Following a third round of Community Council elections in the Highlands, three new councils are guaranteed to be formed. Caithness West and Uig, Skye, can operate from 3 July as they received more nominations than half their maximum membership.
The Scottish Government plans for low carbon homes will provide more than £2 billion to help make the nation's homes more energy efficient. More than one in four Scottish households suffer from fuel poverty with more than 500,000 homes still requiring cavity wall insulation and more than 600,000 homes with solid walls.
Scottish Government investment will bring superfast broadband to communities across the Highlands and Islands, Alex Neil said today. The Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment said the funding will ensure homes and businesses across some of Scotland's most rural areas could get the benefits of next generation broadband for the very first time.
Highland Leader welcomes Scottish Government's A9 commitment. Councillor Drew Hendry, Leader of The Highland Council, has welcomed news that the Scottish Government intends to bring forward by two years to 2015 the start of work to upgrade to dual carriageway the A 9 Inverness - Perth road.
In the Highlands, 4,942 people were supported by Skills Development Scotland's careers information, advice and guidance services (CIAG) in the past year. Between April 2011 and March 2012, 1,328 people also joined SDS's national training programmes in the Highlands.
One of the UK's newest and most versatile 'marine renewables support vessels' has been showing off some of her capabilities at Gills Harbour on the Pentland Firth. The one-year-old 'multi-cat' vessel Orcadia, which was reported to have cost £3.5 million when she was delivered last year from Damen Shipyards in the Netherlands, was making her debut visit to the community-owned Caithness harbour.
Housing projects worth over £2.5 million that will help first time buyers get a step on the property ladder, have been given the go ahead, Housing Minister Keith Brown announced today. The New Supply Shared Equity with Developers scheme involves participating house builders taking equity stakes jointly with the Scottish Government in new homes.
Scotland is set to be a world leader in innovative health technology, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said at the end of last week. Close working relationships between NHSScotland and the life sciences industry will allow pioneering developments to dramatically improve healthcare for patients and potentially save lives.
Minister for Public Health Michael Matheson launched a new dental strategy for priority groups last week. The strategy will improve dental care for older people, the homeless and those with learning disabilities who often experience poor oral health.
Energy Minister Fergus Ewing has today launched extra money to help householders install new green heating systems in their homes, as part of a strategy to encourage more people to generate clean green energy. The extra £5 million will be available from August 2012 to householders as loans of up to £10,000 to fund renewable heat technology projects such as biomass boilers and heat pumps in their own homes.
Scotland's cattle producers should look to the long term and prepare for the growing market opportunities of the future so that the industry can continue producing for the world's population. That was the message from Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead on the first day of the Royal Highland Show.
Charities and social enterprises can bid for a share of £2.5 million to help young people find employment from today. Minister for Youth Employment Angela Constance formally opened the fund in Dumfries, where she met local businesses and employment groups.
Scotland's equine sector is a key player in the nation's rural economy, Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead said today. Speaking as he inspected the horses on display, and after visiting the British Horse Society stand, Mr Lochhead said that the sector's contribution to rural Scotland should not be underestimated.
New figures show that more small and medium sized businesses in Scotland are successfully applying for finance with an increased proportion of those seeking new lending securing all of the money they applied for. The Scottish Government's SME Access to Finance report for 2012 shows that 87 per cent of firms were able to access a hundred per cent of the money that they were seeking.
A marine energy action plan, developed by the wave and tidal power industry in Scotland to accelerate electricity generation from the sea, has been unveiled today. The plan outlines progress made since the launch of the 2009 Marine Energy Road Map and makes recommendations to help improve access to finance, grid development, infrastructure and supply chain, the planning regime and engagement with Europe, to ensure Scotland and other nations seize the huge potential for clean energy from the world's seas and oceans.
A report going to next week's meeting of The Highland Council will ask members to approve £10,000 to go towards the design of an improved road alignment for a notorious stretch of the A9 trunk road known as the Berridale Braes. The proposal is to remove the north hairpin by realigning the existing road within the corridor between the cemetery and the coastal cliff.
The Highland Council's Leadership today launched a "bold and ambitious" programme of priorities for action over the next five years. "Working together for the Highlands" is being presented to the next meeting of the Council on Thursday 28 June for confirmation as the Programme for The Highland Council.
Caithness District Partnership will meet for the first time on Tuesday 26 June, as part of new arrangements under the Integrating Care in the Highlands partnership between NHS Highland and The Highland Council. The new District Partnership, which will meet in public, will identify key local issues and priorities for children and adults in Caithness that can be better delivered through joint working between partners at local level, including NHS Highland, Highland Council, Voluntary and Independent providers and local communities.
4 pm on Wednesday (27 June) is the deadline for candidates to return their election nomination forms for round 3 of the forthcoming Community Council elections, which involve those which are currently unformed. Nominations are invited from persons seeking election as members of Community Councils in Wards 2/4: Caithness West (10 members); Ward 11: Uig (8 members); Ward 12: Caol (9 members); Ward 15: Inverness Central (8 members); Ward 21: Aviemore and Vicinity (9 members); Laggan (8 members).
The north Planning committee of Highland council agreed on Tuesday 19th June 2012 to grant planning permission for construction of a Community Wind Farm at Rumster Forest with Three 900 kW Wind Turbines, with a Height to Hub of 50m and a Rotor Diameter of 50 m, Formation of Access Track and Erection of a Switchgear Building and Associated Cabling. The applicants were Latheron, Lybster and Clyth Community Development Company formed a few years ago following the set up of an Initiative at the Edge project.
