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News Archive


18/6/2020
Highland Pupils To Receive Free School Meals During Summer Holidays
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.  
18/6/2020
Virtual energy assessments launched to help Scottish businesses save cash
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.  
18/6/2020
Highland Council sets out careful and gradual approach on school's return to Education and Learning
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.  
17/6/2020
Jobs Go As Travis Perkins In Thurso To CloseThumbnail for article : Jobs Go As Travis Perkins In Thurso To Close
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.  
14/6/2020
Businesses And Lives Ruined, People Wrongly Jailed, Suicides - The Biggest Scandal Of Injustice - The UK Sub-postmastersThumbnail for article : Businesses And Lives Ruined, People Wrongly Jailed, Suicides - The Biggest Scandal Of Injustice - The UK Sub-postmasters
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".  
14/6/2020
Support For Fringe Society as thousands of artists suffer the loss of perfomances
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.  
14/6/2020
UK government urged to strengthen social security system - Action Needed To Help Renters
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.  
14/6/2020
Energy Sector Gets £62million Boost
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.  
14/6/2020
Universities Facing Twin Threats Of Covid And Brexit
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.  
12/6/2020
New Inverness Campus Bridge Opens For Active TravelThumbnail for article : New Inverness Campus Bridge Opens For Active Travel
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.  
12/6/2020
Recovery Board Chair Responds To High Level Of Workers Furloughed In Highland
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.  
12/6/2020
More Materials To Be Accepted At Highland Household Waste Recycling Centres
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.  
11/6/2020
New law for Disclosure regime
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.  
11/6/2020
Construction And Manufacturing Get A BoostThumbnail for article : Construction And Manufacturing Get A Boost
Innovation is fundamental to business growth and diversification.  It is also absolutely essential in Scotland's economic recovery as we emerge from the impacts of COVID-19.  
10/6/2020
Initial Test And Protect Data Published
The first set of data from week one of the coronavirus (COVID-19) Test and Protect system has been published.   The data, which will be published weekly, shows: the number of positive index cases from 28 May to 7 June the number of index cases where contact tracing has been completed the number of contact traces Since Test and Protect was launched, 681 cases have tested positive with 741 contacts traced.  
10/6/2020
Use Of Ionisers In Covid Fight Raised In First Ministers QuestionsThumbnail for article : Use Of Ionisers In Covid Fight Raised In First Ministers Questions
Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, David Stewart, highlighted the role that the use of negative ion ionisers could have in the continued fight against COVID-19 during First Minister's Questions in Holyrood today (10 June 2020).   Mr Stewart said "The First Minister will be well aware that to conquer COVID-19 requires scientific collaboration, initiative and innovation.  
10/6/2020
£50 Million To Improve Attainment in Scottish Schools
Schools and local authorities receive funding boost.   Pupils living in Scotland's most deprived communities will benefit from targeted funding from the Attainment Scotland Fund to help close the poverty-related attainment gap.  
10/6/2020
Veteran Politician Labour MSP David Stewart Is To Retire At The Next ElectionThumbnail for article : Veteran Politician Labour MSP David Stewart Is To Retire At The Next Election
Seasoned campaigner and veteran politician, Highlands and Islands Labour MSP David Stewart, is to retire at the next Scottish Parliament election at the age of 65.   Mr Stewart is one of a small band of Scottish politicians who have served as a councillor, an MP and an MSP.  
10/6/2020
Support For Tourism Industry In Scotland - Sector Prepares For Return To Business - 15 July
Further measures have been announced by Tourism Secretary Fergus Ewing to support Scotland's vital tourism industry.   A new Scottish Recovery Tourism Taskforce will assist with the ongoing reset of the sector - and a provisional date of 15 July has been set for when tourism businesses may be able to resume operations, dependent on public health advice and progression to Phase 3 of the Scottish Government lockdown route-map.  
9/6/2020
Community funding maps
A new collection of digital maps is to display the funding being given to support communities across Scotland affected by coronavirus (COVID-19).   The online dashboard enables users to view financial support by local authority across four main funds.