John Howie, CBI Scotland Chairman, said:"The New Year is a good time to reflect on the year past and look ahead to our hopes and ambitions for 2015. “To say that 2014 was a momentous year for Scotland is a gross understatement, but it is worth reflecting on all we have achieved.
Talks on climate change in Paris in 2015 could be the breakthough moment, according to IPPR's expert on international climate change, writing for the Left Foot Forward blog. He outlines how the political conditions for reaching a pact on climate change have been transformed since 2009, which saw the historic failure of the UN climate summit in Copenhagen.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (December, 30th) sold 65 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (29) averaged 213.4p (-0.3p) and sold to 232p per kg and £1,562.20 gross.
Subsea7 at Wick fabricated bundles for the project. BP, on behalf of the Kinnoull field co-venturers, is pleased to announce the start of production from the Kinnoull field in the central North Sea.
New Year Message - 2015 Must Bring Living Standards Boost as Average Wage Fell £500 in 2014. In her New Year message, TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady reveals that the real value of the average full-time wage fell by £487 in 2014 (from new TUC analysis - full details below).
New research on the impact of welfare reform on Scottish households has been commissioned by a Scottish Parliament committee for 2015. The research for the Welfare Reform Committee will be carried out by Professors Christina Beatty and Steve Fothergill of the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University.
Small shops must make change by April With New Year approaching, retailers are being reminded that they must stop displaying tobacco products by 6 April 2015. The small shop display ban will follow a similar ban for larger shops which has been in force since 2013.
Minister announces 23.9% rise. Registered business start-ups are at a record high in Scotland with a 23.9% increase in 2013, Business Minister Fergus Ewing announced today.
DFM: ‘a strong economy will help tackle the inequality that blights our society'. Deputy First Minister and Finance Secretary John Swinney has today welcomed news that 2014 has been another encouraging and buoyant year for Scotland, according to employment statistics covering the period Aug-Oct 2014.
Young Innovators Challenge 2015. £247,500 made available to recognise invention and forward thinking.
Issued by the Institute of Fiscal Studies on 18 December 2014. On November 27th 2014, the Smith Commission published proposals for further devolution of powers to Scotland.
One of the biggest storms to hit Wick Bay for many years was viewed by many of the people in Wick looking from above wick Bay. The clean up around the harbour took some time but gradually everything was back in order.
September 2014 marked 50 years since the award to BP of Licence P.001, the UK North Sea licence that started it all. It is a journey that has seen BP present for each of those 50 years and that continues to this day.
For most people, the festive season is a time to relax and take a well-earned rest from work, but figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 863,000 workers in the UK, 2.9% of the total in employment, worked on Christmas Day 2012, the most recent for which numbers are available. This is slightly down on the 2008 figure of 887,000 people working, or 3.0% of the total.
In the year since Bank of Scotland launched Everyday Offers, Bank of Scotland customers have benefitted by earning up to 15% cash back on their everyday spending at places including Argos, The Body Shop, Morrisons and O2, through the initiative. During the festive sales, it's not too late for savvy shoppers to make the most of their spending by selecting the participating merchants they want to activate for use on their next purchases.
The move by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) should, along with several other measures, help ensure that future management is sustainable. Ron Macdonald, SNH's director of policy and advice, said: "We are asking estates for restraint on large-scale culls of mountain hares which could jeopardise the conservation status of mountain hares.
Highland and Islands (Scottish Labour) MSP, Rhoda Grant is backing the roll out of an anti-domestic abuse scheme across Scotland following a trial period that was piloted in Aberdeen and Ayrshire in November this year. The Police Scotland "Domestic Abuse Disclosure Scheme" which allows for men and woman to request information on whether their partner has a history of domestic violence has already received 15 applications in the trial areas and is being tested in Scotland following the introduction of the scheme in England and Wales following the murder of Clare Wood in Salford in 2009 by her ex-partner who has a previous record of domestic violence and abuse.
Following the recent embankment landslip adjacent to the A9 Trunk Road at Meadowside near Newtonmore, the Council is advising drivers that the B9152 road will remain closed over the festive period to allow BEAR Scotland to remove debris and prepare for embankment repair works. BEAR Scotland are currently on site carrying out tree clearing works.
In Q3 2014, household spending (adjusted for inflation) grew by 0.9% (£2.5 billion). The main contribution to growth can be seen in 'Transport' which has increased by 2.9% compared with Q2 2014.
Following changes to the permitted development rights for agricultural and forestry private ways (tracks and paths etc.) on 15 December 2014, The Highland Council has now published interim guidance on it's website for developers of private ways. The legislative changes require planning authorities to now approve the route, design and means of construction of proposed private ways before they can be constructed and careful consideration must be given to design, method of construction and routing.
