The underlying UK current account deficit excluding precious metals expanded to £26.3 billion, or 3.9% of gross domestic product (GDP), in Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2023, a widening of £5.9 billion from Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2023. The UK current account deficit when trade in precious metals is included, increased to £21.2 billion, or 3.1 % of GDP.
Startup companies being supported by the Scottish Government's Techscaler programme attracted investment of more than £52 million in 2023, according to the project's first Annual Report. The initiative supported more than 500 companies in its first year, and now has nearly 2,500 members.
In Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2023, household spending growth (adjusted for inflation) was negative 0.1% compared with Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2023. Compared with Quarter 4 2022, household spending increased by 0.3%.
UK business investment increased by 1.4% in Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2023, revised slightly from our initial estimate of a 1.5% increase in the provisional estimate; the main contributor to business investment growth was an increase in buildings investment. UK business investment is 2.8% above where it was the same quarter a year ago.
n the latest week, aggregate UK spending on credit and debit cards fell by 3% and is now 5% lower than the level in the equivalent week of 2023. Meanwhile, overall retail footfall increased to 103% of the level of the previous week and 102% of the level in the equivalent week of 2023 (Bank of England CHAPS, MRI OnLocation).
A 2023 study on the British public's satisfaction with the NHS and social care services, and their views on NHS priorities, principles and funding from The Kings Fund. This report draws upon responses to the latest British Social Attitudes survey to explore public satisfaction with the NHS and social care.
The beginning of April brings a new tax year, and a flurry of tax, benefit and pay policy changes coming into effect. Benefit levels are finally returning to their pre-pandemic levels after a difficult few years.
This year's minimum wage uprating is large: roughly 1.6 million workers stand to benefit directly on 1 April when the adult rate rises to £11.44 - giving a cash increase of 9.8 per cent and a real-terms increase of 7.8 per cent. These are the third largest annual increases in the minimum wage's history.
The introduction of the minimum wage in the UK in 1999 is the single most successful economic policy in a generation, raising the pay of the nation's lowest paid workers by £6,000 a year compared to their earnings simply rising in line with typical wages, according to new Resolution Foundation analysis published today (Wednesday). Happy 25th birthday to the minimum wage examines how the introduction of the minimum wage in April 1999 has affected low-paid workers in the UK over the past 25 years.
New legislation which aims to keep people in their homes and help prevent homelessness has been published. The Housing (Scotland) Bill will introduce an ‘ask and act' duty on social landlords and bodies, such as health boards and the police, to ask about a person's housing situation and act to avoid them becoming homeless wherever possible.
Orbex, the only UK owned orbital launch services and rocket manufacturing company, has successfully patented its REFLIGHT reusable rocket technology following patent approval in several European markets as well as the United States. This protection was based on the patent grant by the European Patent Office.
Recently pupils and leaders from Step Forward Wick Youth had the opportunity to help out in our local community. Along with Wick Development Trust and The Countryside Rangers they managed to plant 300 trees along the Wick Riverside to help provide some woodland areas along the riverside, giving the local wildlife shelter and a food source too.
A new high-quality toilet facility to help alleviate pressures at Gairloch has now opened. The project was brought to fruition by a community partnership driven by Gairloch Area Development Ltd, supported by The Highland Council and Visit Scotland.
Black liquorice may look and taste like an innocent treat, but this candy has a dark side. On 23 September 2020, doctors reported that black liquorice was the culprit in the death of a 54-year-old man in Massachusetts.
Monday commencing 22 April See poster..
Charities providing support to pregnant women, new mums and their families are to share £1.5 million expand and enhance their mental health and wellbeing services. It has been estimated that up to 20% of mums and up to 10% of dads are affected by poor mental health in the perinatal period.
A community project to extend a museum in Dornoch has been able to enhance its environmental credentials after securing a £30,157 investment from HIE. The £560,000 project to extend the Historylinks Museum is being taken forward by Dornoch Heritage SCIO, the community group that operates the attraction.
Paul Castle reflects on a remarkable journey and the difference conservation volunteering makes. St John's Pool Bird Reserve began life in 1988 as a damp patch in the corner of a field at the side of St.
Come along to Harpers Bar on Gala night 27th July, for a fantastic night of music and entertainment with Stirling Silver..
Come along to Harpers on bonfire night 3rd August, to hear the fantastic Robbie Pie Band. Not to be missed!.
The Assembly Rooms will be the venue for the Scottish Spring Rally of the Handbell Ringers of Great Britain (HRGB). Concert 4.00 - 4.40pm Handbell Ringers from across the country are coming to WICK for a Spring Rally.
On 14 March, the Highland Council took the decision to permanently close Gergask Primary School. All school closures in Scotland must be ratified by Scottish Ministers.
A woman in her 80s was cold called this week and told that she was due to pay £189 as a final instalment for a TV repair contract. The woman was unsure which company was calling but was worried that she owed them money, so agreed to provide her card details and make the payment.
I am a conservation biologist who studies emerging infectious diseases. When people ask me what I think the next pandemic will be I often say that we are in the midst of one - it's just afflicting a great many species more than ours.
Nestled within the heather covered hills and wooded glens of the Scottish Highlands, a diverse array of deer species roam. This blog aims to illuminate you on the different types of deer inhabiting this region and uncovers which ones are truly indigenous.
NHS Highland is to host a series of community pop-up hubs within Caithness to highlight an array of community services available from a wealth of different organisations. Visitors will have the opportunity to find out about community and health services, such as new frailty services, with the chance to try out some simple chair-based exercises designed to help prevent falls and support wellbeing.
ScotRail is showing its support for Scottish Apprenticeship Week by announcing more apprenticeship opportunities for young people in Scotland and championing the achievements of those already on an early careers' pathway within the train operator. New apprenticeships will be created to provide valuable employment and training for young people across Scotland, with positions available in sectors ranging from engineering and administration to customer service.
Apprenticeships, spirits and culture were on the agenda as UK Government Minister for Scotland John Lamont embarked on a series of stakeholder engagements. To mark the start of Scottish Apprenticeship Week (Monday March 4, 2024), Minister Lamont dropped in to multinational financial corporation JPMorgan Chase & Co in Glasgow to meet with apprentices and hear about the firm's work.
A review of Community Rights to Buy will begin this summer to look at how effective current powers are. Community Right to Buy has now been in use for 20 years.
A record number 95.3% of Highland school leavers in the last year have gone into a positive destination including employment, higher education, further education, training, personal skills development and voluntary work. Education Chair, Cllr John Finlayson said: "I am delighted that this year we have more young people than ever before leaving school into a positive destination.
A moved reading of George Gunn's new work. The story of Call Me Mister Bullfinch is this: on 25th of August, 1942, a Short Sunderland Flying Boat crashed into a hillside in Caithness.
Argyle and Bute council publish a monthly funding newsletter. Anyone in Scotland can sign up to get it.
A cinematic meditation on humanity's massive reengineering of the planet, ANTHROPOCENE: The Human Epoch is a four years in the making feature documentary film following the research of an international body of scientists, the Anthropocene Working Group. From concrete seawalls in China, to the biggest terrestrial machines ever built in Germany, to psychedelic potash mines in Russia's Ural Mountains, to metal festivals in the closed city of Norilsk, to the devastated Great Barrier Reef in Australia and surreal lithium evaporation ponds in the Atacama desert.
Today (Monday 4 March 2024), the Charity Commission has published new guidance to help charities when deciding whether to accept, refuse or return a donation. Applies in England and Wales but makes sense for Scotland also.
Bingo is back at Spittal Village Hall. £2 for Under 16âs.
The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) and eight partners have signed up to The Scottish LGBTI+ Rainbow Mark during LGBT History Month to support inclusive social spaces across the Highlands and Islands, Moray and Perthshire. The Scottish LGBTI+ Rainbow Mark (The Rainbow Mark) was developed with LGBTI+ people.
With their bright colours and squishy feel, water beads are especially appealing to young children. When dry, water beads are tiny and can easily be swallowed without detection.
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