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.
At Portfolio Questions today (Culture, Tourism and External Affairs) Highlands & Islands Regional MSP, Rhoda Grant asked the Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop MSP, what plans the Government had to build on the impact of the successful North Cost 500 (NC500). She specifically asked about the state of the roads on the route.
Norscot, the Highlands and Islands manufacturer of timber frame kits, windows and doors, received the Innovation of the Year Award at the prestigious Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards 2018. The awards, run by Interface, aim to celebrate the achievements of academic and business collaborations and partnerships.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (February 27th) sold 9 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (2) averaged 216.4p (-1.4p) and sold to 219.0p and £1,385.90 gross.
Last week saw The Highland Council's film unit receive its 200th enquiry of the year - a new record that illustrates the level of appeal the area now has as a location for everything from high end movies to online commercials. Enquiries are already 19% ahead of the previous financial year even before what is traditionally the busiest period of production development in March.
Almost half of shoppers in Scotland put off buying ethical products due to being too expensive. · 48% of respondents were put off by "too expensive" ethical products · 24% of consumers "never" think about the people who produce their food · 50% of shoppers are not aware of exploitation of food and drink producers in developing countries Almost half of shoppers in Scotland are put off buying ethical products because they're too expensive, new research has revealed.
Week commencing 19th February 2018. Energy & Business services: Good to see the installations of pontoons in Wick's Inner Harbour progressing, as part of the construction phase of the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm project.
The safety of children walking and cycling to and from school and traffic calming measures in Wick were under the spotlight at yesterdays meeting of the Caithness Committee (Wednesday 21 February 2018). Local Councillors have given the go-ahead for proposals to introduce a 20mph speed limit and traffic calming measures across Wick designed to get motorists to slow down when driving around the town.
Close to 100 professionals met yesterday for what is one of the largest Career Long Professional Learning (CLPL) events of its kind in the country that specifically targets Gaelic Education staff. The event took place in Merkinch Community Centre, Inverness for Highland Council's annual Gaelic Education In-Service.
Retailers have rights too! ParcelHero introduces new small traders' returns guide. At least 200 specialist online stores don't expect to survive the massive growth in returns this year.
Schools will be allocated £3 million this year to support pupils learning additional languages, Employability Minister Jamie Hepburn has announced. A lack of language skills has been estimated to cost Scottish businesses hundreds of millions of pounds a year in lost exports.
Young people in Caithness will be the first in Scotland to benefit from new Norwegian style learning centres. A network of ‘Newton rooms' in Norway and one in Denmark are used to inspire more young people into careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).
A survey of more than a thousand businesses in the Highlands and Islands has shown that almost all of them (95%) have taken action in the past 12 months to become more productive and competitive. This is according to the findings of the latest business panel survey published today (Wednesday 21 February) ) by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
North MSP and Road Safety Campaigners eight year campaign for a form of Graduated Licence closer to being introduced. Highlands & Islands Regional MSP and Road Safety Campaigner, David Stewart, has welcomed news from the UK Government that they plan to seriously now consider introducing a form of Graduated Driving Licence later this year.
The Highland Council is set to make it easier for the public to report incidents of fly tipping and be advised when action is taken. As part of an evaluation of its street cleaning service an in-depth LEAN review of how the council deals with fly tipping has been carried out to look at ways of improving responsiveness and customer satisfaction.
The Highland Council has agreed to use City-Region Deal funding to part fund new mid-market housing projects throughout the Highlands. The affordable housing projects will be developed by Albyn Housing Society and Highland Housing Alliance in Ullapool, Fort William, Alness, Inverness, Aviemore, Grantown, Drumnadrochit and Newtonmore and will deliver 61 new homes targeted at young people working in the area.
See the BBC article for full details of the changes today. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-43115967.
Labour MSP Rhoda Grant has spoken out over Caithness Health Action Team (CHAT) revelations over the past few days. "It appears that the health authority and the Scottish Government rode roughshod over the concerns of a whistle blower whose only interest was the safety of hospital patients," said Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant.
Highland Councillors agreed a council tax increase of 3% which will mean an increase of £35.93 per annum on a Band D property. Overall, the budget gap of £15,146 million has been met by a package of savings which includes increasing Council Tax income by £3.448 million, increasing income by £3,059 million, setting a target of £2,250 million to be saved through Redesign and reducing expenditure by £5.1 million.
Independent councillors have delivered a fair budget for the Highlands today. It's a fair budget that has limited the impact on council services, protected the provision of frontline education, and minimised the rent increase for council house tenants.
