For decades, successive British governments have been attracted to the same proposition to let private companies do the work and the taxpayer will save money. The theory sounds convincing as a private company can supposedly operate more efficiently, introduce new technology, employ specialist staff and deliver services at a lower cost than the state.
When Britain's water industry was privatised in 1989, the argument was that private ownership would bring investment, commercial discipline and efficiency. The public would benefit because private companies would have the incentive to run the industry effectively, while regulation would prevent them from exploiting their monopoly position.
The government announces its first wave of funding from its £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme. Families stuck without a secure home to benefit from the first wave of funding from the government’s £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme .
Yes. The latest development is quite a significant escalation, although it is primarily an economic threat rather than a new military ultimatum.
Britain has been talking about its housing shortage for decades. Governments announce ambitious targets, councils identify land, developers submit planning applications and billions of pounds are promised for new housing, yet the country still struggles to build enough homes at prices that ordinary families can afford.
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the response across much of Europe was remarkably united. There was widespread sympathy for the Ukrainian people, anger at Russia's invasion and a determination that Ukraine should not simply be left to face a much larger military power alone.
Gold is doing something rather interesting again. After falling sharply from the extraordinary highs reached earlier this year, the price has been climbing rapidly.
There was a time when free trade was regarded as one of the great economic ideas of the modern world. The argument was relatively straightforward - if countries concentrated on producing the goods and services they were particularly good at producing, and then traded freely with one another, everybody could benefit.
The second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing are certainly spectacular. More than 2,000 humanoid robots from 16 countries are competing, and Chinese machines have already beaten human records in events including the 100 metres and standing high jump.
For anyone who has been watching the oil price over recent months, the latest movement might seem rather strange. The United States has intensified economic pressure on Iran, Scott Bessent has warned of an "economic D-Day", Iran is under increasing financial pressure and there has even been another incident involving an oil tanker near Oman.
When the argument over Britain's water industry turns to privatisation, Scotland is often held up as the alternative. Scottish Water remains publicly owned, has no shareholders and does not pay dividends to investors.
The latest figures suggest that the UK is moving into a "low-hire, low-fire" labour market. Businesses are not necessarily making large numbers of redundancies, but they are becoming much less willing to take on new employees.
The latest development is quite a significant escalation, although it is primarily an economic threat rather than a new military ultimatum. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has announced what Washington calls “Operation Economic Outcast”, a much broader campaign to economically isolate Iran.
Highland Council has now formally launched its statutory consultation on proposals to replace Thurso High School and reorganise primary school provision in the town. The consultation concerns the proposed relocation of Thurso High School, Pennyland Primary School and Miller Academy Primary School to a new education campus based around the existing Thurso High School site and the proposed Community Point of Delivery.
Most of us have been brought up to think about debt in a very simple way. If you borrow money, you owe somebody that money.
There is a remarkable change taking place in the world's electricity system, and it is easy to miss because it is happening in several different technologies at once. Solar power is expanding at record speed.
A £2.1 billion investment programme sounds impressive. But when the money is spread over 20 years, the real question is not how big the number looks today.
Caithness is seeing the rundown of Dounreay so can the area say no to new big developemens thatmight help creae new jobs. There is a growing resistance to large data centres and other major developments across Scotland.
There is a growing debate about the future of Scotland's public finances, with warnings that the Scottish Government could face a substantial fiscal gap in the years ahead. It is tempting to turn this into a political argument but let us ryto be neutral and take technical look at the possibilities.
There is a strange contradiction developing across Europe. Governments are talking about the possibility of a prolonged confrontation with Russia, strengthening their armed forces and worrying about the security of critical infrastructure.