The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland - a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson
By Professor John Robertson OBA
From Public Health Scotland, today:
During December 2024, there were 22,073 operations planned to take place across NHS Scotland. This is 7.4% higher than the number planned a year previously in December 2023 (20,558)
Of all planned operations during December 2024 in NHS Scotland, 710 (3.2%) were cancelled by the hospital for clinical reasons, 755 (3.4%) were cancelled by the patient, 574 (2.6%) were cancelled by the hospital due to capacity or non-clinical reasons, and 64 (0.3%) were cancelled for other reasons.
The longer term increase, from the deepest pandemic dip of only 3 000 in April 2020, to more than 22 000 today is a more than 7-fold increase, in only 4 years. This fact and the 7.4% increase in one year, is deeply impressive in an organisation treating more than a quarter of a million patients every year.
Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper and host of the OBA (Oliver Brown Award) at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/shop/
The Oliver Brown Award for advancing the cause of Scotland’s self respect, previously awarded to Dr Philippa Whitford, Alex Salmond and Sean Connery: https://scotsindependent.scot/?page_id=116
About Oliver Brown, the first Scottish National Party candidate to save his deposit in a Parliamentary election: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Brow
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Ah, but BBC Scotland will always get someone from what they always describe as the ‘highly regarded authoritative’ think tank, the IFS to opine that things are bad in Scotland. The IFS is a right wing organisation, which refuses to say who funds it.
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I wonder if the IFS are registered with the UKgov’s Companies House?
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Yes they are……https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00954616………..have a look at full accounts for 2023, they are basically funded directly by whichever party are in power in Westminster and through The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) who themselves are funded by Westminster……which makes them a Government body dressed up as a charity but entirely a mouth piece for England and it’s government of the day.
JB
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Part of their accounts reads…
”IFS receives funds in the form of project grants, directly and indirectly, from the UK and other national governments, other governmental agencies and international governmental bodies. These funds are tied to specific research-related activities in the course of the standard charitable activities of IFS. IFS does not receive any funding in the form of general government grants or assistance. Therefore, it is not felt to be necessary, useful or practical to disclose further analysis within these accounts.”
Which…1. Is a contradiction and 2. How do they get away with saying that they do not need to disclose any further details? If you or I were to put that statement in a tax return they would be hounding us for the information. There are other parts in the accounts that they state similarly that they do not need to disclose information…makes you wonder!!!….They also get money from The Nuffield trust.
JB
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