New surveillance, detection and investigative capabilities rolled out by Environment Agency to tackle waste crime. Waste criminals will be detected and stopped before they even get started, thanks to a new package of surveillance and investigative measures announced by the Environment Agency (EA) today (Friday 20 February 2026).
Retail sales at the start of 2026 offered a brief but telling snapshot of how households and businesses are coping with the wider economic climate. According to the latest ONS figures, sales volumes rose 1.8% in January, the strongest monthly increase since mid‑2024, and were 4.5% higher than a year earlier.
When the UK Government announced its new "Pubs and Live Music Venue Relief" scheme for England a 15% business‑rates discount for 2026-27 it was presented as a lifeline for a sector battered by rising costs, falling footfall, and years of instability. The accompanying guidance to English local authorities set out how the relief should be applied, who qualifies, and how the Treasury expects councils to administer the scheme.
Private dinners, lobbying networks, and think‑tank alliances quietly shape policy and procurement long before transparency rules apply and leaving the public in the dark about how power truly works. Now look into this influence affecting our lives hidden in the shadows.
Average UK monthly private rents increased by 3.5%, to £1,367, in the 12 months to January 2026 (provisional estimate); this annual growth rate is down from 4.0% in the 12 months to December 2025. Average rents increased to £1,423 (3.5%) in England, £826 (5.8%) in Wales, and £1,021 (2.6%) in Scotland, in the 12 months to January 2026.
Washing machines are great when the work and usually last a few years but some manufacturers have been introducing ways to ensure profits by doing things to make them harder or impossible to repair. Coming across a man on Youtube who has been making excellent videos on how to fix things like washing machines, tumble driers, cookers and much we took a closer look at washing machines.
At first glance, the healthcare systems of the United States and Scotland could hardly be more different. One is dominated by insurance markets, federal programmes, and private providers; the other rests on a universal, publicly funded model under the NHS Scotland, free at the point of use.
The next meeting of the Education Committee of Highland council on 25th February will discuss the next steps moving towards a new school. When might the it all be ready so we looked at how the Wick High school campus progressed below for comparison.
First-ever AI Strategy for UK Research and Innovation marks bold plan to make AI deliver for UK's cutting-edge science and research efforts. First-ever AI Strategy for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) marks bold plan to make AI deliver for UK's cutting-edge science and research efforts, supporting breakthroughs from health to clean energy and beyond.
At £923.3bn, the UK's total export results for 2025 seem healthy at first glance, representing a 3.5% increase over 2024. But UK goods exports were only £377.5bn, down -2.2%.
Patients benefit from earlier access to technologies that could improve or save lives, as the MHRA approved 17 per cent more clinical investigations in 2025 compared with 2024, and launches measures to support innovation and growth. UK patients could be among the first in the world to benefit from breakthrough medical devices, as clinical investigations reach their highest level on record in 2025.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes has announced that workers facing redundancy from ExxonMobil's Fife Ethylene Plant in Mossmorran will receive tailored support to help them find new jobs. The Scottish Government-funded initiative, delivered by Fife College, will see both direct employees and contractors receive individual assessments of their training needs.
CPI inflation fell in January, dropping by 0.4 percentage points compared with December to reach 3.0 per cent. This is the largest fall since September 2024 and should now settle back around the 2 per cent target in the coming months for the first time since before the pandemic, the Resolution Foundation said on Wednesday 18 February 2026.
With no big changes expected in the fiscal forecasts on 3rd March, the Government's priority should be to minimise policy uncertainty and double-down on boosting growth, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday). New analysis published by the Foundation today estimates that in the three months since the Budget, news on the economy has been small and offsetting.
Scotland's overall job market is relatively stronger than the UK average, with lower unemployment for all ages and reasonably high employment rates. Youth unemployment in Scotland is lower than the UK average, with past estimates showing roughly ~10-11% for 16–24-year-olds — notably less severe than recent UK youth joblessness figures near ~14–16%.
UK CPI (Consumer Prices Index) rose by 3.0% in the 12 months to January 2026, down from 3.4% in December 2025. This is the lowest annual CPI inflation rate since March 2025.
The latest inflation data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has strengthened the sense that the UK economy is moving into a new phase—one defined less by runaway prices and more by cautious optimism. With consumer price inflation easing to 3.0% in January 2026, its lowest level in almost a year, attention has rapidly shifted from inflation itself to what comes next: interest rates, and crucially, how households especially prospective home buyers are responding in anticipation.
New TUC analysis published recently (Sunday) revealed that the average woman effectively works for 47 days of the year for free and only starts earning from today compared to the average man. New TUC analysis reveals the earnings gulf between women and men leaves women making over £2,548 a year less than men on average.
A recent report by Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) has put a stark figure on Europe's new defence ambitions: up to €650 billion in rearmament capital over the next four years, channelled through the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) mechanism. At the heart of the proposal is a controversial idea — a "Buy European" mandate that explicitly prioritises the European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS).
Input Prices (Costs to Manufacturers) Annual change: -0.2% in the year to January 2026, down from a rise in December 2025. This indicates manufacturers paid less for materials and fuels overall compared with a year ago.