Britain's jobs market appears to have entered a "low-hire, low-fire" freeze, creating stagnation that could affect everyone from school-leavers to professionals. But unlike recessions characterised by mass layoffs, this scenario represents a market in which workers cling to their jobs while newcomers find the door shut.
Across the United Kingdom, maternity services provided by the NHS are facing a sustained crisis marked by staff shortages, service downgrades, unsafe care concerns, and deep frustration from local communities. This isn't simply a matter of isolated incidents in a few hospitals — regulators, national inquiries, and campaign groups all indicate that services from rural Scotland to major English cities are struggling to cope with demand and deliver safe, high-quality maternity care.
As student finance maintenance payments are due to be paid in January, the Student Loans Company (SLC) is reminding students to remain vigilant of scams designed to steal personal and financial information. January marks the second maintenance loan instalment for many students whose courses started in autumn - and the first payment for those starting courses in January – making this a period where scammers will be targeting students.
With over 392,000 AI-powered calls already processed, ICS.AI is positioning the nation as a blueprint for cutting edge resident services. Following deployment of AI assistant Millie, Renfrewshire wins multiple awards, including Council of the Year for Service Delivery and the Digital Public Services Award at the Scottish Public Services Awards 2025.
Horizon research with UK involvement was more widely cited, as UK celebrates 2 years in Horizon Europe. New figures show UK research backed by Horizon made bigger academic impact and more ambitious projects reached fruition.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak has called on the Government to have a relentless focus on affordability in 2026 or risk the further rise of the far and populist right. In his New Year's Message the General Secretary of the TUC Paul Nowak says tackling Britain's affordability crisis must be government's number one priority.
As many people consider lifestyle changes at the start of the year, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is urging the public to make sure any weight-loss medicines they use are safe, effective and legitimate. The MHRA continues to warn about the serious risks linked to buying weight-loss products from unregulated websites or through social media.
Thousands of Self Assessment customers file over festive period. 4,606 people filed their Self Assessment tax return on Christmas Day.
In late 2025, the Scottish Government launched a public consultation on proposed reforms to family law, with changes to the legal framework for marriage and civil partnerships at the centre of discussion. At the heart of this consultation is a proposal to raise the minimum age at which people can legally marry or enter a civil partnership in Scotland from 16 to 18.
A current and evidence-based overview of the UK labour market (as of late 2025), covering trends in unemployment, participation, skills mismatches, wages and inflation, technology impacts, and the effects of Brexit. The UK unemployment rate has risen to around 5.1 % in the three months to October 2025, the highest level since early 2021.
Majority (51 per cent) of voters still believe being British is something you can become with effort, rather than something you are born with. Only 3 per cent say you need white skin to be a good British citizen.
January Budget must close Scotland's delivery gap on key priorities, says IPPR Scotland. The Scottish Budget in January should aim to quicken the pace of delivery of the First Minister's four key priorities of eradicating child poverty, tackling the climate emergency, growing the economy and ensuring high quality and sustainable public services.
Details of additional funding to end formal dispute with Scottish Government. The BMA's Scottish GP Committee and Scottish Government have agreed a package of funding over 2026-2029 that will see recurrent funding to general practice increase by £250m by 2028/29.
Carers and disabled people have had their benefit awards safely and securely transferred to Social Security Scotland from the Department for Work and Pensions after a multi-year project. More than 700,000 benefit awards have been successfully moved over to the Scottish system, meaning every disabled person and carer in the country who received Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance or Carer's Allowance will now receive their benefits from Social Security Scotland.
The war between Ukraine and Russia has already reshaped international politics, energy systems, and global markets, and it is unlikely to end in a sudden victory for either side. Instead, the most realistic expectation is that the conflict moves toward a prolonged stalemate or a negotiated ceasefire built on uncomfortable compromises.
History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes - and economic history is no exception. In 1964, a Labour government came to power in the UK with a pledge to curb inflation and to deliver growth.
This isn't every single change (there are hundreds of statutory instruments and minor adjustments each year), but it covers the major ones with direct impacts on people and businesses. 2026 is a significant year for UK legislation, with major changes across housing, employment, healthcare regulation, and sanctions compliance.
Modern warfare is changing, and the Ukraine-Russia conflict has made one thing clear: drones are no longer specialist tools. They are becoming the everyday units of the battlefield, shaping reconnaissance, logistics, and strike capabilities.
From 1 January 2026, the UK will introduce some of the biggest revisions to drone regulation in years, affecting both hobbyists and commercial operators. These changes are designed to improve safety, encourage responsible flying, and bring the UK's regulatory framework up-to-date with advances in drone technology.
One of the first modern coworking spaces, C-Base in Berlin, was launched 30 years ago by a group of computer engineers as a "hacker space" in which to share their tech and techniques. Similarly, many of the people we first encountered in our anthropological research into the emerging world of digital nomadism in the mid-2010s were hackers and computer coders.
