Rural services

Bluetongue is a notifiable insect-borne viral disease that affects sheep, cattle, other ruminants such as goats, and camelids such as llamas.

It cannot be spread directly between animals and relies on the midge as a vector for transmission, and although it does not affect people or food safety, outbreaks can result in prolonged animal movement and trade restrictions.

Community Councils Scotland have teamed up with Place at the Table and Imagine If to offer free training to Community Councils on Local Place Plans. 

Rural and Island community councils can find out what a Local Place Plan is, what it can do and how Community Councils can create one. 

Scotland’s forestry workforce must grow by 72% between 2022 and 2027 to meet the country’s ambitious tree-planting targets. 

This skills gap presents an urgent challenge to ensure the sector is equipped with the professionals needed to meet these goals. 

The James Hutton Institute, in partnership with local hosts, has organised a series of workshops to gain a better understanding of what sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices are currently taking place in Less Favoured Areas (LFAs) around the country as part of a Scottish Government feasibility study.

Imports of cattle, pigs and sheep from Germany have been banned to protect farmers, their livelihoods and food security following the discovery of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in water buffalo in Brandenburg.

The risk level of FMD to the UK has been increased to medium.

FMD does not pose a risk to human health but is a highly contagious virus of cattle, sheep, pigs and other cloven-hoofed animals.

The Gathering 2025

The next SCVO Gathering will take place in-person on 4th and 5th February 2025 at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC). Save the date in your diary.

Organised by SCVO, the Gathering is the largest free voluntary sector event in the UK. It's an opportunity for all the amazing people working in and with the voluntary sector to network, showcase what they do and learn from each other.

Updated guidance about Schmallenberg virus (SBV) has been published by Scottish Government to support farmers and crofters identify the illness in livestock.

(SBV) is a virus first identified in Europe in 2011. It was first detected in the UK in 2012, and then in 2016-2017 and from 2021 onwards. 

Community Councils webinar on rural and islands poverty

Join the Improvement Service and representatives from the Poverty Alliance for this webinar on poverty in rural and islands communities.

Over the last couple of years Scottish Rural Network have been funding the Improvement Service to build the capacity of Scottish rural and island community councils to help them support their communities more effectively and to enable them to tackle emerging priorities, including poverty which is often a hidden issue within rural and island communities. 

A National Flood Advisory Service will be established to improve Scotland’s flood resilience and embed best practice on a nationwide scale.

The service is one of the actions in Scotland’s first National Flood Resilience Strategy, published today. It will provide support and advice on building flood resilience to delivery partners and communities, and provide the governance framework for progressing high value flood actions such as flood protection schemes.

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