New annual Winter Heating Payment begins in Scotland. Help with heating costs is on its way to around 400,000 people on low incomes through a new Scottish Government benefit, with the first payments processed this week.
UK trains Ukrainian soldiers to operate Challenger 2 tanks as part of ongoing support to Ukraine. Training on UK Challenger 2 tanks for Ukrainian soldiers is continuing at pace in the South-West of England after the UK committed to provide 14 vehicles and accompanying ammunition to support Ukraine's defence.
Organisations supporting victims and survivors of crime in Scotland will receive a £500,000 boost from a fund that takes money from offenders. Seven organisations - including Victim Support Scotland and Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland - will share grant funding to provide practical help directly to victims.
The new penalties will be fairer and more proportionate for businesses who submit their VAT returns or pay their VAT late. The first monthly returns and payments affected by the penalties are due by 7 March 2023.
An additional bank holiday on Monday, 8 May 2023 has been approved at a meeting of the Council's Corporate Resources Committee. The additional bank holiday is in honour of the coronation of His Majesty King Charles.
Leaders from competition, academia and industry brought in to advise the CMA as it prepares for new powers to oversee digital markets. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has appointed specialists at the forefront of technological innovation, online competition and tackling the dominance of some of the world's most powerful firms.
A further £1 million will be provided to organisations to help support people in Ukraine. The Scottish Government funding will enable the organisations to provide generators, heaters and blankets to families and essential facilities such as hospitals and shelters.
Tesco announced it will give store workers a 7% pay rise, in what will be the third increase in ten months. The supermarket reached an agreement with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) and will increase the hourly pay rate by 72p.
Rt Hon John Glen MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury delivered a speech on why and how we can mobilise resources and rewire the global financial system for a sustainable, prosperous future. Good morning and thank you for your kind introduction and invitation to come and be part of this conference today.
There are wide range of reasons why you need to renew your driving licence Failure to do so can result in fines up to £1000. 70 years of age and over - need to renew every three years.
An additional £223 million will be provided to local authorities to support pay awards to staff as part of the 2023-24 Scottish Budget. Deputy First Minister John Swinney said an improving financial position enabled him to address some pressing asks.
The Resolution Foundation looking at various issues on employment sine the pandemic and to the future. Despite unemployment reaching historic lows, a rise in economic inactivity means that the UK employment rate remains one percentage point lower than pre-pandemic.
We are encountering an increasing number of heavy goods vehicles mounted with large HIAB-type loader cranes. These vehicles have often been converted to accommodate cranes which weigh 80 tonnes or more.
New developments to deliver for people and nature. 'Biodiversity Net Gain' to be introduced from November helping deliver the nature friendly homes of the future.
The number of pregnant women who had their babies delivered in Caithness last year was the lowest since local maternity services were downgraded. Eight women had their babies at Caithness General's midwife-led unit in Wick, while 202 gave birth more than 100 miles away in Inverness.
Record tax receipts from self-assessment in January and downward revisions to previous months mean that borrowing is around £30 billion lower than the Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) forecast last November for the year to date, providing a fresh tonic to the Chancellor as he prepares to deliver his Spring Budget in three weeks’ time, the Resolution Foundation said yesterday (21 February 2023) in response to the ONS public sector finances data. Self-Assessment tax receipts in January were the highest on record (since April 1999) at £21.9 billion, a third higher than last year and £3.6bn higher than OBR forecast.
Scotland's largest health union, UNISON, has today (Wednesday 22 February 2023) began balloting its 50,000 health members on pay - with the union recommending members vote to accept the offer. If accepted, the offer would see the majority of Scotland's health workers receive at least 6.5% increase on pay as well as a 1.5% one-off payment.
The owner of the Wick post office has already indicated it would close in March It closed yesterday without much notice. The Post Office is looking at how to deliver services in future.
Plans to refurbish and reconfigure Caithness General Hospital, in Wick, are expected to take a major step forward next month, with the appointment of a Principal Supply Chain Partner (PSCP) to carry out the design and construction work. The multi-million pound project is just one element of a much wider programme of transformational change to redesign, modernise and improve health and social care services in Caithness.
A site in the Noss area of Wick has been confirmed by NHS Highland the preferred location for a new Community Hub and Care Village. The proposed development, along with a similar facility at the Dunbar Hospital in Thurso, is one of the key parts of wider proposals to redesign, modernise and improve health and social care services in Caithness.
