The £9.6 million Berriedale Braes Improvement project which at its peak supported over 50 jobs during construction, has begun to deliver benefits for road users and local communities. The road opened on Friday 21 August 2020 The improved road alignment, which involved removing an existing hairpin bend, will improve journey times and enhance road safety by removing the need for vehicles to slow down or stop to negotiate the bend.
Funding to deploy low carbon heat in existing social housing has been fast-tracked to support Scotland's economic recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The vast majority of the investment made through the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund will be made in the coming year to support the start of construction on shovel-ready projects.
Programmes to help raise the attainment of care experienced young people are to benefit from £11.6 million of funding. Projects as diverse as mentoring programmes and outdoor and play-based education were supported through the Care Experienced Children and Young People fund last year.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has today published its fourth Draft Strategy and begun a 12-week public consultation. The NDA regularly reviews its Strategy to ensure it has the right approach to decommissioning its 17 nuclear sites and benefits from the latest learning, best practice and can continue to deliver value for the taxpayer.
The UK's innovation agency, Innovate UK, today publishes a strategy that seeks to encourage and support excellent design in innovation. The document, ‘Design in Innovation strategy, 2020-2024', recognises that the UK is a world-leader in design excellence and there are great opportunities for business to realise more value by tapping into that capability and embedding design within their processes and culture.
Scotland will remain in Phase 3 of the route map out of lockdown because COVID-19 remains a significant threat to public health, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said. In a statement to the Scottish Parliament the First Minister announced an earlier date for the re-opening of gyms, swimming pools and indoor sports courts, including dance studios.
Driver training will restart in Scotland on Monday 24 August 2020, with driving tests restarting from Monday 14 September 2020. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and Scottish Government have announced that: learner drivers can resume training in Scotland from Monday 24 August.
A significant rise in the number of cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Austria, Croatia, Switzerland and Trinidad and Tobago means travellers from these countries will have to self-isolate at home or another specified address for 14 days on arrival in Scotland from 4am this Saturday. At the same time Portugal will be added to the list of destinations where travellers will be exempt from the requirement to quarantine.
Low-income families with a child under six will be able to apply for £10 per child, per week to assist with living costs from November, with payments to start from the end of February. Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell announced the update as part of a statement to Parliament on the Child Poverty Second Year Progress Report.
Students have been given reassurances on university places and the Government is lifting the cap on medical courses for the coming academic year. The Government and higher education sector have together agreed that all students who achieved the required grades will be offered a place at their first choice university.
Over the coming weeks, we will distribute in the region of £2 billion in maintenance loans to students across the UK, and over £5 billion in tuition fee payments to their universities and colleges. Payments will be made to over one million students and we want to reassure everyone who has received their student finance assessment that they will receive their funds at the start of term, and that their tuition fee loan payments will be made on their behalf to their university or college.
Caithness Chamber of Commerce is delighted to announce that, thanks to the generous support of Highlands & Islands Enterprise, it will be launching a free, simple online service to allow hospitality businesses across the North Highlands to safely collect and store customer data in line with official guidelines to support the Scottish Government's Test & Protect Programme. This new service, #ProtectNorthHighlands, will be launching on 26 August and will be free for any business in Caithness and Sutherland to access.
Commenting on the publication of Scottish Government GDP statistics for Q2 2020, Dr Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce said: "The collapse in Scotland's GDP in the second quarter sets alarm bells ringing even if the fall was expected. The 19.7% decline from April to June makes Scotland’s and the UK’s economies among the worst performing in Europe.
Committee examines measures in place to manage revenue budget shortfall and thanks staff for their Covid-19 response. At a meeting of the Communities and Place Committee on Wednesday 19th August 2020 councillors had the opportunity to review the arrangements being put in place by the service to manage a forecasted budget gap of £4.84m.
High Life Highland have expressed delight at today's announcement from the First Minister that gyms and swimming pools can reopen from Monday 31st August 2020. Steve Walsh Chief Executive of High life Highland said, "I am absolutely delighted with the news that we are able to welcome our customers back earlier than we had first thought.
Ambitious plans to launch satellites into orbit from the north Highlands of Scotland have been approved by the area's local authority. Ambitious plans to launch satellites into orbit from the north Highlands of Scotland have been approved by the area's local authority.
A Hi-Scot credit union loan is now easier than ever to arrange for members. Cars are a popular reason to borrow but loans can be arranged for a wide range of things.
Committee discusses capacity pressure for Council burial grounds and excellent work of Caithness volunteers flagged up. The Highland Council is responsible for 268 burial grounds across the Highlands and a report discussed at the Communities and Place Committee on 19th August 2020 highlighted that 33 of the sites have an estimated capacity of less than 6 years.
The Scottish Government's Transport Secretary has admitted that it is now in talks with the UK Government and with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority about the future of Wick air routes. Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, David Stewart, is supporting the campaign for a Public Service Obligation (PSO) to protect the Wick Edinburgh and Wick Aberdeen routes following Caithness being left without scheduled air services.
Young people are expected to face some of the greatest challenges with employment as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. As such, Social Security Scotland would like to make as many businesses and individuals as possible aware of the Job Start Payment so that it can reach those who could benefit from it.