Members of The Highland Council's Recovery Board have welcomed proposals that will enable them to scrutinise progress being made on the Council's Recovery Action Plan from the coronavirus pandemic at any time they choose in ‘real-time'. Chair of the Recovery Board, Depute Leader Alasdair Christie said: "I am delighted that Members will soon be able to look into the Recovery Action Plan in real time through the Council’s performance management system to see what the progress is on the plan.
Measures will protect the UK's economy by preventing new burdens on business and provide certainty to support coronavirus recovery. New plans ensure trade between each part of the UK will prosper Holyrood, Cardiff and Stormont will receive new powers in at least 70 policy areas including parts of employment law, land use and air quality, among many others.
Tyres aged 10 years and older will be banned. tyres aged 10 years and older to be banned to help improve road safety clearly visible date of manufacture mandatory on each tyre, ensuring older tyres are easy to spot latest action follows years of work by the government and determined efforts of campaigners Tyres aged 10 years and older will be banned from lorries, buses and coaches on roads in England, Scotland and Wales in a boost to road safety, Roads Minister Baroness Vere announced on 15 July 2020.
Government to relax planning legislation to make it easier to construct large batteries to store renewable energy from solar and wind farms across the UK. Government changes planning rules to maximise UK's renewable energy storage and create hundreds of new green jobs.
The Highland Council is advising drivers in Sutherland that two temporary road closures will be in place from the start of August to enable SSE and Network Rail to carry out works. Part of the U2437 Trentham Street in Helmsdale will be temporarily closed to all traffic from 8am on Monday 3 August until 10pm on Friday 4 September for SSE to carry out works.
The Highland Council is warning the public to be on their guard for the latest COVID-19 scam which is circulating around the country. Information on this scam was received by Highland Council Trading Standards, through a national intelligence network.
High Life Highland has written to members advising how the charity plans to "bounceback" from the global pandemic in line with the latest developments within Scottish Government Route Map to recovery. Steve Walsh, High Life Highland's Chief Executive, said, "We care passionately about what we deliver to enhance the health and wellbeing our communities and are really looking forward to welcoming our many customers back to our facilities and services over the forthcoming weeks and months and I am delighted that our bounceback campaign is already taking shape across all of our services.
Restaurants and other establishments serving food for on-premises consumption can now sign up to a new government initiative aimed at protecting jobs in the hospitality industry and encouraging people to safely return to dining out. The Eat Out to Help Out registration page went live this morning on GOV.UK, allowing businesses to join the scheme announced last week by Rishi Sunak MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer.
HIE organises training and courses for businesses. This online webinar may be of interest.
Hairdressers and barbers are preparing to re-open on 15 July under the Scottish Government's route map out of lockdown. To ensure salons can safely re-open new guidance has been published for the sector.
If you are a Sutherland business re-opening this week or in coming weeks get in touch. Let us know the date and what arrangements you are making.
Today the Chancellor announced the introduction of the Job Retention Bonus. This is a one-off payment of £1,000 to employers that have used the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for each furloughed employee who remains continuously employed until 31 January 2021.
Rishi Sunak MP the Chancellor of the Exchequer speech today 8 July 2020 in the House of Commons. Several significant announcements were made to boost spending and jobs.
On the eve of the Chancellor's summer economic update in Parliament, new figures reveal today that the number of Bounce Back loans approved for small firms to help them survive the Coronavirus pandemic has passed the one million milestone. The Bounce Back Loan Scheme has been a success in providing firms with vital government-backed loans at a low, affordable rate and with no interest or repayments due in the first year.
Public health measure lifted for some overseas travellers arriving in Scotland. Passengers arriving in Scotland from 57 overseas destinations that have similar or lower levels of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection than Scotland will no longer need to quarantine.
Pause on shielding to be considered. Advice for people who are shielding is to change in the coming month.
Following on from the recent publication of Highland Council's Supporting Economic Recovery in Highland - A Guide for Businesses - the Council is announcing relaxation of some controls that will assist tourist accommodation providers have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. In recognition of this where there are specific planning and licensing controls in relation to occupancy, for example: a restriction on the occupancy of any caravan for a continuous 12 month period; or where conditions restrict occupancy for specific periods of time, ...these will be relaxed by the Council up to and including April 2021.
The Highland Council is planning to re-open play areas across the region throughout summer. Advice was provided by the Scottish Government on 28 June as to the safety measures that should be applied.
Recent changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme mean you can now bring previously furloughed employees back to work to suit the needs of your business. From August, the level of the grant will be slowly reduced and employers will be asked to contribute towards the cost of employees' wages.
People are being encouraged to socialise safely as beer gardens and pavement cafes across Scotland re-open. As the hospitality sector gradually eases out of lockdown new measures to ensure the health and safety of customers and staff will be in place including the collection of customer's contact details to allow contact tracing if necessary.
