Orkney Islands Council has today (Wednesday 15 December) announced the first phase of a refresh of its corporate management structure.

Orkney Islands Council is advising that the current phase of flagstone repair works on Alfred Street in Stromness have been completed, with Alfred street now reopened to vehicular traffic. There will be no further closures in Stromness this year for flagstone repairs, with works not restarting until 10 January 2022.

The Orkney Local Emergency Co-ordination Group (OLECG) has thanked people across the county for their response to the pandemic and urged that measures to slow the spread of infection continue to be followed.

The group involves representatives from a broad range of organisations, including the emergency and public services, transport providers, the utilities and voluntary sector, and met this week to consider latest developments in the pandemic

There were 45 children at St Andrews School today out of a school roll of 209.

At an incident meeting this afternoon with representatives from Public Health, the Council’s Education Directorate, Schools, Environmental Health, Safety and Resilience, Sport and Leisure and Community Learning and Development, the decision was made to maintain closure of the P4 class in the meantime.

For the second year running, Christmas will come early for many of Orkney’s most vulnerable families with a cash direct payment totalling £260 for every child entitled to free school meals.