Andrew Black
BBC Scotland Business Presenter

The UK energy regulator has set out plans for a £25bn programme to boost green energy by transforming the country's energy networks - but energy companies aren't happy.

Ofgem decides the rules on how much money gas and electricity companies can earn, but also gives them room to pay for new investment from customer bills.

Under these plans, they'll be allowed to spend £25bn on improving gas and electricity networks - £3bn of which will be used to make the electricity network more environmentally friendly.

But Ofgem says the return energy firms will be allowed to make from their investments will be nearly halved.

Perth-based SSE - one of the country's big energy firms - says these plans won't help achieve next zero carbon targets and risks investment in new projects

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

The economic secretary to the Treasury was asked on Good Morning Scotland why the UK government did not go further than the £30bn plan it unveiled on Wednesday.

John Glen said the announcement, which included giving diners a 50% discount off their restaurant bill during August, covered a range of interventions designed to "support, protect and create jobs".

Mr Glen also told the programme that further measures will be unveiled by the chancellor later in the year.

He added that the VAT cut will have a "massive effect" on the tourism and hospitality sector, which accounts for one in 20 Scottish jobs.

Image source, Getty Images

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, PA Media

"We need sector based support if we are going to save jobs," says Finance Secretary Kate Forbes in response to the chancellor's summer update.

Of the UK government's £30bn plan, she believes there are "elements to welcome" but adds that she worries that the "more substantial decisions have been delayed until the autumn when we need clarity now".

Ms Forbes is disappointed that the Scottish government will receive £21m when she was asking for an increase in borrowing powers.

The UK government estimates that Scotland will benefit to the tune of £800m but she insists much of that money is not new and relates to the purchase of PPE and previous investment announcements.

"There is no new capital spend, no extension of furlough for hardest hit sectors, no further support for households in financial difficulty," the MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch tells BBC Radio Scotland.

She reminds listeners that the SNP was calling for an £80bn stimulus package - equivalent to Germany's response, while saying she believes the temporary cut in VAT for tourism and hospitality should be a permanent one.

Image source, SNS

Scottish Premiership clubs can reduce their Covid-19 testing from twice a week to once a week from Monday, the Scottish FA and SPFL have confirmed.

The 12 clubs resumed training in June and now have government approval to cut back on tests.

The SFA and SPFL await approval for clubs to play friendly games before the league starts on 1 August.

One positive test at Aberdeen was returned after 936 were carried out across all the top-flight clubs.

Read more

Take a look at today's front pages here.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

Chancellor Rishi Sunak's £2bn kickstart scheme to create more jobs for young people is "based on a good idea", says Shadow Economic Secretary Pat McFadden.

But the Labour MP for Wolverhampton South East fears the UK government's economic response to the coronavirus crisis does not go far enough.

Mr McFadden tells BBC Radio Scotland that the kickstart idea is based on the Future Jobs Fund, introduced by Labour in their post-2008 crash rescue programme.

He then warns that the current crisis is "bigger and deeper" than the financial crisis.

"Whether this on its own can meet the jobs challenge is extremely doubtful," says Mr McFadden, who adds that sectors such as transport, aviation and retail were "just not mentioned" by the chancellor.

He welcomes the cut in VAT for tourism and hospitality but argues the government should "take that logic further", urging them not to withdraw furlough for all sectors at the same time in an effort to stop a "flood of redundancies and insolvencies".

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, PA Media

Scotland is set to formally enter the next phase of the government's "route map" out of the coronavirus lockdown.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will make the announcement in a speech at Holyrood.

Some restrictions have already been eased, with shops reopening and the five-mile travel limit being lifted.

Changes set to be phased in over the coming weeks include the opening of bars and restaurants and the resumption of Scotland's tourist industry.

Read more.

Image source, Getty Images

A bag of Covid-19 test samples has been found by a member of the public on a road in the Highlands.

The samples were being transported from Caithness General Hospital in Wick to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, according to NHS Highland.

They were discovered on the A9 near Tain and handed in to the local police station before being transferred to a laboratory team at Raigmore.

The health board has since launched an investigation into the circumstances.

Read the full story here.

• Nicola Sturgeon announced people returning to Scotland from Spain will still have to go into quarantine- although 57 other countries will be exempt from Friday
• Chancellor Rishi Sunak said his new package of measures aimed at limiting the economic impact of coronavirus are "absolutely vital" for Scotland
• Measures to protect people shielding in Scotland because of a pre-existing medical condition are to be eased on Friday
• Deaths among the South Asian ethnic group in Scotland were almost twice as likely to involve Covid-19 as those of white people, analysis suggested

Image source, PA Media

Welcome to live online coverage of the Covid-19 crisis from BBC Scotland.

Nicola Sturgeon is hopeful she will be able to confirm the move from phase two to phase three in the routemap out of lockdown.

The first minister will update MSPs at Holyrood from the slightly earlier time of 12:20 and you can watch or listen with us here on this live page.

You'll also be able to watch Finance Secretary Kate Forbes respond to the Chancellor's summer economic update, and a statement on higher and further education.