Hundreds of thousands of filers submitted their Self Assessment tax return for the 2025 to 2026 tax year between 6 and 12 April. 298,905 people filed their Self Assessment tax return in the first week of the tax year and a record 737,891 in April 2026.
Oil has crept back up towards — and in some trading briefly above — $106 a barrel mainly because traders now fear the Middle East situation is deteriorating again after hopes of a breakthrough between the US and Iran faded. The biggest factor remains the continuing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil shipping routes.
Partnership will put the UK at the forefront of next generation self-driving technology. New agreement strengthens UK leadership in automated vehicles.
Alcohol‑specific deaths fell sharply in 2024, dropping to 9,809 deaths across the UK the lowest since 2021 and the first meaningful decline since 2018. But rates remain highest in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and men continue to die at roughly twice the rate of women.
Caithness cannot “fix” its housing crisis with the same tools used in the Central Belt. The county needs a rural‑specific, infrastructure first, builder capacity‑led recovery plan not more targets, consultations, or glossy PDFs.
The UK housing shortage is driven by a combination of long‑term structural failures rather than any single cause. Across multiple authoritative sources, the evidence points to chronic undersupply, rising demand, high construction costs, loss of social housing, and planning bottlenecks as the core drivers.
At 900am today the oil price has risen again to almost $105. The oil market is in a “yo-yo” phase right now because traders are reacting hour by hour to conflicting news about war risks, supply shortages, peace negotiations and the wider economy.
Based on the latest published data, both the Scottish Government and the UK Government are currently nowhere near the build‑rates required to meet their own housing targets. The gap between targets and actual new starts is now so large that without major policy, planning, and funding changes those promises are indeed “pie in the sky”.
Moneyfacts UK Mortgage Trends Treasury Report data reveals that despite mortgage turmoil easing in April, first-time buyers remain under pressure from reduced choice and stretched affordability. Mortgage product choice has contracted by around 10% since the start of March, with higher loan-to-value deals (10% or less deposit or equity) falling by 14%, a blow to first-time buyers in particular.
If Edinburgh Airport goes ahead with the new £8.50 charge for 10 minutes, it will become one of the most expensive airports in the UK outside London, but not the outright most expensive overall. Edinburgh will effectively be tied as the most expensive airport outside London for a standard 10-minute drop-off.
The financial pressures facing both the Scottish Government and councils could create major risks for ambitious long-term capital programmes such as The Highland Council’s Highland Investment Plan (HIP), including the proposed £100 million redevelopment of Thurso High School into a major community campus. However, the picture is complicated because projects like Thurso are also politically and economically important for the region.
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence, data centres and advanced computing demand is beginning to affect the wider technology market far beyond gaming consoles. Governments, councils, banks, universities, hospitals and large companies are all facing rising costs for servers, networking equipment, storage systems and high-performance computer chips.
The next Scottish government is likely to face some of the toughest financial decisions since devolution. Economists, the Fraser of Allander Institute, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Scottish Fiscal Commission have all warned that Scotland is heading towards a funding gap approaching £5 billion by the end of the parliamentary term unless spending is cut, taxes rise, or economic growth improves sharply.
There is growing evidence that UK employers are becoming more reluctant to hire younger workers, particularly in entry-level sectors such as retail, hospitality and leisure, as employment costs rise sharply. The evidence comes from official data, business surveys, economists, recruitment firms and parliamentary hearings.
One of the emerging realities of the global economy is that access to reliable water is becoming almost as important as access to electricity. Shale gas extraction and AI data centres are major examples, but a growing list of industries now require enormous quantities of water for cooling, cleaning, chemical processing, hydrogen production, or power generation.
The Regional Returning Officer for Highlands and Islands, Derek Brown has declared the results for the Scottish Parliament Highlands and Islands Regional list. Maree Todd who lost out to the libdem candidate David Green gets back in on the list.
The standoff in the Strait of Hormuz has already made fuel and energy noticeably more expensive. But energy prices are only part of the story.
With 14,666 votes for David Green, the Scottish Lib Dems have taken the seat from the SNP's Maree Todd. The Constituency and Regional Returning Officer for Highlands and Islands, Derek Brown has declared the results for the Scottish Parliament constituency of Skye, Lochaber, and Badenoch.
For more than a century, armies recruited the same way: find the strongest, the toughest, the most physically resilient. But the rise of drone warfare from Ukraine’s FPV units to long‑range strike teams has flipped that logic on its head.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (May 6th) sold 471 Prime Sheep. New Season Lambs (6) averaged 398.0p per kg and sold to 398.0p per kg and £203 gross.