Scottish Government

Finance secretary Kate Forbes has confirmed an extended cut to stamp duty for housebuyers in England will not be matched by the Scottish Government. Chancellor Rishi Sunak used his Budget to announce continued relief for property purchases, but the Scottish finance secretary said the temporary reduc

The UK Budget must provide adequate funding for Scotland and respect the devolution settlement, finance secretary Kate Forbes has said. The Scottish Government has committed to continuing business support during the next phase of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic – including extending non-do

Banks should be encouraged to extend loan repayment periods to help struggling businesses recover from the coronavirus pandemic, according to Benny Higgins, an adviser to the Scottish Government. In September last year, Mr Higgins was asked by economy secretary Fiona Hyslop to provide a review of ho

Proposed legislation to implement Scotland’s Budget for 2021-22 has passed its first parliamentary hurdle as MSPs voted to endorse the general principles of the Budget Bill at Stage 1. MSPs also approved the Scottish Rate Resolution, setting all income tax rates and bands.

The number of furloughed jobs in Scotland rose by just over a quarter between December and January, according to the latest HMRC coronavirus statistics. Provisional figures show as at 31st January 2021, 362,300 employments (14.9% of eligible employments) in Scotland were being supported by the Coron

Finance secretary Kate Forbes is urging MSPs to back the Budget Bill when it comes before Parliament for the first time today. Ms Forbes stressed that the Scottish Budget 2021-22 – incorporating additional measures outlined to Parliament last week including the extension of 100% rates relief f

All £8.6 billion of consequential funding guaranteed to the Scottish Government for 2020-21 has been allocated to tackling the pandemic, a new budget update has confirmed.

Ahead of the Scottish Government's vote to agree rates and bands of Scottish Income Tax for the 2021/22 tax year, the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has outlined what the changes are likely to mean for Scottish taxpayers. The debate is due to take place following the Stage 1 debate on the Bu

Scotland’s GDP is provisionally estimated to have fallen by 0.3% in December, according to the latest figures released by Scotland's chief statistician. GDP fell as restrictions on economic activity continued at the start of the month and were later extended across Scotland after Christmas.

Scotland’s employment rate estimate fell over the final quarter of last year to 73.7%, according to the latest official labour market statistics from the Labour Force Survey, published by the Office For National Statistics (ONS) today. From October to December 2020, the unemployment rate estim

The volume of Scottish home sales fell by almost half in January according to an analysis of the latest Scottish Government data by property firm Apropos. The firm found that residential property transactions in Scotland fell by 48% between December and January from 13,570 to 7,050.

Economy secretary Fiona Hyslop is calling on the UK Government to provide further support to companies struggling to trade with the EU post-Brexit. Urgent financial assistance is needed to help small businesses hire customs agents to deal with the additional bureaucracy involved with importing from

Two Scottish Government funds worth £60 million to support people whose livelihoods have been affected by the pandemic are now open to applications. Grants will be available for mobile and home-based close contact service businesses – such as make-up artists and hairdressers – as w

The UK Government has provided the Scottish Government with an additional £1.1 billion to support people, businesses and public services affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Businesses across Scotland are to benefit from a £1 million funding boost from The Data Lab, Scotland’s Innovation Centre for data and AI. The Data lab has announced two new funding schemes – Data Skills for Work, and an SME data internship grant – to support further bus