Applying for a mortgage for the first time can be a daunting task. But there are several ways you can increase your chances of having your application accepted.
Members of Highland Council, who met on Thursday 14 March 2024, approved a corporate Digital Ambition, which has been designed to deliver significant organisational change across Council services, recognising the current priorities within the organisation. The Strategy, which is embedded within the wider Council Delivery Plan, has been developed to focus attention and resources on areas of change which will deliver the greatest benefit to the Council.
Forestry Grant Scheme - Grant Rates Increase to Help Tackle Inflation. In recognition of the responses received during this year's Forestry Grant Scheme Consultation, and feedback from regular meetings with Stakeholders, Scottish Forestry has introduced a range of new measures to attempt to bring tree planting levels back in line with Scotland's ambitious planting targets.
Bruce de Wart travelled to Basel in Switzerland from Scotland after telling his family of his carefully planned assisted death. A Scots solicitor has ended his own life in a Swiss clinic following a long illness.
Does the Chinese government have officials inside TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, pulling the strings? And does the storing of data from the popular social media app outside of China protect Americans?. These questions appear to dominate the current thinking in the U.S.
Major package of reforms to support small businesses in PM's first economic speech since the Spring Budget. Major package of reforms to support small businesses in PM's first economic speech since the Spring Budget.
Drone technology could transform our skies and boost the UK economy by £45 billion by the end of the decade. flying taxis and routine emergency service drones should be a reality by 2028.
Dedicated chargepoint funding will support people in making the switch from petrol and diesel cars to electric vehicles. 44 more councils across England to benefit from funding to boost chargepoint rollout.
Is capitalism the problem? Experts weigh in on ways to address the great carbon divide. Who are the polluter elite and why do they matter? - The richest 1% of people are responsible for as much carbon output as the poorest 66%, research from Oxfam shows.
The UK parliament has heard findings that levelling up - arguably the Conservatives' flagship policy agenda - is beset by critical delays. In a report published on 15 March 2024, the public accounts committee, parliament's expenditure watchdog, has said that, as of September 2023, local authorities had spent only £1.24 billion of the £10.47 billion the government promised to tackle regional inequality across the UK.
For the first time since 2021, there has been Open Skies operational activity over the UK. The Open Skies team is part of the Joint Arms Control Implementation Group (JACIG) and operates on partner nations' observation aircraft equipped with certified sensors to collect imagery of Treaty signatories, having observed and imaged over 200km of terrain in the last year.
McLaren Racing's Accelerator arm and the Ministry of Defence are teaming up to collaborate on high-tech, innovative projects. As part of the new partnership, the MOD will learn from McLaren Racing's cutting-edge Accelerator team, who use knowledge and expertise from years of elite-level motorsport to produce advanced technology and manufacturing.
Plans for a Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance, a new benefit to provide continued support to around 66,000 adults with a disability or long-term health condition, have been unveiled. Under new proposals, eligible people who receive Disability Living Allowance through the UK Government's Department for Work and Pensions would have their award transferred automatically to the new Scottish benefit.
A lack of transparency over the distribution of levelling up funds has "wasted scarce public resources and caused some local authorities to miss out", according to an influential committee of MPs. In a report published today, the cross-party Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says that by September 2023, only about 10% of more than £10bn promised in levelling up funding had been spent - and that the government has not provided "any compelling examples" of what the high-profile policy has so far delivered.
A company director and his pharmaceutical manufacturing company were sentenced in court today after pleading guilty to two charges of falsifying data that supported the shelf life of a medicine, adversely affecting its quality in order to obtain a licence to sell the medicine in the UK. Today's sentencing concludes the UK's first successful prosecution of a manufacturer for knowingly providing falsified data to the MHRA in order to obtain a Marketing Authorisation.
Not a secret but hardly any mention in newspapers or on tv but it may be one of the most important enquiries if any action is ever taken to change it. Richard Murphy a professor of accounting who regularly appears on tv and in radio programmes and who does not mince his words in criticising institutions of government and their handling of economic issues.
Support to make quality education accessible to all in Rwanda, Malawi and Zambia has been strengthened with funding of £356,000 from Scottish Government for the Inclusive Education Policy Academy. The Academy forms part of the World Bank's Foundational Learning Compact (FLC) programme and is a hands-on professional development programme designed to improve access to education for some of these countries’ most marginalised groups, such as learners with additional support needs and women.
The average shelf-life of a mortgage product plunged from 28 days at the start of February to a six-month low of 15 days at the start of March, according to Moneyfacts data. This means borrowers should act swiftly if they don't want to risk missing out on a potentially attractive deal.
As we reach the middle of March, the end of the tax-year is only a few weeks away. Often known as ISA season, this period typically sees providers compete to offer the best rates to attract savers who want to use up their ISA allowance before it resets on 6 April.
Crumpets or Croissants - what's in your inflation basket?. The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, stated in his recent Budget speech that inflation is expected to fall below the 2% target in just a few months' time, according to figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).