Energy & Business Services: It was good to meet this week with a large company seeking to grow its presence in Caithness, and good to be able to provide some productive links with initiatives that HIE is already supporting and which might help further attract its interest. We are fortunate in having a number of opportunities in the north in the engineering/ energy sectors and I'm particularly keen to help where there are clear opportunities to use innovation as a means of bringing more international trade opportunities to the area.
Social security charter laid for the approval of the Scottish Parliament. People engaging with Scotland's new social security system will be treated with dignity and respect, Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has pledged.
A commitment to maintaining Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS) funding at least at 80% in 2020 has been reiterated by Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing. Following changes to EU law, industry bodies and key influencers were consulted on whether to move away from LFASS towards an Area of Natural Constraint scheme and the response was not to do so.
RENTAL PRICES SUGGESTS RESILIENT SECTOR IN SCOTLAND DURING TIMES OF ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY. THE average UK rental values continued to grow towards the end of 2018, according to the latest data from HomeLet, with December showing a continuation of the steady rise seen throughout the year.
Information on working with Dounreay and the supply chain was recently updated and is updated now on a monthly basis. If your company is interested in working with Dounreay then check the details at - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/dounreay/about/procurement.
Two new Scottish wave energy devices will take to the sea in 2020 following the award of £7.7 million from Wave Energy Scotland. Both winning firms - Edinburgh-based Mocean Energy and AWS Ocean Energy from Inverness - will use the funds to build half-scale wave energy machines and test them in real ocean conditions at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney.
This February, Highlands and Islands entrepreneurs can learn how to create and sustain a competitive advantage at a workshop delivered by a leading expert in the field. Eleanor has more than 25 years' experience in delivering entrepreneurship education across the globe.
Legislation is to be brought forward this year requiring abattoirs to record on CCTV all areas where live animals are present. This is intended to ensure the highest standards of animal welfare in abattoirs, by helping those responsible for enforcing welfare legislation.
An emergency exercise will take place at Dounreay on the morning of Thursday 17 January. The site alert will be sounded to initiate the exercise.
DETAILED analysis of the Scottish Government's funding settlement, which makes up the vast proportion of the Council's budget, has been carried out and the net result is that the Highland Council will see a reduction in its grant funding to provide the current level of services. This, together with the additional pressures equates to a £31.2M budget gap for 2019-20.
UK, Germany & France: Top 10 EU Leaders Capitalising on Contactless Payments. UK ranks higher than all other EU nations for cashless payments with €106.7 trillion combined revenue last year.
The University of the Highlands and Islands has welcomed its first cohort of students onto an innovative new midwifery course. Nineteen students gathered at the Centre for Health Science in Inverness on Monday 7 January 2019 to begin the shortened midwifery programme.
Highland Council Trading Standards have produced guidance on how to spot the signs of scams that target businesses and also remind businesses to inform their employees on what to look out for when dealing with unsolicited telephone calls, emails and texts. All businesses as well as non-profit organisations (such as charitable organisations) may spend a lot of time dealing with potential scammers.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (January, 8th) sold 17 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (2) averaged 211.6p (+11.7p) and sold to 214.0p per kg and £1,337.50 gross.
Hill farmers and crofters in Scotland's most remote areas will continue to receive assistance under the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS) into 2020. Following compulsory changes to regulations governing LFASS made by the European Commission, LFASS support will be retained at 80% in 2019 and 40% in 2020 - the only part of the UK to continue such a payment.
Over 3700 people waited too long at NHS Highland A&E departments in 2018, new figures released today reveal. Data published by ISD Scotland reveals that 3600 people waited more than 4 hours at Accident and Emergency last year, with 194 waiting over 8 hours.
My weekly CNSRP updates are intended to be short and informative, and the same applies to this quick review of 2018 as it relates to the work of CNSRP! Our focus this year has remained on those key opportunities we feel will bring us maximum economic and socio-economic returns. And, amidst wider economic uncertainties, we continue to see good progress.
Scottish Ministers are on course to invest over £125 million in 2018-19 to mitigate the worst impact of UK Government welfare reforms and to protect those on low incomes. Meanwhile, as at the middle of December, the new Social Security Scotland agency had spent £34 million making over 150,000 payments of Carers Allowance Supplement and Best Start Grants, with applications for the latter only opening on 10th December.
The Highland Council has written to parents and carers of school transport pupils to inform them that D&E Coaches have recently transferred a number of Highland Council contracts to Stagecoach and some school transport routes are included. These changes are to take effect from the first day back after the school holidays, Monday 7th January 2019 and timetables have been supplied for the routes affected.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (December, 31st) sold 25 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (3) averaged 199.9p (-6.0p) and sold to 211.0p per kg and £1,329.30 gross.