All Scottish social security benefits are increasing by 6.7% in April, providing more support for disabled people, unpaid carers and people on low incomes. Scottish Child Payment, which helps the families of more than 327,000 children, is now worth £26.70 per child per week.
New powers enabling councils to charge up to double the full rate of council tax on second homes come into force this week. Councils will be able to increase the tax from Monday (1 April 2024) and 29 of Scotland's 32 local authorities have confirmed that second homeowners will have to pay the higher charge in their areas.
Reforms will help reunite thousands of lost or stolen animals every year and deter pet theft. Lost or stolen pets will be reunited with their owners more quickly under reforms to the pet microchipping system announced this week.
Long term rent controls would help keep homes affordable for tenants in future, under new legislation to create a fairer, better regulated rented sector. The Housing (Scotland) Bill, introduced to Parliament last week, sets out how close working with councils will ensure rent controls are tailored to the local needs of tenants and landlords in different parts of the country.
Updated guidance will call for second staircases in all new buildings over 18 metres from 30 September 2026. The Government has updated its guidance calling for second staircases in all new tall residential buildings over 18 metres - further enhancing the UK's world-leading building safety standards.
Professor Angus Dalgleish, mRNA Vaccines Must Be Banned Once and For All. At the end of last year I reported that I was seeing melanoma patients who had been stable for years relapse after their first booster (their third injection).
NHS Highland chiefs have been accused by a Caithness doctor of lacking "the most basic economic principles" and being unable to put two and two together. Dr Ewen Pearson also criticised the health board for allegedly refusing to negotiate with the Local Medical Committee, the representative body for Highland GPs, over an improved contract for providing "enhanced services".
The long term sick has risen by over 700,000 people since the spring of 2021, this coincides with the rollout of the experimental Covid 19 vaccine..
Residents joined local artists to celebrate completion of the community-led Wick Lanes Pocket Places project in the town this week. The project has seen the installation of a series of durable, long-lasting interventions in and around the lanes to bring life and colour back to the area.
Twelve NATO Allies (Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Spain, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom) agreed to further expand military aviation training across the Alliance through the NATO Flight Training Europe (NFTE) initiative. This includes the first ever placement of around fifty student pilots in four locations beginning this year, the addition of nine new training campuses.
The flat rate cost of car tax in 2024 is currently £180. However, as part of the Spring Budget 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed Vehicle Excise duty (VED) would increase in line with inflation, based on the Retail Price Index (RPI).
Senior leaders from Scotland's HGV industry have developed a set of actions to help the sector transition to net zero. The HGV Decarbonisation Pathway is the result of 18 months of work by the Zero Emission Truck Taskforce, whose members come from the haulage and logistics sector; energy sector (both hydrogen and electricity); truck manufacturing; government; unions; and commercial financiers.
People can now enter their vehicle registration number on the official website for Scotland's Low Emission Zones to confirm if their vehicle will comply. In addition, Blue Badge holders who require exemptions can now register their details with the new LEZ exemption system so that the vehicle they are travelling in can access Low Emission Zones.
Holidaymakers looking to book Easter and summer getaways are being warned to be wary of scams such as: fake accommodation listings on social media cold calls and unsolicited emails offering deals scam websites. fake reviews on popular travel websites.
Companies House is fully committed to ensuring the fair treatment and reward of all colleagues irrespective of gender, as well as any other protected characteristic including age, ethnicity, religion and/or belief, sexual orientation, and disability status. The promotion of equality and inclusivity is at the heart of everything we do, and we're proud of the progress we continue to make in this area.
More than £90 million will be allocated to local authorities in 2024-25 to support eligible households at risk of hardship through the Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) scheme. The funding enables local authorities to mitigate the impact of UK Government policies such as the ‘bedroom tax' and the ‘benefit cap' which can reduce how much universal credit or housing benefit someone receives.
The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 requires that a report is presented to Parliament each year setting out the progress made towards delivery of the National Islands Plan. This report sets out progress made during the 2023 reporting year.
Scotland's Migration Service has launched its first phase, which will give people who have recently moved here and employers looking to hire workers from abroad access to bespoke advice. The new service will provide information and offer individual appointments to help people with moving and settling into life in Scotland.
A Highlands MSP has renewed calls for a public inquiry into the Cairngorm funicular after being told by resort bosses there is no timescale for its reopening. Bosses at Cairngorm Mountain Railway have admitted to Scottish Conservative politician Edward Mountain that they have no idea when the crucial facility will reopen.
Child Benefit was for a long time universal, in recognition of the extra costs that children bring whatever the family's income. In 2013, under the pressures of austerity, the coalition government was finally persuaded by the same logic that had proven irresistible to previous governments for so many other benefits.