Welcome to The Highland Council’s fortnightly briefing for groups with an interest in local community resilience.
Winter Vaccination Programme
- Public Health Scotland colleagues have recently translated information on the Covid and Flu vaccinations being offered as part of the Winter Vaccination Programme. This includes 36 community languages and British Sign Language versions, accessible here: Other languages – winter vaccines | NHS inform
Covid related information
- NHS Inform Covid data
- NHS Inform Covid information and guidance
- NHS Highland local vaccination information – this includes information on the winter Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Flu vaccination programme which is now underway.
Funding
SCVO is a key source of funding information for the third sector. Funds that may be of interest include:
- The Naturesave Trust – Promotes the adoption of sustainable development relating to environmental and conservation projects, social enterprise projects, community renewable energy grants, and environmental performance reviews. Next deadline 28 Feb 2023.
- SportScotland – Sport Facilities Fund – Supports projects that create or improve places people can take part in sport and physical activity withing clubs and schools. Next deadline 1 April 2023
- Help the Homeless – Financially support charities operating homelessness hostels, drop-in centres, and the like. Next deadline 15 March 2023.
Welfare, poverty reduction and resilience
- Priority Services Register – This is a free service proving extra help to priority customers when there is an interruption to electricity, gas, or water.Examples of eligibility include use of medical equipment reliant on electricity, have a disability, or are over 60. More information and registration forms are available from the link
- Winter Road Maintenance – Information from The Highland Council about road maintenance this winter, including gritting route maps.
- HTSI Winter Resilience Services – this document available from the HTSI homepage is a non-exhaustive list of services offering winter support.
- Citizens Advice – If you are struggling to afford energy bills this winter you may be eligible to some of the grants and benefits listed here.
- SSEN Powering on This Winter – Attached are the answers to questions relating to power supply this winter received by SSEN in a recent stakeholder meeting.
- Scottish Water – Advice and resources to help protect your pipes this winter.
- CyberScotland – This bulletin update contains information regarding staying safe shopping online and the latest holiday scams to watch for.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
- NHS Highland Mental Wellbeing – a collection of resources and signposts to help people of all ages to look after their own mental wellbeing.
- Cost of living crisis and your mental health
Many people are feeling the strain as the cost of living continues to increase. This resource provides information on how you can maintain your mental wellbeing at this time, alongside information on how to manage your money as bills rise.
Emergency Planning
- Met Office Weather Warnings – https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings#?date=2022-11-04
- Met Office Weather Ready https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/weatherready
- Floodline Scotland https://floodlinescotland.org.uk/
- Ready Scotland – preparing for emergencies https://ready.scot/
Other
- Reporting Tool for Dead Wild Birds – You should use this service to report dead wild birds if you find:
- 1 or more dead birds of prey (such as an owl, hawk or buzzard)
- 3 or more dead birds that include at least 1 gull, swan, goose or duck
- 5 or more dead wild birds of any species
- You can use this service to report other types or numbers of dead wild birds.
APHA has released a new online reporting tool for dead wild bird finds, this covers the whole of GB https://www.gov.uk/guidance/report-dead-wild-birds.
Douglas Crawford
Business Analyst
Community Support and Engagement
Highland Council