At a meeting of The Highland Council on 3 September 2015 it was agreed to replace the Caithness and Sutherland Area Committee with two new Local Forums so the meeting of the Committee on 16th September 2015, held in Golspie, was the final one. East Sutherland and Edderton Councillor Deirdre Mackay has chaired the Area Committee since its first meeting in Golspie on 20 August 2012 and took the opportunity today to thank members, officers and partners for their contributions and to look ahead to new arrangements for local decision-making, local scrutiny and engaging with partners and communities.
UNISON fears that over 3,000 jobs - one in every six Edinburgh council staff and three times as many jobs as first thought- will be slashed as the effects of accelerated budget cuts become clear. This will put the council's and the Scottish Government's no compulsory redundancy pledge at risk.
The University of the Highlands and Islands has signed a £44m agreement with specialist student residences developer Cityheart to build and operate student residences across the Highlands and Islands. Work is due to start in the next week on a 40 bed residence in Fort William near West Highland College UHI and a 150 bed facility near Inverness College UHI on the new Inverness Campus.
Highlands and Islands MSP, David Stewart the (Scottish Labour) Shadow Spokesperson for Transport is questioning why the Scottish Government are avoiding the publication of correspondence regarding ferry tendering and the EU. In a reply to a written Parliamentary Question from Mr Stewart, asking if Ministers would publish correspondence between the European Commission and Parliament since May 2011 regarding the tendering of contracts for passenger and freight ferry services and EU regulations, the Scottish Government stated that they have no "no current plans to publish this correspondence." Mr Stewart is now set to write to the Scottish Government Transport Minister, explicitly asking for this correspondence to be published.
When: 1-2 October 2015 Where: Inverness Highlands and Islands Enterprise, in partnership with Scottish Development International, is running a FREE two day workshop on how to successfully prepare your business to trade overseas. In addition to hearing first-hand from a guest speaker about their export experiences, you'll complete your own export plan with 1-2-1 support.
The Highland Council is partnering with digital participation charity Citizens Online and other local partners to identify and tackle digital inclusion issues in the Highlands, supported by funding from the Big Lottery Fund. The project will identify the barriers that Highland residents are facing in accessing the internet.
FORT WILLIAM, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (September, 15th) sold 2,382 store sheep of all classes. Lambs (1,917) averaged £36.29 per head and sold to £55 gross for a Suffolk cross from Traigh Farm, Arisaig.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (September, 14th) sold 47 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (8) averaged 219.7p (+2.6p) and sold to 240p per kg and £1,487.20 gross.
First Minister unveils £224 million energy-efficiency scheme. A new fuel poverty scheme, backed by up to £224 million from the Scottish Government, will help as many as 28,000 Scots heat their homes, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said today.
Support to help young people into jobs. The Community Jobs Scotland scheme has received an additional £1.3 million from the Scottish Government to help more people with barriers to employment into jobs.
Our open day is for anyone thinking of applying to university, come and visit our campus. Take the opportunity to meet staff and students and find out about the facilities and student support available.
Seabed cable-laying operations in the Pentland Firth's Inner Sound, off Canisbay, which may occur in the period 10.09.15 to 25.09.15. The cable ship being used in the Inner Sound is the 121 metre long Siem Daya 1 and she will reel in the four cables at Hartlepool in NE England.
Energy & Business Services The massive Offshore Europe Conference and Exhibition took place in Aberdeen this week. The event, which is one of the world's largest technical events on offshore exploration and production, draws around 1,500 exhibitors and thousands of visitors from across the world.
Community, Making a difference, Transmission. Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission (SHE Transmission) has announced details of initial public consultation on site options for a proposed High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) switching station north of Wick.
The Royal Regiment of Scotland will receive a warm welcome in Inverness on 15 October 2015 when granted the Freedom of the Highlands by The Highland Council. Members of the Council's City of Inverness and Area have agreed that £24,401 Inverness Common Good funding will be allocated towards the cost of arrangements required for the granting of Freedom status.
Councillor Margaret Davidson (Independent), Leader of the Highland Council today welcomed the commencement of work to start dualling the A9 which was formally launched today by Keith Brown MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities. This first phase of work is the five-mile long section between Kincraig and Dalraddy which is due to be completed by summer 2017.
Results of scheme published. Over 100 kilograms of Carbofuran and over 480 kilograms of Sodium Cyanide products were safely removed from Scotland's environment as part of the pesticides disposal scheme, Environment Minister Aileen McLeod announced today.
Leading trade body promotes Scottish Business Pledge to members. Business minister Fergus Ewing has attended a board meeting in Inverness to thank the Civil Engineering Contractors Association Scotland (CECA) on making the Scottish Business Pledge.
Nominations are invited from people seeking election to all Community Councils across Highland this autumn. This is your chance to help represent the views of your community to the Highland Council and other public agencies.
Highland Council Leader, Councillor Margaret Davidson has welcomed Justice Secretary Michael Matheson's announcement at Scottish Parliament this week of measures to strengthen policing in Scotland including a ‘stay of execution' for Police Scotland’s Inverness call centre. The Scottish Government has indicated that it will support the retention of staff in Aberdeen and Inverness for a period beyond 31 March 2016 to allow for an effective handover of operations to a combined North Area Control Room in Dundee.
