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Stòras Uibhist move to base Scottish Land Commission on South Uist

July 20, 2016

Untitled-1

Stòras Uibhist is corresponding with the Scottish Government with a view to basing the soon to be established Scottish Land Commission on South Uist.

Through the Land Reform (Scotland) Act (2016) passed in March this year, among several land management measures, a new register of people in control of land in Scotland will be created.

It is expected the Scottish Land Commission – also to be established through the Land Reform (Scotland) Act (2016) – will lead to the creation of a significant number of positions of employment.

Stòras Uibhist is setting out to the Scottish Government that not only do the islands provide an ideal setting for such a high profile organisation, but that South Uist Estate lies at the heart of community land ownership in Scotland. It says it can offer flexibility around location that will not be matched elsewhere, and has the infrastructure to support nationally important organisations.

Angus MacMillan – Chair of Stòras Uibhist – said: “A unique opportunity exists to locate the Scottish Land Commission on South Uist and we urge the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform (Roseanna Cunningham MSP) to give full consideration to the mutual benefits that could be achieved by locating within the South Uist area.”

Stòras Uibhist says it is looking forward to hosting Roseanna Cunningham MSP on South Uist, so that she can see first-hand what the estate has to offer.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Land Reform, Scottish Government, Scottish Land Commission, Stòras Uibhist

Allan delighted as CalMac wins ferries contract

May 19, 2016

calmacwinstender

Alasdair Allan MSP has warmly welcomed the announcement that Calmac  has been awarded preferred bidder status for the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract.

The next contract will run from 1st October 2016 for a duration of up to eight years. The Scottish Government will provide £900 million of support to these lifeline services and continue the application of Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) across the network.

Alasdair Allan commented: “I am absolutely delighted that CalMac has been awarded preferred bidder status for the contract to serve these islands. The clear preference of island communities was for Calmac to retain the contract and that is something I and many others conveyed to the government.

“While none of us would have volunteered for this process to happen, it was vital that the Scottish Government complied with the law in order to safeguard the recover levels of investment that have been put into our ferry services.

“It is encouraging to see that a company with such a long record if serving the islands as CalMac has been able to make a robust bid and that the services will remain under public control.

“I believe the new contract will lead to further improvements in the ferry services that are so crucial to the economy and quality of life on these islands and I look forward to working with CalMac in the months and years ahead.”

Filed Under: News, Transport Tagged With: CalMac, Ferries, Scottish Government

Stòras Uibhist comments on Transport Minister visit arrangements

April 22, 2015

storasuibhistlogo

Stòras Uibhist has issued a statement commenting on arrangements for a meeting with Transport Minister, Derek MacKay, who visited Uist last week.

Cllr Ronnie MacKinnon last week labelled Mr MacKay’s visit a “party political stunt”.  Cllr MacKinnon was particularly critical of a meeting regarding ferry services to South Uist – held in the offices of Stòras Uibhist – and to which he was not invited.

Stòras Uibhist has commented:

“On Wednesday April 15th, representatives of the Lochboisdale Ferry User Group (Fr Donald McKay, Angus MacMillan and Calum MacAulay), Comhairle nan Eilean Siar officials and officers and Stòras Uibhist directors and staff firmly and robustly presented the case for improved ferry service provision for the community of South Uist to the Transport Minister, Derek McKay.

“Stòras Uibhist had asked the minister directly for the meeting, and Alasdair Allan’s office had also supported that meeting request.

“The Lochboisdale Ferry User Group was invited to the meeting by Stòras Uibhist, and the Ferry User Group determined which of their representatives attended.

“In advance of the meeting Stòras Uibhist was advised by Transport Scotland only that Derek MacKay, Alasdair Allan MSP and Graham Laidlaw of Transport Scotland would be attending, along with the PPS of Derek MacKay and the constituency office staff member for Alasdair Allan. No further attendees were identified to Stòras Uibhist in advance of the meeting by Transport Scotland.

“Stòras Uibhist will continue to work with all parties to secure improved ferry service provision from Lochboisdale and it is extremely disappointing that attention is being distracted away from the hard work of Stòras Uibhist staff members and volunteer directors, who have campaigned long and hard for improved ferry services from Lochboisdale and hopes that all parties will work together positively in future to deliver this aspiration for the community.”

Filed Under: News, Transport Tagged With: Derek MacKay, Ferry services, Scottish Government, Stòras Uibhist, Transport Minister, Transport Scotland

£53,286 to boost youth employment in the Western Isles

March 3, 2015

You are Hired

Comhairle Eilean Siar will receive £53,286 from the Scottish Government to help support young people towards a job.

The funding has been put in place to support the implementation of the recommendations from the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce which outlined a new blueprint for work-based training last year.

The funding, part of £6.5 million investment for all Scotland’s local authorities, will go towards developing vocational and employment pathways for young people, strengthening links between schools and employers and helping vulnerable groups become work ready.

Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work, Skills and Training, Roseanna Cunningham, said: “The latest trends on youth employment have been hugely encouraging but there is no room for complacency. The Scottish Government is committed to supporting more young women and men into jobs and published a new youth employment strategy in December.

“At the heart of our strategy is the report by the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce. We will continue to work closely with our partners in local government and Scotland’s business community on its implementation as part of a seven year plan to create a new world-class system of work-based training that will work for both the economy and the job prospects of our young people.

“I am very pleased to be able to confirm funding for the Western Isles that will give the local authority additional resource to tailor activity to local need to give young people in the area the best possible chance of success.”

Filed Under: Local Government, News Tagged With: Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Funding, Scottish Government, Youth Employment

£260,000 funding boost for NHS Western Isles

January 12, 2015

NHS Western Isles will receive an extra £260,000 from the Scottish Government.

NHS Western Isles will receive an extra £260,000 from the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government has today confirmed NHS Western Isles is to receive an extra £260,000 of funding in 2015/16.

The money is part of the additional £65m for health boards announced by the Health Secretary, Shona Robison, yesterday.

NHS Western Isles will receive an additional £260,000 specifically to address pressures such as the rising cost of new drugs.

The additional £65 million announced by the Cabinet Secretary yesterday will see Territorial Boards receive an average uplift of 3.4 per cent in the next financial year, and will bring all NHS territorial boards to within one per cent of parity under the NHS NRAC funding formula a year earlier than planned, and help boards meet the cost of expensive new drugs.

The NRAC formula was introduced in 2009/10 and the Scottish Government’s policy has been to phase in changes to NHS boards’ funding gradually, with a view to bringing all boards to within 1 per cent of NRAC parity by 2016/17.

The announcement of additional funding brings the total uplift for NHS Western Isles for next year to £1.5m.

Ms Robison said: “Despite Scotland’s fiscal resource budget being slashed in real terms by 10 per cent by Westminster since 2010, we’ve increased the health resource budget by 4.6 per cent in real terms.

“Our NHS services face challenges as a result of the increase in patients, with more complex illnesses, and the rising costs of expensive new drugs.

“This additional investment of £1.5m increases the resources available to NHS Western Isles and will help alleviate these pressures, ensuring our NHS can continue to deliver effective and sustainable care to patients in the area.”

Filed Under: Health, News Tagged With: Funding boost, NHS Western Isles, Scottish Government

Consultation on Croft House Grant Scheme

January 6, 2015

croft

A consultation has been launched on the Scottish Government’s Croft House Grant Scheme (CHGS).

The scheme provides financial assistance for the improvement and maintenance of crofter housing with the aim of attracting and retaining people in remote areas of the Highlands and Islands.

For the next 12 weeks, the Scottish Government is formally seeking views on the future shape of the scheme and its payment rates.

Crofting Minister Dr Aileen McLeod said: “Crofting is vital to communities, the economy and the environment in Scotland’s remote and fragile areas, and generated an estimated revenue of almost £86 million last year.

“By law, crofters have to live on or close to their croft which can present challenges in terms of availability and quality of suitable housing.

“We know those are major factors in rural depopulation and so by offering financial assistance for constructing and upgrading residential properties, the Croft House Grant Scheme is helping to attract and retain people in our remote, rural and island communities.

“The CHGS launched 10 years ago and although building costs have gone up, the assistance rates we are able to contribute have not. While I am sympathetic to the case for increasing the size of grants on offer I need evidence to make a decision that will benefit our remote and rural communities.

“That is why it is so important for as many people as possible to respond to this consultation.”

Filed Under: Crofting, News Tagged With: Croft House Grant Scheme, Crofting, Scottish Government

Cash boost for Tagsa Uibhist dial-a-bus service

November 19, 2014

Tagsa Uibhist's dial-a-bus service will benefit from new funding.

Tagsa Uibhist’s dial-a-bus service will benefit from new funding.

Transport Minister Keith Brown today announced over £3 million worth of funding to be allocated to bus projects across Scotland over the next two years.

Tagsa Uibhist will receive more than £73,000 to extend and improve its dial-a-bus service.

Thirteen projects in total – including interchange hubs and community transport – will receive grants under the second round of Transport Scotland’s Bus Investment Fund (BIF).

The BIF encourages partnership working to help improve bus services, standards and infrastructure for communities across Scotland.

Transport Minister Keith Brown said:“I was delighted by the level of interest shown in this year’s Bus Investment Fund and would like to congratulate all the successful applicants who have secured substantial funding.“This fund supports community groups, authorities and operators across the country, helping to improve the standard of bus services, increasing patronage thereby achieving greater modal shift.

“The Scottish Government is committed to improving bus services in Scotland and that is why we have provided a further round of funding under the Bus Investment Fund.”

Filed Under: News, Transport Tagged With: Dial-a-bus, Scottish Government, Tagsa Uibhist, transport

‘No complacency’ message after two mild winters

October 21, 2014

It's time to get ready for winter...

It’s time to get ready for winter…

Two consecutive relatively mild winters appear to have made people in Scotland less worried about severe weather incidents, according to new research published today.

Research commissioned by the Scottish Government and the British Red Cross has found that 40 per cent of Scots surveyed said that they were concerned about emergencies caused by treacherous weather conditions, down from almost half of those questioned a year ago.

The survey also found:

• almost nine out of ten car owners believe they are prepared for an emergency, largely because three-quarters carry an ice-scraper and de-icer.
• seven per cent had experienced an extreme weather emergency in the past year, with higher levels in rural areas. Of these, two-fifths claimed they got together with neighbours to help them cope.

Launching this year’s ‘Ready for Winter?’ campaign, Scottish Government Transport Minister Keith Brown said: “If there is anything recent winters have shown us it is that Scottish weather is unpredictable.

“In the last five years, most parts of Scotland have been affected by severe weather ranging from snow and freezing temperatures to high winds and flooding, and we also saw the terrible impact of flooding in south-west England last winter. While extreme weather can happen at any time of year, winter remains the time of greatest risk.

“The unpredictability of weather patterns means we cannot simply hope that we will miss the worst of it. While we can’t stop the weather causing disruption, we can be well prepared to cope with it.

“Our annual winter preparedness campaign reminds us of this and the simple actions we can all take to get ready: in the home, before a journey, at our place of work and in our communities. This will serve us well not just throughout the winter months, but all year round and in a range of emergency situations.

“I’m delighted the campaign is again being run in partnership with the British Red Cross and will be supported by a variety of other partners across the public, private and voluntary sectors in Scotland.”

David Miller, Director of the British Red Cross in Scotland, said:

“Making sure you are prepared now for winter can make a huge difference when extreme weather hits.

“At the Red Cross we know that severe weather, including snow and floods, can have serious consequences. However, with a few simple steps you can make yourself and others ready for the disruption it can bring.

“You can prepare an emergency kit for your home and car, jot down your emergency phone numbers and check on any neighbours, family or friends to see if they need any help. You can also make sure you know what the plan at your workplace is.

“Each year the Red Cross helps people across Scotland cope with the effects of severe weather and this winter, as always, we’ll be prepared and ready.”

COSLA President Councillor, David O’Neill said: “COSLA is delighted to once again be working in partnership with the Scottish Government and British Red Cross to launch the ‘Ready for Winter?’ campaign. COSLA would urge people to be aware of the simple measures they can take to make sure they are prepared should severe weather affect Scotland.

“COSLA is involved in reaching out to local councils throughout Scotland to ensure they have appropriate contingency plans in place to minimise the impact on public services should Scotland experience any form of severe weather this winter.”

Filed Under: Health, News, Weather Tagged With: Scottish Government, Severe weather, Winter

Process to build new ferry for Lochmaddy underway

October 15, 2014

MV Hebrides currently serves the Uig-Lochmaddy-Tarbert triangle.

MV Hebrides currently serves the Uig-Lochmaddy-Tarbert triangle.

A procurement process to build and design two new ferries for use on the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services network has been launched by Transport Minister Keith Brown.

One of the new ferries would be utilised on the Lochmaddy-Uig-Tarbert triangle, replacing MV Hebrides.

A ‘Pre-Qualification Questionnaire’ (PQQ) for the vessels has been issued by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) on behalf of Scottish Ministers.  This will allow CMAL to gauge market interest before issuing a formal ‘Invitation To Tender’.

The successful bidder will undertake detailed design and construction work of two passenger, freight and car ferries of 100 metres length overall, as well as testing, equipping, launch and delivery.

The first vessel is to be delivered by the end of 2017, with the second vessel to follow some months later.

Mr Brown said: “I am delighted to announce the procurement process to build two new ferries for the CalMac fleet is now underway.

“I have made clear my commitment to supporting ferry users around Scotland by providing safe and reliable services, and this is the latest step to ensuring we have a fleet that continues to deliver for the communities that depend on it.

“The publication of the PQQ marks the first step in the process. Once CMAL have gauged the market, they will issue a formal ‘Invitation To Tender’ with a view to awarding the contract in the Spring of 2015.

“The ferries are being designed to provide a fully flexible year-round service for Arran and the Uig Triangle, subject to final review by CalMac Ferries Ltd, CMAL and Transport Scotland.  The vessels they replace will be cascaded throughout the network.

“We are now focused on carrying out a competitive and detailed procurement process and look forward to adding the new vessels to the CalMac fleet.”

Tom Docherty, CMAL’s Chief Executive, said:  “We’re delighted to announce two new additions to our fleet, which demonstrates CMAL’s commitment to providing lifeline ferries to communities on the Western Isles and the west coast of Scotland.

“I look forward to the start of a new project and watching the work progress.”

Background info:

It’s expected that the new vessels will be fitted with twin LNG dual-fuelled engines and driving controllable pitch propellers through gearboxes.

There will be a requirement for a service speed of 16.5 knots and a carrying capacity of 1000 passengers, 127 cars or 16 heavy goods vehicles.  The vessels will also be required to regularly operate at 14.5 knots.

The detailed designs, calculations and drawings of the vessels will be developed and approved in conjunction with the classification society, the UK flag state authority (where the ships will be registered) and any other relevant authorities. – See more at: http://www.cmassets.co.uk/en/news-articles/procurement-of-two-new-ferries-gets-underway.html#sthash.o51qymzO.dpuf

Filed Under: News, Transport Tagged With: CalMac, CMAL, MV Hebrides, Scottish Government

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