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Unpaid carers in Shetland are set to benefit from an award of £3,203 made to Voluntary Action Shetland (VAS). The money, from the Scottish government's Short Breaks Fund, is for distributing grants of up to £150 to unpaid carers who provide a significant amount of caring for another adult or ar... Read more...
Politicians from various parties have queued up to welcome the Scottish government's decision to scrap its unpopular "named person" scheme. The proposal from the SNP administration, which has been ongoing for six years, was finally dropped on Friday after heavy criticism. The plan was to appoi... Read more...
Elected members have launched renewed criticism against the Scottish government over its failure to provide fair ferry funding in the isles, with one elected member insisting the council was being used as a "pawn in a political game". Councillors at Monday's policy and resources committee voiced ... Read more...
Liberal Democrat candidate Beatrice Wishart has laid out her five-point plan for improving transport links in the isles. The plan targets cheaper ferry fares, including cabins, increased freight capacity, ending Sumburgh parking charges and adding business travel to the Air Discount Scheme, fundi... Read more...
A ferry firm has lost an appeal over Scottish government subsidies to provide services plying the waters between mainland Scotland and the Northern Isles. Pentland Ferries challenged the lawfulness of a proposed subsidy under a single public service contract on ferry routes between Scrabster, in ... Read more...
Crofters and farmers in Shetland wanting to apply for subsidies are reminded that the deadline for submitting Single Application Forms (SAFs) is on Wednesday at midnight. The Scottish government is encouraging people to use the ruralpayments.org website to apply. Rural economy minister Fergus ... Read more...
The two freight ferries serving the Northern Isles have been bought by the Scottish government. Vessels MV Helliar and MV Hildasay will join the Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) fleet, having previously been chartered from Fortress. This means that the entire NorthLink fleet connecting Le... Read more...
Schools and ferries are two areas where the council may be forced to make cuts if it is to continue to balance its books. That was the fear expressed by some councillors on Tuesday as the local authority set its budget for 2019/20. "Radical action" could be required in order to avoid an unsust... Read more...
The Northern Isles have come last in a ranking of Scottish broadband speeds, according to research from Which?. The consumer affairs publication analysed speed checker data in all 32 Scottish council areas as well as England and Wales. At three megabits per second Orkney was found to have the ... Read more...
Councillors have unanimously supported a motion condemning the latest funding offer from the Scottish government. (more…) Read more...