Scottish Government Moves From Hybrid Target to Mandatory Attendance with Staff Reporting Oracle Check-Ins
Scottish Government civil servants are being moved from a hybrid-working system in which office attendance was explicitly described as a target rather than a mandate to one in which attendance will be required and individually recorded. Staff were informed of
5.7K views
EU Regulators Examine Oracle Licensing as Scotland Builds More of Government Around the US Technology Giant
The European Commission is gathering information about Oracle’s software-licensing practices as European competition regulators consider whether there is evidence warranting a formal antitrust investigation. There is no formal case against Oracle at present and no finding that the company has broken European competition law. The Commission has nevertheless confirmed that
11.3K views
Sexual-Crime Cases Reaching Scotland’s High Court Take a Median 2 Years 11 Months
Scotland has brought the overall criminal-court backlog below its pre-pandemic operating level, but cases involving the most serious offending are moving in the opposite direction. New evidence before Holyrood shows sexual-crime cases resulting in a High Court verdict took a median 1,069 days from the offence becoming known to police
Scotland’s New Damp and Mould Law Starts on 6 October
From 6 October 2026, social and private landlords across much of Scotland’s rented housing sector must investigate reports of damp
NHS Scotland Orders New Disclosure System for Staff Interests
A new national system requiring NHS Scotland staff to declare outside employment, business interests, private clinical work, research relationships, sponsorship,
Scotland’s Digital ID: ScotAccount Uses Experian, Cifas and Biometric Checks
The Scottish Government opposes a mandatory UK digital identity scheme. At the same time, Scotland already operates its own reusable
COSLA Tells Ministers Council Reform Must Be Agreed, Not Imposed
Scotland’s council body has formally responded to proposals for six to ten regional authorities and 120 to 160 community authorities,
Scotland Has No Compulsory Sale Order — and England’s Six-Month Empty-Home Reform Does Not Apply Here
If you own a property in Scotland, rent one out, are trying to sell one, or have seen reports that
Your NHS Records, Tissue and DNA: When Scotland Can Share Them, and How Companies Can Profit From Their Use
Scotland is building a health research system in which information produced during ordinary NHS care, such as hospital records, prescriptions,
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Conservatives Plan to Override Holyrood on Nuclear Power, Targeting Powers Scotland Has Held Since 1999
Andrew Bowie says a future Conservative government would legislate so that new nuclear power “can and will” be built in Scotland despite Scottish Government opposition. The powers at the centre of the
Oracle Invokes Force Majeure on Major US Project While Scotland Is Moving Government Into Oracle
More than £51 billion in Scottish Government payments passed through Oracle Cloud in its first year. The platform now carries HR, payroll, finance and purchasing across central government and 32 public bodies,
Following a Global Climate Agenda: Scotland’s £2 Buses to Push Travel Away From Cars
Scotland’s £2 bus cap is being presented as help with the cost of living, but the Government’s own documents place cheaper public transport inside a much larger programme intended to influence how
After Scotland Lost Hundreds of Bank Branches, Shared Hubs Are Building a Different Network
The rapid disappearance of conventional branches is now being followed by an expanding system of shared banking hubs. They restore cash services and scheduled face-to-face access, but they do not recreate the
Scotland Knows the Pesticides It Uses, But Less About Where They Go
Almost every hectare of Scotland’s arable farmland received a pesticide treatment in 2024. The country’s arable crops covered about 502,400 hectares. Once repeat treatments through the growing season were counted, from herbicides,
When Scotland Made Christmas a Working Day: Yule Customs That Survived
Scotland did not simply stop celebrating Christmas after the Reformation. Kirk courts punished people for keeping Yule, Parliament removed the Christmas court holiday, and Christmas Day remained an ordinary working day for
Scotland’s Wastewater-Drug Monitoring Decision Returns to View After Nitazenes Reach 247 Deaths
Scotland recorded 1,133 drug-use deaths in 2025, with nitazenes implicated in 247 and cocaine in 589. The figures do not show that wastewater surveillance would have prevented individual deaths, but they provide
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Artificial Intelligence Is Coming for Humanity, Just After It Finishes This Email
I discovered this week that British workers are spending an estimated £958 million of their own money every year on artificial intelligence to help them do their jobs, which is not how I remember employment working when I first encountered
The Pothole Tea Club
There are certain signs that summer is over in the Highlands. The swallows leave, the evenings draw in, Mr Gunn begins carrying logs into the house with the solemn expression of a man preparing for a siege, and nobody suggests
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