Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
3 Comments

Water companies in England & Wales fined ‘infinitely’ more per head for poor performance than Scottish Water

johnrobertson834

From BBC Science & Environment, this morning: Water companies have been ordered to return £158m to customers via lower bills next year after missing key targets on issues like pollution. The industry regulator Ofwat announced the rebate following its annual review of water and wastewater companies’ performance in England and Wales. Google AI searches find no examples of rebates from Scottish Water but does suggest discounts for those businesses on lower incomes. With regard, to fines, the AI Overview does seem to have some cheer for Unionists, with: Scottish Water has been fined multiple times for environmental and health and … Continue reading Water companies in England & Wales fined ‘infinitely’ more per head for poor performance than Scottish Water

Leave a comment

Population size of Arran to have no ferry service at all for nearly two months in affluent Canadian Nova Scotland

johnrobertson834

From CTV News today: The ferry service between Saint John, N.B., and Digby, N.S., will be out of commission for nearly two months due to mandatory work in Quebec. The MV Fundy Rose will go to the Verreault Shipyard at Les Méchins, Que., for biannual drydock and refit work, according to a news release from Bay Ferries Limited(opens in a new tab). The work will put the ferry out of service from Oct. 15 to Dec. 3. https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/more/saint-john-ferry-going-out-of-service-for-nearly-two-months-marine-atlantic-ferry-sailings-disrupted-1.7064591 There is only one ferry operating this 2 hour 30 min service, to a population of around 5 000 in Digby, Lunenberg and … Continue reading Population size of Arran to have no ferry service at all for nearly two months in affluent Canadian Nova Scotland

4 Comments

How being chained to the UK makes us unwell

johnrobertson834

The researchers of the Spirit Level, in 2010, correlated many negative indicators with inequality including crime and drug abuse. In particular they noted that more equal countries, like Japan and several in Northern Europe, seem to have fewer people, pro rata, affected by depression and anxiety but increasingly unequal countries, like the US and the UK, had more. Today, I spotted this fascinating personal case study explaining how that might happen. Here’s an extract: Reading that a society that is more unequal will lead to people internalising the society’s evaluation of them made complete sense to me and I could … Continue reading How being chained to the UK makes us unwell

1 Comment

The whole agency locum question is a reflection of a real crisis in the Welsh NHS workforce!

johnrobertson834

stewartb ‘BBC Scotland is, undoubtedly, using a Scottish psychiatrist as part of its continuous attritional narrative, ‘that Scots are incapable of running things for themselves’. I’m inclined to check out – for comparison and useful learning – how capable the British Labour Party, long in government in Cardiff, have proven itself to be in running NHS Wales. After all, we in Scotland need to know what might be ahead of us in 2026! For example, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) released its latest NHS Wales Workforce Trends Report (as at 31 March 2023) on July 25, 2024 – see https://heiw.nhs.wales/news/heiw-releases-latest-nhs-wales-workforce-trends-report/ . Here are some … Continue reading The whole agency locum question is a reflection of a real crisis in the Welsh NHS workforce!

1 Comment

Only the place with the least poverty seems to require a BBC reminder of it but one which carefully hides that crucial detail

johnrobertson834

BBC Scotland today, above, based on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Scotland‘s report today: From the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s UK Poverty 2024: and: Child poverty rates in Scotland (24%) remain much lower than those in England (31%) and Wales (28%) and are similar (if slightly higher) than in Northern Ireland (22%). This is likely to be due, at least in part, to the Scottish Child Payment. This highlights the effect benefits can have in reducing poverty. BBC England today? Nothing. BBC Wales? Nothing. It’s almost as if BBC England and Wales don’t have an agenda to undermine their Labour governments. Sources: … Continue reading Only the place with the least poverty seems to require a BBC reminder of it but one which carefully hides that crucial detail

9 Comments

Guess who signed off the 53 redactions to conceal what Angus Robertson really said to the Israeli Depute Ambassador?

johnrobertson834

Remember all that above a few minutes ago, here? @TomlinJeanne just asked me: Redacted by whom? Good question, I thought. Here’s the first part of the answer: The External Affairs Directorate, eh? Sounds very professional. Who are they? I really want the SNP to win in 2026. There’s still time. He needs to go. It’s not the first time. In November 2023: An SNP MP has said he is “dismayed” at a Scottish government minister’s trip to China. External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson is visiting several Chinese cities this week. A press release announcing the trip made no mention of … Continue reading Guess who signed off the 53 redactions to conceal what Angus Robertson really said to the Israeli Depute Ambassador?

5 Comments

Latest – Police Scotland are aware of 30 County Lines groups in Scotland, have reported on them 60 times but BBC Scotland…..twice and not at all for more than 3 years

johnrobertson834

In response to my FoI request to them, today: Based on analysis of the most recent Police Scotland data, the number of ‘County Lines’groups operating across Scotland, including in Scottish cities, is assessed to be around30. Police Scotland, on a site surely a regular go-to for crime reporters, have reported on county lines gangs specifically, 60 times: https://www.scotland.police.uk/search/?query=County%20Lines&page=1 BBC Scotland? Twice only and not once in the last three years? Why? Clearly an editorial line. STV? Better but still not representing the scale of the problem. Scottish Daily Mail? Regular reports and this year: We get a never-ending reporting of … Continue reading Latest – Police Scotland are aware of 30 County Lines groups in Scotland, have reported on them 60 times but BBC Scotland…..twice and not at all for more than 3 years

11 Comments

53 redactions to protect Angus Robertson from scrutiny is the real and ONLY SNP scandal

johnrobertson834

We all know that the Alex Salmond case, the camper van, the HQ decoration and the never ending SNP ‘fraud’ investigations were and are deliberate UK security services conspiracy attacks on the SNP, but their own circling of the wagons to protect Angus Robertson is a total self-inflicted cock-up. From an information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, published today: Information requested 1. The minutes of Angus Robertson’s meeting with Israel’s Deputy Ambassador to the UK which took place on 8 August 2024. Please also include the full list of attendees and any decisions that … Continue reading 53 redactions to protect Angus Robertson from scrutiny is the real and ONLY SNP scandal

6 Comments

This psychiatrist says there’s a crisis in Scotland yet we have nearly 50% more psychiatrists than in England’s presumable hyper-super-crisis

johnrobertson834

Thanks to Dottie, once more, for this: From BBC Scotland this morning: The cost of bringing in locum psychiatrists on emergency contracts to treat mental health patients in Scotland has soared, according to new figures. Dr Jane Morris, chairwoman of the RCP, said the increased cost of the reliance on locums was “stark and very concerning”. She said: “I think the whole agency locum question is a reflection of a real crisis in the Scottish psychiatric workforce. There simply aren’t enough of us. The number of whole-time equivalent NHS psychiatrists has dropped from 781 in March 2019 to 651 in … Continue reading This psychiatrist says there’s a crisis in Scotland yet we have nearly 50% more psychiatrists than in England’s presumable hyper-super-crisis

5 Comments

TOTAL spend on psychiatric locums is FALLING as mental health waiting lists are slashed

johnrobertson834

Cost of employing locum psychiatrists in the NHS is going up according to figures obtained by the BBC. Data from the country’s 14 health boards show £134 million has been spent on the temporary doctors since 2019. Psychiatrists say it’s reflective of wider recruitment challenges. BBC Reporting Scotland Wrongly is on the above scare this morning. Here are the data apparently: The total cost increased from £20.8m in 2019/20 to £34.8m last year according to figures obtained in a joint investigation by The Guardian and the BBC. This is a very strange graph indeed. The spend on emergency locum deals … Continue reading TOTAL spend on psychiatric locums is FALLING as mental health waiting lists are slashed