Phoebe O'Carroll-Moran, client manager, looks at the top stories for the week ahead.
Expect an awkward week at SNP HQ after The Sunday Post shared comments from former parliamentary standard chief, Sir Alistair Graham, calling for disciplinary action against health secretary Neil Gray’s use of public funds to attend football matches in his ministerial car.
Gray was defended by the party’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, who stressed the issue was “not a scandal” during his appearance on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show. Flynn is also having a tense few days (£) amid internal recriminations over his decision to stand for Holyrood in 2026 while retaining his Westminster seat.
The fracas comes on top of Saturday’s news that the party’s National Executive Committee aims to cut a third of its staff (£), with voluntary redundancies and potentially compulsory redundancies made in the weeks before Christmas. The move follows a decline in donations and membership fees.
Sir Keir Starmer is to meet world leaders at the G20 summit in Brazil today. The prime minister has promised Ukraine will be “top of the agenda” at the meeting, adding he has “no plans” to emulate German chancellor Olaf Scholtz’s controversial decision to meet with Vladimir Putin.
Get your woolly hat out, Scots are being told to brace for the winter weather (£) this week after the Met Office issued snow and ice warnings. Forecasters released a yellow weather warning for parts of the central belt, including Glasgow, with up to 20cm of snow expected across the start of the week. A yellow warning is also in place across the Highlands and the Western Isles until 11:00am this morning.
In brief - Scotland's economy and business
Highland Council launched a consultation on a proposed Visitor Levy. It claims a 5% tourist tax could raise £10m per year for the local authority. The consultation closes 5 February. Meanwhile, the chair of Community Land Scotland is calling for council tax on second homes to rise by 400 per cent in a radical measure to solve the Highland’s housing crisis.
The Herald reports that property firm The Seventy Ninth Group acquired 17.5 acres of land (£) on the shores of Loch Ness. The company intends to use the land to create a holiday park.
Edinburgh’s crisis-hit Summerhall arts venue was pursued over alleged unpaid taxes (£) for years before it was hit with legal action, leaked emails revealed yesterday. Locals hosted a festival at the weekend to highlight the plight of the venue, which is on the verge of being sold to a luxury property developer.
The week ahead - fill your diary with key events
Monday
- G20 Leaders’ Summit kicks off in Rio
- Foreign secretary David Lammy chairs UN security council debates on the Middle East and Ukraine
- High court hearing on the sale of weapons to Israel, brought by Palestinian right group Al-Haq and Global Action Network
- The Institute for Government to host deputy first minister and business secretary Kate Forbes for an in-conversation event to mark ten years since the independence referendum
- November Rightmove House Price Index and S&P Global UK Consumer Sentiment Index published
Tuesday
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In the Holyrood chamber
- Scottish Government debate on the impact of the UK government’s budget on Scotland’s rural economy
- In the Holyrood committee rooms
- The Local Government, Housing and Planning. Committee will take evidence on short-term lets
- The Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee will take evidence on the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill at stage 1
- The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee will take evidence of the Renter’s Rights Bill (UK Parliament legislation)
- Former first minister Humza Yousaf and former Scottish health secretary Jean Freeman to give evidence to the Covid-19 inquiry
- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address the European Parliament, marking 1,000 days since Russia’s invasion of the country
Wednesday
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In the Holyrood chamber
- Deputy first minister Kate Forbes and finance minister Shona Robison to take portfolio questions
- Prisoners (Early Release) (Scotland) Bill: emergency bill motion
- In the Holyrood committee rooms
- The Economy and Fair Work committee will take evidence from unions on the Grangemouth oil refinery
- Prime minister’s questions
- Secretary of state for Scotland Ian Murray to make his first appearance in front of the Scottish affairs committee
- The newly reappointed Energy Security and Net Zero Committee will hold its first parliamentary session, where it will look at the role that Great British Energy will play in the energy market
- Westminster
- Consumer price inflation rate data for October published
- Businesses on Scotland report published. The report will provide estimates of the number of businesses operating in Scotland by industry, size and local authority area
- UK House Price Index Scotland published
- The UK marks equal pay day
Thursday
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In the Holyrood chamber
- First minister’s questions
- Portfolio questions: net zero and energy
- Stage 1 debate: Prisoners (Early Release) (Scotland) Bill
- October retail sales figures, and construction statistics, published, along with the GfK UK Consumer Confidence Survey
- 50th anniversary of the IRA pub bombings in Birmingham
Friday
- Cop29 draws to a close in Baku
Sunday
The first round of Romania’s presidential elections takes place