Rachel Reeves thinks the economy has to grow to make everyone better off. But is she right?.
Third cohort of semiconductor start-ups backed by government to drive economic growth. A third cohort of innovative UK semiconductor businesses are chosen to join ChipStart, to continue driving economic growth and creating high-skilled jobs under the Plan for Change.
A transformational technology that uses microwaves to defrost and ultrasound to break down contaminants in melted lunar ice to provide clean, drinkable water for astronauts has won the UK Space Agency-funded Aqualunar Challenge. The Aqualunar Challenge is an international prize for technologies to purify ice frozen in the Moon's soil to make human habitation on the lunar surface possible.
The world's first artificial satellite, the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1, was launched in October 1957. Just three months later, it fell out of orbit.
The latest statistics cover the period up to March 2024 and three-year averages for levels of relative and absolute poverty show a broadly stable trend over the past decade for children, working age adults and pensioners. Three-year average results show that: Working-age adults and pensioners are less likely to be in poverty compared to children: 20% of working-age adults and 15% of pensioners are in relative poverty after housing costs, compared to 23% of children.
HMRC interest rates for late payments will be increased by 1.5% for all taxes from 6 April 2025. The HMRC interest rates for late payments will be increased by 1.5% for all taxes from 6 April 2025 following a change in legislation.
AI Accelerator Programme will enable participants to work on projects across several government departments. This will include justice, health, and transport, to improve public services, drive efficiencies, and support the Government's broader Plan for Change.
New statistics show that child poverty in Scotland has fallen, in contrast to the rest of the UK. Annual statistics published today show that compared with the previous year's statistics, relative child poverty in 2023-24 reduced from 26% to 22% in Scotland while absolute child poverty fell from 23% to 17%.
Rachel Reeves' Spring Statement either doesn't add up, or it reveals a deeply dangerous economic policy, and it may do both. .
A Scottish Government agreement with GPs to improve general practice has failed to deliver on several of its commitments. The 2018 General Medical Service (GMS) contract aimed to address the financial pressures and growing workloads facing GPs, and to improve patients' access to care.
The spring statement is supposed to be a boring affair. But these days fiscal events seem to carry more weight, with global events making life difficult for UK finances.
Community health and social care finances are increasingly precarious. Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) must urgently work with their partners in the NHS and councils to reform how they deliver services to achieve financial sustainability.
Out of date tech and poor-quality data put public sector adoption at risk as public trust jeopardised over transparency in use of algorithms according to the Public Accounts Committee. Significant challenges lie in the way of Government's plans to support public sector adoption of artificial intelligence (AI).
Local authorities will directly receive £10 million to support new, or to enhance existing, approaches to restoring biodiversity through the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF). More than £55 million has been awarded via the NRF since its launch in 2021 for projects delivering habitat and species restoration, coastal and marine initiatives and control of invasive non-native species.
Retail sales volumes dropped sharply in the year to March, marking the sector's sixth consecutive month of decline. That’s according to the latest CBI Distributive Trades Survey.
The Business and Trade Committee yesterday took the unusual step of asking the Government to ‘reflect and revise' its response to its January 1st report on finally achieving long-delayed justice and redress for victims of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal. It has been described as the greatest miscarriage of justice in UK history.
The CMA sets out its concerns over Ticketmaster's sale of Oasis tickets. CMA is concerned that Ticketmaster’s approach may have misled Oasis fans.
International evidence clears the way for the Bank of England to cut rates faster in support of higher growth, says TUC New analysis of OECD data - published today (TBC) by the TUC - finds that there is no international evidence of higher consumer spending and faster growth leading to inflation over the last three years. The analysis looks at data on consumer spending, GDP growth and inflation for 36 OECD countries across the three years from Q3 2021 to Q3 2024.
Scotland's onshore GDP grew by 0.3% in January 2025, according to statistics announced by the Chief Statistician. This follows growth of 0.5% in December 2024 (revised from 0.6%) .
OBR forecast concludes housebuilding will be at its highest level in over 40 years a result of UK government's planning reforms by 2029/30. This brings UK closer to Plan for Growth 1.5 million homes target.
The combination of a weak economic outlook and benefit cuts that fall disproportionately on lower-income families means that living standards are on track to fall. This will happen over the next five years for the poorest half of households by £500 on average, according to the Resolution Foundation's overnight analysis of Spring Statement 2025.
Rachel Reeves provided more detail on the forecast savings from the changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) eligibility announced on 18 March. This blog updates last week's SPICe blog on the potential impact in Scotland.
Chancellor vows to bring about "new era of security and national renewal" as she delivered a Spring Statement to kickstart economic growth, protect working people and keep Britain safe. People to be on average £500 a year better off by the end of this parliament compared to under the previous government, putting more money in people's pockets.
A deterioration in the outlook for the public finances meant that fresh fiscal consolidation was needed in the Chancellor's Spring Statement to meet her fiscal rules. But with £4.8 billion of the savings coming from rushed welfare changes that will leave 3.2 million families £1,700 worse off on average, this unbalanced approach risks causing significant damage to many families’ living standards, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday).
First Minister John Swinney is set to announce £25 million of funding to local authorities to invest in the renewal of play parks across Scotland. All councils will receive a share of the funding to improve the standard of existing play parks - helping to ensure children have access to safe environments to play and socialise in.
Barrow is a blueprint for how defence spending can boost communities up and down the country, the Prime Minister will say while on a visit to the town today. Keir Starmer joins Vanguard Class submarine crew returning home from nuclear deterrent patrol to thank them for their silent service Comes as he visits Barrow to lay the keel of the next generation Dreadnought submarine, the next generation of the UK's nuclear deterrent.
Entertainment from Junior members. See poster for tickets.
Tickets from the bar from 14 March. Show starts at 7:15pm.
Venue: Mount Pleasant Primary School, Thurso Programme: Bizet - L'Arlessienne Suites 1 & 2, conducted by Susie Dingle Wagner - The Pilgrims' Chorus from Tannhauseer, conducted by James Doherty.
Venue: East Caithness Church of Scotland, Argyle Square, Wick. Programme: Bizet - L'Arlessienne Suites 1 & 2, conducted by Susie Dingle Wagner - The Pilgrims' Chorus from Tannhauser, conducted by James Doherty.
Today is World Book Day, an important moment to reflect on the power of storytelling to inspire, educate and connect young people across the world. Reading is a fundamental right - one that opens doors, fuels imaginations and shapes futures.
More crime victims will get access to a range of information about the perpetrator and have a say on decisions about their prison release under newly unveiled justice reforms. Currently victims can register with the Victim Notification Scheme (VNS) if the offender in their case has been sentenced to 18 months or more in prison, or with the Victim Information Scheme if the sentence was less than 18 months.
People who have purchased Boots Paracetamol 500mg Tablets 16s (Item code 81-99-922, Batch 241005, Expiry date 12/2029) are advised to stop using the product immediately and return it to a Boots store for a full refund, because of a packaging error. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued a medicines recall alert due to a packaging error where the foil blister inside the carton incorrectly states ‘Aspirin 300mg Dispersible Tablets' instead of ‘Paracetamol 500mg Tablets'.
The Highland Council is inviting community groups and organisations to submit Expressions of Interest for Community Regeneration Funding (CRF) to finance capital projects that will respond to the needs of their local areas and deliver positive impacts. Community Regeneration Funding is an umbrella term being used to cover multiple community-led external funding programmes being administered by the Highland Council.
People across Scotland encouraged to get potential symptoms checked earlier. The latest phase of the Scottish Government's ‘Be the Early Bird' campaign has a new focus on head and neck cancer symptoms.
The following article is the result of research in England but Scotland may well be similar with a higher level of social housing. As of 31st March 2022, there were 2.7 million dwellings estimated in Scotland.
When The Highland Council's Harbours Management Board met earlier today, (Friday 28 February 2025) members expressed their delight that two projects are bringing benefits to the council, the fishing industry and their local communities. The Highland Council manages approximately ninety ports, harbours and marine facilities, ten of which provide Marine Gas Oil (MGO) bunkering facilities.
Gaelic language broadcasting is to receive an additional £1.8 million to help build on the success of BBC Alba's crime thriller An t-Eilean. The increase is contained in the Scottish Government's 2025/26 Budget and raises total funding for MG ALBA (the Gaelic Media Service) to £14.8 million in the upcoming financial year.
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