ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº

Issued by NHS Highland   Members of the public across Highland, ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº are being urged to remain cautious and continue to be vigilant for symptoms of COVID-19 as new confirmed cases for this week are close to hitting 600; 193 of these confirmed on Thursday.   The cases are widespread across all of the NHS Highland area. Fort William, Oban and the Isle of Bute are seeing particularly high rates. There is no single situation driving the numbers up, sustained community transmission explains the increase in cases.  

Giving young people the best educational start in life will be on the agenda when the Community Services Committee meets next week. A proposed learning estate strategy will be considered, covering everything from outdoor learning, school rolls, and the condition of schools, to community involvement, national education priorities, and local ambitions for young people in ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº. The strategy also sets out future aims and priorities. These include:

ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº Council has listened to feedback from parents and pupils, and created a tasty new school menu that takes their views into account. The Scottish Government introduced new guidelines for school meals in April and, following feedback from parents and pupils, council officers have worked hard to create a delicious menu that will appeal to pupils, while also meeting the guidance.

Hobbit houses, campfires and water walls are just some of the fun outdoor learning activities that children will get to experience as a result of ÄÛ²ÝӰԺ’s new Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) settings and the ongoing expansion of an existing unit on Mull. Willowview in Oban and Silverbirch in Dunoon, both run by ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº Council, welcomed their first children this week, while MAKI Pups in Lochgilphead, run by the Argyll and The isles Coast and Countryside Trust, has been fully operational for nine months now.

Public, private and third sector organisations with ten or more employees (which can include formal volunteers) can now sign up for asymptomatic workplace testing.

Plans are progressing for local events that will support the aims of the global climate change conference planned in Glasgow later this year. Included is an event in Helensburgh that will raise the question – what do we need to do to make ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº the UK’s first net zero region?

ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº Council has given the green light for a new native woodland in Lochgilphead, as part of its work to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2045. The scheme will see woodland planted across 60 hectares of council-owned land, located mostly around Kilmory. It will be delivered through a partnership between the council and Argyll and the Isles Coast and Countryside Trust (ACT).

Local businesses are being encouraged to find out how a new gift card scheme, approved by ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº Council today, could help them. The aim of the ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº Loves Local Gift Card initiative is to encourage local shopping, drive footfall to community businesses and keep spend local in the local area for longer. The cards are suitable for small independent and national retailers with no costs to individual businesses. They can be used for face-to-face transactions, and online where a business has a ‘bricks and mortar’ presence in ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº.

ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº Council has approved funding for five new community projects via the Scottish Government’s Place Based Investment Programme (PBIP). Over the next year, £561,000 will go to support a range of local projects across ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº:

Local businesses affected by the covid pandemic can soon apply for covid-recovery grants from a fund of more than £500,000. The council, at its meeting today of the Policy and Resources Committee, approved the launch of the Covid Hardship Fund, to support businesses facing financial difficulties due to the pandemic. Three levels of grant award will be available: ·         £2,000 for businesses with no employees