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

This will be the final bridging payment to be made but as such, Scottish Government have doubled the usual amount of £130 to £260 per child. Bridging payments are ceasing because the Scottish Child Payment is being extended to include those aged up to 16. For more info, please see here: Scottish Child Payment - mygov.scot

Domestic and commercial collection days over Christmas and New Year are listed below.  Regular collections will resume on Monday 9 January 2023.

Domestic and commercial refuse collection days over the Christmas and New Year period are listed below.

Regular waste collections will resume on Monday 9 January 2023.

Teaching unions are planning further industrial action on 7 December which is expected to impact Orkney schools.

At present the Council’s Education Team is preparing for disruption on a number of days between now and early in the new year:

Anyone interested in finding out more about palette knife painting techniques should head along to The Orkney Museum on Saturday 10 December for a free demonstration by artist Tim Wootton.

The Council has implemented a number of improvements to the Orkney Fostering Service and pledged to act swiftly on any outstanding findings from a Care Inspectorate report into the service which was published this week (29 November).

A number of key actions have already been implemented, such as the recruitment of an interim service manager who has begun work on the improvement plan.

An additional social worker will be joining the Fostering and Adoption Team in January 2023 and a training programme for foster carers began last month.

The message was clear at a recent cost-of-living event in Orkney – if you are worried about debt, if you are struggling to cope, or if you need some financial advice do not face it alone.

Practical support and advice was offered to Council and Orkney Housing Association Ltd (OHAL) tenants on how to manage soaring bills during the “Navigating the Cost-of-Living Crisis” event last week (16 Nov) at the Picky Centre.

Organisers Claire Pritchard, the Council’s Tenant Participation Officer, and Suzy Boardman, OHAL Communications & Engagement Officer, hailed the event a success with feedback from those who attended indicating they had found the information “useful”.

Orkney’s new MSYP will be announced in the Orkney Islands Council Chamber this Friday evening, 2 December.

A roundup of works underway or soon to start around Orkney, for the week starting 5 December.

OIC Elected Members have this week (28 November) met with Scottish Parliament representatives looking into the future of ferry services in Scotland.