| Dear Voornaam, Jeremy Hunt was pictured meeting the King today ahead of Budget Day tomorrow. The pre-Budget audience is traditionally a private one but, this time, the King was photographed smiling shaking hands with Mr Hunt in the royal residence. But who will be smiling when the Chancellor sits down tomorrow? The smart money is now on a cut to National Insurance rather than Income Tax, but any squeeze on public spending will have big implications for Scotland. Our columnist John McLellan has his take online for subscribers now. Elsewhere, the ferries are back in the news. Transport Correspondent Alastair Dalton reports ministers will “leave no stone unturned” to secure the future of the Ferguson Marine shipyard which is still completing the two massively delayed ferries for CalMac. It follows calls for the Port Glasgow yard to be directly awarded the contract for seven smaller CalMac ferries - a move which would be controversial to say the least. Meanwhile, are you dreaming of holidays and a foreign getaway? Maybe take a look closer to home. Three Scottish locations have made a prestigious Conde Nast Traveller list of world's 34 best beaches. The list includes beaches in Australia, Hawaii, New Zealand and Indonesia alongside the Scottish representatives. Presumably not, however, for the weather. As ever please do get in touch with any comments about this newsletter or what you would like to see covered at [email protected] Have a great evening Alan | 