Highlands and Islands Consortium
28th June 2011
THE Highlands and Islands Consortium, which is made up of Argyll and Bute Council, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, The Highland Council, Moray Council, Orkney Council and Shetland Islands Councils, has awarded framework contracts for providing design services in civil engineering, transportation, planning and environmental related projects.
Framework contracts are agreements which set out specific terms and conditions for contracts. These Framework Contracts cover ten lots including Policy Support and Development (Planning), Strategic Planning (Transport Planning), Development and Delivery (Civil Engineering and Environment), Contract and Legal Services, Traffic Signals and IT Solutions and Project Planning.
The contracts will complement the Councils' in-house provision of technical and design services, significantly reducing the Councils' tendering costs over the next four years; enabling quick appointments when required; giving immediate access to specialist advice and securing competitive rates as a result of combined bargaining power.
Working in partnership in this way also achieves an improvement in performance in terms of sharing and transferring knowledge, incorporating best practice and collectively resolving challenges across all six authorities to deliver Best Value.
Councillor John Laing, Chairman of The Highland Council's Transport Environmental and Community Services, said: "Partnership working is extremely important to The Highland Council. By joining with our colleagues in Argyll and Bute, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Moray, Orkney and Shetland we are able to get a much better deal for our residents. The Highland and Islands Consortium is an example of partnership working at its best and I am delighted that The Highland Council is part of it."
One of the first projects in the Highlands to use the framework will be work on strengthening the fendering system at Portree Pier. The estimated cost of the work is £200,000.
Related Businesses
Related Articles
Members have considered an update on the Council's medium term financial plan and the impact of the UK and Scottish Governments’ budgets on the coming year’s funding settlement. The position is currently looking more positive than initially planned for, however more detail needs to be worked through.
In November, The Highland Council launched a public statutory consultation to seek views on the proposed introduction of a Visitor Levy scheme across the Highlands. The Council has announced an extension to this consultation period, which will now give businesses, visitors and communities until 31 March 2025, an additional seven weeks, to take part and have their say.
In the light of the financial forecast for 2025-26, Highland Council is inviting you to tell us more in the budget preparation for the coming financial year. The budget engagement builds on extensive budget participation which took place in the winter of 2023-24.
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.
Every year Highland Council invites all tenants to have their say on the rent levels for the following year. The Council encourages everyone that lives in a council house to take this chance to have their say.
Communities and Place Committee met yesterday (Wednesday 27 November 2024) and Members agreed the Highland Local Child Poverty Action Report which includes actions for delivery in 2024/25. Reducing child poverty is a priority for the Council and its partners.
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.
Members of the Highland Council's Community and Place Committee have given their support to an action plan focusing on the operating of public conveniences over the next 10 years. Whilst not a statutory function, the Council is the main provider of public conveniences located throughout Highland, operating 74 sites.
A report published on 27 November 2024 by LGIU (Local Government Information Unit) looks at the state of funding for councils by the Scottish Government. Confidence in the sustainability of council finances is critically low.
At today's (Wednesday 27 November 2024) Communities & Place Committee, Members agreed the most appropriate long-term strategic direction for residual waste management is to continue to utilise a merchant provider solution. Communities & Place Committee Chair, Cllr Graham MacKenzie said: "After careful consideration and analysis it has been agreed that a merchant provider solution is considered the most appropriate long term solution to our statutory waste management obligations, and that an energy-from- waste facility within the Highlands is not considered to be a suitable course of action.
