Chancellor Jeremy Hunt called it a 'budget for long term growth' with a boost for the drinks sector and a blow for oil and gas.
The Highland MP says 'VAT-free streets is not just about economic revival but also about ensuring fairness.'
The Labour MSP says 'local benefit from these developments has not improved and communities are losing out.'
Unison has 'grave concerns' about violence in schools and the EIS has lashed out at proposals to cut 70 principal teachers.
Safety concerns have been raised in a Black Isle community amid fears that the narrow road and increasing traffic are an accident waiting to happen.
Education secretary Jenny Gilruth has agreed to meet with north-west coast parents to discuss "detrimental" issues within Highland high schools.
The council is investigating more than 300 land owners and property developers for breaching planning rules, without publishing any details online.
The agreed proposals are branded 'nebulous, vague, hazy, obscure, indistinct, unclear, indefinite, murky, blurred, formless and featureless.'
Council leader Raymond Bremner says it 'allows for significant investment to take place and protect jobs across our communities.'
Staff at the University of the Highlands and Islands hit the picket line this morning amid ongoing strike action over pay and job losses.