Office review in Inverness and Dingwall identifies scope for rationalisation. Highland Councillors have been advised that reducing the number of Council offices in Inverness and Dingwall from 22 to 4 by 2020 has the greatest potential to deliver significant benefits and improved value to the Council when compared to retaining the current office estate.
If your business is located in Caithness and you want to let everyone know about your Christmas stock then send us a short item with a photo (jpeg) and we will set it up for you on these pages. Just email your item to bill[AT]caithness.org any time over the next few weeks.
"Professional Equipment for Work & Leisure, At, On or Under the Water" Mackay Underwater Technology - Watersports is based at Wick harbour, close to the marina, and offers a wide range of quality chandlery equipment to the boat user. "With the success of Wick's marina, and the county's deep seated tradition of working at sea, it seemed only logical to expand the business into the chandlery area.
A9 dualling Perth to Inverness "Work to dual the A9 by 2025 is gathering pace with the award of two major contracts this week" said Transport Minister Keith Brown today. The Minister was speaking as he announced details of two consultants appointed to undertake preparatory work for dualling 80 miles of the A9 between Perth and Inverness.
Highland Council's Transport, Environmental and Community Services (TECs) staff are currently dealing with weather-related incidents in Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey and Lochaber. TEC Services staff have cleared one fallen tree on the B970 at Insh and three trees on Carr Road at Carrbridge.
The latest agricultural census in Scotland highlights the need for continuing Common Agricultural Policy coupled payments. That was the message from Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead as he commented on the June 2012 Scottish Agricultural Census which was published today by Scotland's Chief Statistician.
Archaeology in Argyll, climate change in East Lothian and science workshops at music festivals are among the projects to benefit from the new Talking Science fund. Overall, 16 projects will share around £345,000 funding and will aim to increase understanding of science among an audience of over 117,000 Scots.
Skye crofter Susan Walker has been appointed the first convenor of the recently established Crofting Commission. Ms Walker has been an active crofter for three decades and is the co-author of 'The State of Crofting in Camuscross', an academic report on crofting in her local township.
25 November 2012 to 30 November 2012, Mumbai & Pune, India Are you a Scottish-based company with global ambitions? Then join this Scottish Business Trade Mission to explore trade opportunities in Western India. You'll be among some good company.
The Scottish Government, in partnership with the Scottish Food and Drink Federation, is running a further two-year programme for small businesses to make their products healthier. This innovative approach sees hands-on support for small companies across Scotland, helping them to reduce levels of sugar, fat and salt in their everyday products.
Plans to help bring empty high street properties into use have been put forward by the Local Government Minister Derek Mackay. Under the proposals new occupants of shops or offices that have been empty for at least a year will be able to apply for a fifty per cent discount on their business rates for 12 months.
New steps to give firms more flexibility and confidence in managing their workforce and to reduce employment law red tape, were announced today by Business Secretary Vince Cable. They are most likely to benefit small businesses.
Commenting on the publication of the Scottish Health Survey 2011, Public Health Minister Michael Matheson said: "These findings show that Scotland's health is improving, from an increase in physical activity levels for girls to a large decline in adult smokers. "It is particularly encouraging to see such a fall in the number of smokers as giving up smoking is one of the best things that anyone can do to protect their health.
A new £10 million fund aims to deliver hundreds of eco-friendly homes and bring down heating bills. The announcement of the Greener Homes Innovation Scheme follows last week's 2013-14 budget which directed investment into construction, skills and the green economy.
The newest proposal for 'fine tuning' the Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme (LFASS) replacement scheme needs more flexibility to make sure all farmers in Scotland that should benefits from it do so. At the EU Agriculture Council in Brussels today, Scotland's Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead pressed hard for enough flexibility in the fine tuning exercise to make sure it gives the right result for the new 'Areas facing Natural Constraints' (ANC) in Scotland.
Figures published today show a further boost in the number of graduates from Scottish universities taking up employment or remaining in education. 88.5 per cent of graduates in 2010/11 found jobs or went into further study, a 0.7 per cent increase on the previous year.
Scotland's Chief Statistician today published 'Self-directed Support (Direct Payments), Scotland, 2011'. The purpose of the Statistics Release is to present the latest national figures for Direct Payments made during the period 1st April 2010 to 31st March 2011 under section 12B of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968.
Smoking rates have fallen in the last year and more Scots are trying to stop, according to a range of new figures published today. The 2011 Scottish Health Survey reports 23% of Scots adults are smokers, down from 25% in 2010; In the last financial year, there were 118,394 quit attempts made with the help of NHS smoking cessation services, compared to 90,083 in 2010-11; In the last financial year, there was a 31.5% increase in the number of items prescribed for smoking cessation, to 583,716, with nicotine replacement accounting for over 80% of prescriptions.
With the Scottish legal system about to embark on the most significant changes in over a century, The Scottish Court Service (SCS) has today launched a three month consultation on its proposals for court services in the High Court, sheriff courts and justice of the peace courts. Civil and criminal justice will be reformed in the coming years following the recommendations arising from the reviews by Lord Gill, Lord Carloway, Sheriff Principal Bowen and the forthcoming Victims and Witnesses Bill.
Cutting edge satellite technology is to be brought to Scotland to track offenders for the first time following the signing of a new contract today, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has announced. The Justice Secretary said the award of the contract marked a significant step forward in the tools available to Scotland's law enforcement agencies to ensure offenders complied with the strict conditions placed on them upon release into the community.
