Kate Forbes: Last News

Finance secretary Kate Forbes has revealed she was in the throes of morning sickness when she delivered a key Scottish budget speech last week.

Axing lollipop patrollers, cutting back street cleaning and switching to three-weekly bin collections are all options being considered to save cash as West Dunbartonshire Council faces a £5million funding black hole.

The SNP has been forced to defend controversial plans to create freeports in Scotland after they were branded a "corporate giveaway".

A leading anti-poverty charity has blasted the SNP/Green Government plan to tackle the cost of living crisis.

North Lanarkshire householders will find out their council tax costs for the year ahead on February 17.

Council services in Falkirk will almost certainly face more cuts as a “disappointing and concerning” annual grant is on its way from the Scottish Government.

Bosses at Prestwick Airport advised the Scottish Government to knock back a bid which would have seen the flight hub sold to the private sector.

Kate Forbes has delivered a Scottish Budget she claims will help tackle the climate emergency, support economic recovery and reduce inequalities.

The Scottish Government has ruled out increasing income tax rates in the first joint Budget signed off by the SNP and Greens.

The majority of Scots don't know who they would back to be the next First Minister if Nicola Sturgeon stepped down, new research has found.

spending plan put forward by Finance Secretary Kate Forbes was passed with support from Green and Lib Dem MSPs after she reached agreements with both parties on Monday.It will deliver a pay rise for public sector workers, an expansion of the free school meals programme for primary pupils, and free bus travel for those aged 21 and under.But Scottish Labour opposed the Budget after its call for social care workers to receive a pay uplift to £12 an hour was rejected as being too costly.The party had backed a call from the GMB union to boost pay for care workers who had served on the frontline throughout the coronavirus pandemic.Labour MSP Jackie Baillie told MSPs: "These are the people who look after some of the most vulnerable people in our

Kate Forbes revealed today she had struck an agreement with Green MSPs - meaning her Budget bill will pass when it goes to a vote on Tuesday.The Budget offers an £800 pay rise for public sector workers earning up to £25,000, and a two per cent increase for those earning over £25,000 up to £40,000.It will also provide pandemic support payments of £130 to households receiving Council Tax Reduction and two payments of £100 to families of children qualifying for free school meals.Free bus travel will be extended to 19, 20 and 21-year olds from this summer - at the same time as a scheme to offer free bus travel for those under-19 begins.All eligible children will get free school meals through the holidays and free school meals will be available

PA his business is losing over £1000 every hour during lockdown. And it is having to borrow money from the bank simply to stay closed.

Perth and Kinross Council could be set to freeze its council tax rate for the financial year 2021/22 as the region attempts to recover from the pandemic.

the budget for 2021 in the Scottish Parliament, Kate Forbes said the pandemic had “shaken our society and economy to their core”.Here's five things from the SNP minister's speech you need to know.Scotland's tax bands stay the same, though will increase with inflation.The majority of taxpayers in Scotland will pay slightly less income tax than the rest of the UK - although this figure only amounted to around £20 last year.Forbes will freeze the top tax rate at £150,000 and claimed taxes will go down for all Scots compared with this year.On the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, which is levied on home purchases, Forbes last year announced a nil rate would be applied on transactions up to £250,000.She said the change was always meant to be

Our Politics newsletter is now daily. Join thousands of others and get the latest Scottish politics news sent straight to your inbox.Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has announced she is engaged to be married.The 30 year old SNP MSP took to Twitter to make the public announcement days before she presents her second Scottish budget to Holyrood and having just launched support for the wedding industry.The Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP tweeted: “Having launched the Wedding Fund today, I should declare an interest as a brave man asked me to marry him on a snowy local walk over the last few days and I said yes.

Homebuyers in Scotland will be able to take advantage of reduced rates of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) from this week. The Scottish Government has announced that the threshold at which LBTT begins to be paid will rise from £145,000 to £250,000 on Wednesday, July 15 and will remain in place until March 31, 2021.

The first death of a resident at a Skye care home rocked by a coronavirus outbreak has been announced.