Tag: new report

Scotland’s councils face HALF BILLION budget gap

Funding for councils is failing to keep pace with rising costs and demand despite a small real terms increase in funding.

Councils’ revenue funding from the Scottish Government has gone up by two per cent. However, much of it is used to cover existing commitments such as teachers’ pay increases. Overall, Scotland’s councils face managing a budget gap of around £529 million for their 2026/27 daily operating costs – around three per cent of their revenue funding. Capital funding is down by 15 per cent.

That means councils will have to borrow more to build houses and other infrastructure, which heightens long-term financial risk.

Every local authority increased council tax by an average of 7.7 per cent for 2026/27, which should raise an extra £248 million. Councils expect to bring in around £1.2 billion from fees and other charges, such as for leisure centres and some refuse services. They are also planning to make savings of £180 million – around 1 per cent of councils’ total revenue budget. But these savings will have to increasingly affect services people rely on.

Social care makes up a high proportion of council spending and increasing demand for these services is putting major pressure on local budgets.

Anticipated reductions in Scottish Government funding over the medium term are expected to intensify these pressures and increase the risk of councils becoming financially unsustainable.

Derek Yule, a member of the Accounts Commission, said: “As things stand, councils will continue to face increasing financial pressures unless they stop, reduce, or significantly redesign services.

“Savings options are limited and will have to increasingly focus on changes to services people rely on. That makes it essential that councils talk to their communities about the difficult decisions they are facing.”

COSLA has responded to the Accounts Commission report on Local Government budgets 2026/27.

Read the full comment from Cllr Ricky Bell, COSLA Resources Spokesperson here:

https://ow.ly/yjh550ZaknP

VOCAL highlights the growing cost of unpaid caring across Edinburgh and the Lothians

This Carers Week, local charity VOCAL (Voice of Carers Across Lothian) is calling for greater recognition of, and practical support for, unpaid carers, as new evidence shows caring is pushing too many people into poverty.

Unpaid carers are often managing higher household costs, cutting back on paid work, and spending more on fuel, transport, food and equipment. For many, the cost of living crisis comes on top of the cost of caring, creating intense pressure on family finances and wellbeing. VOCAL says demand for financial wellbeing support continues to rise locally.

VOCAL brought carers, staff and partner organisations together at its Cost of Unpaid Caring event to explore the causes of carer poverty and the changes needed locally and nationally.

Their report, launched on 8 June, highlights several key drivers of hardship, including the extra costs of disability and care, loss of income for working carers, difficulty accessing adequate social security, social care charges, legal costs such as Power of Attorney, and growing food insecurity.

Rosie McLoughlin, VOCAL CEO, said: “The value of unpaid care in Edinburgh alone is estimated at over 1 billion pounds but many carers provide this care at real personal and financial cost.

“This latest report shows that carer poverty is being driven by a combination of rising living costs, lost income, inadequate support and systems that are too hard to navigate. During Carers Week, we are calling for change so that taking on a caring role does not mean being pushed into poverty.”

VOCAL is calling for practical action at every level:

  • A national hardship fund to support carers with the unexpected costs of caring
  • Increased social security support for carers nationally
  • Power of Attorney costs to be covered for carers
  • An end to unfair social care charging
  • More in-depth research on the Minimum Income Standard to understand the costs of caring and rollout of the Minimum Income Guarantee
  • Encouraging all employers to improve their carer policies, advocate for better social care services, and offer paid carer’s leave
  • Carers Act Funding to be allocated to crisis-prevention
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Carers Week is here – read and share our new report!

CARERS WEEK IS HERE!

To To kick-start the week, we’ve launched our Building Carer Friendly Communities report, making the case for action across the UK to improve recognition and support for unpaid carers.

Carer friendly communities are places, spaces, services and community groups where unpaid carers are recognised, understood and valued. They make support part of everyday life, ensuring carers get the opportunities and help they need.

While many communities are committed to supporting carers, this is not always the case. Concerningly, our new research found that nearly half (44%) of carers do not feel their role is understood or valued by their community.

When communities are not carer friendly, the impact can be significant. More than a third (36%) of current and former carers who felt that organisations or services were not carer friendly said this had affected their physical or mental health.

Our new report sets out the action needed by the Government and by communities across the UK to help make a lasting difference to the lives of unpaid carers. 

Read the full report and our recommendations for change.

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Almost half of cigarettes smoked in the UK are illicit, says new report

New independent analysis by KPMG – commissioned by Philip Morris International – has revealed that almost half of cigarettes almost half of cigarettes consumed in the UK in 2025 were illicit. Of the total cigarette consumption in the UK, 13% of cigarettes are purchased abroad legally, whereas 32.3% are counterfeit or contraband. 

The findings show that illicit consumption rose by 1.5 billion cigarettes in 2025 (vs. 2024), making it the second-largest illegal market in Europe, behind France, for illicit cigarette consumption by volume.  

Two new trends have been identified by Philip Morris Limited as significant contributing factors to the boom in the UK’s illicit market over the past year: the rise of ‘front’ shops – retail outlets set up by organised criminal gangs (OCG), and the rise in factories manufacturing illegal cigarettes within the UK.  

Smuggled and fake brands are typically imported from Turkey, Poland and Belarus, plus free trade zones in the Middle East, as identified by Philip Morris International However, last year, the report noted how factories were moving ever westward on the continent, towards their key markets of France and the UK. 

In the past 12 months this has moved a step further, with a number of high-profile raids of large factories within the UK itself. Each year, these factories were producing hundreds of millions of cigarettes between them, designed to flood the UK market.  

The Europe-wide report estimates that more than 10 billion illicit were consumed in the UK in 2025, equating to more than £4.46 billion in lost tax revenue for vital public services. This money could fund over 95,000 new police officers. 

On the streets of the UK, there has been an explosion in the number of ‘front’ shops selling illicit cigarettes and vapes posing as low-grade grocers, vape shops, candy shops, barbers or mobile phone retailers. 

Reports4 show gangs running the stores are terrorising communities and also profiting from street drugs, human trafficking, cybercrime, fraud and money laundering. They have waged a war of intimidation against legitimate UK shopkeepers, threatening their livelihoods and, in some cases, even their personal safety.  

Philip Morris Limited, the UK affiliate of Philip Morris International, is calling on the government to take urgent action to tackle illicit tobacco and nicotine products, warning that the illegal market for cigarettes is growing exponentially, even as overall cigarette consumption continues to decline.  

Peter Nixon, Managing Director at Philip Morris Limited, said: “This should be a major wake-up call for the government; poorly resourced enforcement is depriving the UK of almost £4.5 billion a year. 

“The past few years have been a boon time for organised crime gangs who are selling illicit cigarettes and vapes with impunity, ruining our high streets and communities. 

Catherine Goger, Illicit Trade Prevention Manager at Philip Morris Limited, commented: “In our fight against these ‘front’ shops, we have expanded our undercover teams who gather evidence and intelligence in communities across the UK. 

“To drive illicit products off our high streets, the government needs to introduce a robust licencing scheme as soon as possible.” 

Rise in serious cases strengthens need for criminal justice reform

The Scottish Government and its partners have made progress in cutting the criminal courts backlog and modernising justice services – but risks remain to delivering much needed reforms.

There were around 13,268 outstanding scheduled trials at the end of 2025/26 – around a third of the number of the backlog’s peak in 2022. However, a rise in complex cases, such as historic sexual abuse and organised crime, has led to high levels of backlogs for courts dealing with the most serious issues. Outstanding scheduled High Court trials rose to 1,002 at the end of 2025/26 – almost three times pre-pandemic levels. This is creating pressures across the system.

The Scottish Government has published a delivery plan for modernising the criminal justice system. There has been mixed progress with projects designed to improve efficiency, with some delayed or still to start. There has also been limited evaluation and public reporting on progress, making it difficult to know what impact projects are having.

The Scottish Government and its partners have improved how they engage with people who use court services. But services users are not actively involved in work to make the system more efficient.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “Criminal court business has changed significantly. The overall number of outstanding trials has reduced considerably since 2022. But the rise in serious, resource-intensive cases in recent years is impacting on the High Court backlog and the wider justice system.

“The Scottish Government and its partners have set out how efficiencies will be delivered. But their planned modernisation projects must be supported by more robust delivery arrangements, clarity on the resources required, and effective collaboration.”

Charity warns of ‘digital destruction of childhood’ as almost two thirds of Scottish children admit they spend ‘too much time online’

Almost two thirds (64%) of children and young people said they spend too much or far too much time online, in responses to a new survey published by Children First, Scotland’s national children’s charity today.

Warning that ‘Scotland risks sleepwalking into the digital destruction of childhood,’ the charity revealed the figures as it unveiled its strategic priorities for the next five years.

Eighty four percent of the 1032 children and young people aged between 11 and 25 surveyed by Young Scot for Children First felt that being online prevented them from having enough time for other activities they want to do.

Forty six percent of children and young people said being online stopped them from having time to relax without a screen, 43% said it stopped them from sleeping or resting, 36% said it stopped them being active or playing outside and 35% said it stopped them spending time with family.

Mary Glasgow, Chief Executive of Children First said: “Today children are more at risk and childhood is under threat in a way that has never been seen before.

“It is alarming that 84% of children and young people say that being online is stopping them from spending enough time on other activities that are vital to their healthy wellbeing and development. Without more urgent and sustained action across all sectors Scotland risks sleepwalking into the digital destruction of childhood.

“Increasingly digital devices are being placed in children’s hands before they are ready – not just  children and teenagers but also babies and toddlers.  So at best, a social media ban can only ever be a small part of the answer – we need to go further and faster if we are to protect Scotland’s children and protect childhood.

“At Children First we are committing to do everything we can to protect children from online harm by campaigning for a public health approach that includes stronger regulation, delayed access to devices, better advice and support for parents and caregivers and investment in play, creativity and sport so children have real alternatives to being online. 

“Together, we can reclaim childhood and make sure it is protected and celebrated at every stage.”

Ten year old Poppy*, who was one of over 60 children and young people from across Scotland who shared their voices and views to inform Children First’s strategic priorities, said: “Having a phone has ruined my time as a child.

“I still go outside but not as much. Whenever I ask friends to do stuff they are either busy or on their phones too much – a friend once had 16 hours [on their phone].

“When you get off your phone you realise there are so many things you can do.”

Last week with the support of 16 other organisations and national leaders, Children First wrote to the newly re-appointed First Minister and opposition parties to urge them to ‘act swiftly to tackle  online harm’ in the first 100 days of the new Parliament calling it ‘the childhood emergency of our time.’ 

As well as campaigning against online harm, Children First, which has been supporting babies, children and families in Scotland for over 140 years, has set out plans to:

  • Invest in the Children First support line so that every family in Scotland has somewhere to turn for help.
  • Strengthen families ability to protect their children by developing and delivering family support and therapeutic support.
  • Campaign to make sure the United Nations on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and delivery of the promise results in radical transformation for children within family support, health, child protection and justice systems.
  • Demand sustainable investment in prevention to keep children safe, loved and well with their families.
  • Improve support for children in need of care, protection and justice by growing their access to Bairns Hoose services.
  • Expand family group decision making services to make sure no child is unnecessarily removed from their home.

Children First’s support line can provide practical, emotional and financial support to parents and carers across Scotland, including those who are worried about their child being harmed online on 08000 28 22 33 or via webchat at www.childrenfirst.org.uk/supportline.

Committee alarmed by “climate of fear” around dominant firms in UK music industry

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) should launch a full market investigation into the live music industry before the end of 2026, says the Commons Business and Trade Committee in new report.

The Committee concludes that for Live Nation, and possibly wider in the live music market, there are concerns against all three of the CMA factors for determining market dominance.

After a public outcry in 2024 over the way Oasis reunion concert tickets had been marketed, a CMA investigation found that Ticketmaster had misled consumers and used unclear ticketing practices.

Ticketmaster initially refused to subject themselves to public scrutiny by the Committee but ultimately appeared in Parliament in February 2025, returning with their parent company Live Nation in June 2025.

The Committee was left with serious concerns about the state of competition in the live music industry in the UK.  

Live Nation Executive President Phil Bowdery explained away the company’s large market share in arenas and stadia, saying “we are very good at what we do. Therefore, there is interest from the major artists to be with Live Nation.” But evidence submitted to this inquiry suggests an alternative explanation for Live Nation’s dominant position.

A call for written evidence elicited 45 submissions, with a significant proportion requesting to submit anonymously or confidentially for fear of reprisal: in itself this triggered alarm about whether Live Nation has a dominant and controlling market position, and the climate of fear this may have created in the industry.Concerns

Concerns raised in evidence include:

  • The scale and integrated nature of Live Nation’s business model make it difficult for artists and managers to operate independently of its ecosystem.
  • This can begin right at the point of artist entry into the industry from grassroots level, with concentration at arena, stadium and major festival level reduce opportunities for independent promoters and venues to access and scale artists through the wider touring circuit. 
  • The same problems are reported by smaller and independent festivals who find access to talent increasingly challenging.
  • The lack of uptake of an industry led levy on arena and stadium tickets to support the grassroots sector – as suggested in 2024 by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee and endorsed by Government – has been widely attributed to Live Nation not implementing the levy.
  • Live Nation uses long-term agreements with restrictive exclusivity terms that make access to its venues contingent on participation in its festivals (or vice versa), incentivising artists to consolidate touring arrangements with the company and reducing opportunities for competing promoters and events.
  • Independent promoters alleged that venues owned or controlled by Live Nation favour in-house promotion businesses and integrated ticketing arrangements impeding competition.    
  • In primary ticketing, Live Nation directly controlled 58% of the 23.1 million tickets on sale in 2025, increasing to 66% if sales controlled by its affiliate companies are included.     
  • In secondary ticketing, the Committee received evidence indicating the restriction of resale activity to Ticketmaster’s own resale platform.
  • This control of ticketing infrastructure – some evidence alleged that even where third-party ticket agents participate in sales, they are required to integrate their systems with Ticketmaster’s – allows the company to retain customer data even from competitors, which can then be leveraged across promotion, marketing and event operations.

Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the Committee, said: “Britain’s live music scene is one of our great national success stories, from grassroots venues nurturing new talent to world-class arena and stadium tours that attract global audiences.

“But the evidence we received during this inquiry points to deep concerns about whether competition in the industry is now working fairly for fans, artists, venues and independent promoters.

“What particularly alarmed the Committee was not just the scale of Live Nation’s market position across promotion, venues and ticketing, but the climate of fear we encountered during this inquiry.

“A striking number of submissions requested anonymity because people were worried about the consequences of speaking openly. That alone raises profound questions about the health of competition in the market.

“The CMA should now launch a full market investigation, before the end of this year, so there can be proper scrutiny of whether consumers, artists and independent businesses are getting a fair deal.”

Ofcom is failing to drive fast enough improvements to national postal service, says Committee

In a report today the Commons’ Business and Trade Committee says Ofcom has failed to change Royal Mail’s “unacceptable” performance amid fears it is “not up to the job” of regulating a postal market that is growing in competition and complexity.

Despite incurring Ofcom fines every year since 2022, Royal Mail continues to fail to meet both the public’s expectations and its own regulated targets.

Overall letter volumes have dropped dramatically, and parcel competitors like Amazon are able to “hive off profits” using the universal postal service:  delivering parcels to harder to reach addresses without contributing to the cost of the Royal Mail infrastructure that serves them.

From April 2025 to January 2026, just 74.9% of First Class mail was delivered the next day (18.1 percentage points below the target).  The Committee estimates that this translates into approximately 126 million First Class letters arriving late over the year.

In 2025, 16 million people (29% of UK adults) experienced letter delays over Christmas, a 50% increase since 2024. 5.7 million people (10% of UK adults) missed vital letters, including those about health appointments, fines and benefit decisions.

Ofcom has failed to provide Parliament with the concrete numbers of letters being delivered late, saying Royal Mail refused them on the grounds of commercial confidentiality. The Committee says if such a prohibition actually exists, it should be changed.  

When asked to conduct a proper investigation into whether Royal Mail letter deliveries are being deprioritised in favour of more profitable parcels, Ofcom appears to have satisfied itself with obtaining copies of the relevant policy documents and meeting minutes.

The Committee says Ofcom must deliver better regulation of the postal market, including Access mail and services delivered by Royal Mail’s competitors.

If it fails to do so within six months of this Report, the Secretary of State should consult on statutory changes “to ensure it is fit for the 21st-century postal market”.

Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the Committee, said: “Millions of people are paying the price for a postal service that is simply not delivering.

“Hospital appointments missed, benefit decision notices delayed, fines arriving too late to challenge: these are not minor inconveniences, and they are the consequences of a national service failing to meet the standards the public has every right to expect.

“Despite years of fines and missed targets, Royal Mail’s performance remains unacceptable and Ofcom has failed to drive the change that is needed at the pace that is needed. We were deeply concerned by the apparent lack of any serious investigation into whether letters are being deprioritised in favour of more profitable parcels.

“We recognise that the postal market has changed beyond recognition. Major logistics firms are effectively hiving off profits while relying on Royal Mail’s universal service network to reach harder-to-serve parts of the country.  

“The universal service remains one of Britain’s great civic guarantees. But confidence in it is ebbing away, and Ofcom now has six months to prove it has the power and drive to regulate the 21st-century postal market.”

 Long ED waiting times in Scotland could take generations to recover if the issue isn’t a political priority

ROYAL COLLEGE of EMERGENCY MEDICINE RELEASES NEW REPORT

Without a sustained political focus on reducing extreme long waits in Scotland’s Emergency Departments, it could take more than 200 years to reduce the number of people enduring these waits down to levels seen in 2016.  

That’s the warning from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine following new analysis published today (24 March). 

Last year, more than 75,077 people waited 12 hours or more to be admitted, discharged or transferred from major EDs in Scotland.  

While this number is an ever so slight improvement from 2024 (76,510), at the current rate (a reduction of 1.8% a year) it would take 237 years to reduce these extreme long waits to their 2016 levels (1,005). 

These statistics and latest analysis are contained in RCEM’s ‘State of Emergency Medicine in Scotland’ report, published today. It sets out what patients and staff faced in Emergency Departments across the country last year, including the very real impact long waits are having on patients.  

Further analysis for the previous year (2025) reveals of those patients who waited 12 hours or more, 58,870 were waiting to be admitted to a hospital ward for further care.  

Using the Standard Mortality Ratio – a method which calculates that there will be one additional (excess) death for every 72 patients that spend eight–12-hours in ED prior to their admission – RCEM conservatively estimates that there were 818 associated excess deaths related with long waiting times in 2025. 

That’s the lives of 16 people lost every week. And remains unchanged from the previous year. 

Dr Jayne McLaren, RCEM’s Vice Chair in Scotland, said: “It’s deeply concerning, and put bluntly, a national disgrace, that over the course of a year, there has been no meaningful improvement in the number of patients waiting 12 hours or more in Emergency Departments across the country. 

“A small reduction of just over 1,400 patients waiting this long in the space of a year is nothing to celebrate. Because look at the sheer scale who still waited this long – 75,077. These are people not just numbers. And more often than not, they would’ve experienced this extreme wait on a trolley in a corridor, or another inappropriate space that was never designed to deliver care in.  

“But what’s most upsetting, as an Emergency Medicine consultant, whose whole profession is to help people in their time of need, is seeing how many people died because of the system not working as it should. 

“Ultimately, because there wasn’t an inpatient bed for them when they needed to be moved to a ward.  

“People are losing their lives. And today’s figures suggest that the same number of people died in association with long waits as in 2024.  

“This is a conservative estimate too. We know there may well be many more tragic deaths linked to long stays because this methodology only applies to one group of patients. 

“That needs to spark anger and upset from those in power to bring about the changes that are desperately needed in our hospital system.  

“Our State of Emergency Care report should serve as essential reading for ministers, NHS leaders and policymakers. It sets out clear, practical recommendations to make our emergency care system something that we can be proud of once again.  

“Patients, and those working within our Emergency Departments deserve so much better – a service that is safe, timely, and fit for purpose.”   

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Costs of Cairngorm Funicular may outweigh benefits, warns Committee

Concerns have been raised about whether the cost to monitor and repair the Cairngorm Funicular could outweigh the benefits to the local and national economy. This stark warning comes from a new report issued today by the Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit Committee.

The report follows the Committee’s look at the funding and operation of the troubled funicular.

Opened in 2001 at a cost of £19.5 million, the funicular was closed for four years from September 2018 due to issues with the track. It briefly opened again in 2023 before closing once more for further repairs. It finally reopened in February 2025.

During this time, ownership of the funicular has moved into public hands with Cairngorm Mountain Ltd, a company owned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

Now, with costs of over £16 million to reinstate the funicular and a reliance on public finance, the Committee has raised concerns about whether the costs of regular monitoring and maintenance may become disproportionate to its benefit.

The Committee has also called on the Scottish Government to be more transparent about its plans for the funicular and to ensure that the project remains value for money.

During the Committee’s consideration, there was also frustration about the level of information available to the Committee to take a judgment on HIE’s decision-making on the future of the funicular.

The report now calls on HIE to make significant improvement in this area as well as ensuring that the governance arrangements in place for the funicular are be simplified and made more transparent.

Speaking as the report launched, Committee Convener Richard Leonard MSP said: “It is safe to say that the Cairngorm Funicular has had a somewhat troubled history, with repeated and lengthy closures and requiring significant public investment.

“This Committee has heard from those in charge of the funicular, the public bodies supporting it, those living and working in the area and nature conservation activists. We have heard both optimism and scepticism about what comes next. And it presents a picture of concern for us that the future benefits are not as clear as they ought to be.

“There also needs to be a much more transparent governance structure in place for the running of the funicular. A simplified structure would allow for better public scrutiny of public money and decisions on the future plans for the Cairngorm Mountain resort.”