Private finance schemes by successive governments have left Scottish taxpayers footing a £40 billion bill to build schools, hospitals, roads and other projects worth £9 billion, according to Scotland’s spending watchdog.
Lobbyists acting for the housing industry have demanded continued Help to Buy subsidies from the Scottish Government, despite criticism that the cash simply inflates house prices.
The number of fines issued to rogue fishermen has decreased over the past three years while skippers caught fishing in protected waters have not been reported to the procurator fiscal, we can reveal.
Profits from a controversial new children's hospital in Edinburgh are being channelled through tax havens to offshore investors, we can reveal, prompting criticism of public sector pension fund managers and the Scottish Government.
With the prospect of a general election looming, the Electoral Commission has been criticised for taking more than 14 months to investigate an opaque funder linked to the Scottish Conservatives.
