A fund, which supports the introduction of new walking and cycling infrastructure, will be more than doubled, Transport Minister Humza Yousaf has announced. £36m will be available through the Community Links Fund in 2018/19, the highest amount since it was launched in 2010.
Health Secretary Shona Robison has put in place additional scrutiny around NHS finances in Scotland. The Scottish Government will provide monthly information on NHS Boards financial performance to the Scottish Parliament following the boards first submissions for this financial year, which are due in June.
More than half (53%) of Highlands and Islands businesses plan to take on new staff in the coming year, and most plan to recruit them from within the region, new research has revealed. Over 1,000 firms took part in the latest quarterly business panel survey carried out by Highlands and Islands Enterprise in February.
RSA Scotland: quarterly national accounts show need to tackle modern economic insecurity. Previously unpublished Scotland breakdown figures, from an RSA/Populus survey published in February on economic insecurity, reflect Scotland's household economic insecurity challenge as revealed in today's quarterly national accounts [see below].
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts, (May, 2nd) sold 613 sheep of all classes. Lambs (284) sold to £84 gross for a pen of Cheviots from 6 Aird, Ardvasar.
Usdaw, the trade union for Lidl staff, is continuing the long-running campaign for recognition with three further campaign days this week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, at distribution centres across the UK in: Exeter (Devon), Enfield (North London), Wednesbury (West Midlands), Aycliffe (County Durham), Belvedere (South East London) and Runcorn (Cheshire). Paddy Lillis - Usdaw's General Secretary Elect says: "Lidl has now responded to our reasonable requests for initial talks about recognising Usdaw as the union for Lidl staff, with a firm ‘thanks, but no thanks'.
The Deputy Leader of The Highland Council, Cllr Alasdair Christie has welcomed the creation of the Police Scotland National Database Enquiry Unit (NDEU) in Inverness with the new service starting today (1 May 2018). The NDEU will support operational policing by undertaking live time database checks for frontline officers across the North and East of Scotland.
The £315 million Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal is already benefiting the Highlands and supporting the area's drive for economic prosperity. Economy Secretary Keith Brown was given an update on the current investment during a visit to Inverness to meet council officials and see some of the projects benefiting under the deal.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (May, 1st) sold 3 prime cattle. Prime Bullocks (1) averaged 230.0p (N/C) and sold to 230.0p per kg and £1,403.00 gross.
Scottish farmers are being encouraged to work closely with retailers to accurately record how much food goes to waste and help ensure that more fruit and vegetables make their way along the supply chain. The recommendation follows newly published research by Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), which shows many farmers do not see food waste as a major concern and therefore have difficultly estimating levels of loss.
The Leader Councillor Margaret Davidson and Chief Executive, Steve Barron of The Highland Council have written to employees with a reassurance of commitment to EU national members of the workforce. Chief Executive Steve Barron said: "In the context of ongoing Brexit negotiations between the UK Government and the EU, we recognise that this could be an uncertain and unsettling time for many staff who could be affected by the outcome.
Decline of the traditional single-earner couple driven most by mothers of young children and partners of high-earning men. More than three quarters of women aged 25-54 in the UK are in paid work, reaching a record high of 78% in 2017.
The Fraser of Allender Institute has produce a report looking at the possible economic impact of changes in alcohol consumption. The alcohol industry (both manufacturing and sales) is important to the UK Economy as it supports thousands of jobs (IAS, 2017a; Oxford Economics, 2016).
Find out more from the SPICe blog, written by impartial researchers within the Scottish Parliament. The blog article can be seen HERE.
Funding package agreed in partnership with COSLA. Almost a billion pounds will be invested annually to fund the huge expansion of early learning and childcare, transforming the life chances of children in Scotland.
A Bill allowing the Scottish Government to make the first social security payments later this year has been passed by Parliament. A unanimous vote means MSPs have passed the Social Security (Scotland) Bill establishing Scotland's first social security system.
Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) today released official statistics reporting personal and company insolvencies in Scotland for the fourth quarter (January to March 2018) of 2017-18 and provisional estimates for the 2017-18 financial year. Scottish insolvency statistics in 2017-18 Provisional estimates show that in 2017-18 personal insolvencies in Scotland increased by 4.7% to 10,503 from 10,032 in 2016-17.
Scotland's Chief Statistician today published the salmon and sea trout fishery statistics for the 2017 season. Salmon Total reported rod catch (retained and released) for 2017 is 49,444.
The first of at least 400 jobs, created to deliver devolved social security support within local communities across Scotland, are now open for applications. The new Social Security Scotland service will have a presence in every local authority area, with staff co-located in existing public and third sector services - all of which will make it easily accessible to local communities and anyone looking for information and support.
Leas Phrìomh Mhinistear air £1.9 millean de mhaoineachadh ainmeachadh dhan phròiseact. Thèid sgoil Ghàidhlig ùr, an treas ann an Glaschu, a dh'fhosgladh, am measg iarrtas airson àitichean a tha a' sìor fhàs.
