Health visiting is one of the quiet foundations of public health in Scotland. It is the service that visits families in their homes after a baby is born, checks development, supports parents' mental health, identifies safeguarding concerns early, and helps prevent small problems becoming crises.
An article published 18 February 2026 on The World Bank blog should raise eyebrows given the current immigration issues being dealt with by Westminster. A short summary followed by a link to the main article followed by commentary on how it might affect western countries including UK.
A £620,000 package to support the continued growth of the Gaelic language has been announced by Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes on the first day of World Gaelic Week. The funding includes an additional £200,000 for MG ALBA (the Gaelic media service) to deliver high-quality content including series two of BBC ALBA's award-winning crime thriller An t-Eilean.
Island communities are set to benefit from a new plan to improve housing and healthcare, alongside efforts to grow the economy and increase the number of people living on Scotland's islands. The second National Islands Plan will deliver targeted actions across seven key themes, including committing to delivering more affordable homes, improving access to childcare and exploring permanent transport links - specifically bridges and tunnels to improve connectivity.
Politicians keep telling us the government must "live within its means" like a household. That idea is wrong.
The state of dental care across the UK has become a major public concern, but the picture varies sharply between Scotland and England. While both nations face pressure from workforce shortages, rising demand, and the long shadow of the pandemic, the severity and nature of the problems differ.
As council tax rises once again loom across Scotland, the familiar warnings are rolled out: there is no alternative. Councils, we are told, must either raise taxes or cut services.
A common starting point in discussions about Scottish independence is a seemingly narrow technical question. How much more expensive is it to run two tax offices — one in England and one in Scotland — compared with a single, combined system? At first glance this can look like a minor administrative issue.
A political storm erupted in the United States last week after President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to boost domestic production of glyphosate, the world's most widely used herbicide. The order invoked the Defense Production Act, framing glyphosate as essential to national security and food‑supply stability.
For many young people today, debt is presented as normal, unavoidable, even harmless. Student loans are described as "manageable." Car finance is framed as “affordable.” Forty-year mortgages are marketed as “getting on the ladder.” Individually, each commitment can sound reasonable.
Orkney and Shetland Islanders using the Northern Isles Ferry Services are set to benefit from the removal of mid and peak season fares from 24 March 2026. The Scottish Budget for 2026-27 committed to invest £1.8 million to remove seasonal fares for islanders using the services, meaning eligible residents of Orkney and Shetland will now pay the current low season passenger, car and cabin rates year-round.
The 15% tariff applies to goods imported into the U.S., including those from the UK. That means UK companies exporting manufactured goods, food products, and other items to the U.S.
For more than a decade, Global Counsel styled itself as the sophisticated end of the lobbying world: discreet, analytical, and above all respectable. Founded in 2010, the firm promised clients insight rather than crude influence-peddling a "strategic advisory" model that claimed to sit above the grubby stereotypes of lobbying.
More than 280 tonnes of used fishing nets will be sent from Scotland to Ukraine to help the nation defend itself against deadly Russian drone attacks. The used salmon farm nets had been stored ready for recycling but will now be sent to Ukraine following a request from its government.
President Donald Trump's economic agenda took a major hit when the Supreme Court struck down many of his most sweeping tariffs. While Trump has options to restore some of the tariffs, he's losing his most powerful tool to impose them almost at will as a bargaining chip with other countries.
For a generation, Britain has told its young people that university is the surest route to success. Classrooms became lecture halls, polytechnics became universities, and participation targets climbed toward the symbolic 50 per cent mark.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that many of Trump's sweeping global tariffs were illegal because he lacked the statutory authority he claimed under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The Court emphasized that only Congress has the power to impose taxes and broad tariff regimes, not the president acting alone under emergency powers.
When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the legal foundation of former President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs, the ruling sent ripples far beyond Washington.
Suggestions that Peter Mandelson may have shared government information with Jeffrey Epstein amid the fallout of the global financial crisis are being investigated by police. Emails between Mandelson and the disgraced financier, released by the US Department of Justice, are said to include market-sensitive details.
As Highland Council prepares to set its next budget in the coming weeks, one question matters more than any line in the spreadsheets. Are we being told the truth about what's really happening to our local services? Because across Scotland and especially in the Highlands councils are increasingly relying on a quiet, opaque tactic to balance their books: vacancy management.