News Archive

Will Trump rip up Reeves's rebalanced books?

Stewart Wood, a Labour peer and former adviser to Gordon Brown, joins the Institute for government podcast team to assess Rachel Reeves's attempts to turn around the economy.   How much will welfare cuts upset Labour backbenchers? What could Donald Trump's tariffs mean for Reeves's plans?.  

Family to be reunited with Nazi-looted artwork after eight decades

The heirs and great-grandchildren of Jewish Belgian art collector Samuel Hartveld are set to receive a painting by Henry Gibbs currently in the collection of the Tate.   Hartveld and his wife fled Belgium prior to the German occupation during the Second World War, leaving behind their most treasured possessions The heirs and great-grandchildren of Jewish Belgian art collector Samuel Hartveld are set to be reunited with a painting that was looted by the Nazis when he fled his home city of Antwerp during the Second World War in May 1940.  

Avian influenza (bird flu) outbreaks - Latest situation

An Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) was declared across the whole of Scotland on 25 January 2025.   This zone introduces strict biosecurity measures for all bird keepers - including those who keep pet birds - to help prevent the spread of avian influenza from wild birds or any other source.  

Child poverty and food insecurity have been rising for three consecutive years

The latest Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data for 2023-24 suggests that rates of relative child poverty, food insecurity and absolute poverty have all risen for the third year in a row.  This puts further pressure on the Government to deliver an ambitious promised Child Poverty Strategy, the Resolution Foundation said.  

Rachel Reeves' figures in the Spring Statement don‘t stack up - and are very scary

Rachel Reeves' Spring Statement either doesn't add up, or it reveals a deeply dangerous economic policy, and it may do both.  .  

Government backs next wave of semiconductor start-ups to scale up growth

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.  

Spring Statement heralds further boost to growth in Scotland

Scottish Secretary welcomes Chancellor's £2.2billion defence budget boost to create more jobs and opportunities in the sector as part of Plan for Change.   Chancellor Rachel Reeves this week pledged a new era of security and national renewal as she delivered a Spring Statement to kickstart economic growth, protect working people and keep Britain safe.  

Poverty levels broadly stable over last decade

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.  

Child poverty in Scotland falls

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%.  

Reform urgently needed to tackle precarious health and social care 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.