Here are the business stories making the headlines locally and across the country this morning.
VAT on school fees will be ‘pushed through quickly’
Labour’s plans to impose VAT on private school fees will be “pushed through quickly”, the Scottish secretary has said.
The plans mean that parents will in many cases be charged more for their children’s education, which has led to fears of an influx of private pupils into state schools.
It is estimated that the policy will produce about £150 million in additional funds for Holyrood.
Ian Murray, the Labour MP for Edinburgh South and the minister for Scotland in Westminster, urged the Scottish government to pass all the money on to classrooms rather than have it fill a “black hole” in the budget.
‘Cause for optimism’ as house prices recover faster than rest of UK
House prices in Scotland are enjoying an “earlier and stronger revival” than the rest of the UK, according to research.
A report from Walker Fraser Steele, the chartered surveyor, suggested the May figure was up by 0.3%, or about £600, to £225,636 when compared with the previous month.
On an annual basis prices had risen by 2.5%.
However the trends across the country were mixed with only 15 local authorities recording an increase month-on-month, one seeing prices remain flat and the other 16 noting a decline.
SNP faces £1m Westminster funding cut
The Scottish National Party will be forced to make most of its Westminster staff members redundant after the UK parliament reduced its "short money" budget by a million pounds.
"Short money" is funding handed out by parliament to help opposition parties hold the government to account. It is separate from MPs’ office expenses.
Before last week's general election, the SNP were entitled to £1.3m per year.
Their loss of 39 MPs and hundreds of thousands of votes has meant this budget has now been reduced to £360,000.
Keir Starmer on collision course with unions over public sector pay
Keir Starmer is on a collision course with unions after playing down the chance of real-terms pay increases for public sector staff in negotiations, prompting widespread warnings of a crisis in recruitment and staffing.
While Downing Street is not ruling out some above-inflation settlements, as could happen for junior doctors, Starmer warned unions to be prepared for disappointment ahead of the imminent findings of a series of pay review bodies.
In response, unions representing health staff and teachers said insufficient pay awards risked exacerbating crises in recruitment and retention for both sectors, with the main teaching union saying education in particular was “at breaking point”.
Speaking on a visit to Washington DC for the Nato summit, the prime minister was asked whether, with many calling for above-inflation awards in the coming public sector negotiations, he would “give the unions what they want”.