Scottish Government

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, outlines the touch decisions on climate change that await the Scottish Government. The realities of climate change, and their direct link to difficult public spending decisions, are now on our doorstep.

An independent review is recommending wider regulation of social care staff to better protect and help people receiving social care and support. The Independent Review of Inspection, Scrutiny and Regulation in Scotland makes 38 recommendations including updating legislation, Health and Social Care S

A new strategy will help Ukrainians living in Scotland to settle into communities and gain longer term housing. Developed by the Scottish Government in collaboration with the Scottish Refugee Council and COSLA, the Warm Scots Future paper sets out priorities for the next phase of Scotland’s Uk

More than 38,000 payments have been made to families to help with the costs of early learning and starting school. Families who qualify for Scottish Child Payment are now automatically awarded Best Start Grant Early Learning Payment and School Age Payment when their child becomes eligible, without t

Housing minister Paul McLennan has hailed the Scottish Government's work to deliver affordable homes in the face of external challenges after new figures revealed that annual completions were the highest in 23 years. Quarterly statistics on the Affordable Housing Supply programme show there were a t

Up to £960,000 is to be made available to support the delivery of affordable homes and facilities in remote and rural areas. Provided jointly by the Scottish Government and Nationwide Foundation, funding for Communities Housing Trust and South of Scotland Community Housing over three year

The affordable housing supply in Shetland is set to receive a significant boost as an islands housing association has secured funding from the Scottish Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund. Hjaltland Housing Association will receive £20 million, which will enable the social landlord

Projects across Scotland have been awarded funding as part of the Scottish Government’s Digital Inclusion Programme aimed at helping people to access online support services, initially in mental health and housing services. The thirteen projects, which bid to be one of the ‘Digital Pione

Organisations at the frontline of helping people facing poverty and hardship can now apply for a share of Scottish Government funding to help tackle food insecurity. The £1.6 million Cash-First Fund is aimed at public sector and third sector partnerships to deliver cash grants for food and oth

Owners of short-term let properties are being urged to apply for a licence under Scotland’s short-term licensing scheme before the 1 October 2023 deadline. Short-term let hosts must apply for a licence with their relevant local authority before the deadline. Anyone who operated a short-term le

Housing minister Paul McLennan discusses the importance of the Short Term Let Licensing scheme in Scotland, looking at its benefits to tourism and local economies, and addressing potential safety and housing availability risks. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of spending a weekend celebrating my

Scotland’s Council Tax Reduction scheme supported 454,350 households in March this year (compared to 462,670 in March 2022) as the total weekly income forgone by local authorities reached £7.364 million (compared to £6.829m in March 2022).

There were 23,512 all-sector new build homes completed in Scotland in the year to end March 2023, according to quarterly statistics on housebuilding and affordable housing supply published yesterday by Scotland’s Chief Statistician.

Housing and homelessness charity Shelter Scotland has welcomed the launch of a Scottish Government consultation on proposals for the Human Rights Bill. The Scottish Government says it intends to provide a clear and robust legal framework for human rights in Scotland, and specifically in relation to

A commitment to a ‘cash-first’ approach to tackling food insecurity is at the heart of a new plan to reduce the need for people to turn to food banks. The plan, which is the first of its kind in the UK and is underpinned by human rights, sets out nine actions which will be taken over the