Updated revenue forecast reported to Members of Highland council Whilst there still remains a great deal of uncertainty, current projections for the year end outturn position suggest a net budget overspend of £8.7m, an improvement from the £11.3m forecast overspend reported to Council in October. This position takes into account expected sources of additional government funding.
Article from Fraser of Allender Institute 9th November. Understanding the local economic impacts of the COVID-19 restrictions is crucial for assessing the potential long-term implications of this current crisis for local communities.
With just 50 days until the end of the EU Transition Period, EU benefit claimants living in the UK are being urged to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. The UK has left the EU, and is in the Transition Period which ends at the end of this year.
Article from the Fraser of Allender Institute 10 November 2020 New labour market data this morning provide an update on the Scottish and UK labour markets. On headline indicators for Scotland, which is all that has been updated this month, little has changed since the update last month.
The Businesses in Scotland publication provides information on the number of businesses (also known as enterprises) operating in Scotland as at March 2020. The main purpose of the publication is to provide an estimate of Scotland's business stock (the number of businesses operating in Scotland).
Half of disabled people who received medical care before the coronavirus (COVID-19) began said their treatment had been affected; just under one-third (29%) said they were either currently receiving treatment for only some of their conditions and around 1 in 5 (22%) said that their treatment had been cancelled or not started. This compares with 16% of non-disabled people who received treatment for only some of their conditions and 11% whose treatment had been cancelled or not started.
Ofsted has today (10 November 2020) published its second report on the effects of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic across the sectors it inspects and regulates. Ofsted's second report into the impact of the pandemic finds that children who were hardest hit by school closures and restrictions have regressed in some basic skills and learning.
Three council areas are to move up a protection level as cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to rise in their areas. Fife, Perth & Kinross and Angus local authority areas will move from Level 2 - where they have been since the new levels system was announced - to Level 3 with the change coming into effect from 6am on Friday 13 November.
Up to 64 additional medical speciality training posts are being created as part of the Scottish Government response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. NHS Education for Scotland (NES) has recommended recruiting 13 extra training posts in intensive care medicine with additional posts also being created in Public Health medicine, virology and medical microbiology.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency are reviewing the risks and benefits of the acne medicine, isotretinoin. In particular whether some of the possible psychiatric and sexual side effects continue after treatment has been stopped.
This item will point you to some research published in September 2020 a the Hutton Institute. The research is an ongoing project 2016 - 2021.
Early estimates for October 2020 suggest that there is a slight drop over the month in the number of payroll employees in the UK. Since March 2020, the number of payroll employees has fallen by 782,000; however, the larger falls were seen at the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
A podcast from the Institute of Fiscal Studies. There has been significant analysis of the furlough scheme in the wake of COVID-19, but far less attention has been paid to the welfare system and how benefits are being affected by the pandemic.
Scottish Secretary responds to November 2020 Labour Market Statistics for Scotland. Responding to today's [10 November 2020] Labour Market Statistics, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: Despite the apparent stability in today's figures for Scotland, we know there will be further challenges to come over the winter months.
I am happy to share with you that Pfizer and our collaborator, BioNTech, announced positive efficacy results from our Phase 3, late-stage study of our potential COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants without evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first interim efficacy analysis.
Platforms and UK government agree a package of measures to reduce vaccine disinformation. Platforms endorse the principle that no company should be profiting from COVID-19 vaccine mis/disinformation and commit to swifter responses to flagged content.
Marcus Rashford who plays for Manchester United and England has seen his campaign result in success for English families with a U-turn by the UK government and the details are below. Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales had already agreed there measure for covering free school meals in the holidays.
A new £4.5 million cashback incentive to help people install renewable and energy efficiency measures in their homes has been announced by the Scottish Government. Homeowners will be able to apply for 75% cashback up to the value of £7,500 towards the cost of a renewable heating system and a further 40% cashback up to £6,000 for energy efficiency measures.
On 31 October 2020, the Prime Minister announced that the Government will be introducing new national COVID-19 measures in England to protect the NHS and save lives. This means from 5 November 2020 until 2 December 2020 in England, the following updated jobcentre guidance will apply to customers, and will ensure essential support is provided whilst keeping colleagues and customers safe.
Pfizer/BioNTech published positive efficacy results from Phase 3 studies of their potential COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer/BioNTech today (Monday 9 November) published positive efficacy results from Phase 3 studies of their potential Covid-19 vaccine, showing it to be more than 90% effective in preventing coronavirus in participants.
