National Audit Office

Lorries queue for the frontier control area at the Port of Dover in Kent. The Government has no clear timetable to fully implement its post-Brexit border controls with the EU, the National Audit Office (NAO) said on Monday. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

‘No clear timetable for full post-Brexit border controls’ says watchdog

More than 25,000 single personnel are living in "Grade 4" type housing - the lowest ranking awarded by the Ministry of Defence.

More than a thousand soldiers in Scotland live in poorest military accommodation

Edinburgh tram works are carried out in 2011 at Haymarket. Picture: Ian Rutherford

How much did the trams inquiry cost? Who is to blame? The report's highlights

Queen Camilla and AELTC chairman Ian Hewitt (left) in the royal box at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. Picture: John Walton/PA Wire

Queen Camilla will not receive £360k annuity from Parliament given to Philip

According to a recent National Audit Office report there are 32 million smart meters in the UK, but three million are not ‘working as intended’

Smart meters are sometimes not so clever - Martyn James

The Ofgem sign on the regulator's office in central London, as household energy bills are likely to increase by around £2.7 billion to cover the costs of the 28 energy suppliers that have gone bust in the past year. Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire

Energy supplier collapses likely to cost around £2.7bn, report finds

Auditor General Stephen Boyle stuck to his guns

Scottish Government needs challenge, not SNP censorship – Brian Wilson

Take the train rather than flying (photo: Shutterstock)

Going Green - Are you thinking of making great escape with sun summer break?

The BBC were on track to save £1 billion this year due to cuts in content and scope of services, a National Audit Office report found.

Content cuts to help keep BBC on track to save £1 billion a year

Minette Batters

Call to delay farming cuts over food supply chain crisis

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford is to lead an Opposition Day debate on Covid contracts.

SNP demands public inquiry begins immediately into Covid contracts

Nurses changing their PPE on Ward 5, a Covid Red Ward, at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley in January 2021. Picture: PA Media.

Lessons must be learned from Covid-19 pandemic says National Audit Office

The government was not as prepared as it could have been for the Covid pandemic, the National Audit Office found (Photo: Shutterstock)

Government did not have ‘detailed contingency plans’ in place for pandemic

Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, on coronavirus (Covid-19)

Johnson's handling of Covid pandemic just isn't good enough – Kirsty Strickland

Companies recommended by MPs were handed billions worth of Covid contracts - acc...

New business plan launched to help companies ahead of Brexit in January 2021 picture: JPI Media

New business plan to launch for helping companies when UK breaks from EU

Rebalancing the country’s finances after spending heavily during the pandemic to support the economy is likely to take many years, if the experience of the 2008 financial crisis is anything to go by. Picture: Shutterstock

Has Covid-19 crisis cost the economy more than the 2008 credit crunch?

Scottish firms to have used the scheme include Edinburgh seafood restaurant Ondine. Picture: Lisa Ferguson.

Scots firms pocket hundreds of millions of pounds from Covid loan scheme

£50bn-worth of UK banknotes ‘missing’ from circulation

No new starter homes have been built in England since 2014 - despite government ...

Migrants may have been wrongly removed from the country. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Migrants accused of cheating in tests may have been wrongly removed

Competition from Netflix is piling increasing pressure on the BBC to up its spending. Picture Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Netflix could drive up BBC spending with drama shows under increasing threat

Hackers demanded that Sony cancel the cinematic release of a film about the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (Picture: KCNA/AFP/Getty)

Why cyber crime is a threat but also an opportunity – Dr Stephen Breslin

Nuclear powered submarines at Roysth Dockyard. Picture: TSPL

SNP demands public inquiry on failure to scrap decommissioned nuclear submarines

Several decomissioned submarines are currently laid up afloat at Rosyth Dockyard awaiting disposal. Picture: PA

MoD unable to dispose of nuclear submarines in Fife after decades

The Treasury's allocation to devolved nations is investigated annually by the National Audit Office.

Treasury funding 'higher per head' in Scotland - because of falling population

A seal that had got a lost frisbee stuck around its neck is one of the cases the RSPCA had highlighted to warn about plastic waste

MPs call for end to export of UK plastic waste for recycling

Rigs stacked in the Cromarty Firth the government is facing huge decommissioning costs

Decommissiong UK offshore oil and gas rigs to cost taxpayer £24bn

Cost of Trident ‘could sink MoD budget’

The firm has failed to meet its targets in each year. Picture: John Devlin

Outsourced army recruitment fails to deliver

Poor planning and technological problems have plagued the programme of smart meter installation. Picture: contributed

Smart meter rollout behind schedule and Â£500m over budget

British Prime Minister Theresa May hugs Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, as they meet in Brussels, Picture; AP

No deal Brexit could harm national security as preparations fall behind

Iain Livingstone, who most informed observers believe should have been appointed the last time the job fell vacant, has all the qualities to make a success of his huge job. Picture: John Devlin

Tom Wood: It's getting better but it's still uphill for Police Scotland

Speak to a free service like StepChange, which will contact your creditors on your behalf. Picture: Getty Images

James Walker: Don't bury your head in the sand over debt woes

The Trossachs, looking down Loch Earn from St Fillans (Picture: Gordon Clark)

Bill Jamieson: Terrorists and surveillance state may exploit smart meters

Smart meters make minimal savings say MPs

Smart meters to save households only Â£11 a year say MPs

Universal Credit failing taxpayers and benefit claimants, report finds

Carillion collapse will cost the taxpayer Â£148m. Picture: PA Wire

Carillion collapse to cost taxpayers Â£148m, audit finds

Why are Britain's jobcentres disappearing?

2.5 billion coffee cups are used in the UK every year.

UK Government 'ineffective' over single use coffee cups

The HMS Ocean which is being sold to help plug a mammoth financial black hole. Picture; PA

MoD to sell Roval Navy flagship vessel to Brazil for Â£84m

The financial situation at Virgin Trains East Coast has been described as "urgent". Picture: TSPL

Brian Souter's East Coast rail contract collapses
The government may be forced to step in and run train services on the East Coast Main Line after it emerged its operators could go bust within months.

MoD's Â£20bn '˜black hole' casts doubt on Scottish defence contracts

The sun sets on a Carillion construction crane in London. Photograph: AFP/Daniel Sorabji/Getty

Bill Jamieson: Our strategy puts PFI and Carillion to shame

The Union flag and the EU flag fly from the same mast above the Summerhall building in Edinburgh. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

Public spending watchdog to rule whether Â£39 billion Brexit bill '˜reasonable'

Derek Mackay rejects bullying claims

SNP rejects "bullying" claims over axed tax report

Britain’s nuclear submarines ‘reliant on spare parts’

Defence procurement minister Harriett Baldwin committed to delivering the best kit for our armed forces at the best value. Picture: John Devlin

Concern over MoD's ability to save Â£6bn in equipment plan

The themes highlighted in I, Daniel Blake are the day-to-day, grinding reality for far too many people

The '˜P' in DWP must not stand for '˜punishment'

Business secretary Greg Clark. Picture: Ben STANSALLBEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images

Business secretary '˜intends' to publish Nissan Brexit letter

Tim Farron said ministers must get a grip on sanctions. Picture: Getty Images

Benefit sanctions '˜hurt but don't work', finds watchdog report

UK Defence Minister Michael Fallon. Picture: PA

UK defence capability under threat due to lack of investment

Syrian refugee families arrive at their new homes on the Isle of Bute LAST YEAR. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

UK taxpayer faces Â£1.7bn bill for Syrian refugee aid

Thatcher lobbied hard with the Saudi royal family to secure the controversial Al-Yamamah contract. Picture: Getty Images

Secret files reveal how Thatcher negociated Saudi arms deal

The number of people denied the minimum wage has doubled in a year. Picture: PA

Leaders: Minimum wage needs maximum enforcement

313,000 staff were owed total of Â£68m. Picture: John Devlin

Number of workers denied minimum wage doubles in year

The Scotsman Top Stories

Scotland has failed to meet its latest target for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the latest official figures show. Picture: John Giles/PA Wire

Fail: Scotland misses climate target

Pro-independence protesters with Scottish Saltire flags (top) march for Scottish independence. Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images

Yousaf: Growing popular support for Yes the only way to Scottish independence

Nadine Dorries. Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

SNP MP cleared of bullying Nadine Dorries