Highland parents and families are to benefit from the introduction of 600 hours funded early learning and childcare from August this year. The Highland Council’s Adult and Children’s Services Committee have approved a suite of measures to enable the Council’s delivery of 600 hours on early learning and childcare by August 2014.
In a speech to the Scottish Parliament , Highlands & Islands Regional MSP, David Stewart highlighted the importance of EU funding to the economic and cultural development of the Highlands and Islands. “European funding is not a paternalistic sop from Eurocrats:, said Mr Stewart, “but a crucial economic tool.
A historic north-east fishing community is the first location in Scotland to become superfast broadband enabled as part of a £410m publicly-funded project. Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today (Tuesday 18 February 2014) announced that the first cabinet bringing next generation broadband services to rural Scotland is now live in the Moray town of Buckie.
Scottish Water's Procurement & Supply Chain team is holding a Market Day Conference for Highlands contractors in Inverness on Friday 21st February. The event is part of a strategy to outline Scottish Water's procurement process for rural contractors who can help deliver investment in the upcoming 2015-21 investment period.
Week Commencing 10th February 2014 Energy & Business Services: As promised last week, further information on the consultation events that Pelamis Wave Power will be undertaking in the north next month as the company prepares to submit application to build a wave site at Farr Point in North Sutherland. Events will be held on Monday 24th March (Caithness Horizons, Thurso, 17.00-20.00); on Tuesday 25th March (Bettyhill Hall, 13.00-16.00 and Strathy Hall, 17.30-20.00) and on Wednesday 26th March (Durness Hall, 17.00-20.00).
As part of an on-going monitoring programme, recent radon testing in five Highland schools has found high levels of radon gas. The schools are Glen Urquhart High School, Drumnadrochit; Glen Urquhart Primary School, Drumnadrochit; Helmsdale Primary School; Halkirk Primary School; and Kilchuimen Primary and Academy, Fort Augustus, which is a shared campus.
The demographics of Caithness and Sutherland were under the spotlight yesterday (Tuesday 11 February) when Members of the Area Committee took the opportunity to look in some detail at the results from the 2011 census. Since 2001 the population of Caithness and Sutherland has grown by 3.3% with an increase in four out of six Wards, and at a local level in 34 out of 58 data zones.
At yesterday's (Tuesday 11 February) Caithness and Sutherland Area Committee members were given an update on progress for the Flow to the Future project, an ambitious multi-million pound project to restore seven square miles of globally important peatlands which is being co-ordinated by RSPB on behalf of the Peatlands Partnership. The Peatlands Partnership was formed in 2007 and promotes the special nature and interests of the peatlands of Caithness and Sutherland (the Flow Country).
The first item on yesterday's Caithness and Sutherland Area Committee was Land Reform with the meeting starting with a presentation by David Cameron, Convener of Community Land Scotland. Members then took the opportunity to discuss in particular the overview of land reform issues in Sutherland.
Review The public is being asked for its views on proposals by The Highland Council to increase the cost of all fares, regardless of the distance travelled by 30p. It is also proposed that the charge applied to compensate for the cost of the outward journey for hires which commence 3 miles or more away from the taxi or taxi base (whichever is the nearer) and where the customer wishes to travel further away be increased from a maximum of ��6.50 to a maximum of ��7.50.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts, (February, 12th) sold 1971 sheep of all classes. Lambs (1126) averaged £64.76 and sold to £90 gross for a Cheviot from Heathmount, Tain.
Yesterday the Scottish Affairs Committee met with Scottish Officials of USDAW, the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, in Falkirk to take evidence on the impact of zero hours contracts. The Scottish Affairs Committee heard that companies are using “zero hours” contracts when there is not a justifiable business need, leading to unnecessary insecurity, lack of opportunity to access finance, mortgages or even rental housing, and loss of important employment rights.
A pioneering Dounreay innovation has allowed the team taking apart the Prototype Fast Reactor to complete one of the final phases ready for demolition. The centre guide tube - which once housed the reactor's control and shutoff rods - was successfully raised from the reactor core, demonstrating that internal fixtures can be safely removed.
COMMITTEE TO MEET USDAW IN FALKIRK TO DISCUSS DAMAGING IMPACT OF ZERO HOURS CONTRACTS. On Monday 10th February the Scottish Affairs Committee will meet with USDAW, the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, in Falkirk to discuss evidence they have provided about the impact of zero hours contracts.
Report - Bill Mowatt The flagship of the largest fleet of 'marine renewables support vessels' in Pentland Firth & Orkney Waters has been on a two-day operational working visit to Gills Harbour in Caithness. The versatile C-Odyssey has been specifically designed to service the fledgling industry and was delivered new to owners/operators Leask Marine Ltd, of Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, from a shipyard in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 2011, at a reported cost of over £3 million.
Week Commencing 3rd February 2014 Energy & Business Services: Pelamis Wave Power will be undertaking pre-planning application consultation events in the north next month as the company prepares to submit application to build a wave site at Farr Point in North Sutherland. Events will be held in Bettyhill, Strathy, Durness and Thurso from 24th to 26th March.
Dounreay welcomed Fergus Ewing MSP, Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism to see the world leading decommissioning work taking place at the site. He also met with Andrew Wettern, business development director for Cavendish Nuclear, who was accompanying Hidehiro Segawa of Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy on his knowledge sharing and fact finding visit to the site.
Posted by Scottish Supply Teachers on February 7, 2014 at 4:25 AM A letter written by a Supply Teacher. http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/letters/a-raw-deal-for-supply-teachers.23358733 "A raw deal for supply teachers Thursday 6 February 2014 IF the purpose of the latest offer on pay for Scottish supply teachers is to entice more of them back into the classroom then disappointment may lie ahead ("Pay row teachers to vote on new offer", The Herald, February 4).
Six Highland community councils are able to continue operating following recent interim elections. Nominations were invited from 21 January to 5 February 2014 for persons seeking election to Community Councils serving Caithness West; East Nairnshire; Inverlochy; Raigmore; Sinclairs Bay; and Wick In each case, the number of candidates nominated was less than the number of councillors to be returned, so no elections will take place, and the list of candidates for each community council are now declared to be elected as councillors.
Housing Regulator publishes research on rent arrears six months into Welfare Reform. The Scottish Housing Regulator today published the findings of the second phase of its research on the early impact of Welfare Reform on social landlords.
