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463 children still waiting for neurodevelopmental assessment in NHS Highland

NHS Highland have confirmed that, as at 16 December 2020, 463 children are on the waiting list to commence neurodevelopmental assessment. There are a further 200 referrals awaiting triage and the current waiting time is now 18 months. These assessments are crucial for diagnosing children or young

Call for support for pig farmers hit by Covid closure

The SNP Government has been urged to support pig farmers amid concerns that Scotland’s only major pig slaughter facility has had to shut after a staff Covid-19 outbreak. The Scottish Conservatives want ministers to look at setting up a similar scheme to one introduced in Northern Ireland which supp

Edward Mountain MSP January Article for the Inverness Courier

While the New Year has brought new lockdown restrictions, the rollout of the vaccine offers everyone genuine hope and a route out of this pandemic. The UK has put itself in a great position to turn the tide against the pandemic by authorising three highly effective vaccines and opening up over 1,00

Patients awaiting transplant operations to be prioritised for Covid-19 vaccine

The Scottish Government has confirmed that those awaiting transplant operations will soon be granted priority status for the Covid-19 vaccine by the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation. Highlands and Islands MSP Edward Mountain brought this issue to national attention when he raised it

Special budget measures required to revive Highlands and Islands economy

Highlands and Islands MSP Donald Cameron has said that next week’s Scottish Government budget, due to be announced on 28th January, must include special measures to revive the economy of his region The Scottish Conservative MSP spoke after Charlotte Wright, the chief executive of Highland

​​​​​​​Cameron backs call for u-turn on support for B&Bs

Highlands and Islands MSP Donald Cameron is backing demands for the SNP to perform a u-turn after self-catering and B&B operators were excluded from top-up payments. It comes just days after SNP minister Kate Forbes u-turned on her plan to refuse taxi drivers on ‘state benefits’ access to

Edward Mountain MSP welcomes new £7m fund for B&Bs and self-caterers

Edward Mountain MSP has welcomed the launch of a new £7m fund to support B&Bs and self-catering properties which have been impacted by the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. The Highlands and Islands MSP has lobbied relentlessly through his ‘Help Our B&Bs’ campaign to ensure that small B&B

MSP backs efforts to tackle livestock worrying

Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston has today backed plans to tackle the problem of livestock worrying. Mr Halcro Johnston, whose family farm in Orkney, gave his support in a debate on the proposed Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Bill in which he opened for the Scottish Conservative

Edward Mountain MSP calls on SNP Govt to back Cromarty Firth Freeport Proposals

The SNP have u-turned on their outright opposition to freeports just months after their party conference slammed the proposals. In a ministerial statement today, the SNP’s Ivan McKee revealed the government will now back the freeports proposal, just months after Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP conferen

SNP need to get cash to local businesses and do it quicker

Struggling local tourism businesses need to get promised financial support a lot quicker than is currently happening. That’s the call from Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston who said funding arrangements to help tourism businesses survive the Covid-19 pandemic could be made s