Increased demand for business and tourism flights saw passenger numbers grow by more than 5,100 at HIAL’s regional airports last month. Latest figures show the number of passengers using the airports in February increased by 5.9% to 92,607, compared to February 2013.
Transport Minister Keith Brown today announced new details for the A9 Dualling programme with three new sections of Scotland’s longest trunk road to be shovel ready in 2017 subject to completion of required statutory procedures. With work on the 7.5 km stretch of road between Kincraig and Dalraddy already due to start in 2015/16, Mr Brown welcomed news that sections of the dualling programme expected to be shovel ready in 2017 are the 10.5 km Pitagowan to Glen Garry, the 8.3 km Dalwhinnie to Crubenmore, and 9.3 km Tomatin to Moy stretches.
Week commencing 17thj March 2014 Energy & Business Services: Scottish Government this week gave consents to two applications to develop offshore wind sites in the Moray Firth. The applications from Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (BOWL) and Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd (MORL) were granted subject to specific conditions relating to environmental monitoring.
To enable proposed marine generation sites in the Pentland Firth to connect to the transmission network, SSE are proposing to construct a new 132 kilovolt overhead line from a new substation near Gills Bay to the proposed Thurso South substation at Geiselittle. SSE are carrying out a number of upgrades to the electricity transmission network in the north of Scotland.
Thousands of jobs forecast from billion pound investment. Energy Minister, Fergus Ewing, has announced the formal consent of two adjacent offshore wind farm applications in the outer Moray Firth.
A new £1 coin which will be the most secure coin in circulation in the world has been announced by the government. The new coin will have the same shape as the 12-sided three pence piece or ‘threepenny bit’.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (March, 19th) sold 620 store cattle, 2 adult head of breeding cattle and 48 OTM cattle. Bullocks (355) averaged 245.4p and sold to 304.0p per kg for a 375kg Limousin cross from Lower Whitebog, Fortrose, and £1,440 gross for a pen of 660kg Charolais crosses from Redfield, North Kessock.
The Highland Council has reviewed its Community Challenge Fund one year after its introduction and agreed measures to encourage and support more community groups to bid into the £1 million fund. Three community groups have applied successfully for funding.
Highlands & Islands (Labour) MSP Rhoda Grant has welcomed the Labour Party’s Devolution Commissions proposals (Attached) which propose to strengthen the present constitutional arrangements to serve Scotland better and make the Scottish Parliament a stronger and more powerful Government within the UK. She said “I welcome the proposals being suggested by the Commission and in particular those which highlight that one cap does not fit all with regard to governing all parts of Scotland.
Taxation Point at which people start paying income tax will be raised to £10,500. Bingo duty will be halved to 10%.
Extracts from the Budget 2014 paper. This Budget sets out further action to secure the recovery and build a resilient economy.
Pensions The Chancellor set out that by removing the effective requirement to buy an annuity, people will have greater flexibility in accessing their pensions. This means that people can choose how they access their defined contribution pension savings; for example they could take all their pension savings as a lump sum, draw them down over time, or buy an annuity.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (March, 18th) sold 56 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (38) averaged 213.3p (-1.1p) and sold to 246p per kg and £1,609.25 gross.
Pupils, parents and carers are being informed that the price of school meals will increase in Highland primary and secondary schools from Tuesday 22 April 2014 when pupils return from the Easter holidays and the new spring-summer menu starts. The price of a primary school two course traditional lunch will increase to £1.95 and for secondary schools to £2.15.
The second phase of the main Kessock Bridge upgrade started on 10 February 2014. The works represent an investment of £13.2m from Transport Scotland.
Rhoda Grant MSP, Scottish Labour Highlands and Islands Region, has slammed the SNP for its hypocrisy over the Living Wage. An amendment to the Procurement Reform Bill was proposed today at the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee which was designed to promote the payment of the Living Wage to workers on public sector contracts.
Posted on March 7, 2014 by David Eiser at The Economics of Constitutional Change Alex Salmond has twice this week refused to commit to re-introducing the 50p rate of income tax on incomes over £150,000 – first following his New Statesman lecture in London, and then at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday. In making the case for independence, the Scottish Government has frequently argued that having access to tax and benefit levers would enable it tackle inequality more effectively than successive Westminster governments have tended to do.
Wick Harbour Authority is making progress with its plans to create a heavy-lift facility on the commercial quay at Wick harbour, with contractors Gunns Lybster Ltd having now begun the work. The project, and its associated dredging works, was supported by CNSRP partners HIE and NDA respectively and is the first of several proposed phases of work to position the harbour as a key player in the energy sector, with the current focus being on potential to benefit from the development of Offshore Wind in the Moray Firth.
The Highland Council has unanimously supported reducing the minimum age for voting in all elections to 16. The Council is also backing Highland Youth Voice’s “Votes[AT]16” campaign which calls for 16 and 17 year olds to get the vote.
An action plan and vision of what a low carbon Highlands would be like by 2025 was welcomed by members of The Highland Council - Thursday 13 March 2014. The vision supports an earlier statement of Inverness as a Carbon CLEVER City by 2025 which was recently approved by the Council’s City of Inverness Area Committee on 4 March 2014.