The Local Rail Development Fund has re-opened for further applications from community led initiatives. This follows on from the first round, which saw almost £700k awarded to ten communities to take forward development works which will consider rail solutions to local transport issues.
The UK Government's immigration plans could reduce the number of workers in Scotland by up to five per cent over the next two decades, an expert panel has warned. That is in contrast to the rest of the UK, where the working age population will grow even as UK policy changes cut the number of migrant workers, according to analysis by a panel advising the Scottish Government.
Private equity professionals highly concerned about a change in UK government, JCRA research reveals. Two in five (40%) private equity industry professionals believe that a change in UK government is the biggest risk to their investment appetite in the UK, compared to 20% who selected a no deal Brexit.
More than 1,800 new construction jobs are expected to be created after the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) received almost £11 million of core funding to support the sector to innovate, modernise and grow. The investment from the Scottish Funding Council, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise will allow CSIC to build on the foundations of a highly successful first five years and support its Phase 2 mission to mainstream innovation in construction, leading to improved productivity and growth within the sector.
Timetable for remaining devolved benefits outlined. Responsibility for all devolved benefits, including their funding, will sit with the Scottish Government from 1 April next year, with delivery for disability benefits rolled out shortly after.
Experimental statistics on 'Children in families with limited resources across Scotland 2014-2017' were released by Scotland's Chief Statistician today. This statistical release provides local estimates for the proportion of children in families with limited resources by local authority area and household characteristics.
The Draught Busting Caithness & Sutherland II project is no longer taking anymore referrals as of 28th February 2019. The project ends completely as of 30th March 2019 and the energy advice/draught proofing service will no longer be continued beyond this date, existing referrals already agreed in place will be completed.
A major new inquiry has been launched into the future of primary care in Scotland by MSPs on the Health and Sport Committee. The inquiry calls on people to outline their hopes for the next generation of care, using a specially designed survey.
Despite an increase in the reported in-year overspend of £5.5M at the end of the third quarter, the Council is committed to bringing the budget back on track to be in a balanced position by year end. Additional measures to address the projected overspend began back in November, with vacancy controls, restricting non-essential expenditure, stopping non-essential travel and utilising (previously) earmarked balances.
The House of Lords EU Committee has today for the first time drawn three Brexit ‘roll-over' trade agreements to the special attention of the House of Lords. The Committee identifies all three agreements as politically important, and also raises concerns over the UK Government's level of consultation, particularly with the devolved administrations.
Deprivation gap in positive destinations falls by half. 94.4% of pupils had a 'positive destination' including work, training or further study within three months of leaving school last year, official statistics show.
This experimental statistics release is the sixth in a series about the devolved Scottish employability services. This edition publishes statistics for the first nine months of Fair Start Scotland, which launched in April 2018; the first twenty one months of Work First Scotland and Work Able Scotland, both of which launched in April 2017; and the first six months of the Health & Work Support Pilot (HAWS), which launched in June 2018.
A range of measures to support employers to embed fairer working practices have been set out in a new Fair Work Action Plan. Building on the First Minister's ‘Fair Work First' announcement last year, the action plan includes a commitment to a new benchmarking tool to help employers assess their current practices and to provide guidance on how to make their workplaces fairer.
Help to succeed in business. The First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced £100,000 of new funding for an initiative aimed at driving entrepreneurship among females in Scotland.
Scotland's Chief Statistician today published Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics: 2017-18. This is an annual compendium publication that provides a comprehensive overview of financial activity of Scottish local authorities based on their final, audited accounts.
A warning from NFU Mutual. Unprecedented warm dry winter weather is putting the UK countryside at high risk of devastating fires, warns NFU Mutual.
The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has launched a landmark legal challenge before the High Court in London in a bid to extend collective bargaining rights for outsourced workers. The union is alleging that outsourced workers at the University of London are being denied their rights under article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) because they can only negotiate their pay and conditions with the outsourcing agency, not the university directly.
Fifteen professionals from across Highland will have the chance to learn to code software in an exclusive 12-week course, starting in April. CodeClan Highlands forms part of the Northern Innovation Hub, led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), on behalf of the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal partners.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (February, 26th) sold 12 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (3) averaged 201.3p (N/C) and sold to 204.0p per kg and £1,340.00 gross.
Latest on proposed opt-out system. A Bill to introduce a soft opt-out system of organ and tissue donation for deceased donors will be debated in Parliament today (26 February 2019).