News Archive
30/3/2024
Wick Doctor Says NHS Highland Refuses To Negotiate GP Contracts
NHS Highland chiefs have been accused by a Caithness doctor of lacking "the most basic economic principles" and being unable to put two and two together. Dr Ewen Pearson also criticised the health board for allegedly refusing to negotiate with the Local Medical Committee, the representative body for Highland GPs, over an improved contract for providing "enhanced services".
30/3/2024
Dr John Campbell - Long Term Sickness, Massive Increase
The long term sick has risen by over 700,000 people since the spring of 2021, this coincides with the rollout of the experimental Covid 19 vaccine..
30/3/2024
Community-led Redesign Of Wick Lanes Celebrates Town's Heritage
Residents joined local artists to celebrate completion of the community-led Wick Lanes Pocket Places project in the town this week. The project has seen the installation of a series of durable, long-lasting interventions in and around the lanes to bring life and colour back to the area.
30/3/2024
NATO Allies Strengthen Cooperation On Military Aviation Training And Much More
Twelve NATO Allies (Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Spain, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom) agreed to further expand military aviation training across the Alliance through the NATO Flight Training Europe (NFTE) initiative. This includes the first ever placement of around fifty student pilots in four locations beginning this year, the addition of nine new training campuses.
30/3/2024
Decarbonising Scotland's HGV Trucks
Senior leaders from Scotland's HGV industry have developed a set of actions to help the sector transition to net zero. The HGV Decarbonisation Pathway is the result of 18 months of work by the Zero Emission Truck Taskforce, whose members come from the haulage and logistics sector; energy sector (both hydrogen and electricity); truck manufacturing; government; unions; and commercial financiers.
30/3/2024
How Much Is My Car Tax In 2024? - Shocks For High Polluting Vehicles
The flat rate cost of car tax in 2024 is currently £180. However, as part of the Spring Budget 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed Vehicle Excise duty (VED) would increase in line with inflation, based on the Retail Price Index (RPI).
30/3/2024
Drivers From Rural Areas Check Your Vehicles Before You Drive Into The Cities In Scotland As Fines For Emissions Start On 1 June
People can now enter their vehicle registration number on the official website for Scotland's Low Emission Zones to confirm if their vehicle will comply. In addition, Blue Badge holders who require exemptions can now register their details with the new LEZ exemption system so that the vehicle they are travelling in can access Low Emission Zones.
30/3/2024
Companies House gender pay gap report and data 2023
Companies House is fully committed to ensuring the fair treatment and reward of all colleagues irrespective of gender, as well as any other protected characteristic including age, ethnicity, religion and/or belief, sexual orientation, and disability status. The promotion of equality and inclusivity is at the heart of everything we do, and we're proud of the progress we continue to make in this area.
30/3/2024
Trading Standards Warn Of Easter Holiday Scams
Holidaymakers looking to book Easter and summer getaways are being warned to be wary of scams such as: fake accommodation listings on social media cold calls and unsolicited emails offering deals scam websites. fake reviews on popular travel websites.30/3/2024
Increased Budget For Housing Costs Support In Scotland - Full Devolution Of Discretionary Housing Payments From 1 April
More than £90 million will be allocated to local authorities in 2024-25 to support eligible households at risk of hardship through the Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) scheme. The funding enables local authorities to mitigate the impact of UK Government policies such as the ‘bedroom tax' and the ‘benefit cap' which can reduce how much universal credit or housing benefit someone receives.
30/3/2024
National Islands Plan - Annual Report 2023
The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 requires that a report is presented to Parliament each year setting out the progress made towards delivery of the National Islands Plan. This report sets out progress made during the 2023 reporting year.30/3/2024
Highlands MSP Renews Calls For Public Inquiry Into Cairngorm Funicular
A Highlands MSP has renewed calls for a public inquiry into the Cairngorm funicular after being told by resort bosses there is no timescale for its reopening. Bosses at Cairngorm Mountain Railway have admitted to Scottish Conservative politician Edward Mountain that they have no idea when the crucial facility will reopen.
30/3/2024
Scottish Government To Assist More Immigration - Scotland's Migration Service Launched
Scotland's Migration Service has launched its first phase, which will give people who have recently moved here and employers looking to hire workers from abroad access to bespoke advice. The new service will provide information and offer individual appointments to help people with moving and settling into life in Scotland.30/3/2024
A Mess Has Been Made Of Child Benefit, And The Clear-up Operation May Not Be Easy
Child Benefit was for a long time universal, in recognition of the extra costs that children bring whatever the family's income. In 2013, under the pressures of austerity, the coalition government was finally persuaded by the same logic that had proven irresistible to previous governments for so many other benefits.29/3/2024
Economic Activity And Social Change In The UK - Real-time Indicators - 28 March 2024
n the latest week, aggregate UK spending on credit and debit cards fell by 3% and is now 5% lower than the level in the equivalent week of 2023. Meanwhile, overall retail footfall increased to 103% of the level of the previous week and 102% of the level in the equivalent week of 2023 (Bank of England CHAPS, MRI OnLocation).
29/3/2024
Brexit Costs Scotland Up To £100 Million-a-year In Lost Salmon Exports - But Should We Be Eating any Salmon
Brexit has cost Scotland up to £100 million-a-year in ‘lost' salmon exports, MSPs will heard yesterday (28 March 2024) Scottish salmon is the UK's largest food export, but farming companies have faced increased red tape and costs triggered by the departure from the EU in January 2020. In 2019, there were more than 53,000 tonnes of Scottish salmon exported to the bloc, with the figure falling to 44,000 tonnes in 2023.
29/3/2024
Business Investment In The UK - October To December 2023 Revised Results
UK business investment increased by 1.4% in Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2023, revised slightly from our initial estimate of a 1.5% increase in the provisional estimate; the main contributor to business investment growth was an increase in buildings investment. UK business investment is 2.8% above where it was the same quarter a year ago.
29/3/2024
TB in Scotland
The theme of this year's World TB Day, 24 March, was ‘Yes! We can end TB!'. An important message as tuberculosis (TB) is a preventable and treatable disease.29/3/2024
Techscaler Companies In Scotland Capture Multi-million Investment 
Startup companies being supported by the Scottish Government's Techscaler programme attracted investment of more than £52 million in 2023, according to the project's first Annual Report. The initiative supported more than 500 companies in its first year, and now has nearly 2,500 members.
29/3/2024
