Following a meeting yesterday, Friday 2 July, with the Secretary of State for Scotland, Trade Minister Ivan McKee has written to the UK Government seeking their urgent cooperation to deliver green ports in Scotland. Adapting the UK Government freeport proposals, the aim of Scottish green ports is to offer a package of tax and customs reliefs to operators and their beneficiaries who adopt fair work practices and contribute to Scotland's just energy transition to net zero.
An additional £380 million is being allocated to Health Boards to help with costs arising from the pandemic. This comes on top of the £1.7 billion already provided to Health Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships last year.
Scotland's Test and Protect contact tracing staff are to prioritise phone calls to high risk cases to ensure the system delivers maximum benefit as Coronavirus (COVID-19) case numbers increase. SMS text messages will now be used more extensively for low risk index cases, with direct telephone calls continuing to be used for the most high risk cases.
NHS Highland and the Highland Council are beginning a consultation on Self-directed Support (SDS) to ensure our services meet the requirements of those who need them most. The consultation sets out a suggested new vision and approach to providing SDS and will take place in a range of ways from 09 July until the end of August this year.
The Highland Council and the contractor for the Inverness West Link Stage 2 Project RJ McLeod have confirmed that the new Torvean Swing Bridge will open to traffic during the afternoon of Thursday 1 July following the comprehensive testing and commissioning phase. The bridge has been opened as part of the commissioning process over the last few weeks to allow for systems to be fine tuned and painting work under and on the bridge to be carried out as well as training of the Scottish Canals staff on the use of the new bridge, which is now complete.
The Highland Council is looking to recruit some talented engineering staff to help deliver key infrastructure projects across the Highlands. Senior Engineer, Golspie Senior Engineer Alness Principal Engineer, Inverness Chair of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Trish Robertson said: "The Highland Council is very much focused on being ambitious, sustainable and connected.
Dedicated portal to reach last group of social care workers. A special online portal has been launched for more than 10,000 Personal Assistants across Scotland to ensure they receive a £500 thank-you payment.
Need the loo out of doors in the Highlands? Then ‘Bag It, Bin It' urges Highland Council's summer campaign to clamp down on human waste in the countryside. Chair of the Council's Communities and Place Committee, Cllr Allan Henderson said: "We are looking forward to welcoming visitors to our beautiful countryside, but we need to minimise the negative impact on the natural environment and on the people living in these communities, so every effort must be taken to Bag It, Bin It!.
Government grants worth up to £15,000 each will help UK companies get their ideas for space-based technologies or research off the ground. The call for Grants for Exploratory Ideas, part of the National Space Technology Programme aims to fund short, three-month long projects that support innovative space technology activities, encourage collaboration between industry and academia, and encourage new entrants to the space sector.
Scotland's Highlands and Islands are set to receive the UK's biggest boost in mobile coverage as part of a £1 billion investment to connect the Union. Boost to 4G mobile coverage will see 74% of Scotland covered by all four mobile operators.
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) celebrates its 20th anniversary on 2 July 2021 as the science inside UK defence and security. The last 2 decades have seen some incredible accomplishments and discoveries and placed Dstl at the heart of the most critical incidents facing the UK.
The UK and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have completed a Review to explore new opportunities to boost their trading and investment relationship. The United Kingdom and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have completed a Joint Trade and Investment Review to explore new opportunities to boost their trading relationship.
The North Highland Visitor Management Group is a partnership of the emergency services (Police, Fire, Ambulance, Coastguard) and a range of Highland Council services covering roads, parking, litter and waste, rangers, environmental health and public toilets. Input from Councillors and communities is also shared.
Nomination packs for prospective candidates wishing to stand in both the Wick and East Caithness and the Inverness West ward by-elections are now available on The Highland Council's website The two vacancies have arisen as Councillor Nicola Sinclair, one of 4 Councillors representing the Wick and East Caithness ward and Councillor Graham Ross, one of 3 members for the Inverness West ward are both stepping down. The Returning Officer, Chief Executive of The Highland Council Donna Manson is encouraging people to put themselves forward as candidates.
The first steel has been cut for HMS Belfast, the third ship in the Royal Navy's fleet of next generation Type 26 anti-submarine frigates. His Royal Highness Prince William officially cut the steel for the UK's newest warship, at a ceremony held at BAE Systems’ Govan shipyard on the River Clyde.
Over one-in-four workers aged 55-64 who were fully furloughed during the recent lockdown remained so in May despite the reopening of the economy, and now face a higher risk of unemployment as the furlough scheme is phased out from today (Thursday), according to new Resolution Foundation research. The Foundation's annual Living Standards Audit 2021 examines the impact of the now 16-month-long pandemic on household incomes, and what is happening to the millions of workers who have been furloughed or lost their jobs during the crisis.
The recent opening of the Scottish economy enabled by the swift vaccine rollout, has led to expectations for Scotland's economic growth being revised up to 5.9% in 2021 and 3.5% in 2022, according to the latest Economic Commentary by the Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde. In the Deloitte sponsored Economic Commentary, the Fraser of Allander Institute now forecasts that the economy will reach its pre-pandemic peak in the summer of 2022, three months earlier than was forecast in March.
Businesses across the UK will be able to benefit from financial support thanks to a new subsidy control system following our departure from the EU. New UK-wide subsidy control system announced today to provide quicker and more flexible support to UK businesses following our departure from the EU.
DVLA has been contacted more than 1,200 times since January 2020 by customers who have paid more for services than they need to by using unaffiliated websites. DVLA is urging motorists to beware of websites that charge a premium for DVLA online services that are cheaper or free on GOV.UK.
Background Impact of Covid‑19 The risk of fraud and error has increased over the last year due to the Covid‑19 pandemic. This is due to many reasons, including: • public bodies have become stretched, controls and governance arrangements have required to be changed.
