Today, in the Guardian we read: Thames, Yorkshire and Northumbrian Water will be fined a record £168m between them for a “catalogue of failure” over illegal sewage discharges into rivers and the sea after the industry regulator’s biggest ever investigation. The water regulator for England and Wales, Ofwat, has proposed penalties of £104m for Thames, £47m for Yorkshire and £17m for Northumbrian for failing to manage their wastewater treatment works and networks, including their operation of storm overflows. It said it was the first of more crackdowns to come. On 28 December 2023, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency fined two companies for illegal discharges … Continue reading English water companies fined FOURTEEN THOUSAND times as much for illegal sewage discharges as those in Scotland

By Professor John Robertson From the Resolution Foundation‘s, Uneven ground: Assessing the state of UK geographic economic inequality facing the new Government, published today, see from the shading, how child poverty has surged from 20%-30% in much of England to over 40% after 8 more years of Tory austerity, following Scots voting to stay ‘chained to a maniac‘ in 2014. In contrast, hammered by cuts to reserved benefits, child poverty has climbed from 15%-20% to 25%-30% in some parts of Scotland. SNP policies on devolved benefits and spending on housing costs have stemmed the worst. 56 SNP MPS in 2015 … Continue reading How the SNP Government and MPs in London held back the tide of child poverty

Today, they had to report it, but they don’t want you thinking ‘this is us.’ They want us to keep thinking, this below, could easily ‘be us.’ Disorder, unrest? Only that? Pogroms, fascists, extremists, terrorists who tragically for ‘our’ media cannot be found north of the border. Continue reading As England burns and abuses, isn’t this the big story in Scotland?

On busy Saturday 3 August 2024, CalMac ran 54 sailings from Largs to Millport Cumbrae Slip, 100% on time with no cancellations. Lots of folk turned up their cars without checking beforehand. There’s a bloody bus service from the terminal to Millport where there are two cycle hire shops and a flat road around this tiny island. Folk that are too bloody lazy to walk or cycle can sit in several bars on the front. Cars are a pain in the buttocks for all those trying to cycle with their weans. On busy Sunday 4 August 2024, CalMac ran 46 … Continue reading Largs to Millport/Cumbrae – 100 sailings on time over the busy weekend, 100% on time, and the Herald’s trash ferry correspondent writes from the bowels of the boat

From the Scottish Government today: The Scottish Government commissioned independent researchers, Diffley Partnership, to conduct a public attitudes survey for Scotland exploring attitudes towards radioactive waste management. The primary aim of this study was to design and deliver research that will help develop a deeper understanding of the views of the Scottish public on a range of radioactive waste management issues, including safety and trust in government and industry. The vast majority (89%) of respondents reported that they were either not very well informed or not at all informed about radioactive waste management in Scotland Potential for radioactive leaks (72%) … Continue reading 72% of Scots fear radioactive leaks from new facilities of the kind Labour wants to see in Scotland

BBC England today, with the above, and: The practice involves criminals taking over a household and using the property for exploitation purposes. Devon and Cornwall Police said it wanted information to help introduce safeguarding measures and “put offenders behind bars”. Insp Dom Nicholls, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said an effective way to tackle drug crime was to have “the eyes and ears of the public on the streets”. Devon and Cornwall Police working with the BBC to reduce crime. Has BBC Scotland helped in this way? Three BBC Scotland North-East reports in 2017 and 2019 but not a peep … Continue reading BBC England working with Police in Plymouth to protect victims of cuckooing but BBC Scotland quickly told to ‘drop it’ in 2019

By Professor John Robertson OBA: BBC UK, today, have extended coverage of a report from the children’s commissioner for England into the Summer riots of 2024, across England, Wales and Northern. It does not mention Scotland. BBC Scotland, Herald and Scotsman junior reporters are currently scrabbling for evidence of any Scots who travelled down for these events. In August 2024, I predicted, confidently, no such riots would occur in Scotland. The Scottish MSM were hopeful but in the end sadly disappointed. At the time, I wrote: The Irish Times, no better informed that the UK newspapers, yesterday: UK police brace for more … Continue reading As the commissioner for children in England reports, why, as in 2011, there were no race riots in Scotland in 2024

By Professor John Robertson Many thanks to Linda Graham of Broadcasting Scotland (support them at https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/) for alerting me to this: In the Telegraph on 24 July 2024: SNP accused of creating ‘poverty trap’ over child payment which discourages work. The Scottish Child Payment, worth £26.70 per week to eligible parents, falls off cliff edge if they earn even £1 more. The Telegraph‘s views were not based on any study of the data, ironically, given these findings published the same day: Analysis of Universal Credit planning for work conditionality clients in Scotland – the vast majority of whom should be receiving Scottish Child … Continue reading Research confirms SNP Child Payment does not discourage work

By stewartb ‘A rise in the number of students studying medicine in Scotland has resulted in a shortage of cadavers, according to a report. Prof Gordon Findlater, who is HM Inspector of Anatomy for Scotland, found that surgical colleges were having to cancel university training courses because the demand for bodies was so high.’ As always one needs to read BBC Scotland’s news reports carefully and to the end in order to get a full – or at best a fuller – picture. Source https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/independent-report/2024/07/hm-inspector-anatomy-scotland-annual-report-2023-2024/documents/hm-inspector-anatomy-scotland-annual-report-scottish-ministers/hm-inspector-anatomy-scotland-annual-report-scottish-ministers/govscot%3Adocument/hm-inspector-anatomy-scotland-annual-report-scottish-ministers.pdf The HM Inspector’s Annual Report in para 124: ‘There is however a potential problem arising from the increasing … Continue reading Deadly serious need to read BBC Scotland’s news reports carefully and to the end

By stewartb The independent health think tank, the Nuffield Trust has been responding to this and other early actions on health taken by the Labour government. (with my emphasis) 1. Commenting on the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s announcement of £82 million in funding for new GPs (July 31, 2024), Nuffield Trust Director of Research and Policy Dr Becks Fisher states: “Routing this funding through groups of GP practices known as Primary Care Networks is a pragmatic move to ensure this action can be taken quickly. But we should be clear that it is ultimately an interim solution and will … Continue reading Significant blow to social care sector [in England] as workforce training fund cancelled