Dave Thompson MSP

Following a seminar on business development for planners and developers from across the Highland and Argyll and Bute local authority areas, local MSPs are hopeful that new arrangements could aid growth in the area.

The seminar was arranged by Highlands and Islands SNP MSP Mike MacKenzie and attended by Dave Thompson, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, to look at issues around the operation of the Planning, etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 and discuss ways decisions could be delivered more quickly to reduce expense and uncertainty for developers.

SKYE, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Dave Thompson will welcome a pupil group from Portree High School to the Scottish parliament on Wednesday as they demonstrate the basic training they have received in Emergency Life Support skills.

Pupils from the school are among a handful in the Highlands and Islands to have benefitted from such training and Mr Thompson has lobbied The Highland Council to call for these potentially-lifesaving techniques to be taught far more widely.

SKYE, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Dave Thompson has welcomed the announcement of funds to take the amount of funding for home insulation grants in the Highland Council area to more than £1 million this year alone.

The announcement of the latest award of £385,000 for The Highland Council under the Universal Home Insulation Scheme (UHIS) was made this week by Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment. Added to £669,000 given earlier this year for the local authority to distribute to householders, this latest award takes the total for the area beyond £1 million.

SKYE, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Dave Thompson is to visit an expanding local business this week to hear more about changes they believe could make life simpler for similar businesses in the Highlands.

Mr Thompson will meet Willie Cameron and Fraser Campbell on Friday afternoon at the Loch Ness Country House Hotel in Inverness (the former Dunain Park Hotel), one of several premises run by their business Loch Ness Hospitality Limited.

Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Dave Thompson is to meet two of the busiest Mountain Rescue Teams in his constituency to discuss their operations.

Following an earlier constituent advice surgery in Fort William (details in notes below) on Monday October 3rd, Mr Thompson will visit Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team’s base at Ben Nevis Business Park to meet members of the team and also John Grieve, head of the neighbouring Glencoe team.

SKYE, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Dave Thompson is to be interviewed on two local radio stations during October.

With one of Scotland’s largest constituencies to cover, Mr Thompson is eager to find as many means as possible to reach out to residents of the area in addition to his attendance at community events and regular advice surgeries for constituents.

SKYE, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Dave Thompson is to play a key role in celebrations to mark the centenary of Nether Lochaber Church in Onich at noon on Sunday October 2nd.

Mr Thompson has been invited to deliver a reading as part of the Centenary Service, which will be led by the Reverend Malcolm Kinnear, with Very Reverend John C. Christie, last year’s moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, filling the role of guest preacher.

SKYE, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Dave Thompson has visited a thriving new business on Skye and been thrilled to learn how the Scottish Government’s Small Business Bonus helped it to expand.

While on Skye last week, Mr Thompson called at the Skye Baking Company in Portree to meet owners Barry and Liza Hawthorne and discuss conditions affecting small businesses on the island.

“This was a very interesting visit to a go-ahead young business where they are baking a tremendous variety of breads and diversifying into a range of new areas,” Mr Thompson said.“

SKYE, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Dave Thompson is to visit a leading underwater training centre where commercial diving and remote vehicle piloting techniques are taught to hear more about how students are funded.

In the past, students at The Underwater Centre in Fort William were able to raise the £10,000 - £15,000 fees for their course via career development loans from high street banks but this has been harder to raise following the recent banking crisis.

NI minister outlines plans for lower limit

The SNP today [Monday] has welcomed the news that Northern Ireland’s environment minister,  Alex Atwood has announced his proposals for the legal alcohol limit for driving to be cut.

The current legal level is 80mg/100ml is amongst the highest in the European Union, but the SNP would like to see that cut to 50mg/100ml bringing it in line with the majority of the country’s European neighbours.

SKYE, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Dave Thompson has welcomed the announcement of Scottish Government funding for a further 1,600 affordable homes, including 43 within his own constituency.

The announcement by Housing Minister Keith Brown of £56.7 million extra investment on Thursday afternoon swiftly followed an announcement of £55 million the previous week by Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment.