LOCAL NEWS NOVEMBER 9 2023
Written by MartyM on 9 November 2023
Eilean a’ Cheรฒ councillor backs second homes tax move
Skye and Raasay Councillor Calum Munro has welcomed draft plans to double the rate of council tax under new legislation by the Scottish Government
Data Published by the Scottish Goverment in 2019 showed that the city of Edinburgh and the Highlands accounted for 50.5 per cent of active Airbnbs across the country.
In the report, Skye was third only behind Edinburgh City Centre and Leith Walk for the number of Airbnbs by council ward with 1,083 of 5,813 dwellings listed as holiday lets.
Commenting to Radio Skye, Councillor Munro said: “A very small portion of society own second homes, many in our society are indeed struggling to find anywhere to live at all.
I think that doubling the rate of council tax on second homes is proportionate and may make a small contribution to the Highland Council’s finances at a time when huge budget gaps are faced year on year.
Scottish Government pushes for gender balance on boards
The Scottish Goverment is seeking to establish 50-50 representation on public boards through new legislation.
Legislation to amend the Gender Representation on Public Boards Act has been published.
The Act, which was passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2018, aims to address the under-representation of women in public life by setting an objective that 50 per cent of a public boardโs non-executive members are women.
The Gender Representation on Public Boards (Amendment) Bill aims to align the Act with the Court of Session ruling last year which stated that its inclusion of the definition of women was out with the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament and it was therefore not law.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Women’sย voices need to be heard and acted on, especially by the public bodies that deliver services in our everyday lives
โThe Scottish Government remains committed to achieving greater gender equality and creating a fairer Scotland for everyone.โ
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