Local Authority News
14/2/2019
Newstart - Removal Of Grant Funding For Waste Management
Newstart Highland that took over Home Aid in Caithness is set to lose a £75,000 grant from 2019/20. The Highland council agreed the reduction at its budget meeting on 14th February 2019.14/2/2019
Highland Council To Reduce Insurance Payments To Save
Highland councillor agreed to make saving in insurance premiums of £417,000 for 2019/20. The Council's current external insurance contract comes to an end at the end of financial year 2018/19 and some savings are anticipated to be delivered through the reprocurement.14/2/2019
Highland Council Puts Pressure On Highland Highlife To Deliver Significant Savings
Savings of £610,000 are being asked from Highland Highlife in addition to inflationary pressures of £900,000 to be absorbed by the organisation. The arms length organisation has proved to be an outstanding success in the few years since it was floated by the council.
14/2/2019
Highland Council Budget Increases Planning And Building Warrant Fee Income
Planning and building warrant income is to be increased over 3 years as part of the Highland council 3 year budget plan. 2019/20 - £600,000 2020/21 - £328,000 2021/22 - £182,000 Total - £110,000,000 The current income target for planning and building control fees is £4.867m.14/2/2019
Review of Waste Haulage in Highland to save £150,000
Highland council agreed today 14th February 2019 to save £150,000 over the next two years in the complicated area of waste haulage contracts. What may seem like a simple hing to deal with is not an easy subject to easy with effectively as it affects every home an business in Highland.14/2/2019
Early Years Organisations suffer Cut Backs in Highland council budget
The Highland council agrred to slash £258,000 from the budget for Early Years organisations for 2019/20 The current budget for Early Years' Grants is £458k per annum. This is primarily an area-based budget where partners are able to apply for funding for one-off grants.14/2/2019
Highland council targets Industrial sites for rent increases
Additional Income projected £216k of is projected for thenext three years - 2019/20 - £118,000 2020/21 - £58,000 2021/22 - £40,000 Through a proactive approach to lease extensions (with premiums) and increases in rental income the council will seek to maximise the performance of the industrial and investment portfolio, including selling off poor performing industrial sites and focusing investment on high performing, high rental sites and properties. Net income £2.776m - excludes income for the Housing Revenue Account and Inverness Common Good Fund.14/2/2019
Tighter Controls On Recycling Centres In Budget Reductions
Tighter controls on what can be taken to the public recycling centres are set to save £300,000 over the next two financial years. This proposal introduces restrictions on construction and demolition waste brought to our Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC), limiting quantities to small amounts generated through minor DIY activities.14/2/2019
Blythswood Lose £75,000 Grant Funding From Highland Council For Waste Management
The main activities that the social enterprise groups currently carry out directly for Highland Council waste management are the servicing of re-use containers on our household waste recycling centres (HWRCs). These currently divert around 150 tonnes from 11 HWRCs.14/2/2019
School Meals To Increase By 5 Pence In Highlands
Councillors today 14th February 2019 agreed to increase the price of school meals despite some councillors pointing out that previous increase last year resulted in reduced number taking the meals. Councillors have little room to help as they did in the past to basically subsidise meals.14/2/2019
Increased Charges For Burials And Other Community Services
Highland councillors reluctantly agreed to range of increase charges under the community services part of the budget. Many of the charges reflect inflationary increases The total of £2.063 million will be rolled out as follows - 2019/20 - £771,000 2020/21 - £.636,000 2021/22 - £656,000 The split is as follows - Export licences for fish were included in the above figures but a change was agreed at the meeting that should make the saving in total.12/2/2019
Planning application submitted for Materials Recovery Facility
A planning application has been submitted to construct a new centralised waste management facility (Materials Recovery Facility) to recover recyclates and produce Refuse Derived Fuel, as the Council's preferred interim arrangements for meeting the requirements of the ban on landfilling which commences in January 2021. The site is located at the Longman, Inverness (previously the landfill site).
11/2/2019
Couple banned after duping businesses to sponsor ‘educational' materials
Husband and wife team received directorship disqualifications totalling 20 years after they duped small businesses to sponsor unnecessary educational material. In a two-year period, the pair from Congleton, Cheshire, secured more than £1.7 million from businesses who were led to believe they were investing in books and DVDs about substance abuse in return for advertising in the books.10/2/2019
Caithness And North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership - Update
Weekly update from CNSRP - week commencing 4th February 2019. SpaceHub Sutherland: The SHS team were in the Kyle Community Centre in Tongue for the first of a planned weekly presence in the area on Wednesdays between 1000 to 1300 hrs to allow people to meet with the project team.9/2/2019
Highland Council Proposals For A Three-year Budget.
The proposals are based on themes which emerged from weeks of consultation with staff, communities, groups and partners. The themes focus on Efficiencies, Income generation, Redesign and a flexible Workforce.8/2/2019
Council clarifies concerns surrounding Export Health Certificates
The Highland Council's Environmental Health team currently allocates significant resource to facilitate Highland based food manufacturer's trade with EU and non-EU countries. This work can be split into two categories; statutory and non-statutory.6/2/2019
Highland Council winter road condition report for Wednesday 6 February 2019
Maps of the Council's gritting routes by priority and policy are available online at www.highland.gov.uk/gritting The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.5/2/2019
Free forum event for Highland landlords
The Highland Council, in partnership with Under One Roof Scotland, are inviting all private landlords to a special seminar specifically to look at issues surrounding common repairs and building maintenance and how to deal with any problems that may arise. Under One Roof Scotland (www.underoneroof.scot) is an impartial online information site for flat owners and their advisers.4/2/2019
Highland Council winter road condition report for Monday, 04 February 2019
Maps of the Council's gritting routes by priority and policy are available online at www.highland.gov.uk/gritting The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.3/2/2019
