11 per cent of women-led SME employers had exported goods or services outside of the UK in the previous 12 months (compared to 13 per cent equally led, 14 per cent with women in the minority and 17 per cent entirely male-led). 73 per cent of women-led SME employers made a profit/surplus (compared to 80 per cent equally led, 63 per cent with women in the minority and 83 per cent entirely male-led).
in 2023-24, 25 per cent of SME employers in Cohort A in Scotland had installed some kind of energy efficiency measure in the prior year. This is broadly in line with the proportion in the UK (26 per cent).
Figures show there are 77,000 workers in Scotland on zero-hours contracts, who will benefit from increased job security thanks to UK Government. Commenting on the figures, Secretary of State for Scotland Ian Murray, said, "Having access to well-paid work is a right that should be afforded to all.
76 per cent of SME employers in Scotland were currently using external finance at the time of the 2023-24 survey. Figure 4: The most common forms of external finance used by SME employers were credit cards (36 per cent of SME employers), leasing/hire purchases (27 per cent) and bank overdraft facility (27 per cent).
The company made almost a million unsolicited cold-calls, resulting in people complaining to the Information Commissioner's Office. Callum Jones was the director of a company which harassed people with nuisance cold-calls in 2019 and 2020.
Landmark study to investigate long-term health effects of vaping on young people's health and wellbeing, alongside wider influences on adolescent health. Groundbreaking research will investigate the long-term health effects of vaping on children, supporting major plans to tackle youth vaping and create a smoke-free generation.
Financial markets will be modernised to drive capital market competitiveness and deliver growth - the priority of the government's Plan for Change. Chancellor hosts senior representatives of investment banking and asset management sectors in No11 to hone Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy.
The average price of a property in Scotland reached £189,000 in December 2024, an increase of 6.9% when compared to the same period a year earlier, new UK House Price Index figures have revealed. Compared to the previous month, house prices in Scotland decreased by 0.5% on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, whilst on a seasonally adjusted basis there was an increase of 1.2%.
Following the deadline for nominations, The Highland Council can confirm that the following community councils have received sufficient nominations and will form uncontested:. Carrbridge Community Council Kilmuir and Logie Easter Portree and Braes Resolis Sinclairs Bay Tannach and District. Unfortunately, the following four Community Councils failed to form: Bower Conon Bridge Lochalsh Smithton There will another opportunity to try and form these in August 2025 when the next Notice of Election will be published. .
New TUC analysis reveals Women's Pay Day for 2025 - the day when the average woman stops working for free compared to the average man - was yesterday (Sunday, 16 February 2025). In some industries and regions where the gender pay gap is wider, women effectively work for free for even longer.
Latest round of Reach for the Sky programme awarded £810,000 to 16 organisations across the UK. £810,000 of new government funding to help young people start a career in aviation by breaking down barriers to opportunity with the air transport and aerospace sector contributing £20 billion to the UK economy, investment in the next generation of professionals will secure long-term economic growth and deliver on the government's Plan for Change.
Council tax is levied on the occupiers of residential property to help fund the provision of local services. Individual Scottish councils set the tax rates for their area, but it is the Scottish Government that determines the tax base to which the tax rates apply.
Building on the foundations laid at Bletchley Park and Seoul, the Paris AI Action Summit was a gathering of nearly a hundred countries and over a thousand stakeholders. They came from the private sector and civil society.
Two years after the release of its first UK Plan for Chips report, techUK is today publishing an updated review, urging the UK Government to accelerate the implementation of its ambitious National Semiconductor Strategy. Semiconductors are the foundation of modern digital technology, powering everything from from day to-day consumer electronics, vehicles, defence, healthcare, to the data centres powering AI.
Plans to transform the way social care is delivered are being progressed as part of the Scottish Government's commitment to improve the experience of everyone who accesses social care, social work and community health services. Ahead of Stage 2 proceedings of the National Care Service Bill later this month, a number of amendments have been lodged, all of which are subject to Parliament's agreement.
A new report by the Institute for Public Policy Research into England's planning system finds that the government will have to tackle unproductive land speculation and ramp up strategic planning capability if it wants to meet its housebuilding targets. While many blame the planning system, significant non-planning related barriers exist in the delivery of house building, such as developers slowing their build rates or securing permission and then not building.
Early estimates for January 2025 indicate that the number of payrolled employees broadly stayed the same compared with January 2024, a rise of just 49,000 employees. This change was highest in the health and social work sector, a rise of 92,000 employees, and lowest in the accommodation and food service activities sector, a fall of 58,000 employees.
Without policy action, many will end up with their savings scattered across several small private pension pots by the time they reach retirement. Private-sector employees tend to get a new pension pot every time they change employer.
Wealth inequality has increased since the financial crisis with wealth inequality becoming as important as income inequality for determining life chances. Why it occurred and what can we do?.
Austerity is an unusual economic concept. While it is one of the economic terms that attracts the most interest from the public, it remains controversial in policy debates.
