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The impact that COVID-19 has had on the council’s carbon emissions includes a 90% reduction in business mileage as non-essential travel was suspended, an estimated 8% drop in annual fuel and water/waste water costs for buildings, and a higher spend locally through a new procurement quick quote scheme. This was reported to the Climate Change Environmental Action Group this week as part of a paper on the effects of COVID-19 on climate change.

Letter from NHS Highland to parents of pupils at Lochgilphead Joint Campus  Dear Parents of pupils at Lochgilphead Joint Campus,     The NHS Highland Health Protection Team (HPT) has been advised today that there has been 1 more confirmed case of COVID-19 at the school in an S5 pupil. This makes a total of 2 confirmed cases.  

In the run up to this year’s virtual Doors Open Days in ����ֱ�� and Bute, a free webinar will be held on 13th September aimed at tenement property owners who are looking for advice on any topic relating to maintaining their property. The webinar includes a live Q&A where audience members can ask a panel of experts about any repair problems.    

Dear Parents at Lochgilphead Joint Campus, The NHS Highland Health Protection Team (HPT) have been advised that there has been a confirmed case of COVID-19 in one of the S6 pupils at the school. We know that you may find this concerning but we are continuing to monitor the situation and are working closely with the head teacher and Education Service colleagues in ����ֱ��. This letter is to inform you of the current situation and provide advice on how to support your child.

Education Scotland has endorsed a professional teacher programme that was created by a team of education staff from ����ֱ��. Jay Helbert, head teacher at Inveraray Primary, worked with colleagues to create a unique programme to support teachers in developing their own teaching practice through exploring their current methods and results, analysing literature and looking at good practice in other settings. This enables them to then create a personal and departmental action plan for improvement.

����ֱ�� and Bute residents have the opportunity to make their homes warmer, more energy efficient and so save money, thanks to the Scottish Government’s Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Scheme. The Scottish Government has awarded ����ֱ�� £1,673,832 to help residents make energy efficiency improvements to their properties. These include external/internal wall insulation, underfloor insulation, cavity wall insulation and loft insulation. The programme is available to:

The council’s Planning Service is focused on ensuring that ����ֱ�� and Bute is open for business and supporting economic growth by offering the high-quality service demanded by business and residential customers. That’s the message the service gave to the Scottish Government when it presented its 2019-2020 Planning Performance Framework (PPF) Annual Report for scrutiny and scoring.

Letter from NHS Highland Health Protection Team Dear Parents at Hermitage Academy,  The NHS Highland Health Protection Team (HPT) has been advised that there have been 2 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in pupils at Hermitage Academy school. One pupil is in S2 and the other in S4. The 2 affected pupils were last in school on Friday 28th August. 

Specialist contractors are on site and work is well underway on the £200,000 project to upgrade the lighting, including additional performance lighting, around Dunoon bandstand. With completion just a few weeks away, ducts are in place and the lighting columns and cabling will installed by the end of this week. The next step will be to put finishing touches to the blockwork paving, including power washing and spraying for weeds. Work on the colour-selectable lighting for Castle Gardens will start on 31 August.

Owners are being urged to register their fishing vessels as food businesses, and have them inspected by ����ֱ��, before 31 December 2020 so they can continue to export to the EU post Brexit. If vessel owners fail to meet this requirement, they will not be permitted to export their catch, either directly or indirectly, to the EU from 1 January 2021. This is becoming urgent, because of the 200 fishing vessels in ����ֱ�� and Bute, less than half have registered as food businesses to date.