Explained · the evidence hub

Scotland Counted explained

Start with the answer in ordinary words. Then open the figures, dates and original sources if you want to check the work. No political knowledge assumed.

Latest

Data graphic showing recorded shoplifting per 1,000 people in Scotland rising above England and Wales in 2025-26, at 9.6 against 8.2

Investigations

Scotland's shoplifting rate overtakes England and Wales as convictions nearly halve

Shoplifting in Scotland is at its highest since 1971 and now higher per person than in England and Wales. Convictions have nearly halved. Food prices explain much of the surge, but not the last two years.

28 September 2026 · 13 min read

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Latest explainers

20 articles

Scotland Counted investigation graphic with Glasgow's skyline, a map, and illustrated police and Home Office documents, asking whether migration explains the 28% rise in recorded sexual assaults

Investigations

Glasgow sex crimes went up 28%. Was it migrants?

A post on X says Glasgow's 30% rise in sexual assaults was driven by migrants. The rise is real. Here is what the police records, the census and the Home Office files say about who was behind it.

6 Sept 2026 · 13 min read

A community adviser helping a resident complete an emergency grant application at a public computer

Investigations

Crisis Grant postcode gap: why councils award 52% to 89%

Inverclyde awarded 89% of decided Crisis Grant applications in 2025/26. Midlothian awarded 52%. The same national scheme produced a persistent 37-point postcode gap that councils need to explain.

16 Aug 2026 · 10 min read

Abstract cut-paper illustration contrasting a dense Glasgow-style urban landscape with open areas through uneven data-like bands

Poverty explained

Drug deaths in Scotland: the deprivation divide

People in Scotland's most deprived areas had about 12 times the drug-death rate of those in the least deprived areas in 2024. Glasgow had the highest council-area rate over 2020–2024. The link is stark, but it needs to be read carefully.

8 Aug 2026 · 8 min read

An editorial collage of a long paper trail leading through folders and receipts towards a courthouse and an unbranded white motorhome

Investigations

Operation Branchform timeline: the full SNP money story

Use this Operation Branchform timeline to follow every major event from the SNP fundraisers to Peter Murrell's . Nicola Sturgeon and Colin Beattie were not .

2 Aug 2026 · 26 min read

Council tax bills and a calculator on a kitchen table overlooking a Scottish residential street

Money and bills

Council tax rises in Scotland 2026/27: every council

Every council raised its rate, but not by the same amount. This compares last year's council tax with this year's, and keeps Scottish Water's separate charge out of the council figures.

2 Aug 2026 · 6 min read

A Glasgow resident working through a council tax bill with a notebook and calculator at his kitchen table

Money and bills

How council tax works in Scotland: discounts, help and appeals

Your bill is a mix of a property band, your council's rate and Scottish Water charges. Here are the ten things that explain almost everything, followed by the exact sources.

1 Aug 2026 · 9 min read

A supermarket worker checking a payslip and phone calculator during her break

Money and bills

Minimum wage in Scotland: what you earn in 2026

£12.71 an hour sounds clear. A payslip is not. I have done the tax and working for a 37.5-hour week so you can see what reaches the bank.

1 Aug 2026 · 6 min read

Two café workers comparing their pay envelopes and rota before opening

Money and bills

Real Living Wage Scotland versus minimum wage

They sound almost identical. One is the legal floor an employer must pay. The other is a voluntary rate calculated from what ordinary life actually costs.

1 Aug 2026 · 5 min read

A working parent comparing a work rota and household budget beside a laptop at home

Money and bills

What happens to Universal Credit when you work more hours?

Working more always leaves you with more total money. But the increase can feel painfully small because is reduced as earnings rise.

1 Aug 2026 · 6 min read

A prospective tenant checking a letting sheet and phone calculator inside a small Glasgow flat

Money and bills

Local Housing Allowance in Scotland: why rent help falls short

The benefit is meant to help with a cheaper local rent. In 2026 it is still using rates fixed from 2024, even though newer rent evidence is higher in most Scottish areas.

1 Aug 2026 · 6 min read

A resident in a jumper adjusting a tenement radiator while holding an energy bill envelope

Money and bills

What the energy price cap means in Scotland in 2026

£1,862 is not the most any household can pay. It is an illustration based on typical use. The cap controls the rates, so using more still costs more.

1 Aug 2026 · 6 min read

A shopper comparing basic groceries with a shopping list in a supermarket aisle

Money and bills

Why food prices are still high in Scotland

The news says is down. The supermarket receipt says the weekly shop is still dear. Both can be true at the same time.

1 Aug 2026 · 6 min read

A community adviser helping a resident complete an online application at a public computer

Money and bills

Crisis Grant Scotland: how to apply and what you get

This is not a loan and it is not an advance from . It is a council grant for a low-income person facing an immediate emergency.

1 Aug 2026 · 5 min read

A tenant on the phone comparing a tenancy document and household budget beside moving boxes

Money and bills

Discretionary Housing Payments in Scotland: how to apply

If you get help with rent but there is still a gap, your council has another fund. It can sometimes cover the , a deposit, rent in advance or moving costs.

1 Aug 2026 · 5 min read

A parent helping her primary-school child put on an unbranded school jumper before leaving home

Money and bills

Free school meals and clothing grants in Scotland

Some help is automatic, some has to be claimed, and the rules change with a child's school year. This is the short version for a busy parent.

1 Aug 2026 · 5 min read

A supermarket worker at a Glasgow kitchen table checking household bills beside a bag of groceries

Money and bills

Why the cost of living is still so high in Scotland

War and the pandemic pushed prices up. That is true. It is also true that political choices left ordinary families with less protection, and added avoidable costs of their own.

1 Aug 2026 · 10 min read

A parent in work clothes walking home with her school-age child and a bag of groceries

Poverty explained

Most children in poverty in Scotland have a parent who works

The most common thing said about poverty is that people should get a job. Most of them already have one.

31 Jul 2026 · 4 min read

People walking along a wet Glasgow tenement street after rain

Poverty explained

What does poverty mean in the UK?

The word gets used loosely. The measure behind it is precise, and knowing it makes every other number on this site readable.

31 Jul 2026 · 5 min read

Two children arriving home from school to a secure family home

Money and bills

Scottish Child Payment: how much it is and who can get it

It does not exist anywhere else in the UK, and some families who are entitled to it have never claimed it.

1 Aug 2026 · 4 min read

A woman writing an email on a laptop at her Glasgow kitchen table

Take action

How to contact your MP or MSP in Scotland

Most people never contact their representatives, and the main reason is not apathy. It is not knowing how it works.

31 Jul 2026 · 4 min read

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