New figures show that prudent budget management is enabling the Scottish Government to maximise its response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The 2019-20 Provisional Budget Outturn reveals a 0.7 per cent underspend on a total budget of £34.6 billion - down from 0.9 per cent the previous year - with all of the £258 million underspend carried forward and most having already been deployed.
Increased animal cruelty penalties and new legal protections for service animals to be introduced. MSPs have supported increased penalties for the worst types of animal cruelty and ‘Finn's law', which gives new legal protections for service animals such as police dogs and horses.
Businesses in the Highlands and Islands are being encouraged to bring their costs down with free, one to one, virtual support available from Zero Waste Scotland. Through the recently launched Energy Efficiency Business Support Service, which is supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Zero Waste Scotland is offering small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) energy assessments to identify where simple actions could result in significant financial savings.
CHIEF Executive of The Highland Council, Donna Manson was invited to give evidence at the Scottish Parliament's COVID-19 Committee on Wednesday 17 June. Mrs Manson's advice to the Committee was the importance of a clear and simple national message during the COVID-19 emergency.
New statistics from the Annual Population Survey show that 309,000 young people aged 16 to 24 years were in employment in Scotland in April 2019 to March 2020. The employment rate for young people was 54.8 per cent, lower than a year ago (58.3 per cent).
Highland Council is pleased to report that preparatory work to resume construction activity on three key school projects has commenced. This is a significant step towards the completion of new buildings at Alness Academy and Merkinch Primary, and the refurbishment of Inverness High School.
Scotland's GDP fell by 2.5% during the first quarter of 2020, according to statistics announced today by the Chief Statistician which cover the period from January to March. Over the year, compared to the first quarter of 2019, the economy has contracted by 2.3%.
Following the First Minister's announcement on Tuesday, 16 June 2020, eligible school pupils are to receive free school meals during the summer break to help tackle food poverty. In Highland, P1-3 pupils entitled to school clothing grants and P4-S6 pupils who are eligible for free school meals have been receiving £15 per pupil, per week, which is paid fortnightly using a voucher system.
As at 14 June, 4,070 deaths have been registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) today. Between 8th and 14th June, 70 deaths relating to COVID-19 have been registered, a decrease of 19 from the previous week, 1st to 7th June.
Today, The Highland Council's approach to a phased reopening of schools and Education Learning and Care (ELC) settings in the Highland region was discussed by Members at the Recovery Board. Guided by the national framework, Highland Council will look at the local and individual circumstances of each of it's 203 school and ELC settings to provide the safest and most valuable learning experience possible to its 50,000 children and young people when term resumes in August.
Bad news for the north as Travis Perkins announced 165 branches to close throughout the UK. The Thurso branch of the company will close with the loss of 5 jobs.
Some of you will have been aware of the scandal over the last 20 years of the biggest legal injustice in the UK surrounding the wrongful accusations of fraud by the Post Office against 900 sub-postmasters. The accusations by the Post Office were completely false based on a faulty computer system supplied by Fujitsu called "Horizons".
A multi-million pound fund has been set up to help the energy sector recover from the dual economic impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) and the oil and gas price crash. The £62 million Energy Transition Fund will support businesses in the oil, gas and energy sectors over the next five years as they grow and diversify and will help attract private sector investment in the region.
Minister tells UK Government that urgent support needed within days. The double threat of coronavirus (COVID-19) and the potential loss of access to EU funding programmes could result in long-term damage to Scottish university research, unless the UK Government provides immediate financial support, according to Higher Education Minister Richard Lochhead.
Housing Minister Kevin Stewart has written to the UK Government calling for urgent action to support housing tenants affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In a letter to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mr Stewart identifies five key areas in which the benefits system and support for people who rent their home should be urgently strengthened.
Backing for world's largest performing arts festival. The Scottish Government has agreed a funding package for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, the charity that underpins the world-famous Fringe Festival.
The bridge, which links the Campus with the Inverness Retail and Business Park, opened today (12 June) for all walkers, cyclists, scooters and wheelchair users. It crosses the main Inverness-Perth railway line and enables access to and from the east of the city.
Statistics released by HMRC show that the Highland has the highest number of workers on furlough per head of population across Scotland. 32,000 people, 27% of the working population are currently furloughed in the Highlands.
The Highland Council can confirm that from Monday 15th June 2020 the re-opening of the Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) will move to the next stage. This follows the successful re-opening of the majority of sites across the region less than 2 weeks ago and will see the range of materials that householders are permitted to take to the sites expanded to include electrical appliances and cardboard as well as bagged household waste and garden waste.
Children and protected adults will be better protected under new legislation. The Disclosure (Scotland) Bill, which has passed its final stage in the Scottish Parliament, will transform how criminal record disclosures operate and improve the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme.
