Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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A reminder of NHS Scotland’s target-busting 95% drug and alcohol treatment in three weeks or less is required today

johnrobertson834

As BBC Scotland today note a local scheme to improve the treatment of drug abusers in Aberdeen, they, of course, offer no context. Such as? This: NHS Scotland’s target-busting 95% drug and alcohol treatment in three weeks or less From Public Health Scotland National drug and alcohol treatment waiting times 1 October 2025 to 31 December 2025 today, the above and: Nationally, the Standard was met for referrals to community-based services across all substances: drugs (95.3%), alcohol and drugs (92.6%) and alcohol (90.8%). https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/national-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-waiting-times/national-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-waiting-times-1-october-2025-to-31-december-2025/ Continue reading A reminder of NHS Scotland’s target-busting 95% drug and alcohol treatment in three weeks or less is required today

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England’s first full investigation into maternity service failures publishing today will reveal such horror that their police investigation being labelled ‘Operation Perth’ shocks investigation-free NHS Scotland

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Absent entirely from UK newspaper front pages today but featured in TV news broadcasts, the above story anticipates a report into maternity services in Nottingham which will be frankly horrific and which police locally have strangely labelled their investigation into criminality, ‘Operation Perth’: The largest maternity review in the history of the NHS – which is expected to detail widespread failings that led to the deaths of babies and avoidable harm – will be published later. About 2,500 families and more than 800 staff members have contributed to the review into Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust, which began in … Continue reading England’s first full investigation into maternity service failures publishing today will reveal such horror that their police investigation being labelled ‘Operation Perth’ shocks investigation-free NHS Scotland

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After 20 years of centre-left government protecting services and the poorest crime in Scotland is everywhere lower than in rUK

johnrobertson834

From Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2025-26 published today, the above table of Total number of recorded crimes per 10,000 population, Scotland, 2025-26 in each council area. https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2025-26/pages/total-recorded-crime/ How do these compare with parts of England? Note the national average pushing 20% higher, the rates far higher than any in Scotland in several areas including Burnhamland (Greater Manchester) and the far lower rates in several parts of Scotland than in England’s ‘low-rate’ areas. Wales? Almost everywhere above the Scottish rate and several well above Scotland’s highest. What explains this? Lots of reasons no doubt but 20 years of centre-left government protecting … Continue reading After 20 years of centre-left government protecting services and the poorest crime in Scotland is everywhere lower than in rUK

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Scottish Government funds Transport Scotland’s award-winning motorcycle safety initiative which is continuing to save lives and now being copied across UK

johnrobertson834

From the Road Safety Trust today, the above image and: A report recently published on The Road Safety Trust’s website has confirmed that Transport Scotland’s award-winning motorcycle safety initiative is continuing to save lives on Scotland’s trunk road network. Believed to be the largest motorcycle behaviour investigation of its kind, Project PRIME set out to improve rider safety through the use of special road markings and signs to help riders make better decisions when taking bends. Acting as gateways, the signs are designed to help riders reduce speed, reduce braking and improve road position when taking bends. Full report at: … Continue reading Scottish Government funds Transport Scotland’s award-winning motorcycle safety initiative which is continuing to save lives and now being copied across UK

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Reconviction Rates in Scotland fall to tiny percentage per head of those in England and Wales due to twice as many ‘probation officers’

johnrobertson834

From Reconviction Rates in Scotland: 2022 to 2023 Offender Cohort, published today: Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/reconviction-rates-in-scotland-2022-2023-cohort/ What might account for this? There are currently 5 576 ‘band 4’ probation officers in England.2 Scotland does not have “probation officers” as a distinct role. The equivalent is Justice Social Workers (also called criminal justice social workers), who are qualified social workers employed mainly by the 32 local authorities. Per head of population, you might expect that Scotland would have around 560 of these but has 1 174 up from 950 the year before.3 Scotland has twice as many! How does this play out in terms of … Continue reading Reconviction Rates in Scotland fall to tiny percentage per head of those in England and Wales due to twice as many ‘probation officers’

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Did the media get Murrell 5 years in jail? In 2019 a Labour councillor stole from a charity which then collapsed, causing great harm to locals, and did not plead guilty yet she still avoided jail

johnrobertson834

From BBC Scotland in 2019: A former [Labour] councillor has been convicted of taking more than £8,000 from a local charity where she worked. Yvonne Kucuk, 52, was the company secretary for the People’s Development Trust in Dalmarnock, Glasgow. The trust ran the £3.5m Commonwealth Games legacy hub in the area, which was launched by football legend Sir Kenny Dalglish in 2015. But, later financial concerns led to auditors looking over the organisation’s books. Kucuk – ex-Labour councillor for the city’s Calton area – and the trust’s project manager William Faulds, 55, were eventually held by police. A trial heard … Continue reading Did the media get Murrell 5 years in jail? In 2019 a Labour councillor stole from a charity which then collapsed, causing great harm to locals, and did not plead guilty yet she still avoided jail

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Scotland in top ten for foreign direct investment out of more than one thousand European ‘regions’, first per head in UK and well ahead of Burnhamland

johnrobertson834

The above table is from this report published today: The EY UK Attractiveness Survey 2026, the latest in our series of annual reports exploring the performance and perceptions of the UK as a destination for foreign direct investment (FDI). It’s now been 25 years since EY first published this study. Over that time, it has become an eagerly awaited and indispensable reference point for business leaders, investors and policymakers as they seek to understand the drivers of inward investment and the UK’s relative performance against other European FDI locations in a constantly changing global landscape.1 EY’s database does not give … Continue reading Scotland in top ten for foreign direct investment out of more than one thousand European ‘regions’, first per head in UK and well ahead of Burnhamland

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‘Alleged anti-Muslim attacks are ‘intolerance wake-up call’ but there are positives to be noted in Scotland

johnrobertson834

From BBC Scotland yesterday: The first minister has said a series of alleged anti-Muslim attacks in Edinburgh should be a “wake-up call” to Scotland over intolerance towards others. John Swinney said he was “terrified” the incidents, which left five men injured in the north and west of the city on Friday, were the product of intolerance being “legitimised”. He accused Reform MSPs at the Scottish Parliament of using language which had caused “division” among communities. Reform said the attacks should not be “conflated” with a “genuine debate around mass migration”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c75y44e9w9do All true, I fully agree but let’s not think … Continue reading ‘Alleged anti-Muslim attacks are ‘intolerance wake-up call’ but there are positives to be noted in Scotland

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Shetland business woman tell complete lie about how Scottish Government funds, ‘extremely highly’ overfunds, their service

johnrobertson834

So, a representative of some Shetland Islands business group gets to tell the Westminster Scottish Affairs committee that ferry transport is underfunded in Scotland. Watch now a Labour member of that committee invite the PM to damn the SNP Government with that claim. is the claim true? How do the relative subsidies for ferry transport in Scotland, Norway, British Columbia, Washington State, UK Channel Islands and Isle of Wight compare in light of this claim – https://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/news/lyall-tells-mps-isles-are-in-a-race-against-time-to-resolv-437901/ Scottish island ferries (especially CalMac/CHFS and Shetland inter-island services) receive among the highest per-passenger operating subsidies of the listed regions, with very low … Continue reading Shetland business woman tell complete lie about how Scottish Government funds, ‘extremely highly’ overfunds, their service

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Huge surge in child exploitation – carrying drugs in body cavities and sexual abuse – by English county lines drug gangs in Scotland

johnrobertson834

From Human Trafficking NRM referrals re county lines – 10yrs published by Police Scotland today, that ‘referrals made by Police Scotland to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) where county lines and suspected criminal exploitation was a factor‘ was: Under 16 year-olds – from 6 in 2020/2021 to 39 in 2025/2026, almost a seven-fold increase. 16-17 year-olds, from 16 to 65, a four-fold increase. Source: https://www.scotland.police.uk/access-to-information/freedom-of-information/disclosure-log/disclosure-log-2026/june/26-1022-human-trafficking-nrm-referrals-re-county-lines-10yrs/ What forms does that exploitation take? County lines refers to a violent, exploitative model of illegal drug distribution in the UK, where urban gangs and organised criminal networks export drugs (primarily heroin and crack cocaine) … Continue reading Huge surge in child exploitation – carrying drugs in body cavities and sexual abuse – by English county lines drug gangs in Scotland