Scottish tourism businesses are being encouraged to adapt their products and services to tap into ancestral tourism opportunities in the run up to 2014, when Scotland welcomes the world for Homecoming, the Ryder Cup and Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Companies are being urged to take advantage of this market through a new Ancestral Tourism in Scotland guide published by Tourism Intelligence Scotland (TIS), as part of its Opportunities for Growth series, aimed at helping businesses to take advantage of new and emerging opportunities in the sector.
Overall spending per person on benefits (including tax credits and the state pension) is only slightly higher in Scotland than in Great Britain as a whole. Within this, higher spending on old-age benefits and significantly higher spending on disability benefits is almost entirely offset by lower spending on housing benefit and the fact that there are fewer children per adult in Scotland, which leads to lower spending on child benefit and tax credits.
Following the news from BT that through its commercial rollout fibre broadband is now available in Inverness, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) says it expects the first exchanges of a multi million pound publicly funded next generation broadband project to go live by April 2014. The community and economic development agency signed a contract with BT in March which, alongside the telecoms company’s commercial rollout, will bring fibre broadband services to around 84% of the region’s homes.
The £600,000 project to reintroduce rail services at Conon Bridge for the first time in more than five decades has been praised at a top UK transport awards. Delivered by ScotRail and Network Rail, the station reopening earned Highly Commended in the Small Project categories at the Network Rail Partnership Awards in London.
A new average speed camera system, which will run from Dunblane to Inverness, is to be installed on the A9 to improve safety. Transport Minister Keith Brown visited Blackford along the route today (26 July) to see one of the areas that will benefit from the scheme.
POLICE are renewing their previous warnings about deception thefts targeting businesses across the Highlands. Police received a report of a "ringing the changes" fraud at a restaurant/pub in the Inverness area yesterday, 25 July.
Expert group to begin considering applications for Scottish Government funding. Almost 1,000 applications have been received for Scottish Government funding to help farmers hit by extreme winter weather.
Figures released today show that personal and company insolvencies in Scotland have risen slightly in the first quarter of 2013-14, but continue to fall in comparison with the previous year. The Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS), continues to be seen as a viable alternative to bankruptcy.
Action plan for prawn and white fisheries. Fishermen will be offered help to deal with the current pressures facing the industry through an action plan unveiled today.
Food and drink sales up 3.3 per cent The volume of Scottish manufactured export sales grew by 2.5 per cent during the first quarter of 2013 (January to March). An expansion in exports of food and drink, which was up 3.3 per cent in the first quarter, has contributed to the overall increase in export sales.
FUNDING BOOST FOR SMALL BUSINESSES LOOKING TO TEST THE EUROPEAN MARKET. Highland Opportunity’s Business Gateway service has received Highland Council and Moray Council backing to launch a new grant scheme aimed at helping small businesses to explore new opportunities in Europe.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (July, 23rd) sold 48 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (23) averaged 240.7p (-4.4p) and sold to 250p per kg and £1,614.70 gross.
Scotland’s regional airports handled more than 5,000 extra passengers last month according to new figures. Passenger numbers across the HIAL network, which includes 11 airports, increased in June to 126,453, a rise of 5,282 (+4.4%) on June 2012.
The Highland and Islands Division of Police Scotland is investigating a number of thefts of outboard motors from various coastal locations across the area. These have occurred during the early part of this month and have been removed from moored boats when the tide has been low or from unsecured sheds.
Police warn of possible fraudulent music festival tickets on sale following reports from the public Police in the Highlands and Islands are looking to alert those who are still wishing to purchase tickets for the Belladrum Tartan Heart music festival of possible fraudlent sales following a number of people parting with money and not receiving them. Police have received eight reports from across the Division of incidents where there has been online correspondance, with money paid into bank accounts and the tickets have not been delivered.
The Highland Council will launch its new petition procedure on Thursday 1 August, providing a new avenue for individuals, communities or groups to have their concerns or issues considered and debated by the full Council or one of its strategic committees. Petitions may be submitted by:- · A group of citizens with at least 50 signatures from people living within the Council area; or · A group of at least 10 local businesses, voluntary organisations or social enterprise companies with a business address within The Highland Council area.
Week commencing 15th July 2013 Energy/ Business Services: This week’s Press & Journal picks up on the ongoing work to develop radar systems that are capable of picking up and identifying aircraft movements and movements from offshore wind turbine blades. The technology was tested recently in Scotland with apparently encouraging results.
Highland Council Trading Standards is warning consumers to be on the lookout for websites demanding a fee when making an application for the NHS European Health Insurance Card (or EHIC) or UK Passport application. Searches on the internet and consumer complaints received by the service show that many websites are offering to “review” or “forward” an application form for an EHIC or UK Passport.
Inverness Chamber of Commerce has recently launched the inaugural Highland Business Awards 2013 in conjunction with official media partners Scottish Provincial Press. The awards, an anchor event during Highland Business Week, aim to identify those businesses at the top of their game from within the Highlands, Islands and Moray and cover a wide range of categories including Caithness & Sutherland Business of the Year.
Visual impacts too high Energy Minister Fergus Ewing has today refused planning consent for the Druim Ba proposed wind farm in the Blairmore Estate, near Drumnadrochit. The Energy Minister concurred with the findings of the Public Inquiry Reporter that the number and height of the turbines would appear out of scale with the surrounding landscape and it would have significant adverse landscape and visual impacts.
