🔴 NEW: The SNP has been accused of spreading ‘misinformation’ over its key election claim that Labour’s plans for the North Sea oil industry could cost 100,000 Scottish jobs.

Read the full story here: bit.ly/4bNp4Df?utm_so…
Leading SNP politicians have repeatedly used the claim to attack Keir Starmer’s policy of increasing levies on, and abolishing tax incentives for, energy companies operating in the North Sea.

#northsea

Highland Council has voted to build an 18-hole golf course within an area of protected sand dunes near Embo, Sutherland. For the last 7 years, The Ferret has been covering the issue.

A thread. bit.ly/3GyWDe0
In 2016, we reported that experts claimed the course – planned by a US millionaire and Donald Trump's business rival – would trash the sand dune network as Trump's course destroyed the dunes at Menie, Aberdeenshire. bit.ly/3NfRlI5

The Ministry of Defence won't give its reasons for failing to release annual assessments of the safety of nuclear weapons on the Clyde so as not to “prejudice relations between the UK and Scottish governments”.

theferret.scot/nuclear-secret… The secrecy is “outrageous, undemocratic and frankly dangerous”, says @markruskell @scottishgreens. It was akin to nuclear policies in Russia, China and North Korea, says a campaigner.

Since May, 49 of the 87 designated bathing waters around Scotland have recorded levels of faecal bacteria that could endanger the health of swimmers, surfers and paddlers.

theferret.scot/sewage-polluti… Heavy rain has caused public sewers to flood and washed animal faeces off the land, resulting in concentrations of bacteria in the water that can cause stomach, ear, nose and throat infections.

➡️ 🛢️ NEW: The UN climate envoy, Mark Carney, is a senior leader at an investment firm which owns a key piece of infrastructure set to be used at a controversial new oil field in the North Sea.

theferret.scot/carneys-firm-i… Campaigners said The Ferret’s findings “make a mockery” of Carney’s role as a climate figurehead. They also questioned how global climate leadership can be trusted to be “unbiased and sufficiently ambitious” when key leaders have such close links to the fossil fuel industry.

➡️ NEW: The Scottish Government has given more than £5m of taxpayers’ money to a Chinese Confucius teaching project in Scottish schools, despite human rights concerns and fears it may risk national security.

theferret.scot/government-gra… The grants were given to Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools (CISS) which is based at Strathclyde University and has 22 learning hubs in schools to promote Chinese languages and culture.

NEW: Glasgow spent ten million on agency cleansing workers

ARE COUNCILS WORKING?

The “eye watering” spend has escalated in the past two years with the council racking up a £5.6m bill for refuse agency workers from April 2020 to March 2022.

theferret.scot/glasgow-spent-… In response to criticism of the spend Glasgow City Council said Covid-19 had affected its workforce and led to additional spending. It is now recruiting “deep clean teams” to help address issues including overflowing bins, fly tipping and graffiti.

NEW: Future ‘bleak’ as council data reveals neighbourhood cutbacks

✂️ DAY 3: ARE COUNCILS WORKING? ✂️

Council-run services in some Scottish communities are being eroded to crisis point.

theferret.scot/future-bleak-c… A community council member said:

“It feels like a catch-22. If you run the facilities down people are less likely to use them. And if there are less people using them they are more likely to be closed."

“It feels like we are going backwards rather than progressing.”

NEW: Council contracts with debt collectors worth up to £20m

📣ARE COUNCILS WORKING?📣

Local authorities have been accused of issuing “escalating threats” to people behind on their council tax.

theferret.scot/council-contra… Part of our week-long series on local councils...

Some charities now consider council tax to be the number one debt problem for people across the country, mainly because the penalties for not paying it are so high.

➡️ NEW: Scottish councils pay ‘eye-watering’ sums of interest to UK treasury

ARE COUNCILS WORKING?

Interest accumulated on the loans in the last financial year alone cost Scots local authorities £414m.

theferret.scot/councils-eye-w… Day 2 of our series, co-published with @heraldscotland, digs into this type of borrowing and what it means.

Find out how it affects different areas…

ARE COUNCILS WORKING?

➡️ Day One: Half of Scots councils are ‘mismanaging’ community funds.

The Scottish Community Alliance said The Ferret’s investigation demonstrated that common good funds were “in desperate need of reform and renewal.”

theferret.scot/councils-misma… Today is DAY ONE of our brand new series of investigations, co-published with @heraldscotland, exploring local issues, services, communities and more.

We’ll be reporting on these issues through the week. Sign up to the Newsletter for a week’s summary: theferret.scot/underground/

A candidate standing in the Scottish Parliamentary election for a political party called Independent Green Voice has been accused of Holocaust denial while two others are former activists with the far right British National Party.theferret.scot/independent-gr… The Independent Green Voice party has five candidates standing for election on Thursday. They include an alleged Holocaust denier called Alistair McConnachie who is on the Glasgow list. He has denied being a Holocaust denier.

Peers living in Scotland cost tax-payers £2.1m, sparking renewed calls for reform: theferret.scot/peers-scotland… Here's how the peers living in Scotland break down by party.