The Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) is warning that Scotland faces slower tax revenue growth, rising spending pressures, and a widening long‑term fiscal gap. We should pay attention, because the SFC is Scotland’s official, independent fiscal watchdog, and its forecasts shape the Scottish Government’s budget decisions.
Maternal and child health expert Professor Christine McCourt is to lead a review into improving maternity services across Scotland. Health Secretary Angela Constance announced the appointment in an update to Parliament.
For weeks the world's financial markets have been dominated by one issue – conflict in the Middle East. The fighting involving the United States and Iran, together with fears over the Strait of Hormuz, pushed oil prices sharply higher, increased inflation concerns and sent investors rushing into traditional safe-haven assets such as gold.
The Office for National Statistics reports that real GDP grew by 0.7% in the three months to April 2026 compared with the three months to January 2026, marking the fifth consecutive quarter‑on‑quarter rise and continuing a modest recovery trend. Despite that three‑month gain, the ONS records a monthly contraction of 0.1% in April 2026, the first monthly fall since August 2025.
If you are 16 to 19 years old, at school or college, and come from a low-income household you may be able to get financial help from an Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA). EMA is a weekly allowance of £30 per week, paid during term time.
The Office for National Statistics reports that total construction output in Great Britain rose by 1.6% in the three months to April 2026, marking a second consecutive quarterly increase. The monthly picture for April was much flatter.
National Insurance (NI) behaves like a “stealth” tax in practice. It raises revenue from earnings, is visible as a payroll deduction, and increasingly functions like a second income tax rather than a narrowly hypothecated social‑insurance contribution.
the technology exists and China has already built commercial underwater data centres that use seawater cooling and offshore wind. But Scotland faces distinct geographic, regulatory and economic hurdles that make the idea promising in theory but challenging in practice.
Fiscal drag is a “stealth” tax rise. By freezing tax thresholds while wages rise, more of your pay is pushed into higher bands so you pay more tax even though rates haven’t changed.
Uncle Sam, that venerable cartoon uncle with the stern hat and the taxpayer’s wallet, has taken to pacing the global stage with the same confident gait as the Grand Old Duke of York. He gathers his battalions of policy, rhetoric and procurement, marches them up the hill of strategic purpose, and then, with equal ceremony, marches them down again leaving behind a trail of invoices, supply‑chain tangles and a public ledger that looks suspiciously like a marching band’s expense report.
Convener of the Council comments on Scottish Parliament Public Service Reform debate. “The public sector continues to operate in an extremely challenging financial environment, where funding has not kept pace with rising service demand and the priorities we face as a region.
People keep asking me whether the UK is heading for a house price crash. The honest answer is that nobody knows for certain.
The Office for National Statistics reports that total goods and services trade deficit widened by £7.7 billion to £39.9 billion in the three months to April 2026, compared with the three months to January 2026. On the monthly headline, goods exports and goods imports each rose by £0.8 billion in April 2026, equivalent to a 2.6 percent increase in exports and a 1.5 percent increase in imports versus March.
Thousands of young people in Scotland are to be offered free vaccination against meningococcal B disease (MenB) ahead of the 2026-27 academic year. Meningococcal disease, which can include meningitis and/or septicaemia, is life-threatening and can result in life-changing disabilities including amputations, hearing loss, and brain damage.
The World Cup is an opportunity to showcase what Scotland has to offer as a place to live, work, study, do business and visit, First Minister John Swinney has said. The First Minister will be in Boston to undertake a series of engagements with business leaders and investors, before joining celebrations to mark Scotland’s men's national football team's return to the World Cup, ahead of the match on Saturday.
For most people, council committee papers and audit reports are not the sort of documents that attract much attention. They are full of technical language, financial terminology and governance structures that can make even the most determined reader give up after a few pages.
The Accounts Commission has warned today that Scotland’s councils are heading into their most difficult financial year in decades, with a £529 million shortfall opening up for 2026/27. For Caithness, where services already operate at the limits of geography and staffing, the implications are starker than the national headlines suggest.
New Resolution analysis published (Wednesday 10 June 2026) shows why time should be called on the expensive and wasteful Triple Lock on the State Pension. The briefing shows that the Triple Lock has been far too expensive.
Workers report AI is already actively making their jobs worse as well as outright taking their jobs. Paul Nowak says: “AI must be designed, governed and negotiated by and for workers”.
The renewed exchange of strikes between the United States and Iran today has increased the likelihood that the Bank of England will adopt an even more cautious tone next week, although it is still unlikely to change the expected decision to hold interest rates at 3.75%. Oil prices remain the biggest concern.