Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Graham for alerting me to this. In the P&J today, the above evidence that English drug dealers are still exploiting the vulnerable in Aberdeenshire, fuelling drug deaths and extreme violence nearly seven years after the first report in the Sunday Post: PEOPLE living in rural communities around Scotland are being targeted by ruthless “county lines” gangsters who want to take over their home to sell drugs. The criminals from the north of England use threats and violence to force vulnerable people in countryside towns and villages into helping them sell drugs. Police say the … Continue reading English drug gangs still exploiting the vulnerable to sell cheap deadly new drugs in Aberdeenshire seven years on but BBC Scotland still looking other way for the Union

Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland yesterday had: A great-grandfather who broke his leg in a fall spent seven hours lying on the floor of a garden centre while waiting for an ambulance. James Craig, 87, was waiting so long for emergency help that the nursery in North Lanarkshire had to stay open well past its 17:00 closing time. His granddaughter Mariann Whitson said she had lost faith in the ambulance service as a result of their experience. The Scottish Ambulance Service has apologised to Mr Craig and said it was under “significant pressure” on the day he fell. Mr … Continue reading One man’s ambulance wait is ‘skewed data’ and does not the real news make – Scottish Ambulance Service is more than 3 times faster than in England in 90% of cases

Professor John Robertson OBA From People requiring a social care assessment and care at home services published yesterday: The estimated number of people assessed and waiting for a care at home package was 3,207 on 24 November 2025. This is slightly higher (3%) than the number of people (3,119) waiting for a care at home package this time last year (25 November 2024). https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/people-requiring-a-social-care-assessment-and-care-at-home-services/people-requiring-a-social-care-assessment-and-care-at-home-services-16-december-2025 From: Number of people receiving adult social care assessments, who have not received local authority social care support in the previous 12 months From April 2024 to September 2024, 285,000 people received a local authority adult … Continue reading Number assessed but not receiving local authority long-term support is at least around 60% greater in England than in Scotland

Professor John Robertson OBA From Childhood immunisation statistics Scotland Quarter ending 30 September 2025, yesterday: The first dose of Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine is offered between 12 and 13 months old and the second dose at 3 years 4 months old. 92.5% of children had the first dose of MMR vaccine by 24 months of age. This rose to 95.9% for children who had reached age 5. Uptake of the second dose of MMR vaccine by 5 years was 90.6%, rising to 90.9% by age 6 years. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/childhood-immunisation-statistics-scotland/childhood-immunisation-statistics-scotland-quarter-ending-30-september-2025/ From Vaccine update: issue 365, November 2025 published on 26 … Continue reading Only Scotland and Wales meet WHO target for measles protection

Professor John Robertson OBA From Liberty Investigates today: Police forces are trialling AI technology that enables them to identify and track “suspicious” journeys by drivers on Britain’s road network. They are using an app which analyses data collected by automated number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras, using artificial intelligence to identify vehicles that may be linked to “county lines” activity, whereby criminal gangs move drugs across the road network. Police have until now used the UK’s network of more than 12,000 fixed and nearly 1,900 mobile ANPR cameras to generate alerts when a “vehicle of interest” passes a particular location or … Continue reading If ever Police Scotland needed a new AI system this is it