A new payment strategy introduced by The Highland Council in April of this year is proving a success, with improving acceptance by customers of the new arrangements that are achieving significant efficiency savings. Since April, cash and cheque payments of Council Tax, rent, non-domestic rates and debtor invoices were no longer accepted at Service Points or the council headquarters Cash Office.
Twelve senior pupils start a new course in maritime skills in Portree this week from six Highland secondary schools. From Monday 3 October an SQA Skills for Work Maritime Skills Course is being offered on the curriculum to S5 and S6 pupils.
Bower will no longer have a community council after it was revealed that not enough candidates came forward to make up half the designated number to form a council. All of the other community councils in Caithness will be formed as previously but there will be no elections in Caithness as there were only enough candidates to fill the posts and not requiring an election.
The Highland Council Leader Councillor Michael Foxley has joined in the welcome of the 11th hour decision by the UK Government to offer a three-month reprieve for the two emergency towing vessels based at Stornoway and Shetland while work continues on finalising a new longer-term contract. The tugs, owned by a private company, JP Knight and on contract to the Maritime Coastguard Service, were due to have been withdrawn from service on Friday 30 September.
Road conditions The Council's aim is to help keep you safe on the roads, whether you are driving or walking. We shall take such steps as we consider reasonable to prevent the formation of snow and ice to the endangerment of vehicles and pedestrians.
High Life Highland takes over community learning and leisure services From Saturday (1 October 2011) High Life Highland, an arms length company with charitable status, takes over the management and delivery of community learning and leisure services from The Highland Council. More than 1,000 staff working in adult learning, archives, arts, leisure facilities, libraries, museums, outdoor education, sport and youth work will transfer from the employment of the Council to the new company.
Candidates considering serving on their local Community Council for the next four years are being reminded that the nomination deadline for election is only one week away. To be able to stand for election, candidates must return their nomination forms to The Highland Council by 4 pm on Tuesday 4 October.
Speakers from four partnership organisations will be talking at a Symposium during Highland Archaeology Festival on how archives can assist archaeology. Organised by The Highland Council, Workers' Educational Association (Scotland), The Waterways Trust Scotland, and Archaeology for Communities in the Highlands, the one-day symposium is on Monday 10 October from 10am to 4pm at the Highland Archive Centre in Bught Park, Inverness.
The Highland Council has awarded new public transport contracts which will run from 1 January 2012 until December 2016. This involves 92 public transport contracts, of which 38 include provision for school transport.
As a result of a test-purchase exercise undertaken across the Highlands that used the services of a young volunteer, The Highland Council Trading Standards has recently issued two fixed penalties for under-age sales of cigarettes. The £200 penalties, which were new sanctions introduced by Scottish legislation earlier this year, were issued to the shop assistant who made the illegal sale and to the company operating the shop premises.
Over 140 delegates from across Europe will be arriving in Inverness next week to take part in a conference looking at ways European destinations can promote the growth of sustainable tourism in mountain areas. The Sustainable Active Tourism Conference is being organised by The Highland Council in partnership with Euromontana to put the spot light on current issues surrounding developing tourism in mountain areas across Europe.
Council to consult on draft supplementary guidance for small-scale wind turbine proposals The Highland Council, in recognition of the demand and potential of small-scale wind turbine developments has produced Draft Supplementary Guidance and now wishes to consult over the proposals. Chairman of the PED committee, Councillor Ian Ross said: "The development of small-scale renewables, particularly of wind generators, can make a significant contribution to meeting energy needs at a local level.
New tourism campaign promotes autumn and winter in the Highlands Inspiring ideas are part of the national tourism organisation's marketing campaign, Surprise Yourself, which aims to highlight the more surprising aspects of the Highlands to visitors in the coming months. A new direct mail campaign, created by VisitScotland and in partnership with the Highland Council, will be delivered to around 50,000 households this month, encouraging those who may already be familiar with the Highlands to discover more of what the region has to offer during the autumn and winter months.
A £7.961 million six month services fee has been set for the arms length organisation "High life Highland" which will deliver community learning and leisure services for The Highland Council. Members of the Council's Education, Culture and Sport (ECS) Service have agreed to a half year budget of £7.082 million and service level agreement costs of £0.879 million from 1 October 2011 to the end of March 2012.
The Highland Council is underlining its commitment to tackling flooding by issuing improved and more detailed guidance to developers on how to address flooding matters when they design and implement their proposals for development. During the autumn, the Council will ask the public and the development industry to comment on a draft of this new advice, which has been prepared in conjunction with technical input from various sources including the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
Member of The Highland Council's Education, Culture and Sport Committee have welcomed a report on SQA exam results for Highland pupils in 2011. The report stated that: "overall the results were very encouraging, remain above the national average and show a consistent overall performance in most categories of exam results".
The Highland Council's Trading Standards is reminding all businesses selling tobacco that they have less than three weeks to register with the Scottish Government if they wish to continue to sell tobacco products. I October is the deadline for tobacco retailers to register on the Scottish Tobacco Retailer Register which has been open for registration since 1St April 2011.
Highland Beautiful Scotland winner announced Wick picked up a major prize on Monday 12th September 2011 at Keep Scotland Beautiful's prestigious Beautiful Scotland award ceremony in the Pavilion, Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. The award was presented by the Chief Executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, Derek Robertson, and Scottish actor and comedian, Johnny Beattie.
The Highland Council is inviting suitably qualified and experienced contractors to apply for inclusion on a select list of tenderers for the statutory inspection and testing of taxis and private hire vehicles under one contract covering the entire Council area. The service to be provided covers 1,029 taxi and private hire vehicle inspections each year to both MOT and the current Council standard (equivalent to the Vehicle Inspectorate Car and Light Commercial Inspection).
Candidates wishing to serve their local Community Councils in the Highlands for the next four years have until 4 pm on Tuesday 4 October to present their nominations. The maximum membership of each of the 153 Highland Community Councils is determined by the population it serves and varies from 7 - 13 members.