French state-owned energy company EDF has announced it will keep four ageing nuclear power stations in Britain open for longer than planned.
EDF said two stations currently due to close in March 2026 — Hartlepool and Heysham 1 — will now remain online until March 2027, while Heysham 2 and Torness – scheduled to close in March 2028 – will now stay open until March 2030.
Responding to EDF’s announcement that they plan to extend the life of Torness nuclear power station Sam Richards, CEO of pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade, said:“The news that EDF is moving ahead with extending the life of Torness nuclear power station is hugely welcome news.
“If the government and industry is to deliver a clean energy grid by 2030 it is essential that we keep as much nuclear capacity as possible on the grid. If we fail to do this the result will be the burning of more natural gas and more emissions released into the atmosphere.
“EDF’s intentions are now clear. Ministers and the Office for Nuclear Regulation now need to urgently back their plans to extend the life of existing reactors where it is safe to do so. We have done it before, and we can do it again.
“With this announcement ministers must not take their eyes off the ball and continue to push for the rapid development of Small Modular Reactors to run alongside their bigger cousins.
“They must also increase grid capacity and slash the time it takes for clean energy projects to get connected to the grid. Extending our existing reactors is a big step, but it’s not job done.”
‘INVEST IN SCOTLAND: INVEST IN SCOTLAND’s WORKERS‘
The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) has called on the Finance Secretary to “invest in Scotland” as the Scottish Government unveil their Budget for 2025/26 today.
Ahead of the Budget, the STUC has called upon Shona Robison to deliver a “budget for communities” by scrapping the council tax, increasing pay for social care workers, improving public transport and keeping the promise to Scotland’s school pupils on free school meals.
Evidence cited by the STUC shows local authorities in Scotland are facing a £780 million funding black hole due to successive council tax freezes. The union body are further calling for the Small Business Bonus Scheme to be scrapped with the Scottish Government making business support conditional on organisations adhering to Fair Work practices.
Despite Scottish Government commissioned research showing no evidence the policy delivers positive economic outcomes, more than £3 billion has been squandered on the scheme since it was introduced in 2008.
The call comes after the STUC lobby of the Scottish Parliament last week whereby STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer implored government ministers to “keep their promises” following the UK Chancellor’s statement and the almost £5 billion of extra resource spend allocated to the Scottish Government.
Commenting, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said: “Within this budget, the Scottish Government can choose to invest in Scotland. For too long, our public services have struggled under the weight of austerity, compounded by ill-judged decisions from the Scottish Government on council tax freezes and a refusal to properly use the revenue raising powers of the Parliament.
“There is no doubt the Finance Secretary is facing tough choices as a result of 14 years of Tory austerity. However, with almost £5 billion of extra resource funding being allocated to the Scottish Government, her budget could signal a clear break from the past.
“We can build a sustainable nation where public services are well resourced and public sector workers are paid fairly. We are committed to this vision and would ask the Scottish Government to join us on that journey.
“This can be a budget for the future. The Scottish Government can begin a process to scrap the council tax and replace with it a proportionate property tax to give councils a fighting chance of fair funding. They can make their commitment to end child poverty a reality by ensuring every pupil gets a free school meal and low paid social care workers, mostly women, get the pay increase they deserve.
“They can deliver on a Just Transition for Scotland’s energy workforce whilst ensuring a more sustainable, greener future for workers through better, more affordable public transport.
“These decisions rest with the Finance Secretary. We know there is a strain on government finances but that is no excuse for poor choices. Workers are desperate for investment in their futures, their public services and their communities.
“The Finance Secretary can deliver that and more within her budget and the trade union movement will be watching on with interest.”
A pedestrian who died following a fatal road crash on Dundee Street has been named as local 20-year-old Henry Farron.
The incident took place around 5.30pm on Sunday, 1 December, 2024, and involved a grey Volvo XC60. Emergency serviced attended, but Henry was pronounced dead at the scene.
His family have released the following statement: “We are heartbroken by the death of our beloved son and brother Henry. He will be so very much missed by all who knew and loved him.”
The driver of the Volvo car, a 51-year-old man, was arrested and has been released pending further enquiries, which remain ongoing.
Sergeant Dave Waddell said: “Our thoughts remain with Henry’s family and friends, as they come to terms with their tragic loss.
“An investigation into the circumstances of the crash remains ongoing and we continue to ask for any witnesses, or anyone with information, to please come forward.”
Anyone with information should call officers on 101, quoting incident 2556 of 1 December, 2024.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has joined calls for the Scottish government to address ‘delayed hospital discharges’ in the upcoming budget announcement.
Delayed discharges are when people are considered medically fit enough to leave hospital but are unable to, often because the required social care support is not available.
This issue means that the whole system for admitting people grinds to a halt and people can end up stranded in A&Es often waiting hours and even days for a ward bed to become available.
The latest data release comes as the Auditor General of Scotland published a damning report into the state of the Scottish health system which concluded that the Scottish Government has no clear plan to reform the country’s NHS, or to address pressures on the service.
Auditors found:
commitments to reducing waiting lists and times have not been met
the number of people remaining in hospital because their discharge has been delayed is the highest on record
and NHS initiatives to improve productivity and patient outcomes have yet to have an impact and lack clear progress reporting.
The issue of delayed discharges has also been highlighted by the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh (RCPE) which has written an open letter to the First Minister calling on him to address this ‘urgent issue’ in his Government’s budget which will be unveiled tomorrow (4 December 2024).
Dr Fiona Hunter, The Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s Vice Chair for Scotland said yesterday: “Delayed discharges are a key reason that patients get stuck in Emergency Departments, often on trolleys in corridors – often experiencing extreme waits which are dangerous.
“So we join, and fully support, the calls from RCPE, and the Auditor General to address this issue. It must be prioritised as a matter of urgency.
“Today’s data is another timely reminder of scale of the issue. Just think about what it shows. More than 2,000 people every single day stranded in in hospital when they are well enough to go home.
“People – through no fault of their own, lying in beds which could be used for other patients who need to be admitted – who themselves are probably on a trolley in the Emergency Department, waiting for that bed to become available.
“We have to be able to move patients through our hospitals and out again when they are well enough. To do that takes a functioning and resourced social care system working alongside a functioning and resourced health system. They are inextricable.
Dr. Hunter concluded:“Tomorrow’s budget is an opportunity for the Government to #ResuscitateEmergencyCare, ahead of the depths of winter which is shaping up to be a gruelling several months ahead, for both patients and staff alike. They must take it.”
