Orkney Islands Council has welcomed an announcement that additional funding will be made available for the roll out of broadband to properties in Orkney - but warned that some households will still miss out and more needs to be done.

The Scottish Government has announced today (19 August) that an additional £36m is to be invested in the R100 programme, which will see another 2,637 rural properties across Scotland able to access gigabit-capable connections - faster speeds than were initially proposed when the programme was launched.

It is understood that around 1000 of those properties will be in Orkney.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has issued a safety warning relating to the use of gas grills on certain Belling, Stoves and New World gas range cookers manufactured by Glen Dimplex Home Appliances (GDHA).

Delays and disruptions are expected on parts of the Council website on Thursday evening (18 August) as essential maintenance and testing works are carried out on the Council network.

The NSPCC’s Pantosaurus would like to say a roarsome “thank you” to everyone who stopped by the stall on County Show Day.

The friendly dinosaur says all the new pants designs created by children, who entered the competition to win Grooves vouchers and copies of The Power of Pants books, were simply “T-rexiffic”!

There were almost 200 entries and eventually the “dino-mite” colourful artwork by seven-year-old Dorrie Fry was chosen as overall winner of the £50 Grooves voucher and a copy of the book.

Staff at the Council are delighted that their Cancer Challenge has raised over £16,000 for Cancer Research UK.

Thanks to the generosity of people in Orkney and away, the total is £16,206.25 - more than three times the original target of £5,000.

Orkney Islands Council is looking for three new members from the business, community and third sectors to act as representatives on its sub-committee known as the Orkney College Management Council.

Try something new in 2022

Feedback from parents and carers of children who attended the Council’s 2022 Summer Holiday Programme is being sought.

The Scottish Government has invested funding in all local authorities for the targeted provision of summer holiday childcare, activities and food for low income families to help with the cost of living.

Nominations are being sought for educators who go the extra mile in their endeavour to embrace equality and diversity for the second annual GTCS Saroj Lal Award.

Orkney teacher Theo Ogbhemhe, from Kirkwall Grammar School, was named as the first-ever recipient of the annual award in 2021 in recognition of his outstanding work in challenging discrimination and promoting equality, making society a better place for everyone.