Two Scottish benefits will provide support to families are turning five years old.
Best Start Grant School Age Payment and Best Start Foods have paid out £90.6 million since their launch in 2019.
Best Start Grant School Age Payment supports families with a one-off payment of £314.45 to help cover the cost of starting primary school. So far it has provided £33.5 million to over 100,000 parents and carers.

A new expert group has been set up to speed up delivery of housing, deliver 1.5 million homes and boost economic growth.
A team from the Ministry of Housing and Homes England will be working across government and local councils to accelerate hundreds of thousands of new homes that are partially built or stuck in the planning system, and therefore help to end the housing crisis and drive growth.

Residents of Haringey will be at the heart of design decisions on a pioneering project to make hundreds of council homes in the area warmer and cheaper to run.

A report from the Local Government Association (LGA) has found that men in England are facing “a silent health crisis”, and are dying nearly four years earlier than women.
The LGA also found that men are suffering disproportionately higher rates of cancers, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Ministers have been taking part in a series of induction sessions devised by Government Campus to support them in delivering their political priorities.

A project using drones to deliver medical supplies across Scotland has been heralded as a “technological revolution” by the minister for aviation and maritime.

New analysis has revealed that a Scottish Government programme to install 55 4G mobile phone masts in rural and island communities has improved home life, work life and business performance.
As a result of the £28.75 million Scottish 4G Infill (S4GI) project, around 2,200 homes and businesses now have a faster mobile internet connection.
Highlighted benefits include wider online customer bases for businesses and better connectivity for communities during broadband outages.

The Scottish Government has launches a consultation on a minimum charge for single-use cups.
Views are being sought on the possible introduction of a 25p charge to all single-use drinks cups when a drink is bought, regardless of material.
There would be exemptions for specific locations and uses, such as in schools and hospitals.
Under the proposals, retailers would be able to retain reasonable implementation costs from the charge – mirroring the approach taken for single-use carrier bags.

Three new car parks in Cheltenham are to benefit from new charging hubs in 2024, delivered and managed by the EV Network.

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has agreed to fund two NHS England initiatives which aim to boost commercial capability and improve efficiency and patient care and reduce waiting lists.
CCS is set to provide NHS England with over £15 million over the next three years, to support NHS Energy Management Capability and to create a first of its kind NHS Commercial Learning & Development Academy. The Academy will offer commercial staff access to a range of learning and development opportunities to deliver a best-in-class workforce.