At the meeting of The Highland Council Members supported a starred item put forward by Caithness Members. The Thurso and North West Caithness and the Wick and East Caithness Ward Councillors asked that the Council creates and implements a Council wide playground strategy that considers the needs and expectations of communities and supports the active play, well-being and social activity of children and their families.
Given the importance of tourism to the Highland economy and the need for the tourism experience to be positive for visitors and communities, members have agreed to extend the Visitor Management Plan funding into the 2022 season by a one-off investment of £1.5m. A one-off Visitor Management Plan investment of £2.4m agreed by the Council in March 2021 for this year's season has enabled a range of service improvements.
On behalf of The Highland Council, High Life Highland has this week advertised a tender and invitation to quote seeking creative filming and photography input to the Inverness Castle - Spirit of the Highlands project. The tender and invitation to quote will contribute to Spirit:Journeys, a natural and cultural heritage initiative that will deliver many benefits for local communities, helping to unlock economic potential and improve visitor experiences across the region.
Members at a meeting on 9 September 2021 of the Highland Council agreed the scope, budget, phasing and timescale for 5 priority school projects including Beauly Primary, Culloden Academy, Dunvegan Primary, Park Primary, and St Clements School. It was also agreed that these projects are to be incorporated into the Council's current capital programme.
A planned Family Music Day in Inverness has been postponed, High Life Highland has said. Due to take place on September 11 in Bellfield Park, a decision was taken following careful monitoring of the evolving Covid-19 situation across the Highlands.
A letter has been sent to parents and guardians of pupils in S1 and S3 at Wick High School on Friday 27th August 2021. Dear Parent or Guardian, We have identified a possible case of COVID-19 in a pupil in your child's year group.
The Highland Council has today (27 August 2021) welcomed Scottish Government's publication of a forward-thinking report on coastal change for the area in East Sutherland stretching from Golspie to Coul. It provides a summary of the latest ‘Dynamic Coast' science and is intended to support key partners in developing and implementing a response, which could include resilience and adaptation measures.
A third of schools across Highland in Primary, Secondary and ELC settings are affected by positive COVID-19 cases or localised outbreaks. Secondary schools in Grantown, Kingussie, Culloden and Lochaber currently have a significant number of year groups self- isolating.
As confirmed cases of COVID rise across the NHS Highland area, local schools, which saw pupils returning last week after the summer holidays, have begun to feel the impact. From 16 - 22 August, NHS Highland saw over 1000 cases which represents almost 10% of our total case count for the whole pandemic in a single week.
Members of the Corporate Resources Committee have praised the exemplary work of the Council's Welfare Support Team after they were presented with a comprehensive report today (25 August) highlighting the strong performance from the team in assisting Highland residents. Members' attention was specifically drawn to the following key points: More than 20,600 residents were supported by the Council’s Welfare Support Team and Citizens Advice during 2020/21 with welfare, debt and housing advice services, resulting in excess of 61,600 contacts (on average, 3 contacts per client);.
Rapid COVID-19 community testing will be available in Golspie from Wednesday 25 August to Friday 27 August. The Highland Council and NHS Highland are delivering community testing in the Highlands to help people become confident in using the Lateral Flow Device (LFD) test kits.
There is still time for eligible residents to benefit from up to 100%* Scottish Government grant funding available for First Time Central Heating. This would be delivered through the installation of an air source heat pump, new radiators and new controls.
Schools across Highland welcome pupils and staff back to classrooms today Tuesday, 17 August 2021. Staff have worked to make sure COVID-19 safety measures are in place and in line with national guidance.
Caithness councillors agree allocation of Place-Based Investment Fund to address local Covid-harms within Ward 2 and Ward 3 As part of the Health and Prosperity Strategy agreed by the Highland Council in March 2021, a £100,000 Place-Based Investment Fund was allocated to each of the 21 Wards throughout the Highland region for the 2021/22 financial year. This fund was designed to enable a flexible local response to address the four harms of Covid which are identified as: direct health harms; health impacts not directly related to Covid; societal impacts; and economic impacts.
Members updated on the positive outcomes being delivered by the Placement Services Change Programme within Highland Members of Wednesday's Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Committee received an update on the progress on the Placement Services Change Programme from the Executive Chief Officer of the Health and Social Care directorate, Fiona Duncan. The programme was initially set-up to return Looked After Children from Out of Area Placements to ensure that children and young people were living in their local community receiving the help and support they need, whilst maintaining contact with families and friends.
The new cohort of probationer teachers were welcomed to the Highlands (on Friday 13 August 2021) at an online Induction Event. The probationer teachers' Induction Event is the first of a wide range of professional learning events which run across the year, to support the needs of beginning teachers and their ongoing professional learning.
The results of The Highland Council by-elections to elect a councillor to represent the Wick and East Caithness ward and a councillor for the Inverness West Ward have been declared. Jill Tilt has been elected to represent Ward 3 - Wick and East Caithness.
The Highland Council Trading Standards is warning Highland residents that text messages stating they are due a tax refund from their local council is a scam. Recipients are warned not to click on any links and to not share their bank details.
Preparations are well underway for the Ward 3 Wick and East Caithness and Ward 13 Inverness West by-elections next Thursday. The candidates for Ward 3 - Wick and East Caithness are: CAMERON, Michael James - Scottish National Party (SNP) CHRISTIAN, Harry - Scottish Libertarian Party FERNIE, Bill - Independent ROSS, Daniel - Scottish Conservative and Unionist TILT, Jill - Scottish Liberal Democrats .
The Environmental Health Team is advising users of private water supplies to take preventative steps to preserve their drinking water. There have been dry ground water and lower river levels reported in some areas of the Highlands, which may have an impact on some surface derived private water supplies.