The budget for Road Maintenance for 2016-17 is to be distributed between the eight Local Area Committees to enable greater local decision making in line with the Council's localism agenda. The budget for road maintenance contains four main and distinct activities.
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From today (Wednesday 13 April) 33,565 postal voting papers are being dispatched to Highland electors that have requested a postal vote. Voters are being reminded to read instructions carefully as they cast their votes for the Scottish Parliamentary election and to return their completed postal packs ideally before polling day.
Highland Council Trading Standards have warned of - rates reduction - firms who are targeting local businesses. The Highland Councils Finance Service raised concerns when they began to receive calls from Highland businesses about receiving unsolicited marketing letters.
In light of recent developments regarding the condition of Edinburgh Schools, the Highland Council confirms that it has no cause for concern about the safety of school buildings in this authority. The Council will also be consulting with its PPP partners to provide further assurance regarding the 14 schools built under the first and second PPP development phases and to respond fully to the letter received from the Scottish Government.
The - report it - campaign is a new initiative by The Highland Councils Corporate Fraud Team which is asking residents to help them tackle fraud. The Fraud Team, which is situated in the Finance Service, was established in August 2015 to detect, investigate and prevent all frauds against the Council, including housing tenancy fraud (the use of Council housing by someone not entitled to occupy that home).
The new £15.4million Noss Primary School has reached a vital milestone with the practical completion of the facility. Replacing the existing North and Hillhead Primary Schools in Wick, work on the 4,620 sq m facility commenced in late 2014 and has been delivered by hub North Scotland on behalf of The Highland Council.
A total of 13 candidates are seeking election on Thursday 5 May 2016 in the three Scottish Parliamentary local constituencies for Highland. Caithness, Sutherland and Ross constituency has attracted 4 candidates; Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency, 5 candidates; and Inverness and Nairn constituency, 4 candidates.
New waste and recycling collection calendars for 2016-2018 are now available on The Highland Council's website and at Service Points. The calendars can be downloaded and printed out from www.highland.gov.uk/bindays Type in your street address and the appropriate calendar will appear.
The Highland Council has congratulated Divisional Commander of the Highlands and Islands, Julian Innes on his retiral and thanked him for his service at his last Committee meeting on 23 March 2016. Chair of the Communities and Partnerships Committee, Cllr Hamish Fraser said: Chief Superintendent Innes has made a huge contribution to the safety of our communities.
Highland Council has unanimously agreed to undertake a complete redesign of the council over the coming months. Following difficult budget decisions on 25 February, there will be significant reductions in staff and service budgets which will take effect from the end of this month.
To support north coast local communities, a new marine plan for the North Highlands coast has just been completed. After several years collaborative work with Marine Scotland and Orkney Islands Council, The Highland Council is pleased to be part of this rewarding and successful venture.
The vision behind the Inverness City-Region Deal to position Inverness and the Highlands as a region of digital opportunity, is set to become a reality as the deal is signed between the UK and Scottish Government's and The Highland Council in Inverness. The City-Region deal contains a number of proposals under three broad headings; a growing economy, a skilled economy and an enabled economy.
From 1st April 2016 the fine for dog owners who fail to pick up after their dog will rise from £40 to £80 , bringing it into line with the fine for other types of littering - cigarette butts, chewing gum and general litter. The change comes after the overwhelming majority of responses to a Scottish Government consultation on responsible dog ownership said they would support the fixed penalty being raised.
A full business case for the transfer of catering, cleaning and janitorial services from The Highland Council's Care and Learning Service to High Life Highland is to be considered at a meeting of The Highland Council on 12 May 2016. The Council is to organise a seminar as soon as possible for Members to discuss the benefits and principles of transferring to High Life Highland.
Localism and Community Empowerment have taken a huge leap forward with the decision taken by Members of The Highland Council, to ratify the disaggregation of the Community Services budget to the local areas along with the scheme of delegation to the relevant local committees. This decision was taken at a meeting of The Highland Council on 10 March.
Senior members of The Highland Council's Administration are met with the Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to continue discussions on the future of the Emergency Towing Vessels (ETVs) in Scottish waters. This follows on from a Working Group meeting in February which resulted in the UK Government agreeing to extend the contract for the current vessel for 6 months to enable further discussions to take place.
All 32 of Scotland's councils will share £406 million in grant subsidy in 2016/17 to deliver more affordable homes, over £100 million more than last years' allocation. It is part of the Government's overall investment of over £572 million to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) in 2016/17, the funding is allocated for each local authority area, which the Scottish Government refers to as Resource Planning Assumptions (RPAs).
The Highland Council is to consider inviting UK and Scottish Government Ministers and Highland MPs and MSPs to a summit on the area's housing debt. Housing debt relates to loans taken out by the Council to build and improve Council housing.