Next year High Life Highland will take over the running of the Bught Nursery in Inverness which is currently operated by The Highland Council. Savings in the Community Services budget were agreed by The Highland Council last December and this transfer will play a role in meeting the budget target for the service.
Every year Highland Council asks Housing tenants for their views on how their rent should be spent. It is important that our rents are affordable, but they also have to provide enough income to ensure that we can provide housing management and repairs and maintenance to houses, as well as covering other housing costs.
Highland Council has sent out a communication to all staff with the the option of taking voluntary redundancy or working fewer hours in order to help it weather the cuts recently announced by the Scottish government. Some positions such as teachersof HGV drivers may not be able to take up the offer due to shortages or ring fencing by Scottish Government.
Week Commencing 14th December 2015 Energy and Business Services: Further movement in the tidal energy sector in Scotland this week, with the news that Atlantis Resources Ltd has reached an agreement with Scottish Power Renewables to purchase two of SPRs tidal projects in Scotland. The projects are a 10MW proposal for the Sound of Islay and a 100MW project at the Ness of Duncansby at the eastern end of the Pentland Firth.
* The new deal will see 640MW of installed tidal power capacity by 2022 in Scotland alone. * Atlantis will deliver continuous, clean, and predictable supplies of tidal energy, at scale, to power homes and business throughout the UK.
Highland Council has approved an additional £24.520 million for roads, bridges and piers to be included in the Capital Plan, together with an additional provision of £1.6 million for minor flood works. The 10-year plan, which will fund some £900 million of projects, will now form the basis of a future rolling programme of capital investment.
DINGWALL, Dingwall and Highland Marts Ltd., (December, 15th) sold 46 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (8) averaged 194.0p (-5.7p) and sold to 205p per kg and £1,415.70 gross.
Ambitious plans to transport timber from the Flow Country in remote North Sutherland to Inverness via rail instead of road could pave the way for other projects in rural communities throughout the UK, delegates were told at a rail stakeholder conference organised by HITRANS, the regional transport partnership for the Highlands and Islands. HITRANS is co-ordinating investigations into the feasibility of the proposal, called Branchliner, which would see a major new facility created at Kinbrace to freight the timber to southern markets via an expanded siding at Inverness railway station.
In 2014 the level of fuel poverty remained similar to the previous year: 34.9% or around 845,000 households were fuel poor and 9.5% were living in extreme fuel poverty. This compares to revised estimates of 35.8% or 860,000 fuel poor households in 2013, with 9.8% living in extreme fuel poverty[1].
The latest figures show that more people in Scotland are in employment compared to the previous quarter and the same time last year. They also show that the number of people unemployed has fallen over the quarter.
The fish quota package agreed in Brussels includes big gains for the Scottish industry worth around £25 million to the whitefish fleet, Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said today. Mr Lochhead said the overall package includes increased fish quota in 16 out of 23 key Scottish stocks, including cod and haddock.
Public Sector Employment Statistics for Scotland, released today by Scotlands Chief Statistician, show that over the year to Q3 2015, employment in the public sector in Scotland has decreased by 500 (down 0.1 per cent) to 544,700. The lowest level seen since the series began in 1999.
The Commission on Local Tax Reform has published Just Change: A New Approach to Local Taxation. The cross-party commission, established jointly by the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), brought together representatives from across the political spectrum to look at options for a fairer local tax system.
Final cereal harvest estimates, released today, show that Scotlands 2015 cereal harvest has not been the record breaker that was expected. Initial estimates from the October Crop Report Meeting suggested 2015 would see the best cereal harvest in 20 years in terms of yields.
Claimants should be treated with dignity and respect by the social security system, according to a report published today (14 December) by the Scottish Parliaments Welfare Reform Committee. However, a huge cultural shift will be required if Scotland is to create a better Scottish welfare system.
Transport Minister, Derek Mackay, has thanked travellers for their patience during the first week of disruption caused by the closure of the Forth Road Bridge. Early indications show that the comprehensive travel plan, launched last Sunday, is helping to minimise the impact on journey times for people moving between Fife and Edinburgh.
Fisheries Secretary calls for extra fish quotas to implement discard ban. Scottish fishermen need the European Commission to deliver increased fish quotas and quota uplifts to help them implement the discard ban.
The Highland Council is inviting tenders for a new contract for food provisions covering the period from 23 May 2016 to 17 May 2019. ‘Food provisions are mainly used in school and nursery meals across the Highland area.
Chancellor cut one in every eight pounds.. Finance Secretary John Swinney has warned Scotland faces tough choices in the wake of UK austerity, ahead of the Scottish Government's Budget later this week.
Action plan for reaching one million acre target by 2020. A strategy to significantly increase the amount of land in community ownership has been published today.
