News Archive
27/2/2019
Highland Council Budget To Be Brought On Track For Year End Balance
Despite an increase in the reported in-year overspend of £5.5M at the end of the third quarter, the Council is committed to bringing the budget back on track to be in a balanced position by year end. Additional measures to address the projected overspend began back in November, with vacancy controls, restricting non-essential expenditure, stopping non-essential travel and utilising (previously) earmarked balances.
27/2/2019
Employers Encouraged To Put Fair Work First
A range of measures to support employers to embed fairer working practices have been set out in a new Fair Work Action Plan. Building on the First Minister's ‘Fair Work First' announcement last year, the action plan includes a commitment to a new benchmarking tool to help employers assess their current practices and to provide guidance on how to make their workplaces fairer.
27/2/2019
Final Local Government Income And Expenditure Figures For 2017-18 Published
Scotland's Chief Statistician today published Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics: 2017-18. This is an annual compendium publication that provides a comprehensive overview of financial activity of Scottish local authorities based on their final, audited accounts.
27/2/2019
Mentor Plan For Female Entrepreneurs
Help to succeed in business. The First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced £100,000 of new funding for an initiative aimed at driving entrepreneurship among females in Scotland.
27/2/2019
Lords EU Committee raise concerns over three Brexit treaties
The House of Lords EU Committee has today for the first time drawn three Brexit ‘roll-over' trade agreements to the special attention of the House of Lords. The Committee identifies all three agreements as politically important, and also raises concerns over the UK Government's level of consultation, particularly with the devolved administrations.
27/2/2019
Record High For School Leavers In Positive Destinations
Deprivation gap in positive destinations falls by half. 94.4% of pupils had a 'positive destination' including work, training or further study within three months of leaving school last year, official statistics show.
27/2/2019
Scotland's Devolved Employment Services
This experimental statistics release is the sixth in a series about the devolved Scottish employability services. This edition publishes statistics for the first nine months of Fair Start Scotland, which launched in April 2018; the first twenty one months of Work First Scotland and Work Able Scotland, both of which launched in April 2017; and the first six months of the Health & Work Support Pilot (HAWS), which launched in June 2018.
27/2/2019
Unprecedented February temperatures put countryside at high fire risk
A warning from NFU Mutual. Unprecedented warm dry winter weather is putting the UK countryside at high risk of devastating fires, warns NFU Mutual.
27/2/2019
Union launches court bid to extend collective bargaining rights for outsourced workers
The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has launched a landmark legal challenge before the High Court in London in a bid to extend collective bargaining rights for outsourced workers. The union is alleging that outsourced workers at the University of London are being denied their rights under article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) because they can only negotiate their pay and conditions with the outsourcing agency, not the university directly.27/2/2019
Digital Skills Academy Calls For Applications
Fifteen professionals from across Highland will have the chance to learn to code software in an exclusive 12-week course, starting in April. CodeClan Highlands forms part of the Northern Innovation Hub, led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), on behalf of the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal partners.
26/2/2019
Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd - Sale 26 February 2019
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (February, 26th) sold 12 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (3) averaged 201.3p (N/C) and sold to 204.0p per kg and £1,340.00 gross.
26/2/2019
Organ And Tissue Donation Changes
Latest on proposed opt-out system. A Bill to introduce a soft opt-out system of organ and tissue donation for deceased donors will be debated in Parliament today (26 February 2019).
26/2/2019
More firms urged to prepare for Brexit
Businesses in the Highlands and Islands are being encouraged to plan for the impacts of Brexit. Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has made the call following the findings of the agency's latest business panel survey, carried out in September and October 2018.
26/2/2019
Fair Work in Scotland's Social Care Sector 2019
On 26 February 2019 the Fair Work Convention published its report Fair Work in Scotland's Social Care Sector 2019. The report calls for urgent interventions by policy makers, commissioners and leaders in the social care sector to improve the quality of work and employment for the 200,000 strong workforce in Scotland.
26/2/2019
Scottishpower Announces Record £2billion UK Investment In 2019
** £2billion clean energy investment in UK in 2019 - record commitment in UK by ScottishPower ** ScottishPower announces plans for large-scale battery storage at UK windfarms ** New public electric vehicle charging business to start installations in 2019 Investment plan will support 300 new ScottishPower jobs in 2019 ScottishPower has announced it will spend up to £2billion in the UK in 2019, the company's biggest ever investment in the country in a single year. The announcement came as ScottishPower updated its investment plans following the sale of its thermal generation business and transition to 100% renewable energy in 2018.
26/2/2019
Scottish National Standardised Assessment P1 Practitioner Forum
A very controversial subject recently the formal testing of P1 children. A website for practitioners may be useful to anyone interested whether teachers, management boards, parent councils and or parents.
26/2/2019
Depute Chief Executive of Highland Council announces retirement
The Highland Council's Depute Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Resources has announced his intention to retire this summer in June 2019. Derek Yule has worked with Highland Council for the past 8 years first as Director of Finance and then as Depute Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Resources.
26/2/2019
Bernie Sanders' adviser to join advisory group for new indy economics organisation
Professor Stephanie Kelton to join group of economics advisers to new MMT Scotland group New Scottish economics group to argue for Modern Monetary Theory policies for independent state. Some of the worlds most influencial MMT advocates to join advisory panel, including key Sanders 2016 campaign adviser Prof Stephanie Kelton.
26/2/2019
Deposit Return Scheme Consultation: Analysis Of Responses - Plastic Bottles Etc
Analysis of responses to the deposit return scheme for Scotland consultation. Between 27 June and 25 September 2018, the Scottish Govenment undertook a public consultation to explore options for establishing a deposit return scheme (DRS) in Scotland.
25/2/2019
