New Scilly ferries?  – in service by 2024, then by 2025 and now a date cannot be given  – and tender not issued yet! By stewartb I see that the Westminster government is soon to convene the second meeting of its ‘Islands Forum’. It will be held on the Isle of Wight on 24–25 May and chaired by Secretary of State Michael Gove. The first meeting took place in Orkney in September last year. Part of the Tories’ so-called ‘Levelling Up’ policy, it’s always seemed to me like a crude  wheeze to by-pass devolved governments and funnel economic development funds … Continue reading Islanders betrayed by Sunak as essential new Scilly Islands ferries have no completion date

From the House of Commons Library today: Over the past decade, the number of dentists providing NHS treatment per 100,000 population peaked in 2014/15 at a rate of 44.1 dentists per 100,000. In 2021/22 the figure was 42.9 per 100,000 population.  Concerns have also been expressed about the number of NHS dentists turning to private practice. In May 2022, the BDA reported 3,000 dentists had stopped providing NHS dental services since the start of the pandemic and their survey of high street dentists found nearly half (45%) reported reducing their NHS commitment since the onset of the pandemic. 75% said they were likely … Continue reading 40% more NHS dentists in Scotland

From Politics Home today: A group of Conservative and Labour MPs are making a trip to the United States this week to learn from the police forces in New York City and Dallas.​ The Home Affairs Select Committee, a cross-party committee of MPs which scrutinises the work of the Home Office on policing and a range of other areas, is carrying out an inquiry into national policing priorities, in the wake of a string of scandals involving the Metropolitan Police in particular. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/2/#inbox/FMfcgzGsmhXrzQfzKhnClWPkGQbhsWpl In February 2023, YouGov found: Half of Londoners (51%) say they don’t trust the Metropolitan Police very … Continue reading Trust in Police Scotland more than twice that in the Met but Labour and Tory MPs go to US for ideas!

stewartb I recall this written for Bella Caledonia back on 3 October, 2021: ‘.. readers with long memories will remember Offord’s astroturf ‘No Borders’ campaign from 2014 which posed as a grassroots group but had loads of money. As National Collective pointed out at the time No Borders begin life with a warchest of £140,000 – despite the group having absolutely no profile prior to their launch .. ‘No Borders – and Offord – portrayed themselves as the real deal – just spontaneous interested non-political actors. Their site said at the time: “It’s a people’s campaign voiced by ordinary Scots. … Continue reading Offord!

Thanks to Dottie’s Phone for alerting me to this. In the Guardian today: A [UK] government scheme to support the natural regeneration of trees has in two years created an area of new woodland smaller than Regent’s Park in London. And way down the page: In 2019, about 1,400 hectares of new woodland were created in the Cairngorms national park in Scotland through national regeneration – the same area of new woodland as was created in the whole of England that same year. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/20/woodland-creation-offer-england-trees-forests-natural-regeneration Dottie also directed me to this from Forestry Statistics 2022 Chapter 1: Woodland Area & Planting, Forestry Commission: … Continue reading 8% of the population, 76% of the new trees

Bob Lamont The “shocking” BBC Scotland headline is on instruction from London, “make smoke”, to cover increasing Tory embarrassment as public anger in England rises. James Cook has now helpfully posted an article “Scotland’s river sewage must be more closely monitored – charity” https://archive.ph/m6bpv – Worth reading for the mischievous interplay and context and numbers between UK and Scotland – “The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) says raw sewage was known to have been flushed into rivers and seas for 113,000 hours last year.”Then further down-“But analysis by the MCS suggests each of the 123 monitored overflows – out of a total of … Continue reading There are NO discharges of “raw sewage” or “dumping” into rivers or seas in Scotland, none, zero, zilch, nada!

By stewartb Too many of the political journalists that inform Scotland’s public serve up partial and partisan reports on a daily basis. Their output demonstrates an intent – and that of their editors and owners – to further the interests of the Union, to sustain the current constitutional status of the UK. As regular readers of TuS will be aware, this mission frequently taints their professionalism: reasonable critiques of their output expose a lack objectivity and a lack of balance when it comes to Scotland’s polity. Political journalism in Scotland is rarely presenting the voting public with ‘the best attainable … Continue reading On The Times in Scotland –  sometimes only ridicule suffices!

From Monday 8 May, there have been less than 300 cases of people hospitalised due to Covid and none in intensive care. For the last month and more there have been no BBC Scotland tales of overwhelmed hospitals or of opposition politicians demanding the SNP do something about it. Why is this not being reported? Pro rata, infection levels remain much higher in England and Wales: Wales with around 60% of Scotland’s population, has more cases hospitalised while England with 10 times the population has 18 times as many, twice the rate pro rata. Why is this not being reported? Continue reading Covid cases now only a tiny presence in Scottish hospitals? Is this not news?

From BBC Scotland, first thing today: An environmental charity has claimed that sewage was discharged into Scotland’s seas for more than 113 000 hours last year. The Marine Conservation Society is the charity in question. In March 2023, the Daily Record reported: Sewage dumped in Scotland’s rivers 14,000 times in 2022 – nearly 40 times a day https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/sewage-dumped-scotlands-rivers-14000-29592391 Also in March 2023, BBC UK had: Water companies released raw sewage into rivers and seas in England for more than 1.75 million hours last year. There were an average of 825 sewage spills into waterways per day, the data shows – … Continue reading Sewage discharges more than twice as common in England