A £500 one-off payment for working households receiving tax credits was announced as part of the UK Government Budget.
Further guidance has now been released which confirms that the new payment is being introduced to provide extra support when the temporary increase in working tax credits – that was introduced in April 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic – ends as planned on 5 April 2021, the new guidance advises that –
applications for the new payment are not required as HMRC will contact claimants by text message or letter in April 2021 to confirm eligibility;
eligible claimants will include those who, on 2 March 2021, receive working tax credit payments; both working tax credit and child tax credit payments; or child tax credit payments where they are eligible for working tax credit but do not get a payment because their income is too high; and
the £500 payment should be paid to eligible claimants by 23 April 2021.
Thanks to Community Councillor Leighanne Hodgkin who made the Police and the Council aware of a mess up at the top pitch.
There were a number of dangerous items, including a large discarded knife which was immediately removed from the scene.
We all know how important it is to look after our beautiful villages.. If you know who was involved in this incident, please ask them to treat our public places with respect in future.
Fly-tipping and vandalism are offences which can attract a hefty fine, quite apart from the fact that we all share village spaces that should be kept clean and free from dangerous items.
Eligible residents across the Highlands could benefit from up to 100% Scottish Government grant funding available for First Time Central Heating. This would be delivered through the installation of an air source heat pump, new radiators and new controls.
An air source heat pump uses electricity to extract heat from the outside air and can be used to heat both the home and the hot water tank. This will generate warmth in one central place, distributing the heat through pipes to radiators throughout the home and will provide you with full control of your heating system.
To be eligible for funding, the property must be:
Owner occupied or privately rented and must be your main residence
Council Tax band A-C or D (where the EPC rating is E, F or G)
Cllr Trish Robertson, Chair of The Highland Council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee and the Climate Change Working Group said: “I would encourage as many eligible householders as possible to apply for this fantastic grant funding opportunity. Not only does this offer the potential to significantly lower your heating bills and the comfort of your home, the installation of these measures will help to support action on climate change.”
Are you community spirited and up for a challenge? The Balintore Hilton Community Council has recently reformed and has space for new Community Councillors.
You can find out more about being a Community Councillor here.
If you would like to apply, please get in touch with the Chair here and/ or attend the extraordinary meeting on March 4th 2021.
On 10 March we had 16 new cases. The infection rate is 32/100,000 across the NHS Highland area: 19/100,000 in Argyll and Bute and 40/100,000 in North Highland. These cases are primarily concentrated in the Inverness area.
We currently have positive cases in a Care for the Elderly ward in Raigmore. This situation is being closely monitored, with all close contacts isolating.
Visiting to this ward has been suspended.
We have a total of nine inpatient cases in Raigmore, plus four in ITU, and two in Argyll and Bute. There have been 165 recorded deaths in the NHS Highland area since the start of the pandemic: 94 in Highland and 71 in Argyll and Bute.
All patients in the ward have previously been offered vaccination except where clinical advice was against this.
Vaccination
NHS Highland continues to vaccinate patients in line with the Scottish Government and guidance for the vaccination programme. We have exceeded the target of vaccinating over 85% of all those aged over 65 (Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) cohort groups 1-5).
We are now starting first dose vaccinations for cohort 6, ‘clinically at risk 16-65’. This large group is being split into sub groups:
6a those at risk based on a modified version of the flu vaccination list
6b carers in receipt of SSS allowance
6c those at risk due to additional risk conditions
6d other unpaid carers
A national registration system is being developed for unpaid carers to self-identify. Until this is in place we are working on other parts of cohort 6 and Scottish Government has also permitted vaccination to start for cohort 7, 60-64 year olds, where there is sufficient vaccine.
We have given 112,024 people their first dose vaccination: 43.4% of the population over age 16 compared to 39.8% for Scotland as a whole. Vaccination data is now available on the Scottish Government’s daily interactive dashboard.
Priority group
When the first dose will be complete
Total population across the NHS Highland area* (to nearest 500)
All those 80 years of age and over
5 February
18,500
All those 75-80 years of age
Mid-February
14,000
All those 70-75 years of age
Mid-February
21,000
Extremely clinically vulnerable individuals
Mid-February
4,500
All those 65-70 years of age
Early-March
20,000
All individuals aged 16 years to 64 years with underlying health conditions and unpaid carers
Early-May
44,000
All those 60-65 years of age
Early-May
22,000
All those 55-60 years of age
Early-May
23,000
All those 50-55 years of age
Early-May
22,000
*Includes Highland Council and Argyll and Bute Council areas.
You can now find all the information you need regarding your local Community Council on this website.
We will regularly update our minutes page with all the up to date approved and draft minutes from every meeting.
You can also find the dates of our next meetings on the meetings page. All our meetings will be via Zoom for the foreseeable future and you can easily add the meetings to your calendar by clicking the meeting you are interested in and then clicking iCal Export as shown here;
This will add the meeting to your calendar and and you can set an alarm or a reminder.
Remember, if you want joining instructions, please email the Chair for instructions.
This week the Council launched its discretionary business grant scheme. This is a one-off £2,000 grant to any business who has been unable to secure alternative grant support and seen a significant reduction in trade. It is to help micro, small or medium-sized businesses and is open to all business types including Limited Companies, Sole Traders, Trusts and Partnerships.
Applications will be considered on a first come first served basis
The scheme is open until 3 March 2021
Core Criteria for businesses applying:
The business must not have secured a grant from any of the grant schemes in operation (or proposed) since October 2020.
By exception, if income (claimed/awarded for period 1 November 2020 to 29 January 2021) from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme is less than the value of the Discretionary Grant Scheme (Ј2,000) – a top-up grant will be provided to make up the difference.
The business was trading on Monday 2 November 2020 (i.e. business is not in administration, insolvency or received notice to be struck off Companies House).
The business must be able to demonstrate a significant reduction in trade (50% or more) due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The business is a Small or Micro business and employs 50 employees or fewer.
The business is based within the Highland Council area.
Over the coming weeks the Scottish Government will be making available a range of other grants to businesses, including Newly Self Employed, Mobile Close Contact, Large Self-catering and B&B’s. As information becomes available from the Scottish Government, the Council will provide guidance and detail on its website as to who is eligible and how to apply for grant.
There has been a real increase in the amount of ‘fly-posting’ in the villages and surrounding areas in the last few months. These tend to be of a political nature although they are not exclusively so.
Stickers and posters have been placed on lamp-posts, tourists signs and even our village signs. The Shandwick Stone sign has had three stickers in as many months.
These are really costly to remove and leave a sticky, messy residue behind.
This was discussed at the last BHCC meeting on 8th February 2021 where most were in agreement that they were not a positive addition to the villages.
Fiona Robertson, Local Councillor also mentioned how costly they had been to remove in Tain.
Fly-posting is an offence in the same way as fly-tipping and can attract a fine of £250.
The BHCC is looking at ways to raise awareness of this issue so that those who fly-post fully understand the implications and are aware of the costs that their actions incur.
If anyone sees fly-posting, please report this to the BHCC here.
The Balintore & Hilton Community Council (BHCC) are here to represent the community.
Community Councils are the most local tier of statutory representation in Scotland. They bridge the gap between local authorities and communities and help to make public bodies aware of the opinions and needs of the communities they represent.
We are a group of people who care about our community and want to make it a better place to live. We are the middle man or woman! who work with the Highland Council and the general public.
This website will give updates on what is happening in your community through photographs and minutes from our meetings.
The Balintore and Hilton Community Council are comprised of seven volunteer members who meet to discuss matters which impact on the villages of Balintore and Hilton.
We have meetings on the first Tuesday of each month apart from July, August and January.
‘Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter’. Izaak Walton
Balintore & Hilton Community Council 