At a meeting of The Highland Council on Thursday 22 September, Members agreed five schools be nominated for consideration to the Scottish Government - Learning Estate Improvement Plan (LEIP) phase 3 bid, applications will be taken forward in three separate submissions by 31 October 2022. The phase 3 submission will be presented as follows: A bid consisting of a bundle of three primary schools; Beauly Primary, Dunvegan Primary and Park Primary, a separate bid for ASL school, St Clement's School and a third bid for Tornagrain Primary.
The Highland Council is inviting organisations to apply for over £5 million community regeneration funding to finance projects that will respond to the needs of their local area and have a positive community impact. Community Regeneration Funding is an umbrella term being used to cover multiple community-led funding programmes being administered by the Highland Council.
Highland Council is to consider a £3.223m package of proposals to help alleviate the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on Highland residents. In the latest published figures from the Scottish Household Survey Report 2019, 33% of Highland households were in fuel poverty, compared with a Scottish average of 24%, and 22% of Highland households were in extreme fuel poverty compared with a Scottish average of 12%.
The Highland Council has confirmed that it will observe the State Funeral on Monday 19 September 2022 and the Council will follow the designated national Bank Holiday. All schools, Council offices and service points will be closed to the public.
Following the death of Her Majesty The Queen, The Highland Council is observing the period of national mourning which has now commenced and will last until the end of the day of the State Funeral. The Council is following national protocols which are approved by both the UK and Scottish Governments.
Following last month's announcement of interim community council elections for 15 Highland communities. The Highland Council is today, 1 September 2022, able to confirm that 11 have been formed uncontested.
Housing and Property Committee Members met today (Wednesday 31 August) and agreed to fund two specialist advisors to help offer advice and support to tenants that are adversely affected by rising energy prices. Housing and Property Committee chair, Cllr Glynis Sinclair said: "Fuel poverty continues to rise across Highland due to the combined cost of living and energy crisis.
Members at today's Economy and Infrastructure Committee noted the significant progress which has been made on the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit. The annual report for 2020/21, published on Highland Council's website, illustrates some of the excellent work that the Deal enabled between April 2020 and March 2021.
Economy and Infrastructure Committee Members (Thursday 25 August) approved the Strategic Tourism Infrastructure Development Plan (STIDP). Its purpose to direct future national and local area-based Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund (RTIF) spend.
Members of today's Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Committee have made two appointments to the newly-developed role of Trauma Champion. Councillors Liz Kraft and Morven Reid were successfully appointed to the role and will represent the Council on both local and national Trauma Champion networks.
The Highland Council has been shortlisted for 4 APSE Service Awards which celebrate excellence in local public services. Chair of the Communities and Place Committee, Cllr Graham MacKenzie commended the Council staff, he said: "I am very pleased to advise that the Community Operations and Logistics Section has been short listed in 3 categories in the 2022 Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) Awards.
The Highland Council is inviting communities to apply for a share of the 2022/23 allocation of the Nature Restoration Fund. Established by the Scottish Government, the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) is a capital fund designed to help support projects that will deliver nature restoration, safeguard wildlife, and tackle the causes of biodiversity loss due to climate change.
The Highland Council warmly welcomed this year's new cohort of probationer teachers to the Highlands at Millburn Academy in Inverness. Highland's newly qualified teachers started work today (Monday 15 August 2022) in schools across the region.
Nominations are being invited from people seeking election to 15 Highland community councils covering areas in Caithness Sutherland, Easter Ross, Wester Ross, Isle of Raasay, the Black Isle, Inverness, Nairnshire, Badenoch and Strathspey and Lochaber. Community Councils are voluntary organisations that express the views and concerns of local people within their area across a wide range of issues from new buildings and roads to local services and facilities.
COSLA leaders meet tomorrow (Friday 5 August 2022) to discuss the local government pay offer and how they can avert substantial, long term, strikes in 1200 schools and early years centres and waste and recycling centres in councils across Scotland . UNISON is urging COSLA to use this leaders meeting to agree a substantially improved pay offer to avert serious disruption across Scotland - otherwise few if any councils will avoid some level of significant disruption.
The Highland Council is urging businesses - particularly those in the tourism and hospitality sectors - to be prepared for the end of relaxation of planning and building warrant controls on 30 September 2022. In line with changes to the COVID-19 guidance from the Scottish Government many of the pandemic mitigations that were put in place in terms of the provision of temporary structures and their uses – are no longer required.
The Highland Council has launched a public consultation to ask people's views on where and how they would like to see free period products made available in the Highland area. In 2021, Scotland became the first country to pass a law to make period products freely available and reasonably easily accessible to anyone who needs them.
At the Highland Council meeting held on, 30 June 2022, elected Members agreed to progress the submission of two separate bids for round two of the UK Levelling Up Fund, these include the North Coast 500 (Transport Bid) and Portree Harbour (standalone Heritage bid). Economy and Infrastructure Committee Chair, Cllr Ken Gowans said: "The Levelling Up Fund offers Highland an opportunity to bid for funds that will make a transformational impact across our communities.
At the Highland Council meeting held yesterday, 30 June 2022, elected Members approved a package of support totalling £3.639m for low-income households and economic growth. The approved package consists of: £0.591m - one-off grants of £125 each will be paid automatically for around 4,700 vulnerable children and young people in Primary 1 to 6th year who received school clothing grants as at 31 May 2022.
Councillor Ron Gunn, who represents the Thurso and Northwest Sutherland Ward of The Highland Council, has been appointed as Chair of the new Caithness Committee which met for the first time (Friday 1 July 2022). After taking the Chair, Cllr Gunn thanked Members for their support and then called for nominations to the roles of Vice Chairs and Civic Leaders for Thurso and Wick.