New powers enabling councils to charge up to double the full rate of council tax on second homes have been agreed by the Scottish Parliament. Councils will be able to increase the charges from 1 April 2024, with rates for the first year being based on those from 2023-24.
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More than 40 police buildings could be disposed of as Police Scotland deals with budget cuts. New proposals would see 29 stations and buildings scrapped, with the savings reinvested into the single force.
A man who was jailed for 12 years for repeatedly abducting another man when he was a teenager and subjecting him to sexual abuse has lost an appeal against conviction and sentence before the High Court of Justiciary. Scott Faulkner, who received a cumulo sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment in r
November saw both lower demand and supply in the Scottish property market according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Market. Taking a look at demand through November, a net balance of -17 per cent of respondents in Scotland noted a fall in new buyer enquiries
A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Polish abortion verdict violated rights of pregnant woman, human rights court rules
The Scottish Sentencing Council is holding a webinar next month on its new sentencing guideline: Statutory offences of causing death by driving. The webinar, which meets CPD requirements, is aimed at legal practitioners and will take place on Tuesday 16 January 2024 at 4.30pm to coincide with the da
Scotland’s best known (fictional) advocate is back in action this month in The Scotsman with this year’s month-long Christmas serial Edward Kane and the Supernal Sisters. The story focuses on the popularity of seances and other spirited events in the mid 1900s. Ross Macfarlane KC’s
COP28 in Dubai has agreed on the need to move away from fossil fuels for the first time at the end of a climate summit marred by restrictions on civil society and the United Arab Emirates’ "blatant contempt" for human rights, Amnesty International said. The headline COP28 agreement on the Glob
More than 50 organisations have signed an open letter to First Minister Humza Yousaf warning that plans for a Scottish Human Rights Bill must not be watered down.
The Crown Office has lodged a first notice to begin the court process for a fatal accident inquiry into the death of 48-year-old John Barnes. Mr Barnes died on 29 July 2022 at the Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert. Mr Barnes had been an inmate within HMP Glenochil when he was admitted to the ho
The abolition of 'not proven' could endanger the presumption of innocence, ministers have been warned. Stuart Murray, president of the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association, told MSPs at Holyrood that the third verdict is a “safety valve” for jurors.
Concerns have been raised that prisoners' right to an hour of exercise in the fresh air every day is “clearly being breached” at Scotland’s holding facility for children and young offenders. HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) stated in its latest report on HMP YOI
An Aberdeen man who tried to headbutt a police officer that attended at his home and arrested him has lost an appeal by stated case against his conviction before the Sheriff Appeal Court. It was argued by Paul Matthews that the Crown had failed to corroborate evidence that the police constable was a
John Logue has been confirmed as crown agent and chief executive of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). He has been serving as interim crown agent since September 2022. This appointment confirms he will remain in post.
Scotland’s prison system is facing considerable risks, including the poor performance of the company that transports prisoners to and from custody, according to a new report. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) contracted GEOAmey in 2018 to transfer prisoners between prisons, courts, police cust
