The Highland Council is introducing charging for concessionary places on school transport from the start of the new school session on 20 August. This charge will apply where there are seats available on school transport contracts for pupils who do not qualify for free transport on the grounds of distance, road safety or additional support needs.
IBM has come to the conclusion that all enterprise Tier 1 storage should be completely flash-based, and will be making the transition as fast as possible for the company. They have announced they will be investing $1 billion to integrate flash into all its servers and storage systems, and has also introduced its own flash-only storage appliance.
More consumers in Highland will now have a way to find out how well local food caterers and retailers are performing thanks to the complete roll-out of the Food Hygiene Information Scheme across the area. The Highland Council is one of the 32 Scottish local authorities taking part in the Scheme.
Your local Enterprise Europe Network Team is holding a European Information Clinic at the Business Gateway office in Castle St, Inverness on Wednesday 3 July. Businesses can book an appointment between 10am and 4pm to find out how the Network can help them to develop their business.
Youth employment opportunities, tourism initiatives, improved transport links and support for businesses came out top in a recent survey to find out what wind farm windfalls should be spent on in Caithness in the future. Not surprisingly, the Caithness Conversation Community Profile suggests that a high percentage of the funds should be spent on communities nearest the wind farm but the idea of setting aside a smaller pot of funds for county-wide initiatives was also supported.
Food and drink businesses in the Highlands and Islands are invited to attend a free workshop focusing on the development of new innovative products and packaging. The day-long event, Food and Drink Innovation Workshop - 2014 The Legacy Challenge, will be held at Cowan House in Inverness on Wednesday July 10 and will be hosted by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in partnership with the 2014 Food and Drink Team.
The Highland Council is to create three new Area Committees to complement the two already operating successfully in Inverness and Caithness & Sutherland. The committees will cover Skye and Ross & Cromarty (23 members), Nairn and Badenoch & Strathspey (8 members) and Lochaber (7 members).
SSEPD launches ‘more for less’ business plan on the future of the local electricity network in Highland region. Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution (SSEPD), a subsidiary of SSE plc, has today published a detailed business plan that aims to deliver a 10% cut to the distribution network costs for customers in the Highland region.
IN HIGHLAND, 5,217 people met with Skills Development Scotland staff last year looking for help to get training or a job. SDS website My World of Work also proved a key point of support with more than 230,000 people across Scotland now registered to use the interactive service.
Croft-reared Highland beef and lamb served at the royal wedding reception of Prince William and Kate Middleton is now available nationwide and even across Europe, thanks to a brand new partnership between Mey Selections and Campbells Prime Meat Ltd. Eight Mey Selections cuts of beef are now available for sale direct to the public on Campbells Website and can be delivered fresh across the UK and Europe.
An unusual auction sale is to be held in July when Stirkoke Mil will go under the hammer. For sale by Auction Wilsons Auctions, Dalry on 18th July at 18.30hrs link http://www.wilsonsauctions.com/land-property-search-results/1329 or via Drever & Heddle http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38140651.html See details also at http://www.caithness-business.co.uk/property.php?id=3566.
Peak time restrictions are being lifted on the Kessock Bridge on Saturday 29th June, reopening all lanes to traffic during the day, as the first phase of the £13.2 million upgrade draws to a close. Balfour Beatty will continue work on the bridge during off peak hours and at night.
The UK Government announced its intention today (Thursday 27 June 2013) to consult in the summer on additional support for renewables projects located on islands (where these have clearly distinct characteristics to typical mainland projects). This is on a timetable to allow a differential strike price to be set for these projects in the final Delivery Plan in December.
An extra £1 million is to be spent on roads maintenance in the Highlands in this financial year. The one-off injection has been allocated by the Council from its new £5 million Strategic Change and Development Fund to help improve the condition of the Council’s 4,217 mile regional roads network.
Energy/ Business Services: Arise UK have been running information sessions in the area this week, to raise awareness of opportunities for people to carry out a range of business support functions for companies in a range of sectors (financial services, hospitality, retail etc) whilst based in their own homes. A number of people attended the events in Thurso, Wick and Brora.
The National Records of Scotland has released estimates of the number of households and dwellings in Scotland, including figures on occupied and vacant dwellings, second homes and trends in household types. Figures published today show that the growth rate of households in Scotland is at its slowest rate in 10 years.
Energy Minister Fergus Ewing has welcomed today’s announcement of draft strike prices and a future capacity market by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). Particularly welcome is the intention to bring forward a specific islands’ strike price as part of Electricity Market Reform (EMR) plans.
Scotland’s farmers should benefit from the new CAP which rewards activity, supports production and encourages greener choices. The deal – which gives the EU Presidency a mandate to negotiate with the EU Parliament today (Wednesday) and agree a final package - should see new entrants benefit while slipper farmers lose out.
Responding to the publication today of Ofgem's Capacity Assessment Report, which shows ‘tightening electricity margins’, increased probability of supply disruption, and states that there is an “unprecedented challenge to secure supplies to consumers”, Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing highlighted the increasing importance of energy generation from Scotland to the whole GB market. Ofgem estimated that the GB capacity margin - the gap between available capacity and peak demand – could fall to as low as 2% by 2015-2016 if projected declines in demand do not materialise.
A Bill that will give every 16 and 17 year old the right to add their voice to the most important decision made in Scotland in 300 years has been passed by the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Independence Referendum (Franchise) Bill will ensure that everyone aged 16 and over on 18 September 2014 will be able to participate in the historic vote.