Scott Maclennan

Number of Highland Council officials getting £60k or more a year rockets by five times in six years New data reveals pay costs to the local authority rose from £6.7m to £32.5m a year.

I'm a great believer that FOIs can lead to great articles because they help inform the public on matters organisations might prefer us not to know about.
@scottmaclennan.bsky.social

www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/number-...

MSP Fergus Ewing: ‘The SNP just is no longer the party for all of Scotland, as it has been for most of my 50 years as a member’ He confirms that ‘with great sadness’ he is to stand down as SNP MSP at the 2026 Holyrood election but may yet stand as an independent.

MSP Fergus Ewing: ‘The SNP just is no longer the party for all of Scotland, as it has been for most of my 50 years as a member’

Read his full statement here:

www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/msp-fer...

BREAKING: Fergus Ewing to stand down as SNP MSP at the next election ‘with great sadness’ The Inverness and Nairn MSP leaves door open to run as an independent but says he ‘simply cannot defend the record of the SNP Government’.

Fergus Ewing to stand down as SNP MSP in 2026 as the Inverness and Nairn MSP says he ‘cannot defend the record of the SNP Government’ but leaves door open to run as an independent:

www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/fergus-...

Scottish Parliament told Highland Council ‘botched’ a child protection probe at north school A petitions committee hearing accepted calls for an inquiry into how public bodies ‘mishandle’ such concerns.

This is a development that could be seriously consequential:

www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/scottis...

Dustin Hoffman (as Carl Bernstein) holding a piece of paper which Robert Redford (Bob Woodward) points to in the Washington Post newsroom. From the film All The President's Men

Advert for the Washington Post 99p Inauguration Sale subscription offer)

And if you tick here, Bernstein, you get the 99p Inauguration Sale Subscription Offer

Parents claim children have special needs to ‘game’ exam system There were nearly 39,000 requests for assistance last year, up from less than 6,400 in 2005

The number of pupils who receive help with exams has increased sixfold, leading to claims that parents are “gaming the system” by saying that their children have special needs.

Exclusive in @thetimes.com

www.thetimes.com/article/eb84...

"Disclosures given to the tribunal revealed that the Metropolitan Police, again acting on behalf of the PSNI, obtained more than 4,000 text messages and phone communications belonging to Mr Birney, Mr McCaffrey and more than a dozen journalists working for BBC Northern Ireland’s Spotlight programme"

Education debate degenerates into mudslinging at Highland Council A bid to improve information triggered a furious reaction from administration councillors.

I've been covering Highland Council since 2018 and this was by far the worst debate I've witnessed. It was ill-tempered, partially factual and the council opted to do nothing:

www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/educati...

Beautiful Solar eclipse, see from LEO 😍 Did you see it?

Parents say they have ‘lost faith’ as Highland Council remains below average in education league tables The council insists that it is one of most improved local authorities in Scotland.

Since 2016 Highland Council has been at or near the bottom of primary school attainment and in the bottom third for S3 attainment. On one measure in one year since 2016 the region met the national average. Time councillors did something:

www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/parents...

Or artists (Hitler)

Or journalists (Mussolini)

Or trainee priests (Stalin)

Or soldiers (Amin/Franco/Pinochet)

Or shoemakers (Ceausescu)

Or lawyers (Robespierre)

Or teachers (Pol Pot)

Or really any job frankly…

So shall we consign this to utter bollocks clickbait pointless braindead nonsense?

The light this morning was exceptionally beautiful, almost Tupelo Pink

Highland Council poised for 35% tax raid on household budgets over 5 years That is despite a large increase in Scottish Government funding announced in the draft budget.

Highland Council poised for 35% tax raid on household budgets over 5 years despite a large increase in Scottish Government funding

www.strathspey-herald.co.uk/news/highlan...

Highland Council lost £713k of taxpayers’ money on the failed Academy Street project The costs were just released after a question from Conservative group leader Ruraidh Stewart.

Highland Council lost just under £714,000 on scheme to revamp one Inverness street that was eventually cancelled after the Court of Session ruled it 'unlawful'. Normal?

www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/highlan...

‘I want to bring back local democracy to Nairn, it is long overdue,’ Nairn Provost backs Highland Council break-up Nairn’s Provost wants to see the break-up of Highland Council in a bid to “bring back local democracy to Nairn”.

“Break up Highland Council, I have had enough of it – I want to bring back local democracy" - so says the Provost of Nairn. He is one of half a dozen councillors saying the council's structural problems can't be overcome:

www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/i-want-...

Highland Council poised for 35% tax raid on household budgets over 5 years That is despite a large increase in Scottish Government funding announced in the draft budget.

In what has been an unusually fraught budget setting season Highland Council has unveiled its thinking that it needs a 35% tax raid on households over the next 5 years:

www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/highlan...

Here's one representation of the current state of additional support needs in Scottish schools.

This week @heraldscotland.bsky.social is running a special on the issue.

You can find all the stories here: www.heraldscotland.com/news/2478010...

Lib Dems in Highland Council score another new member in Struan Mackie The change comes after the former group leader resigned from the Conservatives two months ago.

Welcome Cllr Mackie!
https://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/lib-dems-in-highland-council-score-another-new-member-in-str-368257/

If you're also looking for a new political home, joining the Lib Dems is just £15 a year https://libdems.my.salesforce-sites.com/LiberalDemocrats/NewMemberLocal

Leading councillors call for ‘break-up of Highland Council’ - so is it still fit for purpose? The move to ‘better serve’ the north follows Kate Forbes’ call to dismantle the local authority.

Is this the beginning of end (the actual, real life, no nonsense end) of Highland Council the most ridiculously over-sized local authority in Europe?

www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/leading...

@ionamjmacdonald.bsky.social Was it you or Hector who started this one off? 👀

I wonder why a financially pressed enterprise agency is 'deeply disappointed'? That is correctly poured millions into the project? That one of those at Orbex called this a win-win?

Sutherland Spaceport to be mothballed as Orbex makes shock announcement about move to SaxaVord Orbex is halting construction work on the £20 million spaceport which received a £14.6 milllion public investment package.

Scoop by my colleague Caroline McMorran. After the UK and Scottish Governments invested millions in developing the Sutherland spaceport Orbex have paused development, favouring Shetland - a huge blow to the Highland economy:

www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/sutherl...

REVEALED: Number of new classrooms created using money for housing projects Freedom of Information requests discovered the sums the council has received from developers, the total spent, as well as where it was spent.

FOI reveals Highland Council has only managed to build an additional 15 classrooms using developer contributions in the last five years despite sitting on more than £13 million of payments from 941 housing projects:

www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/reveale...

Working for a local newsbrand is all about making a difference to our communities.
Sure, we can tell folk what's going on day-in and day-out but having a platform to help people is powerful.
#GiveBloodSaveLives

People are often surprised when I tell them this: both Twitter and Facebook/insta/threads are now specifically engineered to downgrade, hide, suppress real journalism. If this platform is different, that's a huge change

Former Highland Council staff say they were ‘intimidated’ after being paid despite leaving One of them was told to attend a meeting for an interview with council investigators ‘under caution’.

Former Highland Council staff say they were ‘intimidated’ to repay wages they got despite leaving the local authority. Auditors found the council paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to ex-employees because they didn't check who worked for them:

www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/former-...

Etymology of the day: to be ‘blowing a hoolie’ (or ‘hooley’) was probably inspired by the Orkney word ‘hoolan’, a howling gale, with a touch of the ‘hooley’ that is a very noisy party thrown in.

‘We will miss him greatly but remember him fondly’ - sudden death prompts love and tributes for Inverness Courier journalist Neil MacPhail His engaging wit and infectious giggle endeared him to everyone, but it was his talent as a scribe which was most impressive..

I don't like posting this but Neil MacPhail was a gentleman and brilliant journalist - he was also outstanding company:

www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/we-will...

My front page of today's Ross-shire Journal:

A school boy (12) was left hospitalised with a concussion after being "attacked" by fellow pupils, at Alness Academy.

map of europe with the shadow of vladimir putin's profile encroaching like a dark cloud

quite the cover from @politico.eu