Rural services

Farmers affected by severe flooding in parts of Scotland this autumn will be eligible to apply for grants of up to £30,000 to help repair flood banks.

The pilot phase of a new benefit that will be paid to over 80,000 carers has begun in Scotland.

Unpaid carers in Perth and Kinross, Dundee City and Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) are the first to be able to apply for Carer Support Payment. The benefit is replacing Carer’s Allowance, currently delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions, in Scotland.

Hundreds of households and businesses affected by the impact of Storm Babet will benefit from additional funding from the Scottish Government to help with recovery.

Impacted local authorities will be allocated additional funding to enable them to provide flat rate grants of:

The Scottish Islands Survey 2023, being run by The James Hutton Institute, is asking 20,000 people across Scotland’s inhabited islands for their views on topics from transport, housing, the economy and cost-of-living crisis to the environment, healthcare and education.

Draft regulations allowing local authorities to charge up to double the full rate of Council Tax on second homes have been laid before the Scottish Parliament.  

Village halls and community hubs are often the heart of rural and island communities. They are places for people to gather, learn, access services and have fun. Making sure they are well run and maintained is an important but not always easy role, often fulfilled by committed volunteers and workers.

The Scottish Rural and Islands Parliament (SRIP) is an important opportunity for voice of rural and island communities to help reinforce the importance of local democracy and to help shape the emerging Rural Delivery Plan. The theme of this year’s SRIP was Village Halls and Community Spaces.

A new grant scheme has been created as part of the 2023 National Litter and Flytipping Strategy to aid private landowners in deterring flytipping on their land.

Zero Waste Scotland is administering the funding, on behalf of SEPA, to aid private landowners towards interventions that will prevent flytipping on private land.

 Scottish agricultural charity RSABI is working with Dyslexia Scotland to raise awareness of the challenges many people involved in farming face with dyslexia.