More than 1,200 hectares of degraded rainforest habitat are now on the road to recovery thanks to Scottish Government funding.
Almost £5 million has already been invested in rainforest restoration since 2023 and a further £5 million for ongoing restoration efforts was allocated as part of the draft 2025/26 Budget.
Scotland’s rainforest is a type of coastal temperate rainforest which is incredibly rare and as internationally significant as tropical rainforest.
On a visit to Sallochy Forest, Rural Affairs Secretary @MairiGougeon welcomed the rainforest restoration work already being done across Scotland and announced a further £5 million funding in the draft 2025-26 Budget to continue this vital work.
Scottish Government funding is already supporting the work to protect and enhance the important habitat by:
Recruiting apprentices and new entrants to the industry to support removal of non-native species like Rhododendron and regenerating conifers.
Regenerating and reconnecting ancient designated Caledonian pine forests and other surviving rainforest remnants in Loch Arkaig
Collaborative working with Forestry Land Scotland, Argyll Countryside Trust and the Woodland Trust to restore 2,000 hectares in the Knapdale priority rainforest area
Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon welcomed the rainforest restoration work being done by a range of partners across the country during a visit to Sallochy Forest, a site managed by Forestry Land Scotland.
Ms Gougeon said: “Scotland is home to its own temperate rainforest boasting a variety of rare species and habitats. We are already delivering work to protect and expand this precious environment and this additional funding of £5 million will help us to go further faster.
“Protecting our rainforests is essential to tackling our biodiversity crisis but is also an important step in helping Scotland on its journey to net zero by 2045.
“Rainforest restoration needs to be done at a landscape scale, in partnership with organisations, landowners and land managers, and this funding will help to develop and deliver a range of collaborative projects.”
The Scottish Government Budget will prioritise patients and drive improvements to the NHS, Health Secretary Neil Gray has said.
If approved by parliament, the 2025/26 Budget will deliver record health and social care funding of £21 billion to ensure faster, more accessible care by improving capacity and tackling systemic challenges like delayed discharge.
This builds on ongoing efforts to address the NHS’ challenges and improve healthcare for all to create a more responsive, effective health service with earlier intervention, ensuring better outcomes for patients throughout Scotland.
Key measures set out in the draft Budget include:
reducing NHS waiting lists, by cutting waiting times so patients can receive vital treatments and procedures more quickly
improved access to GPs with expanded primary care services and additional resources to make it easier for people to see their GP
progress set to continue on new hospitals, including the Belford, replacement Monklands, and Edinburgh Eye Pavilion, which will deliver state-of-the-art care and greater capacity
To address delayed discharge and reduce waiting lists, £200 million has been allocated in the 2025-26 Budget. If approved by parliament, this funding will expand the innovative ‘Hospital at Home’ service, allowing more patients to receive high-quality care at home instead of being admitted to a hospital.
Health Secretary Neil Gray said:“We are determined to drive improvements in our NHS and deliver the best possible service for patients. But I know that some people are waiting too long and finding it difficult to get appointments – we have listened and we are taking action. That is what people can expect from this government.
“The measures we set out in the Budget would mean quicker treatments, more GP appointments, and world-class facilities for people across Scotland.
“By March 2026, no-one will wait longer than 12 months for a new outpatient appointment, inpatient treatment or day case treatment with more than 150,000 extra patients treated as a result.
“The Budget also delivers investment to tackle delayed discharge, one of the biggest challenges facing the NHS, and to expand the Hospital at Home service giving thousands of patients the care they need at home while freeing up hospital beds for those who need them most.
“With initiatives like these, we will build a modern, resilient NHS that delivers for everyone by providing innovative and effective care.
“But we will only be able to deliver these transformational investments and drive further improvements for patients if our Budget is agreed. Our NHS needs this Budget to pass – and I am urging Parliament to unite behind it.”
2025 marks five years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Sunday 9 March 2025, A Day of Reflection will be held. This will be an opportunity to remember those who lost their lives and reflect on the sacrifices made by many during the pandemic.
First Minister, John Swinney said: “The Day of Reflection is an opportunity for people to remember and commemorate those who lost their lives during the pandemic, to reflect on the sacrifices made by many people and the impact of the pandemic on the nation and our daily lives, as well as honouring the work of health and social care staff, frontline workers, researchers and all those who volunteered and showed acts of kindness during this unprecedented time.
“The COVID-19 pandemic impacted all of us in different ways and you can mark the day in a way that feels right for you – whether it’s organising your own get together, joining in a local event or remembering in your own way at home.”
£100 million Scottish Government funding to improve patient flow
£100 million funding in the 2025-26 Budget to tackle delayed discharge will make Hospital at Home the ‘biggest hospital in the country’, if approved by Parliament.
The service, which offers a safe alternative to admission to an acute hospital, will grow to 2,000 beds by December 2026, alleviating pressure on health and social care settings.
The money will also ensure all A&E departments in Scotland have frailty units directly linked to community care settings, with an increased focus on collaborative working to identify ways to improve patient experience.
It is part of an overall £200 million package to clear the majority of new outpatient and treatment time patient waits and renew the NHS.
Social Care Minister Maree Todd visited Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline to outline a package of measures to reduce delayed discharge and to learn about other services that can be replicated across Scotland, such as Discharge to Assess that has been successful in Fife.
Ms Todd said: “Reducing delayed discharges is a key priority for the Scottish Government and the Budget we published last week will throw the weight of the government behind NHS improvement.
“More than 96% of all hospital discharges happen without delay but we are working with local health partners and local government to find solutions for those that don’t and address the variation we are seeing across Scotland. Our Budget for 2025-26, if approved by Parliament, will provide £200 million to help clear waiting list backlogs, improve capacity and remove blockages that keep some patients in hospital longer than necessary.
“Once someone has been assessed as well enough to be discharged from hospital, the best place for them to be is at home, supported by a bespoke care package. This can be delivered by services for older people such as Hospital at Home, and evidence shows that those benefitting from it are more likely to avoid hospital or care home stays for up to six months after an acute illness.
“We want to expand that service to make it the ‘biggest hospital in Scotland’, providing the very best care, in the comfort of a patient’s own home or home-like setting.
“We have a plan to renew our NHS and the Budget’s record funding for the health service will ensure that 150,000 extra patients are treated, deliver additional support for GPs, and invest in new hospitals at Belford and Monklands.
“We want to improve our NHS, but to do that Parliament must approve our Budget Bill to unlock investment to drive long-term and lasting improvements – and the healthier population that we all want to see. The NHS needs Parliament to unite behind this Budget.”
“Elected and unelected members have shown themselves to be incapable of following the rule of law“
Charity says it has “lost confidence” that the City of Edinburgh Council will uphold the rule of law and calls on Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Housing Regulator to intervene immediately – the first time the charity has called for special measures to be taken against a local authority
City Council acting unlawfully in use of unlicensed HMO accommodation to house some homeless households
City’s elected and unelected members voted in favour of suspending lifeline housing rights until March 2028, breaching housing laws they are charged with upholding
If the Scottish Government and SHR decide to intervene, it will be the first time that they have exercised the powers afforded to them to protect the housing rights of people experiencing homelessness
Scotland’s leading housing and homelessness charity has today (12 December) called on Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Housing Regulator to intervene against City of Edinburgh Council after the local authority voted in favour of stripping homeless households of their basic rights.
At a meeting of the city’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee, councillors voted six to five in favour of proposals to strip people experiencing homelessness of their right to adequate housing through the provision of suitable temporary and permanent housing.
The vote follows confirmed cases of homeless households being placed in unlicensed HMO (Houses in Multiple Occupancy) properties as temporary accommodation – a criminal offence. (2)
In a letter to Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Housing Regulator (3), the charity’s director Alison Watson warned that the Council’s plans are a concerted effort to undermine Scotland’s housing and homelessness rights system and that sanctions must be taken.
She states that: “We cannot stand by and watch efforts to strip people of their housing rights without putting up a fight on behalf of the most disenfranchised people in our communities. Law breaking on this scale cannot be normalised.”
The call comes following the Scottish Government’s reversal of cuts to the affordable homes budget last week after pressure from housing campaigners.
Alison Watson, director of Shelter Scotland said:“It should outrage everyone in Scotland that officers and elected members within a local authority have unilaterally decided to strip people in the capital of a fundamental human right.
“Edinburgh’s homelessness crisis is partly of the Council’s own making, but instead of showing compassion and seeking to help some of the most disenfranchised people in our society, they have chosen instead to punish them in this inhumane way by taking away hard-won rights.
“Shelter Scotland has lost confidence in the leadership of the City of Edinburgh Council to do the right thing and uphold the rule of law. The leadership has systematically failed homeless people for years and is now stripping them of their rights to cover up their own failures.
“I have written to the First Minister John Swinney MSP, urging him to use his powers to call in the council’s homelessness strategy for scrutiny. It is our belief that this will highlight that the current strategy is not only unfit for purpose and cannot guarantee the rights of people at risk of homelessness but is in fact in breach of the law.
“The Scottish Government must do more to fully fund local services through the upcoming budget. However, more money won’t work if the wrong decisions are being taken locally on how to spend it.
“I have also written to the Scottish Housing Regulator as recent assurances provided by the council leadership in their annual statement clearly do not hold up to scrutiny.
“Elected and unelected members have shown themselves to be incapable of following the rule of law. They must reverse the committee’s decision or else immediately step aside.”
Shelter Scotland is calling for the Regulator to consider its powers to use sanctions up to an including the appointment of new management in the housing department within the City of Edinburgh Council, under its powers contained in the Housing (Scotland) 2010 Act.
Under Scottish housing legislation, Scottish Ministers have the powers to call the City of Edinburgh Council’s homelessness strategy in for review, including its provision of temporary accommodation.
Alison Watson added:“Shelter Scotland has never called on the Regulator or Ministers to intervene in this way. We do not do so lightly. However, we will not stand by – and nor should the people of Scotland – and watch people’s rights be eroded without a fight.
“We cannot normalise law breaking on this scale. There must be consequences otherwise there can be no prospect that other rights will be protected, nor of the situation improving for the thousands of people in desperate need of a safe and secure home.”
There are currently around 5,250 households in temporary accommodation in Edinburgh. It is estimated that over a quarter (1,488) of these households are living in properties under an Unsuitable Accommodation Order.
Local authorities receive ‘real terms increase’ in funding
Councils will share a record funding settlement of more than £15 billion subject to passing of the 2025-26 Budget, provisional allocations show.
The 2025-26 Local Government Settlement includes a £289 million increase in funding to be used by councils to meet local needs and £120.5 million additional funding for pay deals.
The Budget also includes a one-off payment of £40 million to help councils respond to the climate emergency, and additional funding to support free personal care, teacher numbers and island communities.
Finance Secretary Shona Robison said: “Our Budget is laying the foundations for Scotland’s future success, with investment to help improve the public services that people rely on.
“Local authorities provide some of the most important services to our communities – from schools to social care – which is why we’ve increased their funding by more than £1 billion compared with last year’s Budget.
“The settlement is the result of meaningful budget engagement with COSLA and Councils. While council tax decisions are a matter for individual local authorities, with record funding of over £15 billion there is no reason for big increases in Council Tax next year.
“This is a Budget that will deliver increased funding for schools, social care and other vital council services. But this funding will only reach communities if the Budget passes, so I am asking Parliament to unite behind it.”
Citizens Advice Bureaux to provide support in six more areas
The Scottish Government has awarded £400,000 to Citizens Advice Scotland to improve access to help for people struggling with Council Tax debt.
Building on successful pilot schemes funded in 2023-4, the additional funding will enable targeted advice on Council Tax debt to be provided in six new areas: West Lothian, East Lothian, Dumfries and Galloway, Highlands, Argyll and Bute and East Renfrewshire.
The pilot bureaux gave targeted advice on Council Tax debt as well as wider holistic support and also worked with councils to support best practice in Council Tax debt collection.
The additional funding was announced by Housing Minister Paul McLennan on a visit to West Lothian Citizen’s Advice Bureau, in Livingston, which will use the funding to provide more adviser hours and appointments and extend help to more people using outreach locations to target the most vulnerable.
Mr McLennan said: “We know how worrying public sector debt can be for people in low-income households. Advice services can provide vital support to those with money worries and debt.
“Good working relationships with local authorities can be key and the Scottish Government is working to support best practice across the whole of local government.
“The Scottish Government has both legislated and acted to ensure that people who are financially vulnerable are protected and that debt collection is handled sensitively and appropriately.
“Ministers continue to encourage public bodies to promote empathy and dignity for people struggling with debt.”
Karen Nailen, CEO of CAB West Lothian said: “Council tax debt is the single biggest debt issue that is brought to our CAB every year. It creates real pressure on people’s lives, and for many it can be a sign of wider financial distress.
“This pilot funding is vital to allow us the time and space to look at ways to tackle some of the underlying issues. Working in collaboration with West Lothian Council will enable preventative measures to be identified alongside better advice outcomes for individuals and families.”
MEANWHILE in Edinburgh the Citizen Advice Bureau is one of three advice organisations – the others are CHAI and Granton Information Centre – facing a combined cut of £1 MILLION as Edinburgh Integration Joint Board struggles to balance it’s books.
The EIJB meets on Tuesday to consinder new recommendations.
Capital investment almost trebled to unlock private sector growth
Record funding of £150 million capital investment from the Scottish Government will support the growth of the offshore wind sector and support thousands of well-paid, green jobs across Scotland over the next decade.
Overall strategic investment of up to £500 million over five years is expected to boost private investment in the sector by up to £1.5 billion and unlock opportunities for growth in a variety of industries in key areas from ports, manufacturing and assembly work to major supply chain opportunities.
The 2025-26 Scottish Budget also sets out a commitment to establish an offshore wind hub in the North-East to provide an additional route for industry to engage with policy teams.
The investment follows the recent publication of the Green Industrial Strategy which highlighted Scotland’s wind economy as one of five priority areas to secure growth and investment.
Acting Net Zero and Energy Secretary Gillian Martin said: “Accelerating Scotland’s offshore wind capabilities presents enormous economic opportunities for our country.
“Our vast resources provide us with significant opportunity to create thousands of well-paid, green jobs across Scotland while accelerating our journey to net zero. We must maximise the economic benefits from offshore wind deployment if we are to ensure a just transition that takes our existing skilled workforce and supply chain with us.
“This significant investment will help boost innovation and expertise in the sector, create a highly productive and competitive economy and deliver a sustainable supply chain that will benefit all of Scotland for decades to come.
“We will work with industry and public sector partners to ensure we identify and deliver the best projects at pace.”
Claire Mack, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, said: “The renewable energy industry is pleased that the Scottish Government will increase the next tranche of its funding commitment to the offshore wind supply chain. It is also encouraging to see the revenues from ScotWind directly utilised for clean industrial growth.
“We will work closely with the Scottish Government to help shape how this funding can be used as part of the wider investment landscape in order to secure the flow of significant private capital into the infrastructure that will help Scotland optimise the opportunity brought by offshore wind.”
The Charter of Rights for People Affected by Substance Use has been launched, aiming to improve the experience of anyone needing support.
The Charter, recognised as the first of its kind in the world by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, will help ensure people know their rights and the support they can expect to receive, and that those who use drugs and alcohol, and their families, are treated with dignity.
It contains key human rights – mostly drawn from national and international law – belonging to people affected by substance use, most importantly the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, along with the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to a healthy environment.
The publication was developed by the National Collaborative – a network of people with lived experience and service providers. It was chaired by human rights expert Professor Alan Miller.
Speaking at the launch, the First Minister said: “My condolences go to all those who have lost a loved one. We want every person experiencing harm from alcohol or drug use to be able access the support they need and through our £250 million National Mission on drugs we’re taking a wide range of actions.
“This Charter is a key part of that mission and draws on the experience of communities and families affected by substance use. It significantly strengthens our public health and human rights-based approach to substance use-related harms and, over time, it will contribute to significantly improving and saving lives.
“I welcome the support of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights which recognises the Charter as the first of its kind in the world.
“We will continue work with the National Collaborative, which developed the charter, and key stakeholders towards its implementation.”
National Collaborative Chair Professor Alan Miller said: “The Charter places people and their human dignity, not punishment and stigma, at the centre.
“It has been developed by people with life experience of what hasn’t worked and what will work. Let’s all now make these rights real.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said: “Criminalisation and prohibition have failed to reduce drug use and deter drug-related crimes.
“We need new approaches prioritising health, dignity and inclusion, guided by the International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy.”
Domestic abuse crimes have increased 11% in Scotland according to the latest figures from Police Scotland.
Between April and September 2024 there were 20,271 reported crimes of domestic abuse, compared to 18,243 during the same period last year, an increase of 2,028 crimes according to Police Scotland’s 2024/25 Quarter 2 Performance Report.
The figures have been published as the organisation launches its latest campaign to help tackle domestic abuse.
Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson, executive lead for major crime, public protection and local crime explains: “As our latest data shows domestic abuse continues to be a problem within our society.
“Domestic abuse is a crime that remains hidden behind closed doors, but we are committed to tackling it. The psychological harm that domestic abuse inflicts can be long lasting and wide ranging on not just victims, but also children and other family members.
“Our focus remains on sensitively and thoroughly investigating incidents reported but we also want to see a reduction in offending, which is why we are launching our latest domestic abuse campaign.”
Scottish Government figures released last month report that in 2023/24 Police Scotland recorded 63,867 incidents of domestic abuse.
Of those incidents recorded, 81% involve a male perpetrator and female victim, 15% featured a female perpetrator and male victim and 3% featured same sex couples. And where age is known, approximately 35% of all incidents reported featured a male perpetrator under the age of 35.
Assistant Chief Constable Johnson continued: “Our aim is to encourage young men who are starting out in relationships to reflect on their behaviour and recognise that if they have started to use abusive, controlling or coercive behaviour to realise that it’s wrong and to change. There is advice available from our partner, Respect, to help them change their behaviour.
“We are fully aware that women can be abusers too, however our figures year on year consistently highlight that over 80% of incidents reported to us involve a male perpetrator and so our focus remains on reducing offending by men.
“With this campaign we are looking to influence those in the younger age brackets to realise what isn’t acceptable in a healthy relationship and encourage them to change their behaviour at an early stage and therefore prevent abusive behaviours developing.”
Dr Emma Forbes, Procurator Fiscal for Domestic Abuse, said: “COPFS takes a rigorous approach to crimes of domestic abuse and we are committed to prosecuting those responsible effectively and fairly, using all of the tools at our disposal.
“Young people should feel safe, valued and excited in their relationships. Sadly, we recognise that everyone, including young people, can be victims of abusive behaviour by a partner. Domestic abuse is not just about physical violence; it includes verbal, psychological, sexual, and financial abuse, as well as coercive control and stalking.
“Controlling what clothing or makeup the victim can wear, restricting their movements, monitoring their communications and preventing them from seeing loved ones are just some of the recognised forms of domestic abuse.
“No one should have to live in fear of a partner or former partner, regardless of their age or gender. I would urge every victim of domestic abuse not to suffer in silence but to report it. You will be listened to and supported as we seek to secure justice.”
Victims and Community Safety Minister Siobhian Brown said: “Domestic violence is abhorrent and this campaign is important as it focuses on men recognising and then changing their behaviour. This is the only way that we can see a change in society and a reduction in domestic abuse and violence.
“By showing that domestic violence is taken seriously, we can also encourage women to report crime and seek help and support. We know that it is this type of crime than can go unreported and we encourage anyone experiencing any kind of abuse, whether physical or emotional, to contact Police Scotland.
“Addressing and tackling the root causes of violence against women and girls remains fundamental to prevention which is a focus of our Equally Safe Strategy.”
Jo Todd CBE, CEO, Respect, said: “As the UK charity stopping perpetrators of domestic abuse, we’re delighted to be part of Police Scotland’s new campaign that raises awareness of abusive and controlling behaviour.
“To tackle domestic abuse, we need to address the root cause and ensure that perpetrators are stopped, held to account and given the chance to change where appropriate.
A number of cases sentenced during 2024 have seen young men given custodial sentences as a consequence of committing domestic abuse offences towards partners or ex partners:
Christian Schonenberger (aged 22) from Dundee was sentenced in November 2024 in relation to offending against a female and two charges of animal cruelty over a 12-month period. He was given an extended seven-years and six months sentence (four years six months custodial term), a 99 year non harassment order, a ten-year ban on owning or keeping animals and has been added to the sex offender register for an indefinite period.
John Allen (aged 28) from Denny was sentenced in November 2024 in relation to numerous offences against two females over the course of their relationships. He was given an extended 13-year sentence (nine-years custodial term), and indefinite non harassment order and has been added to the sex offender register for an indefinite period.
Charles Fyfe Morrison (aged 27) from Paisley was sentenced in July 2024 in relation to numerous offences against two females over the course of a four-year period. He was given a nine-year extended sentence, (seven years custodial term), a non harassment order for 15 years and has been added to the sex offender register for an indefinite period.
Robert McGovern (aged 20) from Edinburgh was sentenced in March 2024 in relation to numerous offences against six females over the course of a six-year period. He was given a 15-year extended sentence (nine years six months custodial term), a 999 year non harassment order applying to all the women and has been added to the sex offender register for an indefinite period.
