Britain is putting almost £130 million into zero-emission vehicle technology, but the bigger question is whether the investment can help create something Britain has struggled to achieve for decades: a new generation of internationally competitive manufacturing industries. The Government announced the funding on Monday, with almost £65 million coming from public funds and the remainder from industry partners.
Two decisions now approaching the final stage could have consequences far beyond the oil and gas industry. Public consultations on the Jackdaw and Rosebank North Sea developments are reaching their deadlines, reopening one of the biggest economic arguments facing Scotland: how quickly should the North Sea oil and gas industry decline, and what happens to the thousands of skilled jobs and businesses that currently depend upon it?.
The debate over Rosebank and Jackdaw is often reduced to a simple question: how many jobs will these two North Sea fields create? The answer is more complicated than some of the headlines suggest. They will not create thousands of permanent jobs on two new oil and gas installations.
Millions of people in Britain pay for subscriptions every month without giving them much thought. Streaming services, magazines, software, gyms, food deliveries, memberships and countless other services can quietly continue taking money from bank accounts long after customers have stopped using them.
The latest UK jobs figures suggest that Britain's employment market may finally be beginning to stabilise. But for Scotland, the story is more complicated – and potentially more encouraging in some of the industries that matter most to the country's future.
Britain's jobs market may finally be showing signs of emerging from its long recruitment downturn, but the latest KPMG and REC survey reveals an important change in employer behaviour. Companies are hiring, but they are increasingly choosing flexibility over permanent commitments.
America's jobs market has delivered a surprise that could have consequences well beyond the United States. The US economy lost 23,000 jobs in July, when economists had been expecting an increase of around 80,000.
Moneyfacts UK Mortgage Trends Treasury Report data reveals lenders reversed course on mortgage rate cuts in July, with fixed rates rising and the lifespan of a deal falling to 11 days. Lenders moved to increase mortgage rates during July amid rising swap rates, due to a resurgence of unrest in the Middle East, fuelling inflationary fears.
Europe's Energy Crisis Isn't Over – Could Peak Oil Be the Next Shock? Europe has already experienced several enormous energy shocks in just a few years. First came the post-pandemic surge in energy demand and prices.
Scotland's economy is not booming. But neither is it showing the signs of the economic collapse that some of the gloomier headlines might suggest.
Britain closed its last coal-fired power station in 2024. For many people, that marked the final end of an era.
Trump's Middle East Strategy Is Starting to Unravel – And the World Is Paying the Price Donald Trump came back to the White House promising something that many Americans and much of the world desperately wanted: an end to America's endless wars. His approach was supposed to be different.
Financial support for island businesses affected by ferry disruption will be made available through the first phase of the £10 million Islands Resilience Fund. This will provide a further £3 million in 2026-27 to help mitigate the disproportionate impact faced by people and businesses living and operating in Scotland's islands.
Government Commercial Agency's G-Cloud framework has relaunched, opening up an estimated £14 billion in opportunities for small British businesses. G-Cloud 15 consolidates 3 separate frameworks into a single commercial agreement, making it simpler, faster and better for public sector buyers to procure all their cloud requirements in one place.
For decades, computers have been remarkably useful machines. They have helped us write documents, manage accounts, communicate with customers and search enormous amounts of information.
For the past few years, the AI revolution has largely depended on one thing that most people rarely think about: the cloud. Ask ChatGPT a question, generate an image or analyse a document and, in most cases, the request travels across the internet to powerful computers in a distant data centre.
A significant change to the relationship between employers and trade unions is coming into force under the Employment Rights Act 2025. From October 2026, trade unions will gain a new statutory right to access workplaces to meet and support workers, represent them, recruit members, organise union activity and help facilitate collective bargaining.
Royal Navy warships and helicopters spent 21 days on operations monitoring Russian activity in UK waters and the North Atlantic throughout July. Maritime operations to monitor Russian activity up 25% across the first seven months of the year.
A pensioner can find their State Pension added to their wages, private pension or other taxable income. A student can earn money from work while receiving a maintenance grant that is not normally taxable.
The Poor Pay More: Is Britain's Discount Economy Becoming Unfair? Tesco is currently offering customers who spend at least £60 in-store a fuel discount of up to around 8p a litre. It is a perfectly normal supermarket promotion but it also highlights a much bigger problem.