Dumfries & Galloway Council facing £8 million funding gap in 2020/21 budget

Members agreed to some changes which will take effect for May’s Scottish Parliament elections, including moving Applegarth’s polling station to Lockerbie.An additional paper will be presented to members in the new year on any further changes, with the council’s chief executive, Gavin Stevenson, saying there would be a “full consultation after the Scottish Parliament elections”.

Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter.Councillors have expressed cross-party support for local authority employees to receive the same £500 bonus being awarded to health workers.Members of North Lanarkshire Council’s Joint Consultative Committee for local government employees unanimously agreed to send an official letter to the Scottish Government supporting calls from trade unions that its recently announced bonus fails to acknowledge the work

Lawrence Shankland continues to produce the form he showed at Pittodrie then the goals will flow for the Scotland star. The Dundee United striker hit the bar and was denied by Joe Lewis and then a saving Ash Taylor challenge on his Aberdeen return.

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) said thousands of struggling people last year were nearly £7m in arrears.They are calling on the Scottish Government to consider wiping out the debt or creating a special hardship fund.CAS, which advises people with money problems, says council tax debt is the number one issue their network deal with.In 2019/20, they said 2,257 people sought help from them over a debt issue involving council tax, with arrears totalling £6.8m.CAS fears the end of furlough and

Nicola Sturgeon has made another personal plea to Scots to stay away from loved ones to help stem the spread of coronavirus. The First Minister urged families to forsake the first-foot tradition as cases are "worryingly high".There were 2,539 new cases of the deadly virus reported in Scotland in the last 24 hours.Sturgeon tweeted: ":Today’s case numbers are worryingly high again."The new variant is accelerating spread.

Snow and ice could cause carnage as the worst winter freeze in 10 years is set to hit Scotland. A New Year yellow weather warning was issued north of the border ahead of a freezing Hogmanay.

the Scottish Sun revealed that 19 of Scotland’s 32 councils have now blocked the app from being used in schools, including in South Lanarkshire. The move follows concerns that young users can view harmful content on the platform.

Get the stories that interest you straight to your inbox every day with our personalised newsletterA last-gasp own goal helped Irvine Meadow pull off a classic smash and grab victory to end the year on a high.The Ayrshire outfit took a second half pounding but somehow emerged with all three points to climb to fourth in the West of Scotland Premier.Blantyre midfielder Stefan Law was the unfortunate fall guy, turning Connor Boyd’s cross into his own net a full five minutes into stoppage time.It

health service gears up for a tough few months. They said the government should review all measures to stop the spread of Covid-19, warning it could take months for vaccines to make a dent in the pandemic.

Scottish Government is making an additional £5 million available to students who are experiencing financial difficulties as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. From January, students across Scotland can apply to their college or university’s Discretionary Fund for help if they are struggling to meet accommodation and other costs.

Jason Leitch warned restrictions would be like in March when the UK ground to a halt for weeks. It follows alarm at strain of Covid-19 which appears to spread more quickly and has already ripped through south-east England.

Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter.A dad who died after being ambushed at a house in Clydebank was due to stand trial accused of taking part in an alleged gun attack.William “Billy” McGuire was charged with assaulting multiple occupants of a house in the Knightswood area of Glasgow during an early morning incident on October 3 last year.The 25-year-old was said to have covered his face with a mask before throwing bricks and glass bottles

England for Christmas as she returned to Scotland yesterday amid a strict cross-border travel ban.Lisa Cross, 34, should have been married earlier this month and starting a new life in Blackpool with her hubby, but her plans were postponed due to coronavirus.She now faces Christmas without her fiance after returning to Glasgow after the announcement, to be with her two children.

In Scotland, there were 1,504 new cases today, partly down to a processing backlog. It takes the national total since the pandemic to 113,050.There are 1,078 peple in hospital with 59 in intensive care.

Netflix movie.But her bash was unable to go ahead after the capital was placed in Tier 3 of the country’s Covid safety measures.Last week First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the city would remain under tighter restrictions after cases rose “sharply”.A source said: “Vanessa planned a party for her birthday last week but was told it couldn’t go ahead due to Covid.

Neil Lennon has no fresh injury concerns ahead of Sunday's clash against Hearts. The Hoops manager is adamant that sentiment won't come into his thinking when he names his team ahead of speculation captain Scott Brown could return to the side for the trip to Hampden.

direct to your inboxUrgent talks between UK leaders on the easing of coronavirus restrictions over Christmas will resume on Wednesday amid increasing pressure to halt the plans over concerns of a fresh spike in cases.Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove discussed the scheduled relaxation with the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on Tuesday but they did not confirm a new position.However, a source in the UK Government said there were no plans to change number of days or

Michael Sharpe announced his resignation yesterday.

late.

coronavirus responders and key workers should also be rewarded.Nicola Sturgeon recently unveiled plans to give £500 to all full-time health and social care workers for their “extraordinary” service during coronavirus.She urged Boris Johnson to make sure the payment is tax-free.However, the Scottish Government is facing calls to give the same sum to other workers who have performed heroics over the last nine months.On Friday, council leaders at a COSLA meeting backed a Labour amendment on an