| Good morning, Welcome to Friday's newsletter from The Scotsman. If you're a newspaper buyer, you can get 40p off the Scotland on Sunday and The Scotsman newspaper every day next week with a one-off book of vouchers ONLY in tomorrow's Scotsman on Saturday newspaper. Or if you want unlimited access to all our stories, special offers, features and 70% fewer ads, subscribe today from just £3 a month. One in seven Scottish shops are lying empty One in seven Scottish shops are lying empty, with more to come as household names such as Debenhams disappear from the high street, retail experts have warned. Shopping Centre vacancies have increased to 18.2 per cent of all units in the final three months of last year from 16.8 per cent in the previous quarter, according to the study from the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC). The figures come as a stark and very visible reminder of the crisis engulfing parts of the retail industry. Whenever possible make sure you support your local stores. Boris Johnson raises security concern as Nicola Sturgeon says she'll republish vaccine supply figures Relations between the UK and Scottish Governments are not improving. The Prime Minister has warned the Scottish Government not to publish Covid vaccine supply figures after Nicola Sturgeon revealed she would make the numbers public, despite a demand from the UK government to keep them secret. The First Minister said while her government had initially agreed to withdraw the statistics from its website, it would republish them from next week. Pregnant horse and young foal both dead as members of the public over feed them A Scottish vet has been left devastated after the second horse in a year has died of what is thought to be over feeding from members of the public on countryside walks. She explains how during lockdown, the number of people on countryside walks in the area has dramatically increased. Read the full story here The surprise contained in Kate Forbes' Scottish budget Budgets are always trailed as being the most important of their time, but the 2021/22 budget can lay a genuine claim to this title. Ten months since the first Covid restrictions, society remains firmly locked down, with economic activity still 7 per cent below pre-pandemic levels – well below what we would normally think of as being the trough of a deep recession. Here's our breakdown and analysis of this historic and vitally important budget - and what it means for us all. Thanks for reading, more headlines are below. Enjoy your weekend. Sam Shedden | 
