The week in numbers

42%

The Scottish Tories have picked up a seat on Angus Council after a by-election was held on Thursday following the resignation of the council’s former leader David Fairweather, who had served as an independent. Jack Cruickshanks secured around 42% of first-preference votes, up on the Tories’ previous 2022 figure of 31.4%.

2

The Scottish Greens have called the two-child benefit cap “punishing and cruel” after the Prime Minister announced the Conservatives would keep the policy if they win the next election. Charities have called for the abolition of the cap, which restricts Universal Credit support to two children in a family.

2027

The UK Government has confirmed that the introduction of a UK-wide deposit return scheme (DRS) has been delayed until 2027. The scheme was first announced by then environment secretary Michael Gove in 2018. Current Environment Minister Robbie Gibb has now said the scheme has once again been delayed.

5

The UK Government’s Rwanda Bill has finally passed after months of back and forth between the House of Commons and the Lords. It passed as five people died, including one child, while trying to cross the Channel on an overloaded boat of more than

110 people.

£22bn

Scotland could be saddled with a bill of more than £22 billion as part of Westminster’s clean-up of nuclear dumping grounds over the next century, the SNP have said. The UK Government has estimated total clean-up costs of nuclear material from weapons programmes and energy generation could come to £263bn over the next 100 years.

2

Humza Yousaf sacked Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater as ministers, turfing the Scottish Greens out of government. The First Minister summoned the two Green co-leaders to Bute House on Thursday morning to deliver news of his decision.

2.5%

Rishi Sunak has announced that the UK will spend 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence by 2030 – an extra £75bn in spending over the next six years. The SNP said spending was going into the wrong areas.

$2443bn

Global military spending has reached an all-time high with the steepest year-on-year increase since 2009, according to new figures. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has found that world military expenditure reached $2443bn in 2023.