Scottish National Party (SNP) leader John Swinney is under pressure to explain his decision to give ministers a £20,000 pay rise. The boost will see almost £500,000 go into the personal bank accounts of 23 Ministers, including Cabinet members and junior Ministers, rather than being used in the public purse.

According to Social Care Minister Maree Todd, the £19,000 pay rise for Cabinet members and junior ministers will not cost the public a penny. The First Minister partially ended the 16-year pay freeze, increasing salaries for junior ministers to £100,575 and Cabinet secretaries to £116,125. However, John Swinney has announced he will not accept his £19,126 increase, instead following the voluntary pay freeze in place since 2009, which has raised around £2.2 million for the public purse.

Scottish ministers will see an increase in salary after 16 years of a voluntary pay freeze, with junior ministers' salaries rising to £100,575 and cabinet secretaries' salaries increasing to £116,125. The First Minister has declined his own pay rise, which would have been nearly £155,000, keeping it at £135,605. Opposition parties criticized the increase as "reward for failure" given the Scottish government's performance in office.

North Yorkshire Council is seeking £27,500 in funding from Keep Britain Tidy (KBT) to purchase equipment for removing chewing gum from pavements. The funds will be used initially in Northallerton, Scarborough, and Selby, but if successful, will be used across all areas of North Yorkshire over the next 12 months. The money is part of the Chewing Gum Task Force scheme, which aims to clean up historic gum staining and change behaviour so that more people bin their gum.