Delays in discharging patients from hospital affect people's physical and mental health, and make it harder to admit others to hospital. Delayed discharges are a symptom of wider pressures across health and social care in Scotland.
The freeze on income tax allowances hits poorer households harder because it drags low earners into paying tax sooner, reduces the real value of their tax-free income, and erodes their disposable income more severely than for wealthier groups. This effect, known as fiscal drag, disproportionately impacts those on modest wages who feel inflation and rising living costs most acutely.
The UK is on track to see debt reach 330 per cent of GDP by 2075, according to new modelling from the Adam Smith Institute. Britain has entered a period of high existing debt, weak growth and an ageing population.
On January 7, 2026, President Donald Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the withdrawal of the United States from dozens of international organizations. The move affects 66 institutions — 35 non-UN organizations and 31 UN entities — which the administration claims are "contrary to U.S.
The Iranian rial has been sliding for years, but by 2026 it has collapsed past the symbolic threshold of 1,000,000 IRR per USD. Families can no longer afford bread or medicine, protests have erupted across all provinces, and the regime faces its gravest legitimacy crisis in decades.
The Work Foundation at Lancaster University - a leading think tank for improving working lives is urging employers to adopt flexible working arrangements ahead of proposed Employment Right Act changes in 2027. As the UK economy enters 2026 still blighted by near record levels of health-related economic inactivity, survey analysis released today.
Copper is often called "the metal with a PhD in economics." The reason is simple: when copper prices rise, it usually signals powerful changes underway in the global economy. Today, copper prices are soaring to historic levels — and the effects are being felt far beyond commodity markets, quietly pushing up the cost of many everyday goods.
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.
Across the Highlands, the question of who can afford to live where is becoming sharper by the year. Rising house prices, fuelled in part by the boom in short-term holiday lets, have left many young couples and families struggling to find homes in their own communities.
According to multiple verified news reports and flight-tracking information, American military aircraft landed at Wick John O'Groats Airport on 7 January 2026 in connection with the U.S. operation to seize a Russia-flagged oil tanker off the British/North Atlantic coast.
Following the announcement on 23 December 2025 that Air Charter Scotland have been appointed to take over the Wick-Aberdeen air service, tickets for the service are now available for sale. Tickets can be bought directly from the operator at https://aircharterscotland.com/ , and will also be available through online vendors such as Google Flights and Skyscanner.
Buy-now-pay-later is an appealing proposition. You get what you want now, but you delay settling the bill until later, with no interest and no fees.
Ketamine use in the UK has increased sharply over the past decade, shifting from a niche club drug to a mainstream concern for public health, policing, and education. Once perceived by many users as a relatively low-risk substance, ketamine is now associated with rising hospital admissions, long-term health damage, and growing use among teenagers and young adults.
A major national security think tank has issued a stark warning that British aid money intended for civilians in war zones is being systematically looted by militant organisations. As much as £300 million potentially ending up in the coffers of terror groups each year.
Five Scottish regions to benefit from a share of a new £140 million UK Government Local Growth Fund. Launched today [Thursday 8 January] by Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander, the Local Growth Fund will help drive economic prosperity across Scotland.
Business rates are a tax on most commercial properties, including shops, pubs, restaurants, hotels, offices, warehouses and factories. They are the main property tax that businesses pay to local authorities each year and are calculated based on: a property's rateable value (an estimate of its annual rental value).
The Minnesota fraud scandal has exploded into national headlines in January 2026, prompting congressional hearings, political fallout, and renewed investigations into billions of dollars in suspected misuse across state-run social programs. Governor Tim Walz has dropped out of the governor's race, and federal prosecutors estimate the fraud could exceed $9 billion.
What began as a local investigation into a nonprofit's misuse of child nutrition funds has now erupted into one of the largest fraud scandals in U.S. history.
From Shetland to the Borders, people across Scotland are being urged to check if they are eligible for financial support. Social Security Scotland helped over 960,000 people receive the money they were entitled to in financial year 2024/25.
For more than three decades, Scotland's council tax system has existed in a kind of fiscal time capsule. Every home in the country is still taxed according to what it was worth in 1991—a different economic era, before devolution, before mass buy-to-let, before Edinburgh became a global property hotspot, and before entire regional housing markets diverged sharply in value.