Plans to help bring empty high street properties into use have been put forward by the Local Government Minister Derek Mackay. Under the proposals new occupants of shops or offices that have been empty for at least a year will be able to apply for a fifty per cent discount on their business rates for 12 months.
New steps to give firms more flexibility and confidence in managing their workforce and to reduce employment law red tape, were announced today by Business Secretary Vince Cable. They are most likely to benefit small businesses.
Commenting on the publication of the Scottish Health Survey 2011, Public Health Minister Michael Matheson said: "These findings show that Scotland's health is improving, from an increase in physical activity levels for girls to a large decline in adult smokers. "It is particularly encouraging to see such a fall in the number of smokers as giving up smoking is one of the best things that anyone can do to protect their health.
A new £10 million fund aims to deliver hundreds of eco-friendly homes and bring down heating bills. The announcement of the Greener Homes Innovation Scheme follows last week's 2013-14 budget which directed investment into construction, skills and the green economy.
The newest proposal for 'fine tuning' the Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme (LFASS) replacement scheme needs more flexibility to make sure all farmers in Scotland that should benefits from it do so. At the EU Agriculture Council in Brussels today, Scotland's Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead pressed hard for enough flexibility in the fine tuning exercise to make sure it gives the right result for the new 'Areas facing Natural Constraints' (ANC) in Scotland.
Figures published today show a further boost in the number of graduates from Scottish universities taking up employment or remaining in education. 88.5 per cent of graduates in 2010/11 found jobs or went into further study, a 0.7 per cent increase on the previous year.
Scotland's Chief Statistician today published 'Self-directed Support (Direct Payments), Scotland, 2011'. The purpose of the Statistics Release is to present the latest national figures for Direct Payments made during the period 1st April 2010 to 31st March 2011 under section 12B of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968.
Smoking rates have fallen in the last year and more Scots are trying to stop, according to a range of new figures published today. The 2011 Scottish Health Survey reports 23% of Scots adults are smokers, down from 25% in 2010; In the last financial year, there were 118,394 quit attempts made with the help of NHS smoking cessation services, compared to 90,083 in 2010-11; In the last financial year, there was a 31.5% increase in the number of items prescribed for smoking cessation, to 583,716, with nicotine replacement accounting for over 80% of prescriptions.
With the Scottish legal system about to embark on the most significant changes in over a century, The Scottish Court Service (SCS) has today launched a three month consultation on its proposals for court services in the High Court, sheriff courts and justice of the peace courts. Civil and criminal justice will be reformed in the coming years following the recommendations arising from the reviews by Lord Gill, Lord Carloway, Sheriff Principal Bowen and the forthcoming Victims and Witnesses Bill.
Cutting edge satellite technology is to be brought to Scotland to track offenders for the first time following the signing of a new contract today, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has announced. The Justice Secretary said the award of the contract marked a significant step forward in the tools available to Scotland's law enforcement agencies to ensure offenders complied with the strict conditions placed on them upon release into the community.
UHI's Management School will be running a series of 5 free business seminars in October and November. All workshops will run from 12.30 - 1.30pm and anyone interested can participate by video conference at The North Highland College UHI in Thurso.
Council responds to concerns at Thurso sheltered housing scheme. The Highland Council has responded to concerns about warden cover at a sheltered housing scheme in Thurso by visiting residents and promising to advise them soon of the outcome of the consultations.
£100,000 North Highland fund to stimulate tourism and food & drink sectors. A £100,000 challenge fund which will stimulate new ways of working within the North Highlands' tourism and food & drink sectors is being launched today (Friday).
week commencing 17th September 2012 Energy: Scottish Renewables' Marine Conference and Exhibition took place in Inverness this week, with over 250 delegates and over 40 exhibitors including Kongsberg Maritime, Caithness Renewables and Invest Caithness. To coincide with the Conference Scottish Renewables published data indicating that the costs of connecting to the National Grid for Caithness-based Pentland Firth wave and tidal projects had decreased against previous estimates, whilst connection charges from Orkney had dramatically increased.
First Minister Alex Salmond and Cosla President David O'Neill are together asking Scotland's councils to use capital investment to promote economic recovery and to protect and create jobs. Mr Salmond and Mr O'Neill have written asking local authorities to review whether they have any further 'shovel-ready' construction projects that could begin at short notice - if the UK government were to release funds.
The new Caithness District Partnership will meet in full for the second time on Friday 28 September, as part of the new arrangements under the Planning for Integration (P4i) partnership between the NHS and The Highland Council. Partners will consider a report from the NHS steering group, who are recommending a Stakeholder Engagement Plan.
Highlands & Islands Labour MSP David Stewart has hit out after the Scottish Court Service today launched their consultation on court closures. The move means that 11 of Scotland's 49 Sheriff Courts and 5 Justice of the Peace Courts are threatened with closure.
The Highland Council's Transport Environmental and Community Services Committee has noted the progress being made with trials to achieve energy and carbon savings in street lighting. Members were told that the introduction of new technology energy efficient white lights with associated 25% dimming between midnight and 6 am has generated annual savings of £60,000.
The Draft Budget for 2013-14 and the actions the Scottish Government will take this Autumn will provide further investment in construction, skills and the green economy John Swinney said today. Setting out the budget to Parliament, Finance Secretary John Swinney pledged £180 million over two years for construction, skills and employment and a green economic stimulus.
The Highland Council is to embark on a programme of repair works to war memorials in the Highlands ahead of the 100th anniversary of the start of World War 1 in 2014. The majority of the Council's 165 memorials have been inspected to assess the level of work required to bring them up to a good standard.
