COVID-19 surveillance up until end of week 32. COVID-19 case rates continued to increase this week compared to our previous report.
In recognition of the important contribution museums make to our communities, the sector is to benefit from a new fund for crucial repair and maintenance work. The Scottish Government is to give an additional £500,000 to Museums Galleries Scotland to enable organisations across the country to reduce their running costs and increase resilience.
Retail sales volumes are estimated to have fallen by 1.2% in July 2023 following a rise of 0.6% in June 2023 (revised from an increase of 0.7%). Food stores sales volumes fell by 2.6% in July 2023, with supermarkets reporting that the wet weather reduced clothing sales, although food sales also fell back; retailers indicated that the increased cost of living and food prices continued to affect sales volumes.
UK-backed price cap on Russian oil and oil products is successfully undermining Putin's ability to fund his illegal war in Ukraine, according to official data collated six months on from implementation. The oil price cap is significantly impacting Russia's ability to use oil to finance its illegal war.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd, (August 16th) sold 104 store cattle, 50 adult head of breeding cattle and 44 OTM cattle. Bullocks (45) averaged 247.1p per kg and sold to 311.5p per kg for a pair of 305kg British Blue crosses from Achnahannet, Dulnain Bridge and £1,370 gross for a pen of 513kg Aberdeen Angus crosses from Torachilty Farm, Contin.
Parties involved in legal cases relating to the original design and construction of the Cairngorm funicular railway in the 1990s and early 2000s and guarantees in place with the previous operator have reached an out-of-court settlement. This means the cases will not proceed to a court proof hearing, which had been scheduled to begin in August.
Malakoff Ltd secured £32,129 investment from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) for a project to enhance the capability of its covered slipway in North Ness, Lerwick. More than 160 years ago, the firm started out as a blacksmith and boat builder and now offers a wide range of specialist services including project management and engineering for the island's supply chain.
Amazon is introducing new fees for sellers who bypass its logistics services, just as America's Federal Trade Commission prepares its antitrust lawsuit. Amazon has reportedly failed in a ‘last rites’ meeting to stop legal action.
A record 12.4% pay increase for junior doctors and dentists in training for 2023-24 has been accepted British Medical Association (BMA) Scotland members. Together with the pay raise of 4.5% awarded in 2022–23, this amounts to a total increase of 17.5% over two years.
Almost half of Scottish businesses believe that the Bank of England should resist raising interest rates any further as they continue to battle challenging economic conditions for trading, according to the latest Addleshaw Goddard Scottish Business Monitor (SBM) report. The findings come as business sentiment drops slightly from a relative high in the Spring report, with most businesses experiencing a contraction in sales, turnover, investment, and export activity in Q2 of this year - only employment figures increased on Q1.
From the Fraser of Allender Institute. So what do the latest statistics show? The latest figures show that the net fiscal balance for 2022-23 was -£19.1 bn, which represents -9.0% of GDP.
Michael Bissona expert on Driving and Wildlife Interactions for the International Drivers Association has looked at the spider situation for drivers in the UK. The UK might not be famous for its exotic wildlife, but there's no denying our fair share of critters that can make even the bravest of Brits jump.
Sellafield makes history with first retrievals from oldest store. Clean up of the Sellafield site has taken a significant step forward with the first removal of waste from the Pile Fuel Cladding Silo.
The Typhoons launched from RAF Lossiemouth, one of the RAF's two Quick Reaction Alert stations, where RAF fighters are constantly available to respond to threats at a moment's notice Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots launched Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Typhoon fighters to intercept two Russian long-range maritime patrol bombers this morning as they transited north of the Shetland Islands within NATO’s northern air policing area. The Typhoon jets launched from RAF Lossiemouth, one of the RAF’s two QRA stations, where RAF fighters are constantly available to respond to threats at a moment’s notice in order to defend UK airspace.
Scotland's notional deficit has continued to fall at a faster pace than the UK's, driven by record energy sector revenues and strong growth in the tax take, figures for the 2022-23 financial year show. Total revenue for Scotland increased by 20.7% (£15 billion) compared with 11.3% for the UK as a whole.
Further improvement in Scotland's public finances despite cost of living support Scotland’s net fiscal balance has improved since last year, driven by record North Sea revenue, as well as strong growth in income tax, national insurance contributions and VAT. Although there was a reduction in health spending related to the pandemic, overall spending increased, primarily due to increased spending on reserved debt interest and the introduction of cost of living support.
The UK HPI shows house price changes for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The June data shows: on average, house prices have risen 0.7% since May 2023 there has been an annual price rise of 1.7% which makes the average property in the UK valued at £287,546.
The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) rose by 6.4% in the 12 months to July 2023, down from 7.3% in June. On a monthly basis, CPIH fell by 0.3% in July 2023, whereas it rose by 0.6% in July 2022.
Small businesses won a record-breaking amount of government work, new figures released by the Cabinet Office revealed on Tuesday 15 August 2023. The new figures, which underline the government's commitment to helping SMEs benefit from government contracts show that UK small businesses received £21 billion worth of work in 2021/22.
New artificial intelligence (AI) solutions will accelerate industrial decarbonisation across the country, with nearly £4 million in government funding for green innovations. New artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to accelerate industrial decarbonisation across the country.
