Despite being called the “most wonderful time of the year”, for so many of us, the festive season doesn’t always bring joy.
In our latest blog, Aaron explores his own difficulties with Christmas as well as the challenges many of us face during the festive season and the steps we can take to help protect our mental health during this time.
When days get shorter and temperatures drop, the natural inclination for most of us is to stay indoors and keep warm. Lara Campana, however, decided it was time to set herself the challenge of keeping active and outdoors by taking on two fundraising runs and raising £582 for the British Liver Trust!
“I’m one of the co-founders of Resolution Theraputics, based at Edinburgh University and have worked in liver disease research for over 10 years now.
I’ve seen first-hand the challenges and stigmas which patients in this community and their families endure. The British Liver Trust is there advocating for them, day in and day out; they are amazing partners to help people navigate this scary disease. So, when I took on a winter fitness challenge, it made perfect sense to support their work at the same time.”
Lara opted for two races, the Forth Road Bridge 5K in November and the Edinburgh 10K on December 7.
“I love being outside in all weathers, but it didn’t stop me catching back-to-back chest infections which have made training slightly more challenging!” she says. “However, I’m really pleased to have completed both runs and to have smashed my fundraising target!”
Audrey Cornelius, Director of Fundraising at the British Liver Trust said: “As a charity, we are leading the fight against liver disease and liver cancer. We reach over two million people each year; providing information and support to patients and families and providing vital advice to help people improve their liver health.
“But there is still so much to be done. Liver disease is the only major disease in the UK where death rates are rising, and we want to change that.
“So we’re very grateful to Lara for braving the cold and taking on these two runs – we hope she enjoyed the experience!”
Actions to combat sexual abuse set out alongside next steps in national review
Immediate action will be taken to address any harms or risks identified in the first part of an independent inspectorate-led review of responses to group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE).
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth announced to Parliament that the first part of the independent national review will be taken forward at pace and focus on rigorous, detailed scrutiny of local councils’ assessments of the threat and risk of group-based CSAE.
Further parts will follow, and Ministers plan toupdate Parliament more fully by the end of February.
The Education Secretary also confirmed an additional £220,000 will be invested this financial year to enhance support for victims and families impacted by sexual offending, improve access to training for professionals to respond to sexual harm, and support improvements to Police Scotland’s forensics capabilities.
The Cabinet Secretaries for Education and Skills and for Justice and Home Affairs have jointly written to the Cross-Party Group on Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse to request to meet survivors in the new year.
The Education Secretary also confirmed that Ministers support mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse in principle. The National CSAE Strategic Group has agreed to consider next steps to develop options for mandatory reporting in Scotland, and will also further consider approaches to involve survivors in an appropriate and trauma-informed way.
Ms Gilruth said: “The Scottish Government is taking determined action to establish the potential extent and scale of child sexual exploitation and abuse in Scotland’s recent past.
“Those who have suffered, as victims of child sexual abuse, have been let down by a system which should have protected them. We must ensure that survivors’ experience is at the heart of our considerations – their voices must be heard and be listened to.
“The National Review, Police Scotland’s ongoing work, and the advice of the National Strategic Group chaired by Professor Jay, will gather evidence, help us to take action where it is needed now, and inform advice to Ministers on whether a national inquiry on group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation is required.”
Stuart Allardyce, Director of Lucy Faithfull Foundation Scotland, said: “Demand for our services to prevent child sexual abuse keeps rising. Each year, more adults concerned about their behaviour, young people who have caused sexual harm to others, and families affected by a loved one’s arrest turn to us for help.
“This funding is a lifeline that will enable additional groupwork sessions this financial year, so no one has to wait for support, and allows us to extend our helpline hours to those across Scotland who need our services. It’s a vital boost that shows the Scottish Government’s commitment to protecting children from harm.”
Scotland’s world class collection of surrealist art is back home in Modern One and free to visit from 17 December 2025. Embrace the strange and explore one of the most important and comprehensive holdings of surrealist art in the world, all belonging to the people of Scotland!
Encounter art by leading figures such as Salvador Dalí, Dorothea Tanning, Max Ernst, René Magritte and Toyen. Step inside the minds behind one of the most radical and influential artistic and literary movements of the 20th century. With over 40 works on display over two rooms, find bizarre creatures and weird machines, eerie landscapes and curious spaces. These uncanny compositions juxtapose the familiar with the peculiar, challenging reality and exploring the potential of the mind.
For the first time ever, visitors will be able to discover two works by Remedios Varo and Leonora Carringtonin the same space since the works were acquired Encounter (Encuentro) (1959) by Varo and Portrait of Max Ernst by Carrington.
Varo and Carrington were amongst many creatives and intellectuals who fled Europe during the Second World War. Both artists eventually settled in Mexico City, where they became friends and collaborators. They profoundly influenced each other’s work and remained close until Varo passed away suddenly in 1963.
Having been on tour for the last two years, visitors can once again explore the collection at its home in Scotland.
The nation’s collection of Surrealism is one of the most important in the world, largely thanks to the acquisition of two major private collections in the 1990s. The first collection arrived between 1994 and 1995 with the purchase of a selection of paintings, sculptures, works on paper, rare books and manuscripts from the collection of Sir Roland Penrose.
Artist, writer and patron, Penrose encountered Surrealism in Paris in the mid–1920s. His collection reflects the artists he met, the friendships he made, and his deep fascination with surrealist art and ways of thinking.
A short time later, in 1995, Gabrielle Keiller donated her collection of surrealist art to the National Galleries of Scotland. This features a comprehensive library and archive that consisted of over 1,000 books, periodicals, catalogues and other archival items which are housed in the Keiller Library at Modern Two, which is also free to visit.
Since then, this incredible collection has continued to grow, exploring Surrealism as an international phenomenon that spanned decades and stretched across continents. The display gives an insight into Surrealism not only as a movement, but also as a mindset, and one with enduring cultural significance.
Surrealism (meaning ‘beyond realism’ in French) was founded in 1924, with the publication of the first Surrealist Manifesto It evolved from the anti-art Dada movement, which formed during the First World War.
Like the dadaists, the surrealists rejected the ordinary and embraced the strange, using their art to question the state of the world at a time of great social, economic and political upheaval. Surrealist artists were united by ideology rather than by a particular style or medium.
Influenced by the psychoanalytical writings of Sigmund Freud, they attempted to reach beyond reality and immerse themselves in dreamworlds. Some even developed new ‘automatic’ techniques that relied on chance effects. These were believed to produce uninhibited, visionary signs and symbols, free from the constraints of rational thinking.
Tor Scott, Assistant Curator at National Galleries of Scotland, said:“We are delighted to be welcoming this incredible collection back to Modern One after its successful international tour.
“The National Galleries of Scotland boasts one of the most comprehensive holdings of surrealist art in the world, and it is always so popular with our visitors. Whether people have existing knowledge of Surrealism or are seeing these works for the first time, there is something about the dreamlike, uncanny and bizarre that always captures people’s attention.
“The display includes paintings by international artists such as Remedios Varo and Max Ernst, as well as works by English and Scottish artists like Edith Rimmington and Edwin Lucas, exploring the far-reaching impact of this radical movement.”
The surrealist collection is on display at National Galleries Scotland: Modern One. Visit for free from 17 December 2025.
A man has been jailed for a serious assault in Leith. Damien May, 58, was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday n Wednesday , 17 December 2025.
He previously pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday, 20 November.
The incident happened around 2pm on Monday, 20th May 2024, outside a premises on North Junction Street. A 56-year-old man was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment to serious injuries.
Detective Constable Calum Turnbull, of Edinburgh CID, said: “This was a serious and violent assault which resulted in significant injuries that will have a long-term and lasting impact on the victim’s life.
“Violent behaviour such as this is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We will continue to thoroughly investigate incidents like this and take robust action against those involved.”
Former Heath Secretary Alan Milburn has launched his ‘groundbreaking’ investigation into the causes of record unemployment and inactivity among 16 to 24 year olds with a call for young people and experts to come forward with their views
DWP’s Youth Guarantee Advisory Panel and experts spanning health, business and government to support Alan Milburn’s investigation into the root causes of youth inactivity.
With almost one million young people not earning or learning the Call for Evidence kicks off a national conversation and seeks views from across society.
Former Health Secretary will publish an interim report in Spring to support the Government’s drive to create opportunity for young people.
With almost one million young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET) Mr Milburn is leading an investigation into the causes of soaring unemployment in the young in recent years.
Yesterday he used the formal launch of the investigation to set out his ambition to inspire a ‘Movement’ to galvanise communities in all corners of the country.
As well as naming the panel – made up of health, business and policy experts – which will help him to come up with recommendations he launched a call for evidence to help shape the investigation, saying a ‘coalition of the concerned’ must mobilise to save a generation not earning or learning.
The inquiry comes as Government launches a major drive to get young people earning or learning, including a recent £1.5 billion investment over the Spending Review to help hundreds of thousands more into work or training through the Youth Guarantee, as well as apprenticeships places for up to 50,000 young people.
The Call for Evidence is open until 30 January 2026 and gives young people and their stakeholders the opportunity to shape Mr Milburn’s report and suggest life-changing solutions the government can bring forward. He is keen to canvas the views of anyone with experience of the issue – from young people themselves to their parents, football coaches and teachers.
He will take a radical, system-wide approach that matches the urgency of the task at hand.
This comes as almost one million young people (946,000) are not in education, employment or training – enough to fill Wembley Stadium ten times over – and the number of young people receiving health-related benefits has soared, with over a quarter of NEET young people now citing long-term sickness or disability as a barrier to participation. The risk of being NEET is over double if you come from a disadvantaged background and have low qualifications.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: “Too many young people are being denied the opportunity to reach their full potential, and it is a crisis we cannot ignore.
“This Government has invested a further £1.5 billion to create thousands of work, training and apprenticeships opportunities, but to turn the tide on the longer-term trend we need to understand why so many young people have been left behind.
“That’s why I’ve asked Alan Milburn to help us build a system that supports them not just to find a job, but to build a better future – because when young people succeed, Britain succeeds.”
Mr Milburn has recruited both the DWP’s Youth Guarantee Advisory panel and experts with diverse expertise and lived experience to support his investigation into the root causes of the concerning rise in youth inactivity.
The panel will be mobilised immediately and will meet for the first time this week. It consists of:
Gavin Kelly – Chief Executive of the Nuffield Foundation and previous Chair of the Resolution Foundation.
Rachel Perkins – Clinical psychologist with over 30 years’ NHS experience and former Mind Champion of the Year
Ruth Owen OBE – CEO of Leonard Cheshire and disability rights advocate
Shuab Gamote – Co-author of ‘Inside the Mind of a 16-Year-Old’ and educational equality advocate
Sir Charlie Mayfield – Former Chairman of John Lewis Partnership and Chair of Keep Britain Working review
Tracy Brabin – Mayor of West Yorkshire
Andy Haldane – President-Elect of the British Chambers of Commerce and former Chief Economist at the Bank of England
Ravi Gurumurthy – Group Chief Executive Officer at Nesta
Lisa O’Loughlin – Principal and CEO of East Lancashire Learning Group
Dr Jennifer Dixon – Chief Executive of the Health Foundation
Baroness Louise Casey DBE – Social welfare sector expert.
Former Health Secretary and Chair of the investigation Alan Milburn said: “Nearly one million young people in Britain are not in education, employment or training – and that number has been rising for four years. This is a national outrage – it’s both a social injustice and an economic catastrophe.
“We need to create a movement – a coalition of the concerned – to help us understand what’s broken and what must change.
“Every young person, whatever their background, deserves the opportunity to learn or to earn. My report will be unafraid to shine a light on uncomfortable truths and recommend where radical change is needed.”
To launch the Call for Evidence, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden joined Alan Milburn at Boxing Futures in Peterborough to meet young people benefiting from local support programmes and heard directly about their experiences. The organisation works with NEET young people in the local community to support them onto a better path.
Boxing Futures’ CEO Anthony York said: “The high number of young people who are NEET is a serious and growing concern. At Boxing Futures, we work hard to ensure young people engage positively with education, training or employment.
“Our community-based, tailored programmes of non-contact boxing and therapeutic talk sessions tackle this head on, both as an early-intervention model and directly with young people who find themselves in this position.
“Working at the coalface of the youth sector, we see every day how vital these services are, and how much demand continues to grow. We are delighted the Government has made young people a priority and is now reversing a decade of declining investment in youth provision.”
The independent report will examine the drivers behind rising NEET rates and economic inactivity among young people and make recommendations for policy responses aimed at maximising opportunities for young people.
Alongside the Call for Evidence, the review is already engaging extensively with stakeholders, including a series of roundtables planned for the new year.
This is the latest step in the government’s work to support young people into employment or training. A £1.5 billion investment over the Spending Review was recently announced; £820 million to overhaul support and give nearly 900,000 young people across the UK support, and £725 million to rebalance apprenticeships towards young people and fully fund apprenticeships in small and medium sized businesses for eligible people aged 16-24.
Barry Fletcher, CEO at Youth Futures Foundation, comments: “With one in eight young people not earning or learning, the launch of Alan Milburn’s investigation marks an important step towards tackling this stubborn challenge.
“Evidence of what works, and the voices of young people themselves, will be essential to finding system-wide solutions that truly open doors to meaningful work and learning, for every young person.
“As the What Works Centre for youth employment we look forward to contributing our research and evidence alongside convening the Youth Guarantee Advisory Panel. We also urge others to share evidence and insights to ensure the review gains the most complete picture of this complex challenge.”
Ishrat, Youth Futures Foundation young ambassador and Youth Guarantee Advisory Group member, comments: “As a young person, I’m very hopeful about the government’s decision to launch an independent investigation into rising youth inactivity.
“Mental health conditions and disabilities are genuine barriers for us, and this inquiry is an opportunity to rethink how we can further support young people into work and education. I’m glad that our lived experiences are finally being recognised and valued. I have hope that the final report will lead to real, lasting change.”
Abigail Ampofo, interim Chief Executive of YoungMinds said: “With so many young people struggling with their mental health, this investigation is a huge opportunity to get to the heart of the reforms that are needed to ensure that no young person is left alone with their mental health, and unable to learn, work, and achieve their ambitions as a result.
“We particularly welcome the commitment to hearing from young people from all backgrounds as we know that young people from Black and racially minoritised communities often experience systemic barriers to accessing the same level of support as their peers.”
Proposals for a residential-led, mixed-use development at Edinburgh Gateway, the site of the former Saica packaging facility in West Edinburgh, have been given the green light by councillors yesterday (Wednesday 17th December).
The application by regeneration specialist, Summix Capital, was granted planning permission, subject to conditions, by councillors on the Council’s Development Management Sub-Committee.
The Edinburgh Gateway development provides a unique opportunity to regenerate this former industrial site on Turnhouse Road, covering 15.5 acres (6.3 hectares).
This brownfield site is allocated in the Council’s City Plan 2030 for residential-focused redevelopment, and its granting will deliver one of the most exciting and best-connected development sites in Scotland.
The flagship vibrant new neighbourhood aims to deliver a mix of uses. This includes the delivery of 957 homes, 35 per cent of which are affordable, plus a new hotel with 172 bedrooms. In addition, ground-floor retail. commercial and community uses are proposed, as well as the creation of new public realm and a station interface with associated landscaping, infrastructure, car parking and access arrangements.
The proposed housing will include tenure-blind affordable housing to address the city’s well-publicised housing emergency and will provide accessible family homes and Build to Rent (BTR) accommodation. BTR sees homes built specifically for rent, rather than sale.
The development masterplan defines seven development plots. Plots 1 and 2 will deliver private sale housing; Plots 3 and 4 are dedicated to BTR homes; and Plots 5 and 6 contribute to the city’s affordable housing provision. Plot 7 will accommodate the new hotel.
A range of local services is available within the area, including public transport, education, food retail opportunities and recreation facilities
The site reflects excellent access to existing or planned sustainable transport networks, making the low-car-ownership/low-car-travel policy targets achievable. This includes direct pedestrian access to the Edinburgh Gateway Railway Station, with both it and Edinburgh Gateway Tram Station located within easy walking distance.
The landscaping proposals offer a wide range of outdoor experiences for users, with high-quality open space, including public realm and communal areas throughout the development.
A northern park area with a rain garden is proposed, along with wildflower meadows, tree planting, and a formal playground, lawn, and picnic areas. Additionally, two new civic squares are envisaged.
Delivering biodiversity enhancements, the proposals present opportunities for stronger connections throughout the site and the surrounding area, with a pedestrian focus and ample, easily accessible amenity open spaces for future residents and users of the proposed development.
Stuart Black, Development Director for Summix Capital, said: “The granting of this planning application for Edinburgh Gateway will create one of Scotland’s most exciting and best-connected neighbourhoods, representing a significant investment in the capital.
“Redeveloping one of the last significant pieces of brownfield land in the city into a brand-new, sustainable mixed-use community, Edinburgh Gateway will support the tackling of the city’s well-publicised housing emergency.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the local community and Council officers, as we progress the delivery of the development.”
Spain-based paper and cardboard company Saica has relocated to a purpose-built facility at Deans Road in Livingston. It is active in nine other European countries.
Project Team:
Architect & Lead Designer: 3DReid
Landscape Architect: re-form
Planning Consultant: CBRE
Project Manager: Arcadis
Structural Engineer: Goodson Associates
MEP engineer: Henderson Warnock
Townscape and Visual Impact Assessment: Turley
Sustainability Consultant: Carbon. Climate.
Certified Fire Engineer: OFR Consulting
Transport Consultant: Dougall Baillie
Ecologist Direct Ecology Daylight / Sunlight: Anstey Horne
Acoustics and Wind: RWDI
About Summix Capital
Summix Capital is a regeneration company specialising in development projects across the UK and Ireland. Working with its partners, it has successfully delivered thousands of homes since its foundation in 2006.
Summix Capital works closely with sector specialists across the property space, unlocking challenging sites and helping speed up what can often be a long development process from conception to delivery. Its aspiration is to ensure that housing, student accommodation and mixed-use schemes are delivered where they are most needed.
The company’s vision for regeneration involves taking on sites with vacant possession of dormant, dilapidated structures and developing a viable plan for their redevelopment and repurposing. At a time when the demand for housing far outstrips supply, a steady flow of land is essential.
Average waiting time for practical car driving tests in Great Britain was 22 weeks in September 2025, and DVSA does not expect to hit its target waiting time of seven weeks until November 2027.
These waiting times have increased significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic, with many slots also now being booked up by third-party providers, often using automated bots.
Despite several recruitment drives, DVSA has not recruited sufficient examiners to increase test slots, and exit rates remain high due to uncompetitive pay and safety concerns.
Learner drivers are facing long waiting times and some are paying up to eight times the standard rate for a driving test through third parties due to a failure from the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to resolve test booking issues, a new National Audit Office (NAO) report has found.
The average waiting time for a test was 22 weeks as of September 2025, compared with just over five weeks in early 2020, and 70% of DVSA’s test centres are operating at the maximum waiting time of twenty-four weeks.
Although DVSA created and implemented a plan in 2024 to reduce wait times down to seven weeks by the end of 2025, it does not expect to meet this target until the end of 2027.
These delays can have a serious impact on learner drivers’ income and the economy, with 30% of respondents to a DVSA survey saying they need to be able to drive for their jobs.
A large backlog of driving tests (estimated at 1.1 million) accumulated over the Covid-19 pandemic, and an estimated 360,000 of these tests have not yet been booked. DVSA has been slow to react to other factors that are increasing the number of tests needed, such as an increase in those taking theory tests. It has also struggled to understand the real demand for driving tests due to high demand being generated by automated programmes (bots) booking up available slots.
Delays in getting a test are resulting in just under a third of learners booking their tests through third-party websites, sometimes paying significantly inflated prices of up to £500, compared to the standard weekday test fee of £62 charged by DVSA.
DVSA has taken action against the reselling of slots through third parties, recently announcing that only learners will be able to purchase tests. Through this, DVSA is also hoping to limit the use of automated programmes to book tests, which remains at high levels despite the implementation of anti-bot protection software.
The NAO report found high exit rates among examiners due to perceived uncompetitive pay and safety concerns. Despite 19 recruitment campaigns by DVSA there are only 83 more examiners in place than in 2021, against a goal of 400.
To meet its targets, DVSA must focus on recruiting new examiners so it can increase the number of driving tests it provides. As the current booking system is not working for learner drivers, the NAO has recommended that DVSA should take this opportunity to review how it manages the booking of driving tests and restore good service.
To action this, the NAO recommends that DVSA and the Department for Transport (DfT) should:
1. Explore what is driving increased demand, including assessing whether there are enough measures in place to ensure learners are able to book a test when they need to.
2. Increase test slots by investigating what is needed to scale up the examiner workforce and respond to any subsequent backlogs.
3. Agree governance arrangements between DfT and DVSA that will support DVSA to better respond to future challenges such as abuse of the test booking system.
Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said:“The current system for providing driving tests in England, Scotland and Wales is not working satisfactorily, with long waiting times and exploitation of learner drivers by resellers of test slots.
“Our report recommends that the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency and the Department for Transport take decisive action to restore a fit for purpose driving test service.”
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts said: “Failures by DVSA to tackle test booking issues have seriously impacted members of the public, with learners waiting many months to book a driving test.
“The current booking system, in place for the past 18 years, has been exploited by third parties using bots to book up any available slots and then sell them on at hugely inflated prices – up to eight times the standard weekday rate of £62.
“DVSA has finally begun to take more concrete action against the reselling of tests, although stricter booking rules will not come into effect until spring 2026.
“At the same time, DVSA has not been able to recruit and retain enough examiners to increase capacity in line with demand.
DVSA must now use the opportunity provided by recent announcements to restore the service to an acceptable level for learner drivers.”
A gunman who murdered a gangland rival outside a Granton pub on Hogmanay 2023 has been jailed for life.
Grant Hunter, 34, shot Marc Webley outside the Anchor Inn just before midnight on New Year’s Eve two years ago.
Hunter pleaded guilty to murdering Webley and attempting to murder a second man, Stuart Pearson, who was also shot but survived his injuries. Hunter will serve a minimum of 26 years for the crime but was told he may never be released.
Hunter approached Marc Webley and Stuart Pearson outside the pub, where he produced a gun and fired four shots at the men. Stuart Pearson was injured but Marc Webley died from his injuries in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
Jailing Hunter for a minimum of 26 years, Judge Lord Mulholland said: “You fired four shots which showed beyond any doubt that you wanted him dead.
“You shot another man who could have came to his aid which shows further intent.
“It is blatantly sinister that you wanted your victim to see your face which is an aggravating factor. In doing so you removed your mask and this was your undoing as the police knew you and people knew you which led to your swift arrest.
“The public are grateful to the police and forensic scientists for bringing you to justice.
“Gangsterism is not acceptable in a civilised society – this is a civilised society. The public will not put up with this gangsterism and the courts will not put up with it.
“Anyone going to court for carrying out this type of criminality can expect a lengthy prison sentence.
“As I said to you previously, this is not Chicago of the 1930s. Scotland is a civilised place without tolerance for gangsterism.
“You have left a mother without a son and two boys without a father. Your cowardly actions will haunt you for the rest of your life.”
With the UK and Scottish Budgets in mind, Holyrood.com asked a panel of experts if tax rises a price worth paying for improved public services. Here’s how four members of Tax Justice Scotland responded:
Yes. Abolishing the two-child limit was absolutely the right thing to do. It immediately lifts 350,000 children out of poverty, 20,000 of them here in Scotland.
“In a country as wealthy as the UK it would be utterly incomprehensible for a responsible government not to have acted. 60 per cent of these children are in working families, others have parents whose ability to work is constrained by disability, ill health and bereavement.
These parents pay taxes but now need support with the costs of bringing up the next generation. It is in our interests to pay what’s needed to ensure we have the public services and social security that protect us all when unexpected economic and health shocks hit. Tax is vital for investing in children, and we should all be proud to pay our fair share – for our children’s sake and for the long-term economic security of our country.
John Dickie, Director, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland
It is uncontroversial and self-evident, I believe, to say that we all rely on good public services. Whether parents packing kids off to school, businesses moving goods around the country, or all of us maintaining our health, quality services are essential.
And if we are to deliver on our shared ambitions for our country – reducing child poverty, increasing educational attainment, tackling our wide health inequalities – then we need to raise resources to fund these services.
Tax is vital tool in reaching these goals. But precisely how we use tax is the crucial question. We are a wealthy country, and how that wealth is taxed must move to the centre of debates about taxation. Frustratingly, the recent UK Budget once again focused largely on the taxation of income. There needs to be a greater emphasis on the taxation of wealth, and in Scotland finally reforming council tax would be a great contribution to that debate.
Peter Kelly, Chief Executive, The Poverty Alliance
Absolutely, but tax fairness really matters too. Right now, people across Scotland are seeing local services vanish, public services – like the NHS – struggling, and folk trapped in poverty. Yet they know that wealth at the top is soaring.
We must see tax, when revenues are spent wisely, as an investment in a fairer and greener Scotland, healthier lives, and care and support when we need it most. It’s also a down-payment on a healthy, inclusive economy.
But it’s not just about how much tax is raised, it’s about who pays. Our tax system favours the very richest. The UK Government should do much more to make wealthier households pay a fairer share. In Scotland, we must better tax property wealth by replacing the outdated, unfair council tax and tax luxury pollution through a private jet tax. Public support is strong for the wealthiest paying more: what’s missing is political courage.
Jamie Livingstone, Head of Oxfam Scotland
Tax Justice Scotland works in solidarity with a growing global movement of people campaigning for far tax reforms. We are a partner of (but independent from) Tax Justice UK and the Tax Justice Network.
The work of Tax Justice Scotland is led by a steering group made up of a sub-set of its members who collaboratively work together to guide the campaign.