Andy Kerr, the former health minister, wants to ditch the successor to the poll tax and replace it with a reformed system based on property. As an interim measure, he would support council tax cuts and the phasing out of water charges for the elderly.

The frontrunner in the race to became Labour's new Holyrood leader has suffered a blow after a YouGov poll showed that three-quarters of Scots barely knew anything about him.

SNP Ministers are set to place further restrictions on council tenants' right to buy their homes by withdrawing the entitlement from new tenants.

The leader of the body responsible for financing Scotland's largest police force has warned that the Scottish government's target of recruiting almost 1000 new community officers across the country is unlikely to be met unless it makes up a multi-million pound pensions shortfall.

A company that profits from the privatisation of public services has been awarded a £5m government grant to set up a base in Scotland. Serco Ltd, which has a turnover of more than £2.5bn, has been lined up for the cash weeks after landing a multi-million pound contract to run IT services in Glasgow.

Fewer than half of the record number of probationer teachers qualifying in Scotland this year have secured teaching posts ahead of the beginning of the new school term on Thursday and the website which most teachers check for vacancies had exactly 13 jobs across Scotland posted last week.