More than £2.5 million has been awarded to help and develop new entrants into farming. The funding will support the next generation of farmers while increasing opportunities for young people to establish a career in agriculture.
£5 million to ensure veterans get full war pensions. Veterans who receive social care in Scotland will now get the full value of their war pensions thanks to £5 million of funding, Health Secretary Shona Robison has announced.
Changes to the enterprise and skills support system will drive forward Scotland's ambitions to be a top performing OECD nation, Economy Secretary Keith Brown has said. Updating Parliament, Mr Brown confirmed details of a new Strategic Board that will reset the relationship enterprise and skills agencies have with businesses.
Members and staff of the Highland Council are saddened by the passing of Councillor John Rosie on Wednesday 29 March 2017. Councillor Rosie was elected in 1999 and served on the Council until May 2003 during which time he held the position of Convener for Caithness.
Plans to increase ambulance provision in Caithness have been announced by the Scottish Ambulance Service and NHS Highland. The investment follows a review showing an increase in inter-hospital transfers between Caithness General Hospital and Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.
One of the contractors that has been operating in the Inner Sound for Atlantis RL's MeyGen site has been taken over by another, a much-larger one. See note on Insight Marine Services Ltd of Cornwall.
Week 27 March 2017 Energy & business services: Following last week's news that it has received consent from Scottish Government for its proposed Dounreay Tri floating offshore wind project off the north Caithness coast, this week Hexicon has announced a €45 million funding boost which will allow it to begin construction on the project. http://renews.biz/106475/hexicon-swells-dounreay-coffers/ The offshore construction phase of the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm project also progresses, with the arrival off Caithness of the huge vessel Stanislav Yudin.
Dounreay Tri Ltd has closed a EUR 45.0 million Sr Sec bond issued in the Nordic bond market. The bonds have a tenor of 3 years and a fixed coupon of 10.0%.
Moves to ensure the positive achievements of young people sitting National 5 qualifications continue to be recognised have been announced by Deputy First Minister John Swinney. Mandatory unit assessments are being removed from the qualification from the 2017/18 academic year to reduce teacher and pupil workload.
Scheme to boost access to qualifications for job seekers and low paid workers. A new scheme will make it easier for job seekers and low paid workers to gain access to qualifications and skills training.
The Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Ken Macintosh MSP, and Holyrood Conveners Clare Adamson MSP and Edward Mountain MSP will begin a series of engagements on behalf of the Scottish Parliament to mark Scotland Week on Sunday 2 April. Together, the delegation will visit Winnipeg, Ottawa and New York, meeting with parliamentarians, Scottish organisations working in North America, and helping to mark Tartan Day on 6 April.
A new initiative is being piloted in the Highlands and Islands to strengthen the capacity, capability and governance of social enterprises. Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has teamed up with the Bank of Scotland to provide highly qualified and experienced individuals to serve as non-executive directors on social enterprise boards.
Police in the Highlands are urging the public to be vigilant following a number of cold callers, bogus workmen and scam incidents being reported. Officers have also been informed of a number of telephone scams where cold callers advise victims they have an outstanding debt and need to purchase iTunes vouchers to pay the debt.
Hundreds of jobs for Glasgow as Genpact expands European base. Global professional services firm Genpact plans to create more than 300 new jobs in Glasgow over the next five years, following a decision to expand its European operations in Scotland.
Sellafield and Shared Services Alliance are the latest buyers to confirm they will host one-to-one meetings with suppliers. See full list of all 16 buyers here.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (March, 28th) sold 11 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (2) averaged 217.6p (+7.8p) and sold to 220.0p per kg and £1,210.00 gross.
A mini armada of specialist ships assembled Sunday 26th March.2017 as offshore work gets under way in earnest at the Beatrice wind farm site, off SE Caithness. Flagship of the five-strong multi-million fleet is the massive 24,822 tonne 'large loads lifting vessel 'Stanislav Yudin, registered in Cyprus.
Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) would like to remind any students who have not yet submitted their 2016-2017 application for funding and tuition fees, to do so now and before the 31 March 2017 closing date. With just over one week to go until applications close for the current academic session there are still a number of students who have yet to apply.
One per cent increase and extra measures for lowest paid. A pay increase has been confirmed for all NHS Scotland staff for the fourth year in a row.
Changes to 2018 support scheme. The future of the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS) has been outlined by Rural Secretary Fergus Ewing.
