News Archive
15/7/2020
The Leader of The Highland Council has welcomed the announcement by medical technology company "ODx" that it is expanding its centre for scientific excellence at Inverness Campus and creating up to 60 additional jobs. Council Leader, Cllr Margaret Davidson said: "This is great news for Inverness and the Highlands that ODx are creating new jobs for the region, at a time of huge economic impact due to COVID-19.
15/7/2020
The safe re-opening of small and micro businesses following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is being supported by new guidance. The publication provides practical advice for employers on the steps they need to take before and after re-opening.
15/7/2020
Guidance in place for sector to safely start welcoming visitors. Visitor attractions such as museums, galleries and heritage sites across Scotland can start to re-open to visitors from today.
15/7/2020
Leading property recruitment specialist, Rayner Personnel , has released the results of its estate agency salary survey, revealing the current earnings in the sector. Rayner Personnel surveyed hundreds of estate agents at all tiers of the profession to reveal the basic salary on offer, the overall annual earnings and whether they expected to earn more next year, amongst other things.
15/7/2020
Further restrictions on tourism lifted. The majority of Scotland's tourism sector can begin to restart from today (Wednesday 15 July) after lockdown restrictions were further eased.
15/7/2020
The Office for Budget Responsibility(OBR) latest report. The Fiscal sustainability report (FSR) usually focuses on long-term projections for the public finances and sustainability of debt.
Dog friendly cafe and craft shop. We are delighted to announce the we will be re-opening the cafe, craft shop and guest house from the 18th of July! We are well prepared and have plans in place to help with social distancing and protect the safety of our guests.
The Highland Council is warning the public to be on their guard for the latest COVID-19 scam which is circulating around the country. Information on this scam was received by Highland Council Trading Standards, through a national intelligence network.
14/7/2020
Scottish EDGE is a competition aimed at identifying and supporting Scotland's up-and-coming, innovative, high-growth potential entrepreneurial talent. You should have an ambitious growth strategy and a commitment to deliver upon it.
14/7/2020
If you are a Caithness business re-opening this week or incomng weeks get in touch. Let us know the date and what arrangements you are making.
14/7/2020
Construction output grew by a record 8.2% in the month-on-month all work series in May 2020 following the record decline of 40.2% in April 2020; the level of construction output is now down 38.8% on February 2020 before the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Construction output fell by a record 29.8% in the three months to May 2020, compared with the previous three-month period; this was driven by record falls of 30.3% in new work and 28.9% in repair and maintenance.
HIE organises training and courses for businesses. This online webinar may be of interest.
13/7/2020
Retrofitting buildings is one of a number of key actions the Scottish Government should undertake to ensure Scotland's post-COVID-19 sets a path to net zero, according to a group of civic and business leaders. The Climate Emergency Response Group (CERG) said existing Scottish Government home insulation schemes like Warmer Homes Scotland can be doubled so that 30,000 homes a year are made warmer and healthier and lifted out of fuel poverty.
13/7/2020
Restaurants and other establishments serving food for on-premises consumption can now sign up to a new government initiative aimed at protecting jobs in the hospitality industry and encouraging people to safely return to dining out. The Eat Out to Help Out registration page went live this morning on GOV.UK, allowing businesses to join the scheme announced last week by Rishi Sunak MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer.
13/7/2020
A wide-ranging coalition of sixty-four Scottish economists, charities, think tanks, and businesses have sent an open letter to the First Minister to voice concern over the proposed nature of the economic recovery plans of the Scottish Government. The group calls for a radically fairer Scotland focusing on closing the employment gap for women and disabled people, plus fairer wages and lower carbon.
13/7/2020
The deadline for submission of applications for round three of the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund (RTIF) has been extended from 10 July 2020 to 5.00pm on Wednesday 14 October 2020. The final date that Expressions of Interest (EOI) can be submitted will be Friday 18 September 2020 and all projects must have submitted an EOI and received approval for this before submitting a full Stage 2 application on the 14 October 2020.
13/7/2020
Homebuyers will be able to take advantage of reduced rates of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) from this week, after finance secretary Kate Forbes responded to calls for a quick implementation of the change. The threshold at which LBTT begins to be paid will rise from £145,000 to £250,000 on July 15 and remain in place until March 31 next year.
13/7/2020
High Life Highland has written to members advising how the charity plans to "bounceback" from the global pandemic in line with the latest developments within Scottish Government Route Map to recovery. Steve Walsh, High Life Highland's Chief Executive, said, "We care passionately about what we deliver to enhance the health and wellbeing our communities and are really looking forward to welcoming our many customers back to our facilities and services over the forthcoming weeks and months and I am delighted that our bounceback campaign is already taking shape across all of our services.
12/7/2020
People in hospital who do not have coronavirus (COVID-19) will be able to have a designated visitor from tomorrow, Monday 13 July. Until now, hospital visits during the pandemic have only been permitted in limited essential circumstances.
11/7/2020
Every week on our INSIDE BRIEFING podcast, IfG Director Bronwen Maddox welcomes experts, analysts and special guests for a free-ranging conversation on what makes government work - and how to fix it when it doesn't. Rishi Sunak has set out the ‘second phase' of the government's economic response to coronavirus.