News Archive

Stronger Than Expected December Growth Sees The UK Avoid A Double Dip, But Suffer The Biggest Output Fall In Over 300 Years

Responding to the latest ONS GDP figures, which show that the economy grew by 1.2 per cent in December, and by 1 per cent in the final three months of 2020, but fell by 9.9 per cent over 2020 as a whole (making it the biggest annual economic contraction since 1709), James Smith, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation, said: "The economy continued to grow at the end of last year, despite public health restrictions, as firms continued to adapt to restrictions by shifting their working patterns and even business models.   "Positive growth in the last quarter of 2020 means the country is likely to avoid a double dip recession, despite the economy being set to contract in early 2021.  

Record Year For Uk's £8.9bn Cyber Security Sector

A new government report shows that the UK's growing cyber industry attracted record investment last year, despite the global pandemic.   New report shows almost 50,000 people are now employed in UK cyber security Number of active cyber security firms in the UK increased 21 per cent on last year.  

Parliamentary Debate Secured For Later Today To Commemorate The Highlands & Islands Doctors And Nurses Who Inspired The Creation Of The Nhs.

A PARLIAMENTARY debate has been secured for later today (Thursday, February 18) by a North MSP to commemorate the Highlands & Islands doctors and nurses who inspired the creation of the NHS.   At 5.45pm today, David Stewart will tell colleagues in the chamber at Holyrood it is likely the case that not many people are crystal clear on "our greatest achievement as a region - the Highlands & Islands Medical Service".  

Draft Guidance Brought Forward On Short-term Lets

Legislation for a short-term lets licensing scheme has been withdrawn from the Scottish Parliament to allow for draft guidance to be developed.   A stakeholder working group has been established to help develop the guidance and meets today for the first time.  

Coronavirus COVID-19 daily data for Scotland - 18 February 2021

685 new cases of COVID-19 reported.   21,280 new tests for COVID-19 that reported results - 3.8% of these were positive.  

Lessons to be learned from pandemic response - Audit Scotland Report

Audit Scotland report published today (17 February 2021) on how the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland handled the pandemic.   The Scottish Government acted quickly to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed by Covid19, but it could have been better prepared to respond to the pandemic.  

Coronavirus Covid-19 Daily Data For Scotland - 17 February 2021

1,121 new cases of COVID-19 reported.   24,343 new tests for COVID-19 that reported results - 5.2% of these were positive.  

Is The Social Care System Delivering For Adults With Learning Disabilities? - A Podcast

A Podcast from Fraser of Allender Institute.   In this podcast, we discuss our latest report examining the system that delivers social care and support to adults with learning disabilities in Scotland.  

How has Covid affected household savings?

An article from the Bank of England.   Since the start of the Covid-19 (Covid) pandemic.  

Government Gives Businesses Much-needed Breathing Space With Extension Of Insolvency Measures

Measures from the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act extended to relieve pressure on businesses dealing with coronavirus.   Update February 2021 The government announced it intends to extend the power (granted through the Corporate Governance and Insolvency Act) to make temporary amendments or modify the effects of corporate insolvency and governance legislation for an additional year.