The Highland Council is encouraging businesses to sign up to an upcoming free webinar event to find out more about public contract opportunities. The Council, along with Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council, have teamed up with the Supplier Development Programme (SDP), a free business support service that offers tender training and advice to Scottish micro, small and medium sized businesses.
An investment of £750,000 in local carer centres will increase support for unpaid carers of all ages, helping them to take a break from caring and access other much-needed help. This recognises some of the challenges faced by unpaid carers, with many regular sources of support having stopped or moved online due to the pandemic.
Before you travel, make sure you've got a valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) or travel insurance with health cover You may not have access to free emergency medical treatment and could be charged for your healthcare if you do not have an EHIC or GHIC when visiting an EU country, or travel insurance when visiting Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. If you have an EHIC it will still be valid while it remains in date.
MSP Rhoda Grant has called for the Scottish Government to extend its business support schemes to industries including the dry cleaning sector which are struggling during the pandemic and do not qualify for government support. The Highlands & Islands Labour MSP spoke in Holyrood today asking Ministers to step in with a support package.
A significant top-up to the grant support available for hospitality, retail and leisure businesses across Scotland closed by level 4 restrictions will be paid following an announcement by Finance Secretary Kate Forbes. In addition to the grants businesses receive through the Strategic Business Framework Fund, eligible businesses will also get a one off grant of.
England has gone into a tough lockdown to halt spiralling COVID-19 hospitalisations and relieve pressure on its health system. The prime minister, Boris Johnson, has said the new lockdown will last at least seven weeks, but it's safe to assume that, with many hospitals near capacity, it will stay in place as long as is needed to suppress the threat of the NHS being overwhelmed.
FSB publishes the findings from its latest Small Business Index study. Quarterly Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Small Business Index (SBI) shows confidence at second lowest ebb in report's ten-year history.
The Highland Council 's Trading Standards team and NHS Highland are warning Highland residents to be very aware of the latest Covid scams that are emerging across the UK. It is very likely that these scams are linked and the consequences of being a victim of these scams may go beyond financial harm.
The Scottish Government overspent its 2019/20 budget by nearly £700 million responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. Net spending for the year across the government's consolidated accounts was £39,385 million - £669 million more than budget.
Doses to be administered at over 1,000 GP practices and community centres. Many more people will receive the first dose of the Oxford/Astrazeneca coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine in GP practices and community vaccination centres across Scotland from tomorrow (Monday 11 January 2021) The vaccine, approved for use in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on 30 December, has already been administered in primary care settings in NHS Tayside, Lothian, Orkney and Highland.
Expansion will help unlock over £800 million for communities across the UK. Expansion will help unlock over £800 million for communities across the UK.
Vaccination email scams seen as biggest emerging threat Help and advice to avoid becoming a victim. Royal Bank of Scotland has issued an urgent scam alert following the new lockdown.
The coronavirus has crippled the world economy. Global GDP suffered its sharpest drop since the end of the second world war in 2020, millions were unemployed or furloughed, and governments pumped trillions of dollars into their economies to prevent greater damage.
During the week of 24 to 30 December, 684,747 people who had tested positive, and their contacts, were reached and told to self-isolate. More people than ever before reached and told to isolate over festive period.
At today's (7th January 2021) meeting of The Highland Council the focus was on the Covid pandemic response and the many actions the Council are taking to support communities during the current lockdown. The Leader of the Council, Cllr Margaret Davidson said: "At Council today elected members raised many important issues that we will follow up.
The Highland Council today launched the Temporary Business Closure Grant. This grant is available for businesses who have had to close due to the COVID-19 protective measures introduced on Boxing Day.
A temporary ban on eviction orders will be extended until the end of March 2021. Regulations will be laid in the Scottish Parliament on 14 January to extend the current ban, which is in place at present until 22 January.
From 4am Saturday 9 January, people arriving in England from Botswana, Israel (and Jerusalem), Mauritius or Seychelles will need to self-isolate. travel restrictions extended to southern African countries from 4am Saturday 9 January (2021) to protect against the spread of a new COVID-19 variant initially detected in South Africa.
The Highland Council met today (7 January 2021) and took the opportunity to discuss Brexit. A number of issues arising from the UK's exit from the EU were discussed and the complexity of the situation was recognised particularly since there are a number of other concurrent issues such as COVID.
A decade of UK Government support leads to more than 13,000 new businesses launched by jobseekers in Scotland. New figures published today show between April 2011 and June 2020 more than 13,000 jobseekers in Scotland used support from their local Jobcentre and the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) scheme, to launch their own business.
