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The Scottish Government’s provisional outturn for the financial year is £55.9 billion against a total fiscal budget of £56.3 billion. The underspend of £358 million, presented to Parliament this afternoon, represents 0.6% of the Scottish Government’s total budget.

The third and final shipment of high level waste in the form of vitrified residues has been safely delivered to Germany. Seven flasks containing high level waste were transported from the Sellafield site to the port of Barrow-in-Furness, in Cumbria by rail.

The latest quarterly Scottish Government Workforce Information statistics have been published today by Scotland’s Chief Statistician. These statistics cover the numbers of workers, staff sickness rates, and the diversity of staff up to the most recent quarter ending March 2026.

The EU's abolition of duty-free relief on low-value parcels could spell significant new costs for UK retailers shipping to Europe, warns the international delivery expert Parcelhero The European Union will this summer scrap the longstanding Customs duty exemption on parcels valued at under €150, replacing it with a new flat-rate tariff of €3 per item. It’s a move the international delivery expert Parcelhero says will reshape cross-border e-commerce between the UK and the EU's 440 million consumers.

The UK is scrapping its £135 de minimis duty relief for imported parcels — meaning by March 2029, every parcel, no matter how cheap, will face customs duties. This is a major shake‑up for online shoppers and small businesses who rely on low‑value imports.

When the BBC announces another round of job cuts, it is easy to think of it as a single event. But the latest announcement is not an isolated decision.

The BBC has announced one of its biggest rounds of cost-cutting in many years, with hundreds of jobs set to disappear, programmes being axed and television and radio services under review. For viewers and listeners, the immediate question is simple: what programmes will disappear? For Scotland, however, there is another question that may prove even more important: Will these cuts reduce Scotland's voice within the BBC? How Many Jobs Are Being Lost? The BBC has announced the first stage of a major restructuring.

The United Kingdom has imposed its largest ever penalty for a breach of Russian financial sanctions since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. UK travel technology firm fined more than £1 million for breaching UK financial sanctions against Russia.

Some of the UK’s most prominent leisure and hospitality businesses have committed to passing on summer savings to families as they met the Chancellor today – ahead of the government’s Great British Summer Savings scheme going live. Cinemas, LEGOLAND owner Merlin Entertainments, Greene King-managed pubs and Nando’s among businesses to commit to passing on temporary VAT cut to help reduce the cost of days out.

The latest UK House Price Index, published on 17 June, shows that house prices across the United Kingdom continue to rise despite higher interest rates and ongoing concerns about the cost of living. The headline figure reported by the UK Government is that the average UK home is now worth around £270,000, an increase of 3.8% over the past year.

Action to protect families in the energy market and hold the retrofit industry to account. New service to provide stronger oversight of retrofit industry – giving families confidence to upgrade their homes and cut bills.

Savers with closed accounts are urged to move their pots, to beat the Bank of England Base Rate (BBR). Loyalty does not pay.

Submit your views on the draft statement of safety principles for automated vehicles by 9 September 2026. the future rollout of self-driving vehicles across the UK moves a step closer (17 June 2026), as the government seeks views on the safety rules that will let people own and use them on British roads.

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Brent crude oil has fallen back below $80 a barrel, even though the final details of the Middle East peace agreement have yet to be completed. For many people this seems strange.

For nearly 15 years, the global economy lived in an extraordinary monetary environment with near‑zero interest rates, quantitative easing, and central banks acting as shock absorbers for every crisis. That era is now ending and the clearest evidence comes from two central banks that once defined low‑rate policy - the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Japan (BoJ).

When the UK Government announces new spending on the NHS, schools, or transport, it often sounds like the whole UK will benefit. In reality, many of these announcements apply to England only — and any financial benefit for Scotland usually arrives later, indirectly, and can be spent on completely different priorities.

Scaffolder required for approximately 6 weeks contract in Fair Isle commencing beginning of August.Send CVs to caithness.scaffolding@live.co.uk for more infomation contact 07793102455. .

The case against children’s access to social media isn’t just about online harms, argues Goldsmith’s Dr Veli Hillman, but about the steady narrowing of what childhood is allowed to become. Modern societies routinely restrict children’s access to activities where power, incentives and risks are radically unequal.

The Pentland Hotel, Thurso, is one of three hotels in The Caithness Collection, an established family hotel business, with over 35 years of hospitality experience. The hotel has 42 rooms, which caters for tour buses from April to October, we have a strong local client following allowing us to stay open all year round.

In rural Scotland, distance is not an abstract concept. It is the price of participation in modern life.

(As sung by the Bards of Berriedale, whose patience is older than the rocks themselves). In the age before spreadsheets, when ministers still believed in timetables and the word “2025” sounded achievable, there came a mighty proclamation from the south: “We shall dual the A9,” they cried, “from Perth to Inverness — a road fit for heroes, tourists, and lorries alike!”.

The collapse of Orbex in February 2026 and the fate of its subsidiary Sutherland Spaceport Ltd (SSL) was not caused by a single event. It was a combination of funding failure, rising costs, and strategic setbacks that slowly removed its ability to continue operating.

Position: We are seeking a Lecturer – Pathways (Maternity Cover) to be based at our Thurso campus. This role spans further and higher education provision and is currently structured across the following areas, therefore there is an opportunity for candidates to job share: Pathways to College and Employment and Pathways to Health, Education and Social Care These access-level programmes are designed for learners who have experienced barriers to engagement in mainstream education.

This beautiful four-bedroom, terraced home, has a garage and a mature garden to the rear. Many of the original features have been retained including original doors, cornicing, dado rails and the staircase.

Escape Pain next block starting 23rd June 🙂 Please phone to speak to our staff before booking. ESCAPE-pain is a group education and exercise programme for people with chronic joint pain or osteoarthritis which aims to increase physical function and improve quality of life whilst living with a painful condition.

Caithness and Sutherland have always been counties where people make the most of what they have. Long distances to shops, higher food prices, and a climate that rewards resilience mean that regrowing vegetables from scraps isn’t just thrifty it’s tradition.

The Richmond Project’s Spotlight on Financial Literacy 2026 lands differently when read from Caithness, Sutherland, or the wider Highlands. The UK‑wide findings are stark enough with low financial literacy, deep numeracy problems, and widening inequality but in the Highlands the implications are sharper, more structural, and more personal.

REDUCED £15,000 below Valuation. This beautiful large end-terraced five-bedroom family home is laid across four floors.

This latest development will offer flexible and affordable business premises that lend themselves to different commercial requirements. Businesses in Sutherland are being invited to register their interest in new flexible units currently being developed at Golspie Business Park.

Grandparents have always been part of the background architecture of family life — steady, familiar, and often underestimated. But when you look closely at what they pass on, you realise they are teaching the most important lessons a child will ever learn.

NEWLY REDUCED PRICE A unique chance to acquire this B Listed former Granary, steeped in history and dating back to the 18th century. Planning permission was previously granted for conversion into a family home, highlighting the property's exciting residential potential.

At today’s meeting of Highland Council’s Communities and Place Committee, Members approved a long-term approach to weed control that will reduce reliance on chemical herbicides, while maintaining safe, accessible public spaces and protecting biodiversity. The new Integrated Weed Control Strategy and Action Plan builds on the Council’s partial ban on glyphosate-based products in playgrounds, schools and sports facilities, which was introduced in 2019.

Following today’s deadline for nominations the nnmbers are in. The Highland Council can confirm the details of the 5 candidates that are standing in the Ward 4 East Sutherland and Edderton By-election.