Cost of Living

Stagecoach North confirms its ticket prices will change at the end of April, but does not provide details as to new costs or if any will be lower.

The analysis reveals an 18% drop in care homes over 10 years while the over-75 population rose by almost 72%.

Work to develop Scotland’s first training and reuse village in Inverness has started.

An Inverness cafe announced it will increase its prices in a bid to keep the business sustainable amid rising running costs.

Could an energy bill rebate for Highland residents be a step closer? That’s the hope of a local MP after a meeting with a UK government minister.

A Highland MSP condemned the “dangerous” rhetoric around disability payments during a Holyrood debate on planned UK welfare cuts.

Council leader Raymond Bremner says the move sparked by ‘eye-watering’ £70m in unclaimed benefits.

The £818m draft budget will be debated - and likely agreed - at a full meeting of the local authority next week.

The SNP MP says ‘people who can see excess energy being generated from their gardens should not be paying more to heat their homes’.

LibDem MP warns costs are fuelling the Highlands having the second highest fuel poverty rate in the UK.

The meeting will decide whether to cut council house rent rises from 8% to 6% at the expense of measures to save tenants money on heating bills.

The ‘significant burden’ of loan charges consumes 43% of the budget while 31% goes on repairs and maintenance.

Hard-up Highland families struggling to pay for their children’s school meals have had those debts written off.

Unpaid carers, disabled people and people on low incomes are being encouraged to see if they are entitled to thousands of pounds in benefits in 2025.

The creations of Inverness children are set to shine a light in the homes of those less fortunate across Scotland this Christmas.

Consultation has been extended over planned council rent increases of up to 10 per cent.

That is despite a large increase in Scottish Government funding announced in the draft budget.

Expert advisers based in the Highlands say they are able to offer help to householders who are facing rising energy bills this winter.

A “stark jump” in the number of homeless Highland children is a direct result of “cruel austerity policies”, an MSP has said after demanding action.

Pupils from four schools in Inverness and Nairn are helping to spread festive cheer by volunteering their services for a special mission.