As a Chamber, we have long argued that the North Highlands is an area within Scotland which faces its own unique set of challenges and opportunities, and that centrally set policies are often not appropriate to the unique needs of our communities and the businesses within them.
While it is the case that there are many things which unite businesses across Scotland, it’s also clear to us that businesses within the North Highlands have their own set of needs which need to be addressed. From transport and infrastructure to funding and talent attraction, there is much to set the needs of businesses in the region apart from those in the Central Belt.
That’s why we were pleased to support Gail Ross MSP’s recently announced consultation on a Remote Rural Communities Bill, which looks to recognise and build on the good work done by the Islands Bill.
The Islands Bill, which ensures that all public sector policies are “island-proofed” and have assessments of the impacts on island communities has had a real impact in ensuring that the needs of those communities are considered by government agencies. We believe that the Remote Rural Communities Bill is a strong step in the right direction when it comes to ensuring that similar consideration is given impact of policymaking on remote and rural communities.
Like our counterparts on the islands, businesses based in remote and rural communities like the North Highlands need recognition from government bodies that the policies they set have the potential to negatively affect us in ways which are simply not the case for businesses based in denser, urban areas.
The Workplace Parking Levy, for example, is a good example of a policy designed to address concerns unique to high-density urban environments. Within cities and larger towns, which often have strong public transport links and opportunities for active travel, there may be an argument to be made for such a levy to help disincentivise use of private transport and move commuters to more environmentally-friendly alternatives.
However, in a community like the North Highlands where commuters face significant distances between home and workplace and limited public transport options, it is hard to see how such a levy could be considered appropriate.
Similar concerns can be raised with the Scottish Government’s proposal to allow Councils to charge a levy on visitors to the area. Here again we feel it is important to recognise that the challenges raised by high levels of tourism faced in cities are very different to those in the North Highlands, and that a policy designed with cities in mind may simply not be appropriate for this area.
We believe it is important that individuals and businesses across the North Highlands make their voices heard on these issues and contribute to the consultation. We encourage everyone across the region to visit remoteruralcommunities.scot today to make their voices heard.
The introduction of a tourist tax could lead to lucrative cruise liner traffic by-passing the Highlands, and even the whole of Scotland, four leading business organisations have warned.
In a joint submission to the Scottish Government’s consultation on a Transient Visitor Levy (TVL), the chambers of commerce for Inverness, Caithness and Lochaber, plus the Cairngorms Business Partnership, raise their concerns on behalf of 1,220 business members in the Highlands.
The three chambers of commerce chief executives – Stewart Nicol (Inverness), Trudy Morris (Caithness) and Frazer Coupland (Lochaber) – have previously outlined strong opposition to the levy in a submission to Highland Council.
Mark Tate, chief executive of the Cairngorms Business Partnership, has also now added his voice to the campaign against local authorities being given powers to introduce the levy if they consider it right in their local circumstances.
Highland Council says a TVL is one option it is considering as a way of raising income to manage the impact of tourism and help it invest in the industry. It estimates a Highland Transient Visitor Levy could generate £5–£10 million each year.
In their submission, the four groups say they are concerned the Highland destinations for cruise liners in Scotland, the Port of Cromarty Firth and Scrabster, will be significantly affected if a TVL is applied to visiting cruise line passengers.
“We believe there is a strong possibility that, in these circumstances, the operators will simply and immediately move to a different destination as has been the experience in Amsterdam.
“As well as our region being damaged by cruise liners moving to other Scottish ports, there is always the possibility that they would decide not to visit any port in Scotland at all.”
The chief executives also argue that the addition of VAT to any tourism levy will impose an additional administrative burden on all non-VAT registered businesses, many of them small, rural B&Bs which are an important and iconic element of Highland tourism. They point out this extra layer of tax would also be collected and retained by Westminster and be of no benefit to Scotland’s local authorities.
In addition, they have ‘fundamental concerns’ about ‘messaging’, as the addition of a TVL in one part of the country would give a clear statement that it is more expensive than others to visit.
“Your proposal to allow each local authority to decide what is appropriate for their region, rather than a uniform regime across the whole of Scotland, will further exacerbate the situation. We believe that, in addition to influencing where visitors will choose to stay, such an additional layer of complexity to local taxation could deter inward investment to the sector.
“Further, many tourism businesses and accommodation providers operate across local authority boundaries. As such, they face having to deal with differing tax regimes in each of their locations which will impact significantly on efficiency through an increased bureaucratic burden and lost opportunity to benefit from economies of scale.”
The submission recognises the vital importance of tourism to the Highland economy and acknowledges the challenge The Highland Council faces in responding to the infrastructure and service challenges.
However, the four groups say they remain strongly opposed to a TVL as a mechanism to address these challenges across Scotland.
They say the tourism sector is already facing unprecedented challenges with recruitment and retaining of skilled staff, a situation critically exacerbated by the prolonged and damaging uncertainty around Brexit.
“The sector has been under significant cost pressure in recent years, particularly around business rates. Regardless of how the levy is framed, this would act as a further unwelcome tax on this hard-pressed sector.”
The chambers’ submission also raises concerns that a levy collected on overnight stays would exclude day visitors and camper van users from contributing towards infrastructure and service challenges.
Inverness Chamber chief executive Stewart Nicol said: “The four groups who have signed this submission all have a strong representation from the tourism sector within their memberships.
“We recognise the importance of the tourism sector to Scotland and our region’s economy. Indeed, we would argue that the Highlands plays a significant role in ensuring Scotland is one of the top tourism destinations in a global context.
“That is why we feel this levy would be wrong for our members and our visitors as it would send out a very negative message.”
Developing the Young Workforce North Highland (DYWNH) in partnership with Dounreay and North Highland College UHI recently delivered another 3-day Step Into Stem event for S2 pupils in both Caithness & Sutherland.
This event reached out to around 390 pupils from seven schools promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths through interactive and dynamic activities showcasing the diverse range of career opportunities that STEM subjects can lead to. It offered local employers and our armed forces the opportunity to engage with our young people, inspiring our future workforce and encouraging them continue studying STEM subjects.
The events were held in Wick and Golspie High Schools, and at North Highland College UHI in Thurso, with feedback received from all the attending schools being overwhelmingly positive.
The range of activities offered included Sensory Evaluation (food and beverage science), Lego Education WeDo 2.0, K’Nex Bridge Building and electronic workshops, Virtual Reality – experience being on top a chimney platform and then dismantling a tall chimney stack using virtual reality equipment, Chemistry Molecule Modelling, Fermentation, Cheek Cell DNA Extraction, Occulus Dreamdeck and Coding, Cyber Security, Smartmax Superstructure rebuilding bridges and towers, Architectural Modelling, Roof Construction, Virtual Welding, 3D printing & Design, Soil Sampling and PH. The Armed Forces offered activities in Frontline Science, Communications Tower, Sphero Coding, Pneumatic Circuits and Submarine 3D walkthrough.
Marcus Mennie, Project Coordinator for DYWNH, said:
“Following the success of the pilot project in March we were pleased to be able to offer an even bigger event and open it up to more schools. S2 is an important age for pupils to see the vast careers that they can do by studying STEM subjects – it’s an important step in their career development planning especially when it comes to the time for them to make their future subject choices for S3.
“I thank North Highland College UHI and Dounreay for working in partnership with us to coordinate the events, the schools for being so supportive and all the employers that committed three days of their valuable time to deliver excellent interactive activities. It was really encouraging to observe the pupils enthusiastically engaging in activities throughout the day and enjoying the experience – making learning both interesting and fun.”
See an online copy of the latest Executive Magazine which is published monthly. The November edition includes our quarterly newsletter which is bursting at the seems with information from our members.
We submit information from members for inclusion within the magazine on a first come, first served basis. Members can submit to us, a short editorial piece and one print quality image for free of charge inclusion on a quarterly basis. This opportunity is usually very popular so if you’ve got something you’d like to circulate, please just get in touch.
In Trudy’s latest Leader column, she welcomes an opportunity to help shape a proposed Rural Communities Bill.
With the focus over the past few years so prominently on nationwide political issues – most notably the ongoing Brexit process – it can be easy for policymakers to forget that Scotland’s communities and the businesses within them have their own unique set of needs.
While there are many things which unite businesses across Scotland, it’s also clear that businesses in remote and rural areas like the North Highlands face their own unique set of challenges and opportunities. Whether that’s with regards to transport, infrastructure, securing investment or simply attracting the right talent, there are many things which set businesses in the North Highlands aside from those in the Central Belt.
That’s why we as a Chamber were pleased to see and support Gail Ross MSP’s recent announcement of a consultation on a Remote Rural Communities Bill which aims to recognise and build on the good work done by the Islands Bill.
The Islands Bill contains a number of provisions to ensure that all policies set by government agencies are “island-proofed”, and that an assessment of the likely impacts on island communities is carried out before policies are put in place.
Like our counterparts on the Islands, those of us living and working in remote and rural communities need recognition from central government, local authorities, and government agencies alike that we face a unique set of challenges and opportunities, and that policies designed with the Central Belt in mind have the potential to negatively affect us.
A good example of this would be the recent Workplace Parking Levy, which appears to be designed very much with high-density urban environments in mind. Within cities, which often have strong public transport links and offer greater opportunities for active travel, it may be easy to argue that such a levy will help to disincentivise use of private transport and move commuters towards lower-carbon alternatives.
Within the Highlands itself, it may even be reasonable to make a similar argument for the Inverness commuter area. However, in a community like the North Highlands, where public transport links can be sporadic and commuters may travel significant distances to and from work, it is hard to see how such a levy would be an appropriate solution.
Transport is the most obvious way in which remote and rural communities can suffer as a result of centralised policymaking, but there are many other areas where our unique needs ought to be considered. The Chamber has recently raised concerns regarding the Highland Council’s proposed Transient Visitor Levy, noting the very different concerns facing tourism businesses in the North Highlands compared to those elsewhere in Scotland.
It’s important that businesses and individuals across the North Highlands contribute to the consultation on the proposed bill, as this will help shape it and ensure it is built in a way which meets the needs of those living and working in the area. We would encourage everyone across the region to make their voice heard by completing the survey.
See an online copy of the latest Executive Magazine which is published monthly. The October edition includes a double page spread on the Chamber annual dinner from page 60.
We submit information from members for inclusion within the magazine on a first come, first served basis. Members can submit to us, a short editorial piece and one print quality image for free of charge inclusion on a quarterly basis. This opportunity is usually very popular so if you’ve got something you’d like to circulate, please just get in touch.
The three chambers of commerce in the Highlands have joined forces to strongly oppose the introduction of a tourist tax in the region, arguing it would be an unwelcome additional levy on the hard-pressed industry. Inverness, Caithness and Lochaber chambers, which together represent 820 companies, outline their stance in a submission to Highland Council’s consultation on the issue that ends on Sunday (20 October). The letter, signed by the chambers’ chief executives Stewart Nicol (Inverness), Trudy Morris (Caithness) and Frazer Coupland (Lochaber), will also be passed to the Scottish Government which is taking submissions on the topic until 2 December.
The Government has committed to consult on, and introduce, legislation to give councils the power to apply the tax, also known as a Transient Visitor Levy. This will enable local authorities to introduce the levy if they consider it right in their local circumstances. Highland Council says the levy is one option it is considering as a way of raising income to manage the impact of tourism and help it invest in the industry. It estimates a Highland Transient Visitor Levy could generate £5–£10 million each year.
In their submission, the chambers recognise the vital importance of tourism to the Highland economy and the significant role the region plays in ensuring Scotland is one of the top tourism destinations in the world. They say they appreciate the difficulty The Highland Council faces in responding to the infrastructure and service challenges and are committed to working in partnership with the local authority to respond to the situation. However, they reject the implementation of a ‘tourist tax’ as a mechanism to address the issue.
The submission says: “You will be aware that the tourism sector is already facing unprecedented challenges with recruitment and retaining of skilled staff. This has been a real challenge for many years and has been critically exacerbated by the prolonged and damaging uncertainty around Brexit.
“The sector has been under significant cost pressure in recent years, particularly around business rates. Regardless of how the levy is framed, this would act as a further unwelcome tax on this hard-pressed sector.”
The chief executives state that one of their fundamental concerns is that the levy will give out the wrong message to visitors. “The addition of a tourism levy, no matter how nominal, to the cost of each person visiting the Highland Region will make a clear statement that this part of Scotland is more expensive to visit than elsewhere in the country.” It is also argued that business visitors will be liable to any additional daily charge, which would inevitably add to the cost of doing business in the Highlands.
“Again, the message that this sends out to potential investors in our region is negative and potentially damaging to our longer-term economic wellbeing.”
The chambers’ submission also raises concerns that a levy collected on overnight stays would exclude day visitors from contributing towards infrastructure and service challenges, as well as how funds from the tax would be distributed across the region. “Each of our chamber territories has differing mixes of tourism offerings and infrastructure or service challenges and we have a concern that revenues raised in one area would either be insufficient to meet local needs or be used elsewhere to fund projects which are deemed more pressing.”
Inverness Chamber chief executive Stewart Nicol said: “The three chambers are united in our opposition to this tax. Many of our members operate in the tourism sector and we feel it will be a further burden on visitors and discourage people from coming here. It is the wrong mechanism to tackle the industry’s challenges and would send out a very negative message that the Highlands could be an increasingly expensive place to visit and to do business.”
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The success of businesses in the North Highlands was recognised last week at Caithness Chamber of Commerce’s twelfth Annual General Meeting, held at Mackays Hotel in Wick.
Around 40 attendees from across the business community were in attendance and were updated on the year’s activities by the Chamber’s Chief Executive, Trudy Morris, and Chair, Stephen Sutherland. Attendees heard about the continued growth of the Chamber’s membership, of the success of initiatives such as Developing the Young Workforce, and of the Chamber’s plans for the coming year.
The event also offered an opportunity to bid farewell to Bill Baxter of Imenco, who has stepped down as Vice-Chair of the Chamber in light of his impending retirement. Stephen Sutherland thanked Bill for his tireless work on behalf of the Chamber over the years and wished him all the best for the future.
With Bill leaving, the post of Vice-Chair was appointed to Louise Sinclair of Sinclair Bay Subsea. Louise has been an active member of the Chamber Board since joining in 2017 and in her role as Vice-Chair will help the Board set strategic objectives for the Chamber in the coming years.
The final item of business at the AGM was the launch of the Chamber’s new website, which is now online at caithnesschamber.com. This complete revamp brings the Chamber’s digital presence fully in line with modern standards and provides additional opportunities for the Chamber to promote its members and the North Highlands as a whole.
Following the AGM were the Developing the Young Workforce North Highland Awards, recognising the achievements of businesses and young people across the region over the past year. This year saw awards being given to three apprentices and two companies.
Emma Gunn, a fourth-year apprentice with Nuvia, was recognised not only for her excellent work with the company – including an instrumental role in winning work as part of a competitive tender exercise – but for her tireless efforts as a local STEM ambassador, which included organising and promoting a “Discover Engineering” event in partnership with North Highland College UHI and local engineering companies.
Rachel Miller, who is undertaking a two-year apprenticeship with Identity Hair Salon in Golspie, was also recognised for her hard work and rapid advancement. In addition to her duties within the salon and her work towards her NVQ Level 2 Hairdressing, she has already achieved an advanced qualification in Future Foundation Cutting at the nationally renowned Toni & Guy Academy.
The final apprenticeship award went to Emma Gunn, a fourth-year Engineering Design Apprentice with Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd. Over the course of her four years Emma has completed an HND in Engineering Systems and is working towards a BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. She is an active STEM ambassador and has attended numerous events across the UK to represent Dounreay.
Nuvia Ltd were the first employer recognised at the event, having recently won the Developing the Young Workforce Award at the Highland Business Awards 2019. The judges were particularly impressed with their induction programme, which not only recognises and accounts for the often difficult change from an educational environment to a work one, but which actively involves the apprentices’ families in the process.
Also recognised were Skibo Ltd, in light of their dedicated work to develop young people from across the North of Scotland and their active involvement with local schools, including their Executive Chef’s “adoption” of Dornoch Primary School as part of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts’ “Adopt a School” programme.
Following the AGM and the awards, the night was rounded off with a delicious buffet courtesy of Mackays Hotel and a range of team building activities.
Caithness Chamber of Commerce celebrated a successful year for business, and the entrepreneurial spirit in the area, at its 47th annual dinner held at Wick’s Norseman Hotel on Friday 6th September 2019. Among the highlights of this year’s event – attended by more than 200 businesses – were the awards for young businesses and entrepreneur, with a strong field of applicants resulting in three awards being made.
After a welcome from the chamber’s chairman, Stephen Sutherland, and an opening speech from Chamber patron Viscount Thurso, guests were treated to a speech from Peter Lederer, CBE. He has held many high-level posts over the years, with a total of 31 years as managing director and chairman of Gleneagles Hotels, and is currently chairman of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Later in the evening, Graham Cole, OBE, better known to most as PC Tony Stamp from The Bill, regaled guests with anecdotes about his life and experiences as an entertainer and gave some examples of his charitable work with organisations such as Childline and PTSD999.
The Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 award, sponsored by Saffery Champness, was presented to Iona McLachlan of North Coast Watersports. Started up earlier this year with her partner Finn MacDonald, the company has already proven to be a great success and Iona and Finn have ambitious plans to expand it as an outdoor activity retreat. This was followed by the Young Business of the Year 2019, for which two awards were made in recognition of the number and strength of the applications received. A highly commended award was made to Dr Keith Nicholson of Cyber Security Scotland, while the overall winner of the Young Business of the Year was Norse Stone. Managing director Michael Ronaldson embarked on the Norse Stone journey just four years ago inside a storage container with a single saw to make his first products. Since then, the business has grown tremendously, now employing a team of 11. Norse Stone prides itself on using traditional materials to create a versatile product range using contemporary and innovative processes.
Chamber chairman Stephen Sutherland said: “The board were faced with a near-impossible task this year to select winners from such a strong field of applicants, particularly with regard to the Young Business of the Year. It is fantastic to see so much entrepreneurial spirit and activity happening, despite the political uncertainty over the past few years, and it goes to show that businesses here in the north Highlands have a real drive and ‘can-do’ attitude.
“Both North Coast Watersports and Norse Stone stood out as businesses with great potential, and with the final decision so difficult to make it was felt that Cyber Security Scotland should be recognised as well as a very strong entrant. We were very impressed with the quality of applications this year and would strongly encourage those that weren’t winners this time around to think about applying for next year’s awards.”
Chamber chief executive Trudy Morris said: “This year has once again proved the resilience of the business community of the north Highlands in the face of continuing political and economic uncertainty, but has also shown us how much we have to celebrate.
“We’ve seen projects such as the Beatrice offshore wind farm come fully online, new investment announced in infrastructure at Scrabster harbour, plans progressing for the vertical launch site in Sutherland, and exciting new opportunities such as the planned DeepWind cluster in the North Sea.
“Our annual dinner has always been an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the business community of the north Highlands and this year has proven no different. We look forward to seeing what our award winners achieve over the coming year and hope to have much more to celebrate in 2020.”