BREXIT

• Holyrood’s Brexit minister, Michael Russel, has warned that Scotland faces a “constitutional crisis” caused by the controversial Brexit bill.

HEALTH

• Scottish Labour has revealed a list of 19 Scottish hospital wards and units which have faced closure or downgrade as a result of budget cuts.
• The Scottish Conservatives have accused the SNP of a “funding con” over money pledged to GPs. The accusation comes after the RCGP raised concerns with a discrepancy between funding promised at the SNP autumn conference and a letter sent to GP surgeries.
• The UK’s largest doctors’ union, The BMA, has condemned the so-called ‘rape clause’ as ‘shameful’.
• A comparison of health care systems in 11 countries has ranked the NHS as number one. It is the second time in a row that the UK has finished top ahead of the US, Canada, Australia, France and Germany.

POLICING & JUSTICE

• The chief executive and producer of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has criticised Police Scotland for the way major events are being charged for policing costs, liking the practice to “legalised racketeering”
• The Scottish Prison Service is to set a target date for Scotland’s prisons becoming smoke free. The date will be announced at the launch of a major report into prison workers’ exposure to second-hand smoke.

TOURISM

• A YouGov survey commissioned by the John Muir Trust has found that more than half of Scots are “less likely” to visit beauty spots in Scotland if they contain large developments such as windfarms and electricity pylons.

TRANSPORT & INFRASTRUCTURE

• First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is expected to announce “significant” new cash for Aberdeen’s £350m harbour expansion.
• The government has announced that UK firms Carillion, Costain and Balfour Beatty will deliver £6.6bn worth of contracts to build the first phase of HS2 between London and Birmingham. The final routes of the Manchester and Leeds branches of HS2 are due to be announced later.

MEDIA

• Broadcasting group ITV today said it has appointed EasyJet chief executive Carolyn McCall as its next boss.

COMING UP

• The second round of talks between the UK Government and the EU are to begin in Brussels this week.
• Westminster will begin recess this Thursday, 20 July.

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Pagoda Public Relations is one of the top PR and public affairs agencies in Edinburgh, Scotland. A PR consultancy with senior input and experience.