#scottish-government

#scottish-government

Scotland's deposit return scheme (DRS) could be scrapped as early as next week if the UK Government does not back down, First Minister Humza Yousaf has said.Mr Yousaf wrote to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday, saying the decision to effectively remove glass containers from the scheme which is due to go live in March of next year put it in grave danger.

Lorna Slater has called on the UK Government to change course on the deposit return scheme (DRS), as she said Scottish ministers will have to assess if they can make it work.Scottish Secretary Alister Jack wrote to the Scottish Government on Friday, granting the exemption to the Internal Market Act needed for the scheme to operate, but said the inclusion of glass could risk a permanent divergence between the UK and Scotland.

It would be a democratic outrage if the UK Government rules glass must be excluded from Scotland's deposit return scheme (DRS), the First Minister has said.Speculation is mounting that UK ministers will only allow the environmental initiative to proceed north of the border if glass bottles are removed from its remit.

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack has said the UK government should not change its position on Scotland's deposit return scheme (DRS).UK ministers have made the exclusion of glass a condition of their support.First Minister Humza Yousaf has said the scheme is in jeopardy if the UK government does not make the necessary concessions.

Plans to abolish fixed-term tenancies in England would "decimate" the student housing market, landlords have warned.The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) said a lack of certainty properties would be available at the start of the academic year could cause "chaos".But the National Union of Students said if students were exempt from reforms they would become an "underclass".

Nicola Sturgeon "absolutely failed" to deliver for young people, Scotland's children's commissioner has said.Bruce Adamson said the former first minister had let families down over child poverty and mental health.Mr Adamson, who stands down next week after six years in the role, criticised ministers for delays to adopting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

From 24m ago Cullen is urging the health secretary Steve Barclay not to be disrespectful to striking nurses and to get round the table immediately to resolve their pay dispute.Asked on Sky News about Barclay's description of the ongoing RCN strike as premature and disrespectful to the other unions, Cullen has said: There's certainly no disrespect being shown from our nursing staff, I can say that categorically.

Scotland's deposit return scheme (DRS) can absolutely go ahead without glass bottles included, the boss of the company set up to run it has said.David Harris, chief executive of Circularity Scotland, said, however, that if the scheme north of the border was dumped as a result of a row between Holyrood and Westminster there could be knock-on impacts on similar initiatives in the rest of the UK As many as 1.8 billion cans and plastic bottles could be returned in Scotland each year under DRS with Mr Harris insisting this is well above what is currently being achieved in terms of recycling rates.

Scottish ministers must be hard-headed and realistic in tackling poverty, focusing on targeted interventions funded by bold tax decisions instead of universal provision, Humza Yousaf has told a landmark cross-party, cross-sector summit.But the first minister's suggestion that budget constraints could mean a shift away from policies like free school meals for all was met by an immediate backlash from campaigners.

London City Hall staff will no longer have TikTok on their devices in the latest ban imposed on the Chinese-owned social media app over security concerns.The Greater London authority (GLA) said the rule was implemented as it takes information security extremely seriously.It comes after the UK government banned ministers from using the video-sharing app on their work phones after a security review.

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has said he would dispute the use of the internal markets act to stop the Scottish Government including glass in its deposit return scheme.Speaking to BBC Scotland, Mr Drakeford said if the internal markets act is invoked for the purpose of removing glass from the Scottish deposit return scheme there would be very serious questions.

The Scottish Government has pledged to raise awareness of the risk from wildfires following a massive blaze in the Highlands the smoke from which could be seen from space.Community safety minister Siobhian Brown made the commitment amid suggestions that a wildfire at Cannich, in the hills above Loch Ness, was started by wild campers.

The Scottish Government needs to quickly re-evaluate its planned deposit return scheme (DRS) to see if it can still go ahead in the face of Westminster attempts to sabotage it, the minister responsible for it has said.Scottish circular economy minister Lorna Slater claimed the UK Government's forced removal of glass bottles from the scheme north of the border is a real roadblock to it.

Payments to help parents buy healthy food will no longer be means-tested, the Scottish Government has confirmed.Around 20,000 people will become eligible for extra help to buy healthy food when income thresholds are removed for the Best Start Foods payments.Families will still have to get qualifying benefits such as child tax credits or universal credit to receive the benefit.

As with any party leadership election, the SNP candidates for the top job set out their stalls to the party faithful.Over the past six weeks, they have made a number of promises which differ from the current plans of the Scottish Government, some of which will have spending implications.Other pledges relate to the SNP's push for Scottish independence and the internal functioning of the party.

A joint fatal accident inquiry (FAI) is to be held into the deaths of two young people who took their own lives while serving sentences at a young offenders institution.Katie Allan died at Polmont Young Offenders Institution in June 2018 aged 21 while serving a sentence for a driving offence.William Lindsay died in October that year at the age of 16, days after being sent there on remand.

A Scottish Conservative MSP has said Scotland's deposit return scheme (DRS) could go ahead with glass included, as long as it complied with the internal markets act.On Friday evening, UK Government ministers wrote to First Minister Humza Yousaf and told him that in order for it to allow the scheme to proceed, it can only include PET plastic bottles, and aluminium and steel cans.

New North Sea oil and gas developments will reportedly be blocked under a Labour government.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is on the verge of announcing the block when he sets out his net-zero energy policy in Scotland next month, The Sunday Times said.As part of the energy plans, the newspaper reported a Sir Keir-run government would only borrow to invest in green enterprises, and that Labour expects its plans to create up to half a million jobs in the renewables industry, including 50,000 in Scotland.

Rail industry statistics show nationalising services is not guaranteed to result in good performance.TransPennine Express, whose services were taken over by the UK Government on Sunday, has been cancelling more trains than any other operator, with the equivalent of 14.9% axed in the four weeks to April 29.

An SNP MP has said he is confident his party can win a by-election in Margaret Ferrier's constituency if one is called.David Linden, the party's spokesman on social justice, also said he does not recognise reports that some in the SNP Westminster group feel the party lacks a clear offer to the electorate.

A judge is considering claims the Scottish Government is failing to take into account a policy designed to protect the marine environment when granting licences for a fishing technique campaigners say is wrecking the sea bed.Lord Braid heard the claims at the Court of Session in Edinburgh after campaign group Open Seas raised a petition for a judicial review involving a recent decision taken by Marine Scotland to vary a scallop fishing licence involving the practice of bottom-trawling it argues put vulnerable habitat at risk.

A campaign group's legal challenge to the Scottish Government over fishing techniques which it says are destroying the seabed has got under way at Scotland's highest civil court.Open Seas, which works to protect and improve the marine environment, claims the Government's licensing of scallop-dredging in Scottish waters is causing significant damage to vulnerable habitats.

Hospital doctors in Scotland have been offered a cumulative 14.5% pay rise in a fresh attempt by Scottish ministers to avert highly disruptive strikes.Junior doctors had voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action in Scotland for the first time after rejecting the original Scottish government offer, in a dispute closely mirroring the industrial action by doctors in English hospitals.

Kate Forbes wanted time out of the spotlight to spend time with her family, according to Humza Yousaf's newly appointed deputy, Shona Robison, after his Scottish National party leadership rival announced she would be leaving the Scottish government rather than accept the rural affairs demotion he offered her. Allies of Forbes described the offer a significant step down from her previous position as finance secretary as an insult after Yousaf offered her a role in his new cabinet as cabinet secretary for rural affairs and islands.

Humza Yousaf, who has become the first minority ethnic leader of the Scottish government, has had the advantage and the curse of being seen as the continuity candidate and Nicola Sturgeon's unacknowledged favourite.Of all three candidates, Yousaf, 37, was the only enthusiast for Sturgeon's approach and earned by far the most endorsements from SNP parliamentarians and ministers, notably including Sturgeon's deputy and closest political friend, John Swinney, himself a former leader of the party.

The funeral and lying-in-state of Queen Elizabeth II cost taxpayers an estimated 161.7m, official figures show.In tribute to her 70 years on the throne, the monarch's coffin was paraded through Scotland from Balmoral to Edinburgh before it lay in Westminster Hall for four days prior to her funeral on 19 September.

A Scottish Government minister has criticised Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, furthering a spat over the country's diplomatic missions.Mr Cleverly wrote to UK officials last month, urging them to take a strengthened approach to visits from devolved ministers abroad and to ensure Westminster representatives attend any meetings with foreign governments.

The UK Government taking control of TransPennine Express services is not enough in itself to improve performance, Scotland's transport minister has said.Transport Secretary Mark Harper announced the move on Thursday, following months of delays and cancellations to services, which cross into Scotland.

The Scottish Government was able to resolve a union dispute with rail workers because it caved in, the Transport Secretary has claimed.Mark Harper said the government in Edinburgh had not offered value to taxpayers when it agreed to demands from the rail unions for a pay rise.His criticism of the SNP-run government's resolution came after the party's transport spokesman in Westminster Gavin Newlands asked why the UK Government had not been able to bring an end to industrial disputes in England.

Scotland's First Minister has said the country has a moral imperative to seek a just transition away from fossil fuels.Speaking at the All-Energy Conference in Glasgow on Wednesday, Humza Yousaf stressed the need to move away from oil and gas in a way that limits the economic damage caused to the industry and to the north east of Scotland, where it accounts for a significant number of jobs.

Events are being held across Scotland on Saturday to celebrate the coronation of the King but there will also be protests against the monarchy.The coronation ceremony will be beamed from Westminster Abbey on to a big screen in Edinburgh's West Princes Street Gardens, and Glasgow Cathedral will also show proceedings live.

A humpback whale which washed up at a Scottish nature reserve died after becoming tangled in creel lines, tests have suggested.The juvenile female was found dead on a sand bank at Loch Fleet nature reserve, which is about 45 miles north of Inverness on the Sutherland coast.NatureScot, which manages the reserve, reported the discovery to the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS).

First Minister Humza Yousaf should have ordered police to have a standoff at Edinburgh Castle to stop the Stone of Destiny being taken to Westminster, Alex Salmond has said.The stone was taken to London last week to be used in the coronation of the King this weekend, as it has been used for centuries, but the former first minister said it could have been used to barter for another referendum on Scottish independence.

Scotland's transport minister has called for an investigation into the running aground of a ferry on Orkney to be completed sooner rather than later.Smoke was detected in the engine room of the MV Pentalina on Saturday night before it became grounded near the village of St Margaret's Hope on the island, leading to the evacuation of 60 passengers, including three children and an infant.

An investigation is under way after a ferry ran aground on Orkney, leading to the evacuation of 60 passengers.The MV Pentalina is now being surveyed to establish the extent of any damage following the incident on Saturday night.RNLI vessels went to the scene after the ferry issued a mayday message off Orkney on Saturday night, with smoke reported in the engine room.

A ferry which ran aground leading to the evacuation of 60 passengers, has been refloated and towed to its berth.The MV Pentalina will now be surveyed to establish the extent of any damage and monitored for pollution, the coastguard said.RNLI vessels went to the scene after the vessel issued a mayday message off Orkney on Saturday night.

Rishi Sunak has condemned the SNP for its record of failure, as he insisted the Conservatives will deliver for Scotland.The Prime Minister said he is confident he will meet five key aims he set out earlier this year, adding that Scotland is at the heart of my plans for delivery.Mr Sunak addressed the Scottish Tory conference in Glasgow on Friday morning.

First minister Humza Yousaf has appointed the Scottish government's first minister for independence.Jamie Hepburn was announced on Wednesday in the government reshuffle, bagging a 98,000-a-year salary from public funds.Several peers raised their objection to the role, arguing that constitutional change was a reserved matter, not a matter for the devolved government.

Legal advice presented to ministers over a potential challenge to the UK Government's blocking of gender reforms is unlikely to be published, a spokesman for the First Minister has said.Throughout his campaign to be leader of the SNP and First Minister, Humza Yousaf said he would challenge the Section 35 order that blocked the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill but in the final debate, he said he would not fight a court battle if legal advice to the Scottish Government said it would fail.

Humza Yousaf has said he would look forward to fighting a by-election in Margaret Ferrier's seat but conceded it will take hard work for the SNP to win one.The First Minister and SNP leader said he believes there should be a by-election in her Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency.That came after a Commons committee recommended on Thursday that she is suspended from the House for 30 days for her coronavirus rule-breaking, after she travelled by train while knowing she was infected with Covid-19 in 2020.

Scotland will have to contend with high inflation throughout 2023, an economics expert warned with significant price rises particularly for food continuing to put pressure on household budgets.Professor Mairi Spowage, director of the Fraser of Allander Institute think tank, said the economic outlook is exceedingly uncertain.

Nearly seven in 10 children in England whose families are entitled to universal credit are not eligible for free school meals, according to a new report.Households in England receiving universal credit must earn below 7,400 a year before benefits and after tax to qualify for free school meals.This cap for means-tested free school meals means that around 1.7 million pupils in England whose families are entitled to universal credit 69 per cent of this group are not eligible for free lunches, researchers said.

Nearly seven in 10 children in England whose families are entitled to universal credit are not eligible for free school meals, according to a report.Families on universal credit (UC) are much more likely to be food insecure than other households, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said.Currently, households in England receiving UC must earn below 7,400 a year before benefits and after tax to qualify for free school meals.

Junior doctors are being urged to back strike action in their battle with Holyrood for higher pay.BMA members who are junior doctors in Scotland will receive a ballot on Wednesday asking them if they support walkouts as part of their campaign for a pay rise.Dr Chris Smith, chairman of the BMA's Scottish Junior Doctors Committee, said junior doctors had seen their pay drop 23.5% in real terms since 2008 and added: This historical injustice must be corrected and our pay restored.

Kate Forbes is set to leave the Scottish Government after finishing second in the SNP leadership race.Ms Forbes is believed to have been offered the rural affairs job by new First Minister Humza Yousaf, but turned it down.It means Ms Forbes, who served as Finance Secretary under Nicola Sturgeon's administration, will return to Holyrood's backbenches.

Humza Yousaf will be chosen by MSPs to be the sixth first minister of Scotland after narrowly defeating his rivals in the race to lead the SNP.The 37-year-old will become the youngest to win the job as one of the country's most powerful politicians when SNP and Scottish Green parliamentarians in Holyrood back him to take over from Nicola Sturgeon on Tuesday.

Half of Scots think the country is heading in the wrong direction, a poll has found, as Nicola Sturgeon's more than eight-year rule as First Minister comes to an end.MSPs are expected to back Humza Yousaf to be Scotland's sixth first minister after he was named the new leader of the SNP at the end of an almost six-week campaign to succeed Ms Sturgeon.

The SNP has chosen a new leader after a six-week election which exposed divisions in the party.Humza Yousaf will take over from Nicola Sturgeon as party leader and is set to become Scotland's next first minister.The party's ultimate goal of Scottish independence remains unchanged.However, Mr Yousaf is planning a slightly different course than the one envisioned by his predecessor.

Scottish health secretary Humza Yousaf will finally find out his fate in the SNP leadership contest today.Mr Yousaf has been standing in the tense five-week contest against Ash Regan and Kate Forbes after Nicola Sturgeon announced she would resign, and will find out if he wins at around 2pm on Monday.

The Scottish Liberal Democrat leader has called for the Scottish Government to extend its three-month rail fare freeze for the rest of the year.The decision was made last year by outgoing First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to freeze ScotRail fares until the end of March 2023 to support rail users during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

Scottish Greens have sent the clearest signal yet that they would not work with Kate Forbes if she is elected as the country's next first minister.Party co-leader Patrick Harvie told his party's conference that for the Greens a sincere commitment to progressive values cannot be an optional extra in a choice of first minister, saying instead that this was necessity.

London City Hall staff will no longer have TikTok on their devices in the latest ban imposed on the Chinese-owned social media app over security concerns.The Greater London Authority (GLA) said the rule was implemented as it takes information security extremely seriously.It comes after the UK Government banned ministers from using the video-sharing app on their work phones following a security review.

London City Hall staff will no longer have TikTok on their devices in the latest ban imposed on the Chinese-owned social media app over security concerns.The Greater London Authority (GLA) said the rule was implemented as it takes information security extremely seriously.It comes after the UK Government banned ministers from using the video-sharing app on their work phones following a security review.

Outgoing First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has joked she may have a lie-in on Wednesday morning her first without any Government responsibilities in 16 years.Speaking to LBC Radio on Friday as she completed her last official engagement as First Minister, Ms Sturgeon said stepping away from Government will be a wrench.