from Saudi Arabia for British military assistance following renewed attacks by the Houthi movement in Yemen.
It might seem an unlikely connection. A pensioner in Caithness looking at the level in their heating-oil tank has little obvious in common with somebody in Ukraine operating a drone thousands of miles away.