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Scotland's North Sea oil and gas industry faces another crucial period, with the future of major offshore developments caught between the need to secure energy supplies, protect industrial jobs and meet the UK's climate commitments. At the centre of the debate are the Rosebank oilfield and the Jackdaw gasfield, both off the coast of Scotland.

Scotland’s jobs market is showing signs of weakening, with fewer vacancies being advertised, unemployment rising and the number of people on company payrolls falling. The latest figures reported by the Scottish Government suggest that finding work is becoming more difficult for people across the country.

Britain's retailers and hospitality businesses are warning that the rising cost of employing people is making it harder to recruit, particularly when it comes to young people seeking their first job. The concerns have come into sharper focus after leading retailers and hospitality companies urged Chancellor John Healey to reconsider aspects of the tax system and provide relief from business costs.

If you live in rural Britain, you don’t need an economist to tell you that the energy market is in free-fall. You see it every time you pass a petrol station forecourt, and you certainly feel it when you check the tank out the back of your house.

Scapa Flow Museum has announced the official launch of ‘Voices from Scapa Flow’, an ambitious new audio project revealing what life was really like for the residents, service personnel and workers stationed at one of the world’s greatest natural harbours during the First and Second World Wars. The project is a Highlands and Islands Digital Heritage Network initiative, delivered in partnership with The Space, a not-for-profit digital agency for the arts, heritage and culture sector, and Museums and Heritage Highland.

Brent crude climbs above $106 a barrel as attacks on commercial vessels intensify. British motorists, farmers and households facing another expensive winter could feel the consequences.

One of America's biggest banks has been penalised for failing to identify and report suspicious financial activity. But British banks have also faced substantial fines for weaknesses in their anti-money-laundering systems.

The banks have closed branches across the Highlands and customers have adapted. With Highland Council facing serious financial pressures, is it time to rethink permanent offices and take council services directly to the people who need them? There was a time when going to the bank meant visiting a branch.

The FCA has conducted a major operation to disrupt a suspected organised criminal group for engaging in insider dealing and money laundering. On 13 October, 3 individuals were arrested following a joint operation by the FCA and the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Ten of the 14 English train operators that provide passenger services under contract with the Department for Transport are now in public ownership. The Rt Hon Heidi Alexander MP - I am confirming to the House that on Sunday 20 September 2026, Chiltern Railways’ services transferred into public ownership under the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act.

Hundreds of thousands of pensioners are being urged to check if they can benefit from Pension Credit, an income top-up that can provide vital help with everyday costs. 660,000 households will receive advice urging pensioners to check their Pension Credit eligibility, help a loved one make a claim and pin the information to their fridge.

The government is looking at the heating-oil market after households faced sharp price increases, cancelled orders and uncertainty about whether they were getting a fair deal. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has examined how the market operates and recommended stronger protections for consumers.

Quantum computing could create a new market for one of the world's scarcest materials. Canada has an established production capability, but the United States has its own supplies.

Britain’s housing crisis is real, but blaming migration alone risks overlooking the workers, skills, taxes and businesses that newcomers can bring to the country. Should government be doing more to help people turn their potential into economic activity?.

Morven Fancey, Head of housing, skills and population with Highland and Islands Enerprise looks a Childcare. Investing in childcare is an investment in people, in communities and in the long-term success of the Highlands and Islands and the region’s contribution to Scotland’s economy.

The Scottish Government has appointed another trade and investment envoy, this time to the United Arab Emirates. Ronnie Graham, managing partner of Winston Taylor's Dubai office, has been appointed to promote Scotland's interests in the UAE and help Scottish companies build relationships in the market.

Britain is being encouraged to become better prepared for emergencies, with households advised to keep supplies of food and water that could see them through several days. That sounds sensible enough.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join QS, supporting UHI North, West & Hebrides with examinations. QS are looking to recruit an Invigilator to undertake the duties of invigilation for National Qualifications, in accordance with QS policy and procedures.

Bacon has suddenly become a rather more complicated item on the shopping list. Should we worry about nitrates and nitrites? Is nitrate-free bacon healthier? And if supermarkets are now selling bacon without added nitrites, is it worth paying extra for it?.

There are times when a story from thousands of miles away makes you look at your own garden slightly differently. Reports from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky describe residents facing such severe shortages of food that some have reportedly been eating plants growing in their gardens that most of us would simply call weeds.

A beautiful mid-terraced, three-bedroom (one with ensuite), stone-built home which retains many of the original features, with a large area of garden to rear. Accommodation comprises vestibule, hallway, lounge, sitting room/dining room, Ashley Ann fitted kitchen and a utility room on the ground floor, upstairs from the landing there are three bedrooms, one with ensuite and a family bathroom.

This doer-upper was started and now looking for a new owner to finish it. Hidden away in Beaufoy Street, this lovely stone-built property has a new fitted kitchen, oak doors fitted throughout and now needs plumbing and electrics to be finished, along with decoration.

Sutherland has had another week in which several apparently separate stories point towards the same underlying question. How does a huge rural area attract investment and economic activity while maintaining the homes, services and communities needed to support it?.

The future of disability benefits is becoming one of the more difficult issues facing the UK government, with spending rising rapidly and increasing numbers of people receiving support. A new report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) examines what could be changed in Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the main working-age disability benefit in England and Wales.

Something rather important is happening around the United States, and it may be bigger than the individual tariff announcements, political arguments or daily movements in the oil price. America is changing the way it deals with the rest of the world.