Another reminder for pensioners to claim pension credit which may qualify people for the Winter Heating Allowance. This is important as not only are pensioner losing the Heating allowance but energy prices will go up in October and again in January 2025 - a triple whammy.
Inflation is always a temporary phenomenon that always cures itself. History proves that.
6 April 2024 marked the beginning of a new ISA (Individual Savings Account) year with savers able to squirrel away up to £20,000 over the next year, with the returns being completely tax free. This is the Government's flagship policy to promote saving - with around 12 million adults benefiting in 2021-22.
The state pension is now worth £250,000 to retirees, research shows. Pensioners aged 66 qualify for the full state pension paying £11,502.40 a year if they have paid National Insurance (NI) contributions for 35 years.
Nearly 1 in 5 people in the world lives in poverty. Even in many developed countries such as the U.S., poverty rates exceed 12%.
Letter from Finance Secretary Shona Robison to the Scottish Parliament's Finance and Public Administration Committee. To: Kenneth Gibson MSP, Convener, Finance and Public Administration Committee From: Finance Secretary Shona Robison Dear Kenneth I am writing to you to provide further detail on the measures that I am taking to balance the 2024-25 Budget, outlined in my Fiscal Statement to Parliament today.
Shona Robison confirmed on 3 September 2024 that up to £500m in savings will be introduced to support the 2024/25 budget for the Scottish government. £60m of savings will come through Emergency Spend Controls, particularly targeting recruitment, overtime, travel and marketing.
Wednesday morning, the day before Thanksgiving, Mae awoke, set her hair in curlers and switched on her laptop. A message appeared.
Scottish farming businesses will see support payments start to reach their bank accounts this week with initial payments worth approximately £243 million. The Scottish Government first brought the payments forward in 2022 to help with the transition from EU's CAP Payment system and give recipients greater reassurance and stability.
A new report published today (4 September 2024) by Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS) finds that action needs to be taken to improve monitoring, regulatory guidance and the operation of storm overflows in Scotland. The report Storm overflows an assessment of spills their impact on the water environment and the effectiveness of legislation and policy sets out that: there is no comprehensive, publicly available information on the scale and environmental impact of spills from storm overflows in Scotland.
The latest round of renewable energy auctions procured a record 9.6 gigawatts (GW) of low-carbon energy, of which the majority (5 GW) was offshore wind. This represents a much-needed acceleration towards the new Government's ambitious decarbonisation targets and was essential given the failure of last year's auction.
New Trussell Trust research is both alarming and shaming. Labour cannot defer action while waiting for an economic upturn.
The First Minister John Swinney will set out his programme for government following question time. Todays Schedule.
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group publishes overview of progress being made against sustainability goals. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group has today published an overview of progress being made against its sustainability goals.
The Council has today officially launched its new and improved film office - ‘Screen Highland' as part of a new proactive approach to continue to support the growth of the industry in Highland and ensure film productions are delivered in a sustainable way. Formerly known as the ‘Highlands of Scotland Film Commission', the rebrand also includes a refreshed website which better promotes the amazing and varied locations and world class talent and services the region offers.
Keir Starmer has warned that things will get worse for the UK before they get better. The prime minister asked the country to accept short-term pain for the long-term good and warned of a tough budget to come in October, blaming the Conservatives for leaving a "black hole" in the public finances.
Royal Society publishes peer-reviewed papers demonstrating technical progress to deliver STEP, the UK's first prototype fusion energy powerplant. The UK is leading the way in fusion energy powerplant design, as confirmed by the recent publication of a special Royal Society edition.
Ministers pledge to crack down on ‘snatch thefts' in a summit with tech companies. The government has pledged to crack down on ‘snatch thefts' after this criminality soared by more than 150 per cent in the last year.
Period Covered: 01 - 07 August 2024. Shop Price deflation was at 0.3% in August, down from inflation of 0.2% in the previous month.
"Perceptions take a while to catch up with reality and that presents a challenge for the new government." Paul Johnson writes for The Times. The triple lock has ensured that pensioners' incomes have risen faster than those of working-age people over the past 15 years.