Leader expresses disappointment following Police meeting. Leader of the Highland Council Margaret Davidson commented following her meeting with Police Scotland on 16 August 2017, saying: "I am very grateful to ACC Hawkins and other officers for a very candid and useful meeting and for providing the information which we requested.
Food and drink businesses looking to grow through innovation are encouraged to register for a free workshop which takes place in Inverness on 31 August. Share The event will focus on the new ‘Make Innovation Happen' service which provides a single access point for all innovation support to the Scottish food and drink industry.
The Leader of the Highland Council, Margaret Davidson, has urged the Scottish Government to start using devolved powers to mitigate the impact of benefit changes in the Highlands. The call follows a meeting with Inverness MP, Drew Hendry, where she discussed the problems created by the introduction of Universal Credit.
Members have today approved proposals to expand the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal funded free open public Wi-Fi system to 14 towns across the Highland. Towns recommended for the free Wi-Fi programme are Alness, Aviemore, Dingwall, Dornoch, Drumnadrochit, Fort Augustus, Fort William, Invergordon, Nairn, Portree, Tain, Thurso, Ullapool and Wick.
Members of the Highland Council's Places Committee have approved the use of Landbank funding to assist in the development of affordable housing in Highland. The Council holds a Landbank Fund which is used to enable affordable housing to be delivered either through loans and grants to our partner housing organisations, or directly to part fund the provision of new council housing.
The Council has agreed to updated developer contributions for the delivery of new schools in the Inverness area. Taking account of the forecasted phasing of housing sites, school roll forecasts indicate that 13 Primary Schools in Inverness will be under pressure within the next 5 years.
One hundred and forty two probationer teachers who are on the Teacher Induction Scheme and a few probationer teachers on the Flexible Route were recently welcomed to the Highlands (on Friday 11 August 2017) at an induction course held in Smithton Free Church Hall. Bill Alexander, Highland Council's Director of Care and Learning welcomed the probationers saying: "It's really good to see so many young people starting their careers in education here in the Highland and I wish them all well.
The Council is to review developer contributions for schools in the Inverness area. Taking account of the forecasted phasing of housing sites, school roll forecasts indicate that Primary Schools in Inverness are under pressure and require significant additional capacity to support growth.
High Life Highland (HLH) and The University of the Highlands and Islands have signed an agreement to work together to benefit individuals, communities and businesses across the Highland area. Both organisations already have a track record of collaboration with a number of programmes across various HLH services and study programmes, but have now formalised the arrangement through a memorandum of understanding that will see the relationship expanded to include initiatives in the fields of health and wellbeing as well as archives and museums.
Members of The Highland Council have unanimously agreed to the establishment of a joint Committee with Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council, Angus Council, Argyll and Bute Council, Comharlie nan Eilean Siar and Moray Council to be known as ‘The Northern Roads Collaboration Joint Committee'. Cllr Allan Henderson, Chair of the Council's Places Committee commended the formation of the new Joint Committee, he said: "I commend this initiative which will help Highland Council and our partner Northern Authorities address the ‘big ticket' roads' issues that affect us all.
During a debate about the future of Highland Council finances, Leader of the Council, Margaret Davidson, has challenged the Scottish Government to be more open about the funding they provide for local councils across Scotland. "In recent years' we've seen too much smoke and mirrors when it comes to the Scottish Government handing out their annual grant to local councils.
Highland council will hear from the finance director Derek Yule on Thursday 29th June 2017 when he speaks on his paper "Financial Outlook 2018 - 2023". The outlook for council finances as set out in the paper Financial Outlook 2018 - 2023 is for five years of cuts and reductions in services as the forecast is for reduction in grant income of 2%, 3.5% or 5% which would produce a budget gap of £129 million to £187 million over 5 years.
A new service for the bereaved in Highland is launched today by The Highland Council called ‘Tell Us Once'. The service will ensure that when a death is registered in the Highland area, a notification is automatically issued to most government agencies which removes the need for grieving families to notify multiple public bodies.
Rural communities will have a stronger voice thanks to funding for the Rural Parliament announced by Environment and Land Reform Secretary Roseanna Cunningham. The £200,000 funding for Scottish Rural Action (SRA) will support delivery of their 2017-19 Action Plan, which contains five policy areas debated and chosen by rural communities at the 2016 Rural Parliament in Brechin.
Update Week commencing 19 June 2017 Tourism Food & Drink: · CNSRP partner Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) this week published a baseline report on the economic impact of the North Coast 500 route which covers the whole of the north mainland. The report highlights the impact of the route's global profile, and suggests that 200 new jobs could be created as a result.
Taskforce will consider steps to ensure better representation. A new group to ensure women are better represented in farming has been announced by the First Minister.
Caithness & North Sutherland Fund's latest grant assessment round has awarded over £17k to community projects throughout the Caithness & North Sutherland area. The Caithness Broch Project was granted £10,000 towards costs of holding a Caithness Broch Festival, consisting of a programme of participative archaeological activities that will be held throughout the year focusing around two selected Caithness broch sites.
The Highland Council's People Committee has agreed membership of the Council's new Adult Services Development and Scrutiny Sub-Committee. The Adult Services Development and Scrutiny Sub-Committee will ensure specific consideration is given to the delivery of adult social care services, as part of an integrated approach to all community care services, and will oversee on behalf of the People Committee, the commissioning of social care services for adults from NHS Highland.
A bill to replace Air Passenger Duty in Scotland has been passed by the Scottish Parliament. The Air Departure Tax (Scotland) Bill sets the structure of the new tax and how it will be collected and managed by Revenue Scotland.
The first meeting of a Ministerial Working Group, convened to examine building and fire safety regulatory frameworks, has taken place this week. The meeting was chaired by Communities Secretary Angela Constance with Housing Minister Kevin Stewart and Community Safety Minister Annabelle Ewing.
