News In Brief - Monday 9 March 2026
Thank you once again for tuning in to News in Brief with important updates and news highlights of all that is happening over the coming week.
Monday 9 March: Food Waste Action Week
Running until Sunday 15 March, this year’s Food Waste Action Week (FWAW) campaign is all about making your food go further – for your pocket, and for our planet. This year FWAW is challenging you to use up leftovers creatively and bring in a leftover lunch, plan meals so you only buy what you need, and recycle the bits that can’t be eaten both when you’re at home and at work! Visit Love Food Hate Waste for useful recipe ideas and tips on reducing food waste.
Also on Monday: Welcome to Your Vote Week 2026
Taking place from Monday 9 to 16 March, schools, colleges and youth groups across North Ayrshire will be using the Welcome to Your Vote Week campaign to engage with young people on the importance of democracy and making their voices heard. Run by the Electoral Commission, this year’s theme is ‘get informed and get involved’. Find out more on the Welcome to Your Vote website and stay tuned to our Facebook for updates.
Tuesday 10 March: Eating for Mood and Wellbeing
Understand how to identify poor nutritional choices and how they affect your blood sugar levels, gut health, mood, and your concentration levels in the next PAM Wellness webinar - Registration Link - Eating for Mood, Concentration, Focus and Mental Wellbeing (once registered, you will receive a separate meeting link for the webinar).
Wednesday 11 March: No Smoking Day
Do you want to quit smoking or vaping? NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s ‘Quit Your Way’ is a free service that can support you. Get support to stop smoking or vaping via the NHS Ayrshire and Arran website to take the next step in your cessation journey this No Smoking Day.
Thursday 12 March: B714 groundbreaking
Work will officially get under way on the first phase of the B714 upgrade. The £34.7million project which will deliver significant improvements on a key artery between the Three Towns and the Garnock Valley, connecting North Ayrshire with Glasgow.
Also on Thursday: Cyber security webinar
The Cyber Security team will be hosting an all-staff webinar this Thursday from 2pm all about hidden risks with free software and online services, the evolving threat landscape and simple actions we can all take to protect council data and systems. Sign up for the cyber security webinar on MS Teams.
Lastly on Thursday: International Women’s Day event
Following on from Sunday’s International Women’s Day, the North Ayrshire Alcohol and Drugs Partnership is hosting an IWD event at Fullarton ConneXions in Irvine on Thursday 12 March (1pm to 4pm), where you'll find information stalls, wellbeing activities, food/refreshments, prize draw and a creche and children's activities. The event is open to all, including staff, and no booking is required, just pop along on the day.
Murray braves the shave!
Murray Arnott, Foreperson Driver in the Council’s Corporate Property and Transport team has made the decision to brave the shave to raise money for charity. Raising in excess of £600 to date, he bravely chose to shave his beloved beard for North Ayrshire Cancer Care with the help of his team. If you want to donate and see before and after pictures, head on over to Murray’s feature on Staff News.
Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS) recruiting for volunteers
Applications are closing soon! Don’t miss out on the opportunity to support your community and apply to become a Panel Practise Adviser today! Full details via the CHS news article.
Colleagues urged to ensure they're eligible to vote on 7 May
Anyone living in North Ayrshire is being encouraged to check that they are eligible to vote in May’s Scottish Parliamentary Election. Voters will go to the polls on Thursday 7 May to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament - but only those who are on the Electoral Register will be able to cast their vote. Read more via the voting eligibility Latest News article.
Complete the accessibility support survey
The Web and Digital Experience team are committed to ensuring that we can provide effective training and support to all our colleagues. The team have created a short accessibility support survey to better understand, what’s working well for you, any challenges and what can be improved. All responses are confidential, and your honesty will directly shape next steps.
Council Standing Orders ilearn training reminder
Colleagues with budgetary management or expenditure approval responsibilities or have the responsibility for procuring contracts are reminded to complete the annual Council Standing Orders iLearn training. The deadline to complete the training on iLearn alongside all other mandatory training modules is 31 March 2026.
Help the Council’s digital transformation journey
North Ayrshire Council is undertaking a Digital Maturity Assessment (DMA) in partnership with the Digital Office for Scottish Local Government to better understand our digital strengths, challenges, and opportunities across the organisation. Full details are in the DMA update on Staff News. Taking place between now and August, the Transformation team will be contacting all senior managers to confirm participation in an upcoming DMA Service Innovation Workshops. Managers will nominate staff to participate in a series of service innovation workshops. All other colleagues will also have the opportunity to share their insights in an online survey which will be issued soon.
That’s all If you have news to share in News In Brief next week, share your story with us by midday on Friday by using the contact us button below. Have a great week everyone!
