The UK's economy and security will benefit from a new £1.7 billion investment package in European Space Agency (ESA) programmes. Agreed during the ESA Council of Ministers (CM25) in Bremen, this new funding brings sharper focus to deliver maximum value for money, sustain thousands of high-skilled jobs, and drive science and innovation that directly benefits people and businesses, from increased connectivity to more resilient infrastructure and public services.
Health Secretary Neil Gray has outlined plans for a hub in Glasgow during the 2026 Commonwealth Games to showcase Scotland and maximise the impact of the projected £150 million economic benefit. The Scottish Government will provide £150,000 for Scotland House at the Corinthian in Glasgow which, in partnership with Commonwealth Games Scotland and sportscotland, will operate as a central hub for business engagement, a private space for Team Scotland athletes and families, and a media centre.
The number of planned and performed operations in Scotland has reached its highest level since January 2020, new figures published today show. In the 12 months to October 2025, there were 297,014 operations planned - a 4.5% increase from the previous 12 months - whilst 271,328 operations were performed, a 4.6% increase.
Puppy smuggling bill (Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill) receives Royal Assent. Animals will be protected from cruel smugglers under new laws cracking down on the vile low-welfare pet trade.
Joint venture to develop neutral beams for fusion and non-fusion applications, creating high-skilled jobs and establishing a critical supply chain. TAE Technologies, a leading US private fusion energy firm with over 25 years at the forefront of scientific innovation, today announces a bilateral and reciprocal investment commitment with the United Kingdom's national fusion laboratory, the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) to commercialise TAE's proprietary particle accelerator technology for the global market.
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act receives Royal Assent, enhancing law enforcement's ability to rapidly disrupt people smuggling gangs. Powerful new laws will bolster Immigration Enforcement, police and National Crime Agency operations to catch and arrest criminal smuggling gangs abusing Britain's borders by fuelling illegal migration.
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO), on behalf of the UK Fishing Authorities, has published its annual UK Sea Fisheries Statistics for 2024. The Sea Fisheries Statistics brings together statistics for all UK fishing authorities to provide a complete picture of fishing activity in the UK.
There are several important reasons people are encouraged not to buy pets as Christmas gifts**—especially as surprise gifts. Pets are long-term commitments, not holiday presents.
Consent marks significant step forward for UK clean energy. Morgan Offshore Wind Limited, a joint venture between BP Alternative Energy Investments Ltd and Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, has received development consent for its Morgan Generation Assets project.
A bill is being prepared to give councils greater flexibility over how they design and implement a visitor levy. The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 grants councils the power to raise funds for tourist services and facilities by applying a charge on overnight stays based on a percentage of accommodation costs.
Scotland's space sector will receive a major funding boost to accelerate breakthrough technologies and boost commercialisation, the UK Space Agency will announce today at Space-Comm Expo Scotland. Scottish universities will collaborate with partners nationwide to receive a share of £3.8 million from the National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP), on technologies for secure communications, environmental monitoring, and navigation.
Government provides £3.1m for transformational tech which will assess how blast exposure from weapons training affects the brain to better protect personnel. Scientists will develop the world's first fully mobile magnetoencephalography (MEG) brain scanner capable of measuring the effects of blast exposure on military personnel in real time at training sites.
Billion pound boost for small businesses as councils get new powers to save contracts for local communities. Councils, police and fire authorities in England to now be able to reserve bidding for lower-value contracts to just local and UK suppliers.
The Financial Policy Committee (FPC) seeks to ensure the UK financial system is prepared for, and resilient to, the wide range of risks it could face so that the system is able to absorb rather than amplify shocks and serve UK households and businesses. The overall risk environment Risks to financial stability have increased during 2025.
A new online portal has been launched to bring empty homeowners together with prospective buyers or developers with the aim of facilitating more properties to be used as homes again. Covering the whole of Scotland, this builds on the success of local pilots, referred to as "matchmaker schemes".
So many details in the UK budget announcements and it was easy to miss some things. Bigger savings for users of storage radiators is one of them.
The UK-US deal announced 1 Dec 2025 gives UK pharma and med-tech exports to the US a zero per-cent tariff for at least three years. In return the UK has agreed domestic pricing and appraisal concessions that will raise the net price the NHS pays for mainly new, innovative medicines and reduce the size of industry rebates.
Last week was Scam Safe week across the BBC, with content on all platforms designed to highlight what viewers can do to protect themselves and those they love from being scammed. As part of the campaign, one woman from Paisley shared her story about a sophisticated phone scam, which began with a cold call from someone posing as staff from her broadband company.
Consumer body Which? has warned customers to be wary of fake social media accounts where scammers pose as customer service agents for well-known brands such as Vinted, Asos, Zara and Evri. They target those who have posted queries or complaints and tagged the company's genuine account.
Over the last few weeks, several consumers who had previously had spray foam insulation installed in their property have been cold called by a company and told they are due to have an inspection carried out as part of their warranty. After carrying out an inspection, the consumers are told that moisture levels in their loft are dangerously high and that they were mis-sold the spray foam insulation.
