Is your business good to go in Scotland?

“We’re Good To Go” is the official UK mark to signal that a tourism and hospitality business has worked hard to follow Government and industry COVID-19 guidelines and has a process in place to maintain cleanliness and aid social distancing.

Apply now to confirm your business has taken the necessary measures and is operating in line with the Government guidelines and Public Health guidance (relating to Scottish businesses) clearly set out in your COVID-19 Risk Assessment.

Upon successful completion of the application, you will be sent a secure link to download your certificate, mark and a toolkit with practical steps for telling your customers that your business is Good to Go.

The application will take approximately 20 minutes to complete and you need to make sure you have read the relevant Government and Public Health guidance for your country before you begin. Please also make sure you have read the Terms & Conditions.

For more information on reopening your business, including links to sector specific guidance, please visit the Business Advice Hub. If you have any further questions, please call 0345 873 8050.

Click here to find out more.

The MoD have started the procurement process for the Site Management and Decommissioning of Vulcan.

Part of this process is holding a Market Engagement Day. Though the MoD are likely to be looking for a Tier 1 supplier for the overall contract, there will be opportunities for the local Tier 2, 3 and 4 supply chain and this Market Engagement Day will allow the supply chain to understand the process for the procurement, timescales and opportunities.

Due to COVID-19 the Market Engagement Day will be a virtual one held on Tuesday 9 June.

The Chamber will be making a short presentation on the day to outline the expertise of the local supply chain. Suppliers will also have access to our nuclear directory which many of you feature in, which includes those directly involved in decommissioning but also other services such as hotel accommodation, supplies, IT, transport, back office support etc, all of which are important and play a part in this size of contract.

Details are still to be finalised for the Market Engagement Day but to register go onto https://www.contracts.mod.uk/ and then:

1. Register for a DCO supplier account which allows UK suppliers to search and access the Vulcan PIN and associated Addendum which is a DCB opportunity (i.e. only open to UK suppliers).
2. Suppliers should register on AWARD via the link below and provide the required information by midnight on 22nd May, as detailed in the PIN Addendum: https://award.bravosolution.co.uk/vcdec/web/project/102/register
3. Any suppliers still experiencing issues should contact the DCO helpdesk on 0800 282 324.
4. The information available to suppliers at this time is included in the PIN, associated Addendum and on the AWARD tool. There are no charges associated with registrations for DCO or AWARD accounts.

Registering means you can get all the information and attend the Market Engagement Day, it doesn’t mean you have to go through the procurement process. Any problems with registration call the helpdesk number above.

A scientist from the University of the Highlands and Islands has been awarded £986,000 to undertake a major new research programme into the peatlands of northern Scotland. Dr Roxane Andersen from the Environmental Research Institute at North Highland College UHI will use the funding to explore how climate change could affect blanket bogs and to assess the effectiveness of restoration efforts.

The research leadership award, provided by the Leverhulme Trust, will enable Dr Andersen to develop a team of nine researchers who will conduct the investigations over a five-year period. They will use cutting-edge technologies and techniques, including satellite remote sensing, to investigate how we can protect and restore blanket bog areas. Peatlands are renowned for their ability to soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, to promote biodiversity and to provide high quality water.

The Thurso-based scientists will benefit from access to the Flow Country, the largest blanket bog in Europe and a region which is under consideration for World Heritage Site status. The project will build on existing collaborations, notably with scientists at the James Hutton Institute, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the University of Nottingham and others who have been leading research in the Flow Country for many years. The project will also support new initiatives across the university’s research centres and foster national and international collaborations, including work with Canadian peatland research groups.

Speaking about the project, Dr Andersen said:

“Peatlands are the Earth’s most efficient terrestrial carbon store. They regulate water and climate and support unique biodiversity. However, their degradation affects the delivery of these key functions. In the UK, the cool, wet climate supports a globally rare peatland type: blanket bogs. Most UK blanket bogs have been degraded by human activities and, left alone, they make a significant contribution to our greenhouse gas emissions from the land use sector. However, unprecedented efforts to restore our blanket bogs are underway, for example through Scottish Natural Heritage’s Peatland Action programme in Scotland.

“Astonishingly, we do not know the extent to which these interventions work or how blanket bogs, restored or otherwise, will cope with the added threat of climate change. I am thrilled to have been chosen by the Leverhulme Trust for this Research Leadership Award. I look forward to working with my team and colleagues to pioneer approaches from molecular to landscape scales to fill some of these gaps in our knowledge and to inform UK and global peatland management strategies.”

The project will focus on three key areas of research. The team will explore how environmental conditions can affect Sphagnum mosses, one of the building blocks of peat in blanket bog. They will continue to develop a method which uses satellite data to measure how the seasonal patterns of swelling and shrinking of bog surface, known as ‘bog breathing’, change in response to climate extremes and restoration activities. They will also work to refine models which predict how blanket bogs may respond to different management approaches in future climate change scenarios.

Emma Goodyer, Manager of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature UK Peatland Programme, said:

“The area covered by near natural peatland worldwide (over three million square kilometres) stores more carbon than all other vegetation types in the world combined. However, drained and damaged peatlands contribute about 10% of greenhouse gas emissions from the land use sector annually, despite covering only 0.4% of the global land surface.

“Scotland has become a global leader in peatland management. The research hub in the Flow Country has been instrumental in delivering programmes of research which tackle some of the most pressing issues for peatland restoration and policy. This significant funding boost will offer the opportunity to understand the resilience of peatland ecosystems in the face of the climate crisis whilst also reversing biodiversity losses.”

For more information about the Environmental Research Institute, visit the Environmental Research Institute website.

The Highland Council’s Your Cash Your Caithness funding event was held in Thurso on Saturday to give Caithness residents the deciding vote on what community initiatives should receive a share of the cash pot.

A total of 25 local organisations battled it out for a share of the cash, with 11 good causes gaining financial support for the innovative ventures.

Every candidate was invited to give a five-minute presentation about their project before being subjected to a public vote to decide the winning campaigns.

John O’Groats Mill Trust were one of the groups who secured £1,000 with the grant being put towards renovating Scotland’s last winter mill near the village into a vibrant community hub and visitor attraction.

Thurso Community Development Trust will spend the money on a bid to create a new community meeting place in the former BB Drill Hall, while North Highland Cancer Information and Support Centre will use the cash to organise new therapy sessions.

Grants of £1,000 were also presented to Caithness Macular Support Group, Thurso Community Cafe and Bower Busy Bees.

No Limits Caithness received a grant of £990, while the Caithness Broch Project walked away with £961, Home Start Caithness obtained £525 and Northern Starts Thurso was given £500.

NORTH MSP Gail Ross has launched a consultation on a proposed bill to address the needs of rural areas.

She is calling for feedback between now and the end of January with the aim of giving remote mainland communities the kind of protection Scotland’s islands already have.

The main chamber of Wick Town Hall was filled with business leaders and other interested parties who came to hear about Mrs Ross’s draft proposal for introducing a member’s bill in the Scottish Parliament called Safeguarding Scotland’s Remote Rural Communities.

Speaking after Monday’s meeting, Mrs Ross said: “This is a consultation and I’m looking to get as much feedback as possible. There’s a specific website people can visit or they can go through the Scottish Parliament website.

“I welcome anyone to email me too. I want to know from people in remote rural areas what they would like to see different and are there things they would like to see change?

“It could be as wide-ranging as from bank closures to bus routes. What we really want is an overview of how remote rural Scotland feels.”

The SNP MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross called this initial process towards creating the bill a “listening exercise”. She added: “I’m here, I’m listening and I want the feedback.”

The proposed legislation would offer protection for mainland communities in a similar way to the 2018 Islands Act. Public bodies would also have to take the impact on remote rural communities into account when making policy under the proposed guidelines.

In her consultation document Mrs Ross highlights the sense of isolation that can be felt within the rural setting and how this can impact upon mental health. She also highlights Highland Council’s corporate plan prediction that the population of Caithness will continue to decline unless work is done to stop it.

The document says: “It has also been stated in the past that large local authorities that cater for some of our most remote communities and also urban areas, such as Highland Council, cannot possibly apply a ‘one size fits all’ approach to their decision-making.

“A policy that fits Inverness may not be suitable in Durness or Applecross. Even within council regions, some policy decisions need to be tailored for a specific area.”

Mrs Ross said that she could not stress enough how important it was for the public to give feedback.

Kirsteen Currie, SNP councillor for north, west and central Sutherland, was at Monday’s meeting in support of Mrs Ross and said: “I think we need as much support for remote and rural communities as possible.

“I’m worried that the main benefits we’ve had from the EU are going to be lost to us in the next few weeks or months. It will have a major impact on our public services and communities.”

Karl Rosie, SNP councillor for Thurso and Northwest Caithness, said the Islands Bill from 2018 had made a huge difference to the communities affected by it and Mrs Ross’s bill will “emulate and replicate” it for the rural population of the far north.

“We have got to act with urgency to support the bill so we can address the challenges ahead,” Councillor Rosie said.

Mrs Ross admits that the process for a member’s bill is “quite long” and she doubts if it will get through at this session of parliament.

She said: “The consultation ends on January 31 [2020] and we’ll collate all these results and make them available to the Scottish Government and anyone who wishes to see them. We will then look at taking forward a draft bill.”

An online survey is available at www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/RemoteRuralCommunities/ and further information can be found at https://remoteruralcommunities.scot/

Gail Ross can also be emailed at gail.ross.msp@parliament.scot

Source – John O’Groat Journal

Commenting on the announcement that the UK and EU negotiators have come to an agreement, Dr Liz Cameron OBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC), said:

“On the surface this is good news but the devil is in the detail. The huge effort by UK and EU negotiators to get us this far is appreciated. But until we see what the deal means for businesses on the ground, many are reserving judgement.

“We need to see what this new deal entails for businesses in Scotland that trade with companies in Europe and Northern Ireland, and businesses that employ EU nationals.

“Frankly, the announcement that a deal has been reached gives a slight feeling of ‘déjà vu’. We have been here before. Let’s not forget, this is not the end of the Brexit process, it is the beginning of the end of the first chapter. But that is only if the deal can secure parliamentary support.

“We wait with bated breath for a sensible solution to the Brexit conundrum.”

A sports hall in Easterhouse, a disused mill in John O’Groats, an area of amenity land in Strathpeffer and a stretch of foreshore on the Isle of Skye will soon be in the hands of local people as four community groups receive financial support from the Scottish Land Fund.

Announcement of the grants was made by Minister, Cabinet Secretary for Land Reform, Roseanna Cunningham.

The largest of the latest round of grants announced today was made to John O’Groats Mill Trust, which has received £348,064 to acquire the B-listed, disused John O’Groats Mill along with 9.5 acres of land and two self-catering holiday cottages. The Trust intends to restore the Mill to its former working condition and develop it as a visitor attraction and a social and heritage centre, creating a number of employment, volunteering, training, and skills development opportunities.

Rognvald Brown, John O’ Groats Mill Trust, said: “Thanks to this award from the Scottish Land Fund our community can begin to benefit from this iconic facility in our midst and make it a social, educational, cultural and heritage hub. We realise there are still many steps and lots of hard work on the way to achieving all our goals, but with this vote of confidence comes a tremendous sense of empowerment.”

Connect Community Trust in the Wellhouse area of Easterhouse, Glasgow has received £114,732 to purchase the HubSports building, which they have been leasing from Glasgow City Council for more than a decade.

THE plan to build the UK’s first vertical launch spaceport in the far north is “a fantastic confidence boost” for the area and could be a catalyst for other developments, local trade unionists have been told.

June Love, of Space Hub Sutherland, also suggested the project could benefit the tourism industry when she gave an update at a meeting of Thurso and Wick Trade Union Council.

She said the spaceport at Moine, between Tongue and Durness, is the only one to receive grant funding for a vertical launch site. It is expected to create 40 local jobs with a further 400 in the wider region.

The aim is to have small commercial and research satellites in sub-orbital flight by the early 2020s.

The UK Space Agency gave £2.5 million towards the cost of the £17.5 million project, which also involves companies such as Lockheed Martin and Orbex. Highlands and Islands Enterprise has given £9.8 million to the project.

Ms Love said the spaceport could provide other potential opportunities for the area. “It brings inward investment potential and is a fantastic confidence boost for the area.

“It could attract other things here and help the tourist industry as people would want to come and see the site,” she told Thursday night’s meeting.

She said the area has the highly skilled workforce and the facilities required for such an initiative which will help sustain the reputation of the north Highlands as a centre for science and technology. It will also help diversify the local economy as jobs are lost at the Dounreay nuclear plant while it is being decommissioned.

It is expected a planning application will be submitted by late 2019. Construction is scheduled to begin in spring of next year and take 12 months to complete, with the first launch due in the early 2020s. Architects have been appointed to design the spaceport.

Ms Love said the spacecraft will be about 17 metres high and weigh less than 20 tons. The journey into space will take between 15 and 20 minutes.

She said initial launches will use international staff but local staff will be required over time. Other launch companies are taking an interest in the project.

Ms Love pointed out that discussions have taken place with the Melness Crofters Estate on leasing land and said North Highland College (UHI) in Thurso could be involved in training and other aspects of the project such as research and development.

Trades council chairman Davie Alexander said: “This is a very positive step and can only be a good thing for the area.”

Lockheed Martin is an American aerospace giant which employs 100,000 people worldwide, while Orbital Express (Orbex) is a UK-based space flight company developing a new orbital micro-launch vehicle.

It is expected six small rockets a year will be launched from the Sutherland site.

Source – John O’Groat Journal

The first Norwegian style learning centre in the UK will be officially opened in Thurso today (Monday March 25).

Newton Rooms are designed to inspire more young people to become interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and encourage them to study these subjects in school and beyond.

The centre at North Highland College UHI in Thurso is the first of a network of Newton Rooms being created in the Highland region by the Science Skills Academy, a partnership project led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) with £3m from the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal.

It will provide an inspirational setting for school pupils to take part in practical activities which complement the STEM sectors found in the region. It also provides an accessible base for extracurricular STEM activities not only for young people but also their families and others in the local community as well as across the region.

Although initially focused on the Highland region, due to City-Region Deal funding, the programme will seek to spread its activity across all areas in the Highlands and Islands region.

Other organisations behind the initiative include Skills Development Scotland, the University of the Highlands and Islands, The Highland Council and NHS Highland.

International specialist firm FIRST Scandinavia, the company that developed and owns the Newton concept, was appointed by HIE last year to create Scotland’s first Newton room in Thurso.

Scotland’s second Newton Room in Lochaber will be opened on the 2nd April and, in the interim period, will be hosted at Caol Youth Centre. It is intended that it will later be part of the new Centre for Science and Technology in Fort William which is being planned by West Highland College UHI.

Organisations behind the project are developing Newton Modules to match STEM sectors in the Highlands and Islands, which will complement the Scottish Government’s Curriculum for Excellence and Scottish STEM Strategy.

Andrew Johnston, HIE’s director for the Science Skills Academy, said: “It’s great to see the first Newton Room in the country officially opened in Thurso. Caithness has been at the forefront of scientific and technological advances in Scotland for more than 60 years and this facility will help it stay there. The centre will aim to inspire young people across the whole of Caithness and North Sutherland who are interested in STEM subjects.

Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science, Richard Lochhead

said: “The Newton Rooms project offers pupils and the community a wonderful opportunity to discover and become enthused by STEM.

“This is the first facility of its kind to open in the UK, supported by the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal, and reflects Scotland’s position as a pioneer in STEM. It is important that we engage and involve people from all walks of life and at all ages to develop STEM skills and knowledge in our rapidly changing world, to enrich their lives and benefit the Scottish economy.

“I would like to thank the staff of North Highland College and their partners for their work inspiring children and young people and providing new and creative opportunities to make STEM education stimulating, attractive and rewarding.”

Donald MacBeath, principal of North Highland College UHI, said: “I’m delighted that the main campus of North Highland College UHI will be hosting the country’s first Newton Room. I believe it will become the focal point for innovative and industry-focussed STEM learning for the area’s young people. Being located in a college environment with a significant STEM research portfolio will only further add value to the overall Newton Room experience”