Reforming local taxation to include surcharges on out-of-town businesses could help to arrest decades of decline in Scottish town centres, MSPs have said.
Scottish health services will remain free at the point of need despite several senior officials discussing making richer patients pay for treatment, the health secretary has insisted.
The Scottish Government must close the “major implementation gap” between policy ambitions and delivery to help ensure financial stability, the national watchdog has said.
The impact of inflation and the fallout from the UK government’s “calamitous” mini-budget mean Scottish ministers have had to double budget cuts this year.
Plans to centralise care in Scotland into a national body could cost “significantly” more than current forecasts, and the devolved government has not yet assessed the full cost of the transition, the...
Police Scotland would need to make radical service cuts that could include the removal of the 101 phone line without additional funding, a senior office has warned.
The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has reached an agreement with local government unions, avoiding the resumption of strike action but facing criticism for “unnecessary” delays.
The Scottish Government would rejoin the European Union and earmark up to £20bn in green infrastructure spending if an independence vote was successful.
“Power grab” proposals to centralise social care services in Scotland could see thousands of staff moved to a national body, and the plans face searing criticism from council leaders and unions.
The battle between Scotland’s police officers and their employers has ended with a 5% deal – bringing them into line with other public sector pay deals.
Scottish ministers have been urged to reprioritise funding to avoid the need for some services to make “disproportionate” cuts, as delegates prepare to meet at Public Finance Live Scotland.
Pressures stemming from the cost-of-living crisis and hitting future targets on net zero have been tipped to be key talking points at Public Finance Scotland this week.
Scottish ministers have tabled around £500m of cuts to planned revenue and capital spending due to “enormous strains” on the devolved administration’s 2022-23 budget.
The Scottish audit watchdog has raised concerns that Shetland Islands Council lacks a clear plan on how it will fund a forecast medium-term budget gap of up to £142m.
Trade unions and council leaders are still struggling to reach an agreement on this year’s pay offer despite meeting with a senior minister, amid the looming threat of strike action.
The Scottish Government deficit fell at a faster rate than the rest of the UK last year, fuelled by a rise in oil revenues, according to the latest Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland report.
Scottish local government leaders have rejected claims from a union that they missed a crucial meeting to discuss the 2022-23 pay offer amid looming industrial action.
