• The Highland Council has been sharing about what measures are in place to make sure it is safe and secure for everyone to vote at their polling station.
• General risk assessments and specific covid risk assessments have been carried out at every polling station
• Extra staff have been recruited to help make sure the voting experience is as smooth as possible as things will look different
• Limit on the number of people entering at one time
• Face coverings will be required
• Hand sanitiser available on entry and exit
• Polling station staff will be behind protective screens
• Regular cleaning at polling stations throughout the day on a regular and frequent basis
• Voters asked to take their own pen or pencil but if they don’t have one, one will be provided from a new box of pencils for their use only
• Voters are asked to check their poll card as a different polling station may be being used this time
• A video has been produced to reassure voters about the hygiene and distancing measures in all polling stations
• Reminder:– Polling stations open at 7am until 10pm– 2 ballot papers – lilac one for constituency MSP and peach one for the regional list MSPs

The Highland Council are removing the Balintore seaside swings.

The Annual Play Inspector from the Highland Council has said;

“Safety surfacing is insufficient to provide protection against injury from falling (Cat 2 (a))

Ingrid Jamieson, Amenities Officer said, “Therefore we will need to take down the swing seats until the play bark can be topped up.”

The Senior Ward Manager Helen Ross says that funding has been allocated for bark and hopes to have the swings reinstated as soon as possible.

Balintore is not the only area to lose swings. Tain and other areas are affected.

The Balintore Hilton Community Council have asked for more information on this and timescales involved. We will report back as soon as we know more.

You can sign the petition here if you feel strongly about this.

The bottle bank sited at the Balintore Harbour could be moved.

This is because the recycling lorries sometimes have trouble accessing the bottle bank if it is busy and it is also noisy for residents nearby.

There is potential to move the bottle bank to an area on the left of the entrance into the top football pitch.

This would be away from the football pitch, changing rooms and parking areas and would be more accessible to lorries and less disruptive to residents.

We want to know your views on re-siting the bottle bank.

Please complete this survey to register your opinion.

Thank you!

A new Priority Service Register website has been launched to help customers of Scotland’s electricity and water networks know what support is available to them in their area.  The website links direct to registration pages to make the registration process easy. 

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution, SP Energy Networks (SPEN) and Scottish Water, have each been running their own Priority Services Registers (PSR) for several years, offering free support to customers during a power cut or an interruption to local water supplies.

Customers are eligible to register if they: are deaf or hard of hearing, have a disability, live with children under five, are blind or partially sighted, have a chronic illness, are over 60, depend on electricity or water for home or medical care, or feel they may need additional support, even for a temporary period of time.

The new service will make it easier than ever to raise awareness of the additional support available nationwide, encouraging sign-ups from customers who may be eligible but are not yet registered for priority services.

To learn more about the free help and support that is available in your area and check if you or someone you know may be eligible, visit the new PSR Scotland website at PSRScotland.com.

The EU Settlement Scheme Adviser based at Inverness, Badenoch & Strathspey Citizens Advice Bureau is trying to reach out to EU, EEA, Swiss nationals and non EEA family members who have not registered with the scheme  and to make them aware they must register before the deadline of 30^th June 2021 if they wish to remain living in the UK. If they do not register they may be unlawfully resident in the UK from 1^st July 2021.  

A poster in support is attached and please cascade if you work with anyone that this might apply to or share across your communities.

Should any need support or are experiencing difficulties making applications, please contact:

Wilma Verhaere

EU Support Scheme Specialist Adviser

Inverness, Badenoch & Strathspey Citizens Advice Bureau

01463 237664

Mobile: 07393801337

The Council’s welfare team have developed a booklet providing information on funeral and other costs as many people may experience financial worries following a bereavement, particularly if they have less money coming in that they had previously.  

It is designed to provide advice and assistance with the benefits that are available following a bereavement, showing how someone may be eligible and how those benefits can be claimed.

It provides details on:

• Bereavement support payment
• Funeral Support Payment
• War Widow’s or Widower’s Pension
• Tell us Once bereavement notification service

Download the booklet here

The Council’s Welfare Support Team can provide advice on the benefits and other entitlements that are available.  They can be contacted on:

Free Phone: 0800 090 1004

Email: welfare.support@highland.gov.uk

The Scottish Parliament elections are on May 6th 2021

Key dates to remember are:

How to register to vote:

• You can register to vote online at: Register to vote or you can request a paper invitation to register by calling 0800 393 783

• The deadline to register to vote is: 19 April 2021

How to apply to vote by post:

• Download and print here or request a paper application form to be sent to you. 
• You can return the completed application form to any of Electoral Registration  offices by post or by email to absentvote@highland.gov.uk
• Call 0800 393 783 or email ero@highland.gov.uk
• The deadline for applying for a postal vote is 6 April 2021.

With the upcoming Scottish Parliamentary election scheduled to be held on Thursday 6 May 2021, the Highland Council’s Election Team need to recruit additional people to work at the election in a polling station or at the count. 

The ongoing Covid pandemic means we’ll need more staff than usual to run this vital democratic process effectively, as there will be more things to do in the polling stations and the count.

Further information can be viewed on the Council’s website and if you are interested and feel you would like to get involved and play an active role please complete the form online.

Polling Station Positions 

We are looking for applicants to cover polling duties in the three constituencies in Highland:

• Caithness, Sutherland and Ross
• Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch
• Inverness and Nairn

There are three key roles:

• Presiding Officer – responsible for making sure that voters can cast their vote in secret, free from influence and in a calm atmosphere
• Poll Clerk – assists the Presiding Officers to run the polling station
• Information Officer – greets voters, manage queues and sterilise polling booths and equipment throughout the day

The counting of the votes will commence on Friday, 7 May 2021 and are being counted over several days instead of overnight.  This year we have 2 counting venues – one at the Highland Football Academy in Dingwall and one at the Inverness Leisure Centre.  

We are looking to recruit people to count votes.  

The Elections Team need people who will always act impartially, be polite and professional with voters, candidates, agents and other officers.

If you would like more information please email election@highland.gov.uk

Keep the Seaboard Villages beautiful. Please clean up after your dog.

Always be prepared to clean up after your dog by taking a supply of bags and/or a poop-scoop with you every time you leave the house. (Your local council may provide special bags free of charge.) Or, if you have a garden, train your dog to “go” there before you take it for a walk.

Pick up the mess immediately and make sure you put used bags in the bin (public litter bins or special dog waste bins are both suitable for the disposal of dog waste, or your own domestic bin would do as long as the bag is properly sealed). It is not enough to bag the faeces and throw it over a fence – or hang it on a tree. If you make a mental note of where public bins are on your walking route you will be able to dispose of the waste quickly and efficiently.

Why Should I Clean Up After My Dog?

Risking a fine
If you don’t clean up after your dog, council staff or the police can issue you with a Fixed Penalty Notice of £40, which increases if it’s not paid.

Public enemy No.1
Dog fouling rates highly on any list of local complaints. In a nation-wide survey 69% of the Scottish public said that dog fouling bothered them more than any other type of litter and 52% singled it out as the type that offended them most.

Causing unpleasantness and embarrassment
Anyone who has stepped in dog faeces knows that it is dirty, smelly and difficult to clean off your shoe, which can be both unpleasant and embarrassing.

Spreading disease
As soon as you step into dog mess, it spreads. Not only is it unsightly, but it can increase the risk of disease (Toxocara canis), which is harmful to humans.