Latest news with #ComhairleNanEileanSiar
BBC News
07-08-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Western Isles Council fined after death of care home resident
A council has been fined £80,000 after the death of a patient who went missing from one of its care homes in the Western MacLeod, who was 69 and had dementia, left St Brendan's Care Home in Barra by the only door in the building that was not fitted with an was missing for about four hours before a coastguard helicopter found him in the early hours of 9 March last year on the patio of a house near the home. He died in hospital a short time authority Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, which has pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches, said it wished to express its condolences to Mr MacLeod's family. The council was fined at Lochmaddy Sheriff Court in North Uist on court heard that Mr MacLeod had been placed in the council-operated care home in October 2023 so he could be closer to one of his observed his behaviour during his first month in the home to help them better understand the care he 8 March 2024, he was settled into his bed at about 21:00 and hourly checks were made of his was found empty at 02:00 on 9 March, and searches were made of the court heard that to avoid being detected by staff, Mr MacLeod had left the building using an exit about 10m (33ft) from his room and not fitted with an alarm. Electronic tag Workers at the home alerted Police Scotland and a search involving coastguard, RNLI and fire service personnel was launched of the surrounding area.A coastguard helicopter fitted with heat detection equipment found Mr MacLeod at about 06:00. He had facial injuries consistent with falling to the ground. Despite the efforts of medical staff he died an hour later.A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that he had made several previous attempts to leave the home. Carers had tried fitting an electronic tag to Mr MacLeod's clothing to track his movements but he would manage to find the device and remove said after Mr MacLeod's death St Brendan's Care Home introduced a regime of half hourly checks on also said arrangements had been made to install keypad entry systems on all doors but this work had not been completed before Mr MacLeod went sentencing, HSE inspector Ashley Fallis said: "This was a tragic and preventable death."The council should have made sure the home had stronger measures in place with Mr MacLeod's risks already known and assessed."Although changes have since been made, they came too late to prevent his death." Door security Comhairle nan Eilean Siar said it accepted that health and safety shortcomings contributed to the incident.A spokesperson said: "Comhairle nan Eilean Siar once again extends its sincere condolences to the family and friends of the late Mr Allan Macleod for the circumstances surrounding his tragic passing on 9 March 2024."The comhairle hopes that the conclusion of this case will offer the family some closure."The local authority said the door security system in use at St Brendan's Care Home was a key factor in this case. A new security system had been purchased, but at the time of the incident the work to install it had not been spokesperson said: "Comhairle nan Eilean Siar is committed to the delivery of high standards of care to all residents in our residential homes. "In this instance these standards were not fully met."They said the comhairle had implemented health and safety improvements and would continue to work with the Care Inspectorate to ensure its residential homes operated to the highest possible standards.
BBC News
25-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Concern over future of council-run Stornoway abattoir
Concerns have been raised about the future of the UK's only local authority-run use of the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar-operated facility in Stornoway, Lewis, has fallen since 2018 and last year it failed to meet its £184,000 income target.A report to the comhairle's transport and infrastructure committee said the shortfall would need to be met from the local authority's municipal services councillor Angus Morrison urged crofters to use the abattoir or risk losing it, but he also raised some concerns fees for the service were to rise by 5%. The committee heard that some crofters were slaughtering livestock at home, rather than putting the animals to the was told there had been a decline in sheep numbers in the isles, which could also be affecting throughput at the facility. Mr Morrison told the committee: "We have to put a message out to the users that it is either use it or lose it as far as the abattoir is concerned."He added: "I don't think we're doing much good by putting an increase of 5% on the kill charges but I do understand that that has to happen."Slaughter fees for a sheep will rise to about £ a Tuath councillor Donald Crichton said crofters were being discouraged from increasing their sheep stock due to bureaucracy around year, the comhairle used £50,000 of Crown Estate funding to support the abattoir.A saving of about £14,000 was also achieved by opening the site later in the by local democracy reporter Peter Urpeth.
BBC News
20-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Glasgow gives go-ahead for 'tourist tax' on visitors
Visitors to Glasgow will be charged an average of £4.83 per night extra for accommodation after councillors approved a new "tourist tax" for the visitor levy, which is due to come into force in January 2027, will charge 5% on overnight stays. It comes after Edinburgh councillors approved a similar charge in January and will cover hotels, hostels, guest houses, B&Bs and self-catering local authority hopes to raise around £16m per year via the tax, which it says will go towards infrastructure improvements and events in the city. Where is a tourist tax charged? Several other regions in Scotland are looking at similar plans, with proposals from Highland and Argyll and Bute week Comhairle nan Eilean Siar paused plans to introduce a similar visitor levy, following strong public opposition and Ayrshire Council also abandoned plans for a tourist tax in the region, as only 15% of respondents in a public consultation supported the proposal compared to 79% accommodation providers would be liable for the levy and required to submit quarterly reports - with potential penalties for non-compliant organisations. Businesses would retain 1.5% of the funds collected to cover their own by Sarah Hilley at the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
BBC News
18-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Western Isles Council pauses plans for a visitor levy
Plans to develop a "tourist tax" for the Western Isles have been put on nan Eilean Siar, along with other Scottish local authorities, were given powers to introduce a visitor levy on overnight accommodation in a report to councillors said a cost benefit analysis suggested it would have "marginal benefits", and could potentially harm the islands' tourism said the pause would also allow time for a potential introduction of a "point-of-entry" levy, which could be charged at ports and airports. Councillors were told that Orkney and Shetland island councils had adopted a similar policy to pause the introduction of their visitor levy in the Western Isles has been growing, with more than 389,000 visitors in 2023 - up 21.8% from 2022 figures, according to a feasibility report prepared for the report said accommodation was mostly provided by small-scale self-catering providers, with 1,246 businesses offering about 7,900 South Ayrshire Council is set to abandon plans for a tourist tax in the local authority mooted the prospect of charging for overnight stays in a bid to boost its a public consultation into the plan was heavily negative, with only 15% of respondents supporting the proposal compared to 79% by local democracy reporter Peter Urpeth.
