Reading Time: < 1 minuteSPICe has published a new quarterly intergovernmental activity update, which covers quarter 4 (October to December) of 2024.
Author: SPICe
The 2025-26 Budget in 10 charts
Reading Time: 2 minutesThis blog summarises some of the main points emerging from the 2025-26 Scottish Budget, which was published on 4 December 2024. For more detail and context, take a look at the Financial Scrutiny Unit’s Budget briefing.
Scottish Government responses to pre-Budget scrutiny: all smiles, no substance?
Reading Time: 8 minutesThis blog looks back at the recommendations made by committees during pre-budget scrutiny 2025-26 and the impact of committee scrutiny on the Scottish Budget 2025-26.
National Care Service Update: September 2024 – January 2025
Reading Time: 10 minutesThe story of the National Care Service Bill so far, and news of a (possibly) surprising ending. This blog will consider what has happened over
Labour market update: January 2025
Reading Time: < 1 minuteSources: UK Labour Market: January 2025 and Labour market in the regions of the UK: January 2025 For constituency-level labour market statistics, please visit the Constituency Dashboard. The data
The new Scottish Ministerial Code
Reading Time: 7 minutesThis blog provides an overview of the Ministerial Code, highlights the recent changes – including two significant updates to the role of the independent advisers on the Ministerial Code and the use of corporate communication channels – and discusses the recommendations that informed these updates.
Domestic abuse and civil law – an update for 2025
Reading Time: 7 minutesWhen we think about the law on domestic abuse, we often think about criminal offences and the role of the criminal courts in bringing perpetrators
Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) Budget 2025-26
Reading Time: 7 minutesA look at the 2025-26 Budget allocations for Scotland’s colleges and universities.
Guest blog: How can the Scottish Parliament improve its public consultations?
Reading Time: 8 minutesThis blog provides an overview of Marie Bruyndonckx’s masters dissertation, which was co-supervised by the University of Edinburgh and SPICe. It compares the public consultation
The European General Product Safety Regulation – new rules for UK exporters
Reading Time: 5 minutesThis blog provides information on the new European General Product Safety Regulation which came into force on 13 December 2024. The blog has been produced in response to SPICe receiving a number of enquiries about thie new Regulation.