Today's Office for National Statistics (ONS) construction data showing a fall in output and how policymakers' ambitions to build many more houses sit alongside that short-term weakness. This includes the broader context for the UK housing market and construction sector.
The value of goods imports increased by £0.4 billion (0.7%) in December 2025, with a rise in imports from non-EU countries partially offset by a fall in imports from the EU. The value of goods exports fell by £1.0 billion (3.2%) in December 2025, with falls in exports to both EU and non-EU countries.
New investment has been announced to help attract and retain high-growth life science companies in Scotland. A £35 million Life Sciences Accommodation Programme from Scottish Enterprise will improve the availability of affordable premises to businesses in the sector as they commercialise and expand.
In the three months to December 2025, compared with the three months to September 2025. Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.1%, after a fall of 0.1% in the three months to November (revised down from a growth of 0.1% in our previous bulletin), and a fall of 0.1% in the three months to October 2025 (revised down from showing no growth in our previous bulletin).
If you are shopping online for Valentine's Day gifts this year, avoid potentially dangerous counterfeit products. According to our recent survey, almost a quarter (24%) of Scots would consider purchasing counterfeit cosmetics, perfume or candles.
Exports of goods to the United States, including precious metals, rose by £0.1 billion (2.5%) in December 2025 (Figure 3). The rise in exports was because of a £0.2 billion increase in exports of chemicals which was partially offset by small falls in exports of most other commodities.
Reconviction rate after Community Payback lower than short term sentences. The success of community-based sentences in reducing reoffending and paying back to society has been highlighted by Justice Secretary Angela Constance following the recently announced extra funding for alternatives to custody.
Lowering the train driver age from 20 to 18 will give younger people the chance to build rewarding careers in the UK railway industry. train driver age lowered from 20 to 18, opening pathways for young people this National Apprenticeship Week.
On the windswept moors near Bettyhill in northern Scotland, a new chapter in community‑centred renewable energy is unfolding. The Bettyhill Wind Farm Phase 2 — a 10‑turbine onshore wind project being developed by Eden Renewables.
At a time when energy security, affordability and climate ambition are all under strain, the Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind (Generating Station) stands out as more than just another infrastructure project. Recently granted development consent, Outer Dowsing represents a decisive statement about the direction of the UK's energy system — and the scale of change now required to deliver it.
This announcement applies mainly to England but there may be opportunities in Scotland so keep looking in coming weeks and months. 13,000 apprenticeship and T Level opportunities created by government's plan to transform school buildings.
For years, motorists have suspected that fuel prices are something of a postcode lottery. A few miles down the road can mean a noticeable difference at the pump, yet until now there has been no easy way to see those differences in real time.
As 2026 unfolds, Britain's farmers find themselves locked in a climatic duel not of their choosing. It is one that has left fields waterlogged, livestock struggling through mire and mud, and long‑planned work delayed or undone.
During a visit to meet Royal Marine Commandos at Camp Viking in the Arctic Circle in northern Norway, the Defence Secretary will today confirm that the number of British troops deployed to Norway will double over three years from 1,000 to 2,000 personnel. British troops deployed to Norway to double over three years from 1,000 to 2,000 personnel.
For many of Britain's farmers, the start of 2026 has been a battle against water. Across large swathes of the country, persistent heavy rain and flooding have turned fields into quagmires and pastures into mud.
A report published today (11 February 2026) by the UK Parliament's Business and Trade Committee titled "Small business strategy" (Fifteenth Report of Session 2024-26, HC 1057) shows many of the issues facing small businesses in the UK. Main Findings SMEs are under significant pressure Small and medium-sized firms are facing economic challenges as severe as during the COVID-19 pandemic, with financial strain affecting confidence and growth prospects.
In 2026, the Scottish Government trumpeted modest tax relief for low and middle earners. Thresholds for the starter, basic, and intermediate bands were raised above inflation, a gesture meant to ease the squeeze on households.
When economists talk about the engines of the UK economy, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are always at the heart of the narrative. Accounting for 99.8 % of all UK businesses and supporting millions of jobs across communities, SMEs are vital to economic resilience and innovation.
In the past few years, a quiet revolution has been unfolding in the UK's food and hospitality world one driven not by changing fashion or marketing campaigns, but by medicine. Popular weight‑reducing injections, originally developed for diabetes management, have become mainstream tools for weight loss.
If Britain is serious about growth, it must stop exhausting the very businesses it relies on to deliver it. That is the blunt message running through the Business and Trade Committee's Small Business Strategy report.