The Highland Council has agreed plans to implement a review of Customer Services. The Council has agreed to spend £68,500 from the Strategic Change and Development Fund to enhance the Council’s web site so that the public can conduct more transactions online and the Service Centre, which handles phone queries from customers.
Highlands’ ‘Brilliant Moments’ in UK VisitScotland tourism campaign' Brilliant moments in the Highlands are being promoted in VisitScotland’s latest UK tourism campaign. A stunning landscape scene of Glencoe features on the front cover of the region’s direct mail, and inside, Cawdor Castle and Glenfinnan Viaduct are included as well as Homecoming Scotland 2014 events in the Highlands, such as Brew at the Bog at Bogbain Farm, near Inverness, and the Fat Tyre Weekend in Fort William.
Highland Councillors has agreed to dedicate significant additional funding for services to older people and the vulnerable. The Council has agreed an extra £13.5 million over the next three financial years for NHS Highland to deliver adult care services on its behalf.
Week Commencing 10th March 2014 Energy & Business Services: 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.
team from The Highland Council’s Planning and Development service has come out tops after winning the Strong and Sustainable Communities category in the 2014 COSLA Excellence Awards. The Create and Employ project, a partnership with the council, Highland Opportunity and Business Gateway, was put forward after winning the Working Together for the Economy category in The Highland Council’s Quality Awards.
Construction firms that blacklist, or do not make proper reparations for past blacklisting, should be denied public contracts. In a report published today, Friday 14 March 2014, Parliament’s Scottish Affairs Committee sets out how firms that have been caught blacklisting can make amends and how best practice can be taken forward to ensure that blacklisting is not allowed to reoccur.
Around 40 young people from Highland secondary schools attended a careers event in Inverness College UHI today (Thursday 13 March 2014) to learn more about career opportunities in the IT (Information Technology) sector. The event “Your Future in IT?” is a partnership between The Highland Council, e-skills Scotland, and the business community, supported by the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
The Scottish Government has published the latest version of its annual Government Expenditure and Revenues Scotland (GERS) publication covering 2012–13. The IFS will be publishing a full report on these figures and the last pre-referendum update of our assessment of Scotland’s fiscal position next month.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts, (March, 12th) sold 2,136 sheep of all classes. Lambs (908) averaged £58.89 and sold to £87 gross for Suffolk crosses from Ashley, North Kessock.
The Highland Council’s Trading Standards team is reminding Highland businesses involved in the provision of credit to consumers that they must register by the end of the month with the new Regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”). Businesses affected include obvious financial sector operators like lenders, credit brokers, debt collection specialists, debt management companies and pawnbrokers.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (March, 11th) sold 62 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (30) averaged 214.4p (-2.0p) and sold to 234p per kg and £1,506.75 gross.
Two Gamekeeping Modern Apprentice’s from the North Highland College UHI have been collecting numerous awards for their commitment to country sports and learning. Duncan Seaton (19) and Greg Sinclair (19) are both studying their SVQ Level 2 in Game and Wildlife Management at the college on a block release basis, spending the rest of their time working on Highland estates.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts (March, 8th) sold 34 cattle, 2 horses, 2 Llamas, 2 goats, 118 sheep, 554 lots of poultry, eggs and poultry equipment at their poultry, rare & traditional breeds of livestock sale. Cattle (34) sold to £720 gross for a Highland bull from Alladale Estates, Ardgay.
Week Commencing 3rd March 2014 Energy & Business Services: It was good to hear this week’s announcement of new ownership and opportunities for AGM Batteries and ABSL Power Systems in Thurso. Under the new structure ABSL Power Systems will become Denchi Power Systems Ltd (named after Denchi House in Thurso, where both businesses are based).
Council of Economic Advisers to study ways of increasing female workforce. The Scottish Government’s Council of Economic Advisers is to follow up its work on the importance of childcare in enabling more women to participate in the labour market with an analysis of further steps Scotland can take to maximise economic opportunities for women.
CROWN ESTATE RUNNING “SCOTLAND’S FORESHORE AND SEABED FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE UK TREASURY” But devolution to over-centralising Edinburgh not enough. In a report published today, Friday 7 March 2014, Parliament’s Scottish Affairs Committee says that the Crown Estate Commissioners (CECs) manage most of the foreshore and seabed in Scotland but are running it “for the benefit of the UK Treasury”, not for the benefit of the people of the Highlands and Islands.
Police in Caithness received a report of theft between 1000 and 1400 hours on Wednesday 05 March 2014, from the Scottish and Southern Energy windfarm site at Bettyhill. Six large drums containing electricity cable worth £2800 were reported as being stolen.
Local MP John Thurso has welcomed the launch of a new online survey from Citizens Advice Scotland on unfair delivery charges. The survey is the first of its kind assessing the impact of high delivery charges on businesses in rural parts of Scotland - having previously targeted individual consumers only.
Part-time workers judged to be doing too little to find full-time work face having their benefit for housing costs sanctioned by the government for the first time under universal credit. Under the present system housing benefit is paid direct to landlords and sanctions can only be applied to out-of-work benefits, such as jobseeker’s allowance or employment support allowance.
On Monday 10th March 2014 the Scottish Affairs Committee will meet with UNISON, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, and the Citizens Advice Bureau in Dundee to hear about the true impact of zero hours contracts on workers and their families, and possible alternatives to them. The term “zero-hours contract” refers to an employment contract in which the employee is not guaranteed work, and is paid only for work carried out.