At today's Sutherland County Committee, it was agreed to allocate £80,000 of funding towards playparks and £20,000 towards mental well-being initiatives in Sutherland's Ward 4. Following on from the budget agreed by Highland Council in March 2021, a £100,000 Place Based Investment Fund was allocated to each ward for the 2021/22 financial year.
Highland Council is supporting International Bog Day (25 July 2021), an annual event designed to celebrate the importance of bogs to our environment. These amazing environments are hugely important in our fight against climate change and offer an incredible world to explore and enjoy.
The paper £20 and £50 will be withdrawn in 2022. The new £50 note will start to become available in bank branches and at ATM's ian the coming days and weeks.
B&B's and Self-catering businesses who pay Council Tax, can now for one week only, apply for grant support from the Small Accommodation Providers Paying Council Tax Fund. If you miss this last date to apply you may not get anything.
NHS Highland is delighted to announce that the contract for the provision of medical services in Tongue has been awarded. Partners from Tain and District Medical Group put forward a business case as part of a robust procurement process, and the award was made by a panel including medical, management and community representatives.
At a critical time for the Highland economy views are being sought on a range of options for how the Council can assist the local economy to respond, recover, progress and transition. The immediate impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, the potential major changes resulting from Brexit, and the need to respond to the Climate and Ecological Emergency are at the forefront of the review of the Inner Moray Firth Local Development Plan which offers a chance to set out a collective medium to long term vision for the area's economy.
The Highland Council Trading Standards team have been alerted to a smishing scam that is currently targeting Highland residents. The scam involves a text message claiming to be from Royal Mail advising the recipient that they are holding a piece of mail due to unpaid postage.
Motorists are being advised by The Highland Council that there will be a temporary road closure on the U2901 Fascally Cottages Road, Brora, between its junction with the U5049 Park Court and Fascally Cottages for a distance of around 300 metres. This will come into operation from 8:00 on Friday 12 February 2021 and will remain in effect until 22:00 on Friday 26 March 2021.
Members of the steering group behind plans to provide enhanced care provision to serve the North Coast Sutherland area (Thursday 4 February) heard positive news regarding the provision of a new care facility in Tongue. Officers from NHS Highland, The Highland Council and representatives from Wildland provided an update on progress on the project, following the decision by the Highland Council on 7 January to provide capital funding of £5m within its capital programme for the project.
A new initiative to drive growth in the food and drink sector has been welcomed by HIE. The Scotland Food & Drink Partnership launched The Academy this week to help businesses targeting growth, after the industry was one of the hardest hit by COVID-19 and Brexit.
More than £25 million is going to disadvantaged and remote communities around Scotland to support regeneration and employment projects. The money from the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) will go to 26 projects to tackle inequalities and deliver inclusive growth.
HMRC is ready to help with changes to VAT for the Construction Industry. Get Ready Now To Avoid Problems.
Scotland's GDP fell by 1.4% in November, according to statistics announced today by the Chief Statistician. This is the first drop in GDP after six months of growth following the easing of the first lockdown in 2020.
Funding of £1 million has been made available for childminders who have been financially impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Grants of up to £1,000 each will be made to eligible childminding providers, and work is now underway with the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) to finalise the details of the scheme.
Proposals have been unveiled for a new model of green ports focused on inclusive growth, fair work practices and delivering a net zero economy. The Scottish Government is developing plans to establish fair, sustainable, green ports.
The Council's ICT in Learning team have been working hard to continue to support our school communities as we deliver remote learning to all children and young people across Highland. Chair of Education committee, Cllr John Finlayson said: "I want to thank all of our staff in Education who have worked incredibly hard to ensure that our school communities are receiving support and a quality education experience.
Tackling poverty and inequality can be central to Scotland's recovery from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to a new report. The Social Renewal Advisory Board has published 20 Calls to Action to help create a fairer country, with recommendations around the themes of Money and Work; People, Rights and Advancing Equality; and Communities and Collective Endeavour.
Enrolment for all ELC providers, including local authority nurseries, partner settings and commissioned childminders, will take place online this year. Enrolment week for ELC places will take place on Monday 8 February to Friday 12 February 2021.
Following discussions at the recent Council meeting, the Council Leader has formally written to the Local Government Boundary Commission on their proposals for councillor numbers and ward boundaries in the Highland Council area. She advised the Boundary Commission that the Council rejected the Commission's proposals in their entirety and formally requested that they halt this process immediately and review the whole issue of remote and rural area boundaries and councillor numbers in consultation with the Highland Council and other local authorities who have mainland councils with inhabited islands.
New fund to support taxi and private hire drivers affected by the pandemic will launch this week. Local authorities will directly approach an estimated 38,000 private hire and taxi drivers inviting them to claim a £1,500 grant to assist with fixed costs, boosting the support from other funding for loss of income available through the Scottish and UK Governments.
