Two new reports published in Scotland have put the spotlight on a question that is becoming increasingly important as government budgets come under pressure. Who actually benefits from the money spent on tackling poverty and reducing the cost of living? A new analysis by the Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI), prepared for the Poverty and Inequality Commission, examines the distributional impact of Scotland's Cost of Living Guarantee.
Diesel has become one of the more worrying parts of the current energy story, and the reasons go well beyond the price of crude oil. For motorists in Caithness, the effect is already visible at the pumps.
Most people think about diesel when they pull into a filling station. But the price of diesel matters to almost everyone, including people who never drive a diesel car.
There is something slightly strange about spending money painting a building which is eventually going to be demolished. That is what is happening at Dounreay, where the famous steel sphere containing the Dounreay Fast Reactor is being maintained while the difficult job of removing what remains inside it continues.
A new three-year programme (14 September) is expected to help more than 500 businesses and social enterprises across the Highlands and Islands to innovate and grow. Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has approved a £1.78m budget to fund the programme, which builds on ten years of innovation support by the agency.
The collapse of a student accommodation business in Dundee has left almost 70 students scrambling to find somewhere to live just as the new academic year gets under way. But the story is about more than one failed property company.
Dounreay is no longer the giant nuclear research establishment it once was, but a new economic assessment shows that it remains one of the most important pillars of the Caithness and north Sutherland economy. The question that follows from that is perhaps even more important.
Dounreay Supports Almost One in Four Jobs Across Caithness and North Sutherland Dounreay's importance to the Caithness economy is even greater than many people might realise. A new economic impact assessment commissioned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and carried out by PwC estimates that the Dounreay site supported £179 million of economic activity in Caithness and North Sutherland during 2024/25.
Scotland wants economic growth, new housing, renewable energy and major infrastructure projects. But according to a new report from the CBI, one of the biggest obstacles may be something rather less dramatic: the planning system.
Council tax is one of those bills that most households know only too well. It arrives every month or in a series of instalments, and it helps pay for services ranging from rubbish collection and roads to schools, social care and other council services.
Scotland is often described as offering university education for free because eligible Scottish students studying at Scottish universities do not have to pay tuition fees. But university is certainly not free.
A 23% fall in Scottish company insolvencies in August sounds like good news for business. But one month's figures can sometimes tell only part of the story.
Diesel prices have become an increasingly uncomfortable issue for motorists and businesses as the disruption to Middle Eastern oil supplies adds another layer of uncertainty to an already difficult energy market. For people in Caithness, the problem is particularly visible at the forecourt.
A new report from the Resolution Foundation has highlighted a problem facing some of Britain's lowest-income private renters housing. Support has stopped keeping pace with rents.
For households across Britain, the energy crisis of 2022 can still feel like a fairly recent memory. Now the gas market is beginning to send another warning, although the circumstances are different this time.
The collapse of Midland Bakeries Limited raises a wider question. Is this simply the failure of one relatively small bakery business, or is it another sign that the economics of baking are becoming increasingly difficult?.
There is a Government website that many people will never have heard of. Want to more then read on.
Something important is happening in Scotland's public services, and it goes considerably further than another round of annual budget cuts. The Scottish Government is now talking about changing the way public services themselves are organised.
The price of crude oil is only part of the story – and diesel is currently facing a serious supply problem. There is something rather strange happening at Britain's filling stations.
It has been another busy week in Caithness, with several stories that are likely to have a longer life than the normal local news cycle. Healthcare, sewage, renewable energy, rural crime and the forthcoming Wick and East Caithness by-election have all been making headlines.