The transfer of Invergordon Town Hall to community ownership could be a sign of something much bigger happening across Scotland – as financially stretched councils increasingly look to communities to take responsibility for the buildings at the heart of their towns and villages. For generations, town halls, village halls, community centres, playing fields and other public buildings have been seen as part of the basic infrastructure of local government.
First Minister John Swinney has officially opened the second phase of Cnoc Soilleir in South Uist – a cultural venue working to showcase and promote Gaelic arts and culture including music, language and dance. Supported by £7.6 million in Scottish Government funding since 2017, Cnoc Soilleir is home to the joint venture partnership of Ceòlas Uibhist and UHI North, West and Hebrides.
Scotland's Councils Are Changing: From Running Everything to Building Partnerships The future of Scottish local government may not be about councils doing more. It may increasingly be about councils bringing together communities, businesses and other organisations to make things happen.
Island communities in Highland are celebrating this week after receiving funds to boost a series of key local projects. The Highland Council has been successful in securing backing from the Scottish Government’s Islands Programme 2026/27 for four community-led projects across the Small Isles and Skye & Raasay.
An amber heat-health alert is now in place across all regions in England. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has escalated the heat-health alert (HHA) for the North East from yellow to amber, effective from 9am on Tuesday 11 August until 9pm on Friday 14 August.
The debate over Rosebank and Jackdaw is often reduced to a simple question: how many jobs will these two North Sea fields create? The answer is more complicated than some of the headlines suggest. They will not create thousands of permanent jobs on two new oil and gas installations.
Two decisions now approaching the final stage could have consequences far beyond the oil and gas industry. Public consultations on the Jackdaw and Rosebank North Sea developments are reaching their deadlines, reopening one of the biggest economic arguments facing Scotland: how quickly should the North Sea oil and gas industry decline, and what happens to the thousands of skilled jobs and businesses that currently depend upon it?.
Britain is putting almost £130 million into zero-emission vehicle technology, but the bigger question is whether the investment can help create something Britain has struggled to achieve for decades: a new generation of internationally competitive manufacturing industries. The Government announced the funding on Monday, with almost £65 million coming from public funds and the remainder from industry partners.
The latest UK jobs figures suggest that Britain's employment market may finally be beginning to stabilise. But for Scotland, the story is more complicated – and potentially more encouraging in some of the industries that matter most to the country's future.
Moneyfacts UK Mortgage Trends Treasury Report data reveals lenders reversed course on mortgage rate cuts in July, with fixed rates rising and the lifespan of a deal falling to 11 days. Lenders moved to increase mortgage rates during July amid rising swap rates, due to a resurgence of unrest in the Middle East, fuelling inflationary fears.
Millions of people in Britain pay for subscriptions every month without giving them much thought. Streaming services, magazines, software, gyms, food deliveries, memberships and countless other services can quietly continue taking money from bank accounts long after customers have stopped using them.
Britain's jobs market may finally be showing signs of emerging from its long recruitment downturn, but the latest KPMG and REC survey reveals an important change in employer behaviour. Companies are hiring, but they are increasingly choosing flexibility over permanent commitments.
Europe's Energy Crisis Isn't Over – Could Peak Oil Be the Next Shock? Europe has already experienced several enormous energy shocks in just a few years. First came the post-pandemic surge in energy demand and prices.
Britain closed its last coal-fired power station in 2024. For many people, that marked the final end of an era.
America's jobs market has delivered a surprise that could have consequences well beyond the United States. The US economy lost 23,000 jobs in July, when economists had been expecting an increase of around 80,000.
Government Commercial Agency's G-Cloud framework has relaunched, opening up an estimated £14 billion in opportunities for small British businesses. G-Cloud 15 consolidates 3 separate frameworks into a single commercial agreement, making it simpler, faster and better for public sector buyers to procure all their cloud requirements in one place.
Financial support for island businesses affected by ferry disruption will be made available through the first phase of the £10 million Islands Resilience Fund. This will provide a further £3 million in 2026-27 to help mitigate the disproportionate impact faced by people and businesses living and operating in Scotland's islands.
Scotland's economy is not booming. But neither is it showing the signs of the economic collapse that some of the gloomier headlines might suggest.
Trump's Middle East Strategy Is Starting to Unravel – And the World Is Paying the Price Donald Trump came back to the White House promising something that many Americans and much of the world desperately wanted: an end to America's endless wars. His approach was supposed to be different.
For decades, computers have been remarkably useful machines. They have helped us write documents, manage accounts, communicate with customers and search enormous amounts of information.