Summary of changes announced in the Health and Disability White Paper. The White Paper sets out ambitious and extensive reforms so more disabled people and people with health conditions live the independent and fulfilling lives they deserve.
Chancellor uses fiscal windfall to address persistent supply-side challenges. The economic and fiscal outlook has brightened somewhat since November.
When reading this article bear in mind that much of it applies to England and funding will be sent to Scotland under the Barnett formula for the Scottish Government to decide on its priorities which may differ. A revolution in childcare, a £27 billion tax cut for business and a trio of freezes to help families with the cost-of-living headlined the Chancellor's Spring Budget today, Wednesday 15 March..
Government subsidies limiting typical household energy bills to £2,500 a year extended for three months, until the end of June. £200m to bring energy charges for prepayment meters into line with prices for customers paying by direct debit - affects 4m households.
Note that much of the following applies to England and money will be sent to Scotland under the Barnett forumula for Scottish Government to decide on its priorities. In the Spring Budget we are setting out a package of measures designed to support people to enter work, increase their working hours and extend their working lives.
ScotRail has confirmed that its services will operate as normal tomorrow (Thursday), following the suspension of planned strike action by RMT members of Network Rail. The RMT trade union's planned strike action by its members at Network Rail on Thursday, 16 March 2023 as well as an overtime ban over the coming weeks have been suspended to allow a referendum on a new pay offer from Network Rail to take place.
Cap on amount workers can accumulate in pensions savings over their lifetime before having to pay extra tax (currently £1.07m) to be abolished. Tax-free yearly allowance for pension pot to rise from £40,000 to £60,000 - having been frozen for nine years.
The chancellor has extended the freeze on UK income tax allowances and thresholds until 2027/28. In his Autumn Statement on 17November Jeremy Hunt said income tax thresholds will remain as they are until 2027/28 as the government looks to raise extra income to plug a hole in public finances of about £55bn.
Commitment to raise defence spending by £11bn over the next five years. Prison sentences for those convicted of marketing tax avoidance schemes.
The Highland Council is pleased to announce that the work to design the 20mph speed limit programme for Highland has progressed to a stage were the plans for the locations included in the programme can be viewed by the public. This extensive piece of work currently incorporates 116 villages and towns within Highland and is fully funded by Transport Scotland.
Thirty-nine of the country's biggest developers have signed the contract providing relief for thousands of leaseholders and tenants. Michael Gove has secured the signatures of the country's biggest housebuilders on the developer remediation contract, a major step toward ending the building safety scandal.
Uncertainty remains over the final costs and completion dates of two delayed lifeline ferries, Glen Sannox (801) and vessel 802. Concerns have also been raised over the payment of performance bonuses to senior managers at Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow.
The consortium behind Ossian floating offshore wind farm has awarded the contract for geotechnical investigations to two contractors: Fugro and Ocean Infinity. The Ossian project is being delivered by a partnership of Scottish renewable energy developer SSE Renewables, Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corporation and Danish fund management company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).
Following a comprehensive scientific safety review of the latest available data on the safety of pholcodine, together with advice from the independent Commission on Human Medicines, it has been concluded that the potential risks outweigh the benefits for these products. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) keeps the safety of medicines under review and acts where necessary to protect patients and the public.
Millions of households will get more support with high energy bills to help ease the cost of living, the Chancellor has announced today ahead of the Spring Budget. The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) will be kept at £2,500 for an additional three months from April to June, saving a typical household £160.
Maps of the Council's gritting routes by priority and policy are available online at www.highland.gov.uk/gritting The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
The Highland Council is encouraging individuals, businesses, and community groups to have their say about the Scottish Governments plan for new protections for the marine environment in the form of Highly Protected Marine Areas. Scottish Ministers have committed to designate at least 10% of Scotland's seas as Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs), by 2026.
Chancellor Hunt was expected to keep his first full Budget ‘boring' after last year’s politically-induced financial dramas. However, the delivery expert ParcelHero says manufacturers, retailers and their logistics partners will find some measures to get excited about - though the controversial corporation tax rise will go ahead as planned.
The latest quarterly Scottish Government Workforce Information statistics have been published today by Scotland's Chief Statistician. These statistics cover the numbers of workers, staff sickness rates, and the diversity of staff up to the most recent quarter ending December 2022.
Who is likely to be affected Individual members of registered pension schemes who make annual pension contributions over the standard annual allowance (AA), money purchase annual allowance (MPAA), or tapered annual allowance (tapered AA), and who therefore expect to become subject to an AA charge. Individual members of registered pension schemes who already have or expect to have pension savings exceeding either the standard lifetime allowance (LTA) or their protected LTA, and who therefore expect to become subject to an LTA charge.
