News Archive
20/1/2015
£100 million for delayed discharge
Funding over three years to increase social care capacity. A further £100 million over three years is to be invested in the NHS to help reduce the numbers of people waiting to be discharged from hospital.20/1/2015
Rhoda Grant MSP Welcomes New Funding After the Horse Has Bolted
Speaking about the £100 million extra funding allocated by the Scottish Government to prevent delayed discharge from hospitals nationally, Highlands & Islands MSP and Shadow Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, Rhoda Grant said "Of course I welcome the extra funding set aside for NHS Highland, but it is a case of trying to shut the stable door now that the horse has bolted". “NHS Highland have been underfunded for years and only recently the Scottish Government gave extra funding to try and give the Board the funding they were entitled to, but deprived off.19/1/2015
Billion Pound Cable To Link Caithness And Moray
Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission (SHE Transmission), a subsidiary of SSE plc, has confirmed that it will accept Ofgem's proposals for the funding of the new Caithness-Moray electricity transmission link at a cost of £1,118m. The project is now set to help support over 100 new energy careers across the north of Scotland, including via SSE's industry-leading apprentice, trainee engineer and graduate programmes.
19/1/2015
Council clarifies Winter Maintenance Policy
The Highland Council wishes to clarify that if anyone is seeking information on their Winter Maintenance Policy and gritting maps then this information can be found on the Highland Council website. The Highland Council Winter Maintenance Policy states: "The treatment of roads will be carried out based on a hierarchical system dependant on route priority".19/1/2015
Wave energy intellectual property to be retained in Scotland
Innovative ideas and knowledge gained through years of research and development by former Leith-based wave energy developer Pelamis will be retained in Scotland. Development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has reached agreement with administrators KPMG to acquire intellectual property and a range of physical assets previously owned by Pelamis, which went into administration in November 2014.16/1/2015
Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership - Update
Week commencing 12th January 2015 Energy & Business services: Good to see in this week's John O'Groat Journal that AGM Batteries - based at the Thurso Business Park - has been developing a partnership with academia to help ensure its workforce skills stay up to date and competitive. Warwick Manufacturing Group, the R&D facility for Warwick University, has been helping develop short courses for AGM staff.16/1/2015
Praise for council staff following week of severe weather
LEADER of The Highland Council, Drew Hendry and Chief Executive Steve Barron praised council workers following a week of severe weather affecting the region. Storm force winds caused havoc, leaving thousands of homes and businesses without power for days, bringing trees and branches down across roads and railway lines, damaging buildings and causing network and telecommunications problems across the area.16/1/2015
Bad Weather Bogus Traders Warning
Police Scotland Highland and Islands Division, in conjunction with Highland Council Trading Standards, has issued a warning to householders to be vigilant of bogus callers following the recent stormy weather. With gale-force wind and heavy rain sweeping the Highland and Islands last week, householders may have experienced damage to property and will be seeking to have repairs carried out over the coming weeks.16/1/2015
Binning Barnett would be Bad for Scotland says North MSP
Highlands & Islands (Labour) MSP and Shadow Minister for Transport and the Islands David Stewart speaking today (16/1/15) said " We are now seeing a full blown crisis in the North Sea. The price of oil is less than half of what the Scottish Government predicted it would be last year".15/1/2015
Council welcomes ‘Developing Scotland's Young Workforce’ in Highland
Proposals to deliver the Scottish Government's report on "Developing Scotland's Young Workforce" in the Highlands have been welcomed by Members of The Highland Council’s Education, Children and Adult Services Committee this week. Members were informed that an implementation strategy for Highland’s young people will need to take into account: · industry engagement in developing general education Curriculum for Excellence; · specific vocational pathways leading to industry recognised qualifications; · college systems focussed on employability; · apprenticeship opportunities and advanced qualifications through work based learning; and · a systematic approach to business sector engagement.15/1/2015
Council review of Facilities Management
Highland Council Members have agreed the terms of reference for a review of the Facilities Management model which is being rolled out in schools across the Highlands. In 2010 the Council previously agreed to take forward the Facilities Management model, the benefits of which were expected to: · create of a universal support function to assist Head Teachers with property and grounds management; · create a standardised operating model under specialist line management arrangements; · create standardised job descriptions ensuring a consistent approach to facilities management across all schools; and · is affordable within the Council's current budget allocation.15/1/2015
New Rules To Make Getting Mortgages Harder
The Money Advice Service is highlighting the new rules that will make obtaining a mortgage much harder than in the past. Much stricter rules and enforcement will mean borrowers having to prove they can afford repayments and take into account running costs of the new home and possibly be able to afford increases in repayments should interest rates rise.14/1/2015
Dingwall & Highland Marts - Sale 14 January2014
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts, (January, 14th) sold 1,997 sheep of all classes. Lambs (988) averaged £61.96 and sold to £82 gross for Suffolk cross ewe lambs from Bogallan, North Kessock.14/1/2015
Update on Caithness General Hospital for District Partnership Meeting
The next Caithness District Partnership meets on Friday 30 January in Thurso and issues to be discussed will include updates on Caithness General Hospital and the Children's Care Partnership. The Highland Council’s Director of Care and Learning, Bill Alexander, will also deliver a presentation on District Partnerships, Community Development and Community Planning and the NHS Director of Adult Social Care, Joanna Macdonald, along with Deborah Jones, the NHS Chief Operating Officer, will provide an update on Adult Social Care initiatives.13/1/2015
A Million Unemployed People Receiving No Government Help Into Work, Councils Warn
More than a million unemployed people are falling through cracks in national work schemes that are failing to reach some of the most vulnerable jobseekers, councils warn today. Latest employment figures released in December show that the number of unemployed people not claiming Jobseeker's Allowance has passed one million for the first time.12/1/2015
Severe weather update - Highland Council - 5.30pm 12 January 2015
Two Highland Council roads and 12 schools remain closed or affected today (Monday 12 January) following the severe weather. Newhall Bridge B9163 on the Black Isle is closed until further notice, due to structural damage.12/1/2015
What the TalkTalk acquisition of Tesco Broadband and Blinkbox might mean for customers
Ewan Taylor-Gibson, broadband and TV expert at uSwitch.com, says:"TalkTalk's move shows it's deadly serious about making its TV proposition a success. How it plans to integrate Blinkbox with YouView remains to be seen - although its highly likely TalkTalk customers will still have to pay as they go for the Blinkbox content on offer.12/1/2015
'DON'T RISK IT' Festive Drink Drive Campaign - Figures for Highland and Islands
New figures from Police Scotland have today (12 January 2015) revealed that there has been a 55% decrease in the number of people caught drink-driving over the festive period. The new lower drink drive limit of 22 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath came into force on 5 December 2014, bringing Scotland into line with much of the rest of Europe.11/1/2015
Highland Schools Update - 11 January 2015
DUE to storm damage, two schools, may not be open on Monday. Brora Primary School and Canisbay Primary School have both suffered some roof damage.11/1/2015
