More than double the number of ex-offenders found work following a major government drive to reduce reoffending and plug labour shortages to help grow the economy. 116% rise in ex-offenders finding jobs within 6 months boost follows raft of measures to reduce reoffending.
Culture Secretary Angus Robertson has confirmed £9.5 million funding for Scotland's flagship Youth Music Initiative (YMI) this year. This includes £500,000 which has been ringfenced to deliver on the commitment to expand the YMI model into other art forms.
Average UK house prices increased by 4.1% in the 12 months to March 2023, down from 5.8% in February 2023. The average UK house price was £285,000 in March 2023, which is £11,000 higher than 12 months ago, but £8,000 below the recent peak in November 2022.
Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans have welcomed the delay to the Bottle Deposit Return Scheme and are urging the Scottish Government to use this time to consider the implications it will have for visually impaired people. The Bottle Deposit Return Scheme, which is used by many other countries to encourage recycling, will charge people a small deposit on certain types of containers, which will be given back to them when they return it to a recycling point.
Plans unveiled to ease costly reporting burdens on business, freeing up companies to focus on growth. Plans to reduce costly and time-consuming regulatory burdens on business have been revealed by the Government today [Wednesday 24 May 2023].
People across Scotland are being invited to have a say on how a new National Care Service should work. A programme of meetings will take place over the summer, stretching from Dumfries and Galloway to Shetland.
The Highland Council has had further discussions about the health and safety requirements of inflatable lets bookings at its properties. The Council's approach seeks to balance the mitigation of risk with acting in a way that does not impact unnecessarily on community activities.
Fishing occupations are set to be added to the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) following recommendations from the Migration Advisory Committee. From the summer, share fishermen, trawler skippers and experienced deckhands on large fishing vessels will benefit from lower fees and salary requirements.
The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) rose by 7.8% in the 12 months to April 2023, down from 8.9% in March; on a monthly basis, CPIH rose by 1.2% in April 2023, compared with a rise of 2.1% in April 2022. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 8.7% in the 12 months to April 2023, down from 10.1% in March; on a monthly basis, CPI rose by 1.2% in April 2023, compared with a rise of 2.5% in April 2022.
It often comes as a surprise to people that the Council does not have a statutory responsibility to provide or operate Public Conveniences. The latest report discussed at the Communities and Places committee of Highland council today 24 May 2023.
The UK Space Agency is launching a £50 million fund to support the development of cutting-edge research and development facilities, the government announced today (24 May 2023). The Space Clusters and Infrastructure Fund (SCIF) - the first dedicated fund for UK space infrastructure – will award match funding to UK organisations to develop the R&D infrastructure needed to make space products mission-ready and sell them into commercial markets.
A new report from The Centre for Policy Studies draws together many suggestions for changes on how to pay for road usage and points to many schemes already in place such as Clean Air Zones. This report is well worth reading for future reference as we make the transition to electric vehicles and government takes less and less in fuel duties etc.
Of the 14 headline indicators and targets, the following performance should be noted for the six-month period October 2022 to March 2023. There were 77 Accidental Dwelling Fires (ADF) which is slightly above the 3-year average.
Every time a motorist refuels their vehicle, they are paying for the UK's biofuels mandate, the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). This is buried in the per litre cost at the pump, so public awareness is low, but 6% of the total fuel bill in fact pays for biofuels blended into petrol and diesel.
Recent analysis shows that that over a third of waste in the average household refuse bin could be recycled or composted at home! The Highland Council has conducted a Waste Composition Analysis of the waste that householders put in their refuse and recycling bins. Funded by Zero Waste Scotland as part of a national analysis of the waste in household bins across Scotland, the results will enable the Council to focus on waste prevention and increasing recycling.
Help to Save is open to people receiving benefits including Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit and offers a generous savings bonus. Help to Save - the government savings scheme for low-income earners, which offers a 50% bonus payment worth up to £1,200 over 4 years - has been extended to April 2025, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has confirmed.
The Highland Council is now accepting expressions of interest for the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund for 2024-2025. The Regeneration Capital Grant Fund is delivered in partnership with the Scottish Government and COSLA.
International Scotland, an initiative led by law firm CMS and the Fraser of Allander Institute, has launched a new report setting out key business priorities to be addressed to ensure the nation's economy can thrive. Focused on providing a platform to promote economic growth, International Scotland was launched last year with an initial report setting out the opportunities for growth across key sectors such as sustainable tourism, food & drink, life sciences and renewable energy.
How the relationship between UK public sector monthly income and expenditure leads to changes in deficit and debt. Public sector net borrowing (PSNB ex) in April 2023 was £25.6 billion, £11.9 billion more than in April 2022 and the second-highest April borrowing since monthly records began in 1993, with the growth in receipts being exceeded by the additional costs of the energy support schemes, increases in benefit payments and higher debt interest payable.
Scotland's increasingly valuable rural land is only available to a limited few as high demand from forestry, natural capital investment, and corporate estate buyers continues to drive high prices, according to a new report by the Scottish Land Commission. The Rural Land Market Insights Report 2023 underlines the need for action to ensure that communities, family farms, local businesses, and individuals are not priced out of the rural land market due to sustained high land prices driven by large-scale forestry and natural capital investments.
