This week residents in the North East of Scotland have been visited by doorstep scammers who say they are carrying out tree and garden maintenance work on behalf of the local council. In some cases, they have told residents who don't want any work carried out that they need to have their gardens tidied up by their company, or else they will be evicted.
At this time of year, with more and more people shopping online, there is always an increase in delivery scams. 43% of respondents to this year's Big Scottish Scam Survey had experienced a delivery scam.
Scotland's population is undergoing unprecedented change, according to new analysis from National Records of Scotland (NRS). The Registrar General's Annual Report ‘Scotland's Population 2024' examines trends across the many NRS statistical publications and finds the country experiencing record lows or highs across multiple measures.
Lena Petrova gives a view o the UK economy from outside the UK. Dr.
The freeze of the Plan 2 repayment threshold in the UK budget has quite a few implications for students and recent graduates. Some are calling the change another stealth tax.
We often think of debt in terms of big-ticket items such as cars, holidays, or home improvements. But the truth is more unsettling.
RYA SafeTrx - the vessel tracking, safety and communications platform will be discontinued at the end of this month, from 31 December 2025. The decision to close RYA SafeTrx has been made by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), in discussion with HM Coastguard, due to advances in technology since the app's inception.
Pensioners in Scotland receive the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (PAWHP), which replaced the UK's Winter Fuel Payment (WFP). The main difference is that while the PAWHP is paid to most pensioners in Scotland, it is recovered through the tax system for those with a taxable income of over £35,000.
Recent full-time employment rates for new graduates have dropped. A 2025 survey found only ~56.4% of recent graduates were in full-time work 15 months after graduating — down from previous years.
On 12 May 2025, Slough Borough Council reported a bin-lorry fire in Britwell the third such in a month. The fire was believed to come from a lithium-ion battery inside a disposable vape.
Christmas 2025 is shaping up to be a paradox. On paper, the UK is heading for a record festive spend of £91.1 billion, up 3.2% from last year.
The announcement that the Government will amend the Employment Rights Bill - reducing the qualifying period for unfair dismissal protection from two years to six months. Rather than scrapping altogether for a ‘day one' right this is a sensible move that will speed up the delivery of improvements to working conditions and reduce the risk of firms being put off hiring, the Resolution Foundation said.
Carer's Allowance Supplement will be paid to more than 96,000 carers across Scotland from 4 December. Carer's Allowance Supplement is an extra payment, currently made twice a year, for people in Scotland who get Carer Support Payment or Carer’s Allowance on the qualifying dates.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has released its 2025 Mission Progress Report is a slightly sprawling document chronicling one of the UK's most complex environmental undertakings. The safe dismantling of its early nuclear legacy.
When Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled her Autumn Budget on 26 November, she framed it as a response to a looming fiscal crisis — a £30 billion "black hole" in the public finances. This narrative justified £26 billion in tax rises, including freezes on thresholds, changes to pension salary sacrifice, and new property levies.
Bank of England (BoE) recently left the base rate at 4%, but the vote was very close 5-4 with some members already favouring a cut. Inflation has been easing and headline inflation has come down in recent months (though it's still above target), making a reduction more plausible without risking a big overshoot.
Consultation on Football Banning Orders. Views are being sought on whether the law on Football Banning Orders (FBOs) should be updated to crack down on pyrotechnics use and other forms of football-related disorder.
Uncertainty fuels a drop in mortgage activity and a rise in savings and ISA deposits in October - BOE Money and Credit data. Rachel Springall, Finance Expert at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, said, "Borrowers may well have felt indecisive over securing a mortgage during October, with net mortgage approvals falling for both house purchase and remortgaging.
The numbers are going up and up moving to Dubai. No income tax.
Steps towards introducing a short term let control area have been considered by Highland Council's Isle of Skye and Raasay area committee. On Monday (1 December 2025) the committee heard evidence to justify the grounds for the introduction of a Short Term Let Control Area covering all or part of Skye and Raasay.
