Members of Highland Council's Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Committee have welcomed the assurance provided for Adult Social Care in the region by the Council and NHS Highland during a virtual meeting today (8 July 2020). Committee Chair Cllr Linda Munro said: "Members have welcomed and approved this report as we care passionately about the delivery of adult social care in Highland.
Following the freezing of some charges and suspension of enforcement for others during the lockdown period, The Highland Council has been following a phased return to normal operations since the 26th of June. Further details are given below.
Efficient Scotland: Area Based Scheme (EES:ABS) works to resume. Works on External Wall Insulation will commence the week beginning Monday 13th July 2020 across the Highlands, in line with the Scottish construction restart plan of the Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Scheme.
The Scottish Government has today announced that the level at which LBTT kicks in will be raised from £145,000 to £250,000. Faisal Choudhry Head of Savills Residential Research in Scotland said: "This is good news for buyers of Scottish property who will save money in what is likely to be a challenging economy.
Today the Chancellor announced the introduction of the Job Retention Bonus. This is a one-off payment of £1,000 to employers that have used the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for each furloughed employee who remains continuously employed until 31 January 2021.
Public health measure lifted for some overseas travellers arriving in Scotland. Passengers arriving in Scotland from 57 overseas destinations that have similar or lower levels of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection than Scotland will no longer need to quarantine.
Pause on shielding to be considered. Advice for people who are shielding is to change in the coming month.
Rishi Sunak MP the Chancellor of the Exchequer speech today 8 July 2020 in the House of Commons. Several significant announcements were made to boost spending and jobs.
On the eve of the Chancellor's summer economic update in Parliament, new figures reveal today that the number of Bounce Back loans approved for small firms to help them survive the Coronavirus pandemic has passed the one million milestone. The Bounce Back Loan Scheme has been a success in providing firms with vital government-backed loans at a low, affordable rate and with no interest or repayments due in the first year.
Finance Ministers from the devolved administrations are urging the UK Government to ease the financial restrictions imposed on devolved governments so they can better respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. Ahead of the Chancellor's Summer Statement, Kate Forbes, Rebecca Evans and Conor Murphy are calling for assurances that will give them the freedom to switch capital funding to day-to-day revenue and put an end to the arbitrary limits on borrowing.
The Highland Council is updating parents and carers of its position on early learning and childcare (ELC). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Scottish Government removed the statutory requirement for Local Authorities to deliver 1140 hours of ELC from August.
The children of service personnel will be entitled to free breakfast and after-school childcare as part of new measures to better support the armed forces and their loved ones. Service personnel based in Buckinghamshire will be the first to trial the new offer of free ‘wraparound' childcare as pilots are rolled out in September to coincide with the beginning of the academic year.
Passengers will not be required to self-isolate when they arrive in England from a number of exempt countries and territories. It is vitally important that we manage the risk of a second wave of coronavirus and keep the number of cases of COVID-19 in the UK as low as possible.
Article from The Conversation web site by Serena Dyer Lecturer in History of Design and Material Culture, De Montfort University. When Britain's shops sprang into post-lockdown life in the second half of June, the Daily Mirror's front-page headline commanded readers to "Shop for Britain".
All events for information are now online until further notice. A Facebook live event takes place on Wednesday 8th July at 7.00pm.
The Highland Council is planning to re-open play areas across the region throughout summer. Advice was provided by the Scottish Government on 28 June as to the safety measures that should be applied.
The Caithness Committee met virtual today for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic and it's agenda focused on the actions taken by the Council and the third sector to deal with the effects of Coronavirus in Caithness. The Executive Chief Officer for Education and Learning, Paul Senior, gave members an update on the plans and preparations underway to prepare for the return of pupils and staff to Caithness schools in August.
Margaret Davidson, the Leader of the Highland Council has given her strong support to the efforts of the Scottish Government to obtain greater fiscal flexibility from the UK Government. The Scottish Government have sought flexibility to offset capital underspend against resource expenditure, more flexibility over resource borrowing and greater flexibility over the use of the reserve for capital.
Following on from the recent publication of Highland Council's Supporting Economic Recovery in Highland - A Guide for Businesses - the Council is announcing relaxation of some controls that will assist tourist accommodation providers have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. In recognition of this where there are specific planning and licensing controls in relation to occupancy, for example: a restriction on the occupancy of any caravan for a continuous 12 month period; or where conditions restrict occupancy for specific periods of time, ...these will be relaxed by the Council up to and including April 2021.
Future of Britain's museums, galleries, theatres, independent cinemas, heritage sites and music venues will be protected with emergency grants and loans. Funding will also be provided to restart construction work at cultural and heritage sites paused as a result of the pandemic Britain's globally renowned arts, culture and heritage industries will receive a world-leading £1.57 billion rescue package to help weather the impact of coronavirus, the government announced today.
