-
What do the latest statistics on economic growth tell us? (Q4 2017)
Reading time: 2 minutes
The latest figures on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Scotland, for 4th quarter 2017, were published today by the Scottish Government. They show that the…
-
The Fairer Scotland Duty
Reading time: 4 minutes
When the First Minister set out the priorities for the next five years of government, she said that the Scottish Government would commence the socio-economic…
-
What do we know about autism in women and girls?
Reading time: 3 minutes
At the end of World Autism Awareness Week, today (2 April) marks Autism Awareness Day. Stories about women and girls with ASD have been highlighted…
-
What’s been happening with social housing rents?
Reading time: 3 minutes
Next week, at the start of the new financial year, Scotland’s 610,000 social housing tenants will begin paying a new rent for their home. Over…
-
Scottish Income Tax: how different is it to the rest of the UK?
Reading time: 4 minutes
The Financial Scrutiny Unit (FSU) is often asked what the difference is between income tax in Scotland and in the rest of the UK, especially…
-
The Scottish Government’s legal aid Review
Reading time: 4 minutes
The Scottish Government’s independent Review of legal aid reported at the end of February. It advocates for an improved and simplified system, with the user…
-
Drop-out and returns: UK students at Scottish universities
Reading time: 3 minutes
This is the second blog about students dropping out of university. The first blog considered statistics published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) on…
-
Drop-out rates: UK students at Scottish universities
Reading time: 3 minutes
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes annual statistics on the non-continuation (“drop-out”) rate among first degree students at higher education institutions (HEIs) across the…
-
The new General Medical Services (GMS) (GP) Contract: so what will be different?
Reading time: 4 minutes
This post comes as the Health and Sport Committee are presented with the Regulations that bring in the new GMS (General Medical Services) contract. The…
-
Guest blog – Data is everywhere
Reading time: 3 minutes
As with all guest blogs on SPICe Spotlight, what follows are the views of the author, Brian Hills, Head of Data at The Data Lab…
-
Apples and oranges? Why it’s difficult to compare Scottish and English local government funding
Reading time: 3 minutes
The Financial Scrutiny Unit is often asked to make Scotland vs England comparisons on various financial measures. When it comes to local government, comparing the…
-
Electoral Reform
Reading time: 1 minute
As the 2016 joint interim report on electoral law produced by the Law Commissions in the UK showed, the legislation governing elections is extremely complicated…
