By Professor John Robertson Without, of course, telling us jus how many FoI requests they’ve put in to try and dredge up some dirt on the SNP and ferries, the Herald has been moaning about not getting an answer. The TuS quick twitterpoll above suggests that few agree with them. Here are some likely reasons: From a Freedom of Information request published in April 2024 by the Scottish Government, we can see a major, 42%, surge in the number of such requests responded to: 2020 – 31212021 – 41602022 – 41312023 – 4454 How much do these cost on average? … Continue reading 80% of Scots don’t agree with Herald complaints about Scot Gov reply delays

By Professor John Robertson Continue reading Factcheck – Homelessness in Scotland far lower than under Labour in Scotland in 2007 or in Wales now

Below, the % on time and the number of sailings from 1st to 14th May 2024: 98.4 50689.3 50698.5 52199.6 508100 360100 517100 51899.2 50098.4 50699.6 521100 502100 36099.6 502100 501 A total of 6 828 sailings with 98.75% on time and an average of 488 sailings per day. What happened on the 2nd May? 36 of the cancellations were for the tiny Colintraive to Rhubodach (population unknown) crossing, shortest in Scotland, but 28 sailings were still made to keep a link open that day. https://www.calmac.co.uk/calmac-performance-data-browser?date=02%2F05%2F2024 Continue reading CalMac at almost 99% reliability for May

Thanks to Dotty for alerting me to this. On Channel 4 News tonight, on children in relative poverty: The picture is indeed stark. UK child poverty has climbed from 3.6m in 2013, to 4.3m, in 2023. The level of poverty in parts of England, other than in the affluent South-East, ranges from around 20% higher in the North-East to 60% higher in the West Midlands and is 25% higher on average. In Scotland, the lower rate has been attributed, in the main, to the introduction by the SNP Government, of the transformational Child Payment. Sources: https://www.channel4.com/news/the-reality-of-uk-child-poverty-explained https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202400398127/ Continue reading SNP Child Payment pulls poverty way below that in all parts of England other than affluent South-East

By stewartb I‘ve just received the latest newsletter from the estimable Edinburgh-based publisher, Luath Press. It informs me of the programme of events planned for its annual ‘ScotlandsFest’, held as part of the Edinburgh Fringe. And an excellent programme it is offering too! This sentence from caught my attention: ‘For being such a small nation, Scotland can contain so many ideas of what it can be. ‘ Is Scotland ‘such a small nation’? Of the c. 197 independent nation states across the world which have membership of the UN, c. 81 have populations smaller than Scotland’s c. 5.5 million! This ‘such a … Continue reading Scotland cannot be ‘such a small nation’ if 81 are even smaller!

By Professor John Robertson From a Freedom of Information request in November 2023 to SNP Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy – Neil Gray MSP, to revise the incorrect 25% of Europe’s offshore wind and tidal claim, see this: https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202400396013/ Continue reading More than enough for very home in the UK – Scotland’s stunning renewables and wind power potential revealed in FOI

Thanks to Frances for alerting us to this: The above map from an EveryDoctor survey reveals the staggering extent of outsourcing and privatisation of the NHS in England and in Wales by sharp contrast with that in Scotland. You can check your own constituency at: https://privatisation.everydoctor.org.uk/?link_id=1&can_id=27239d0dde9ed8c344fcb6294537b4a2&source=email-our-team-will-be-releasing-new-nhs-privatisation-info-this-week&email_referrer=email_2315663&email_subject=our-team-will-be-releasing-new-nhs-privatisation-info-this-week Continue reading How privatisation is swamping NHS England & Wales, only