In an all-too-typical feeding frenzy, Scotland’s MSM misinterpret the data and personalise it in terms of the First Minister, not the education minister, not the education authorities, not the schools and not the teachers, all of whom, to some degree have had day-to-day responsibility for narrowing the attainment gap between those in the most deprived area and those better off. The Herald has clearly restrained its Nicolaphobes, avoided such a front page, and has provided this correct data: Statistics from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) show that for pupils in the 20 per cent most deprived areas of Scotland, the … Continue reading Exam-based attainment gap narrows significantly in Scotland

Last week, I pointed to the shocking fact that Glasgow hospital A&E departments, where Nicola Sturgeon is a local MSP, were 68% faster than those in Norfolk and Norwich, where PM candidate, Liz Truss is a local MP: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2022/08/02/sturgeons-glasgow-emergency-departments-are-a-shocking-68-faster-than-those-in-the-norfolk-constituency-of-liz-truss/ Two days ago, I pointed to the fact that local MPs are expected to challenge failure in local hospitals but that neither Truss nor Sunak seem bothered to do so: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2022/08/07/good-constituency-mps-like-sturgeon-would-do-something-about-third-world-local-hospitals-sunak-and-truss-have-not/ Today, we see that all of Scotland’s hospitals fall within the expected range of mortality and only one has a significantly lower-than-expected rate (Western General). The Scottish average mortality rate … Continue reading Shocking death rate in England’s most dangerous hospitals, where Liz truss is a local MP, compared to that in Glasgow

The pass rate for pupils sitting exams in Scotland has dropped from the levels seen in the two years when they were affected by Covid pandemic measures. At Higher level, the number of pupils getting an A to C pass was 78.9%, down from 87.3% last year. This was higher than the rate of 74.8% in 2019, the last year in which formal exams were sat across the country. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-62463451?at_custom2=twitter&at_campaign=64&at_custom1=%5Bpost+type%5D&at_medium=custom7&at_custom4=9399CA90-17C1-11ED-B247-9DD92052A482&at_custom3=%40BBCScotlandNews Even a complete eejit knows you cannot compare exam pass rates with a different assessment strategy not involving formal exams. So, the statistically meaningful fact here is the 4.1% increase … Continue reading Wrong! ‘Exam’ pass rate climbs by 4%

From YouGov, based on polling of 169 Scots on 4-5th August: Con 22% Labour 16% Lib Dem 5% SNP 51% Reform UK 1% Green 4% Also, worth noting, the Scottish sample was the most certain it would vote at 63% compared to 52-58% in other parts of the UK. This is of course just a sub-poll with a small sample but the previous YouGov polls tell a similar story with 56% for pro-independence parties on 27-28 July and 50% on 21-22 July. Continue reading Poll: Pro-independence parties at 55%

Even the full data above from Redfield & Wilton yesterday, puts Scottish independence last out of 15 issues which 2000 UK voters were asked to consider as factors determining how they would vote. They could choose 3. When you take into account that 44 out of the 68 respondents selecting that issue, live in Scotland, the response becomes vanishingly small. Only 24 out of the 1 824 non-Scots is 1.3%, lower even than the ‘other’ or ‘don’t know’ categories, at the very bottom. Continue reading Scottish independence barely visible as an issue for UK voters

In the above shocking report we read: People would rather go to England if they had a stroke than use the A&E at a north Wales hospital, a health watchdog has said. Inspectors said there was a “clear and significant risk to patient safety” after inspections at the department in Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Denbighshire. North Wales Community Health Council’s Geoff Ryall-Harvey said it was the “worst situation” they had seen. Betsi Cadwaladr health board said it was committed to improvements. The Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) report said the A&E department required significant improvement after an unannounced three-day inspection in May. … Continue reading Welsh stroke patients would rather go to England but buck does not stop with Labour Health Secretary…whatsername

The crisis in UK dentistry which Reporting Scotland would dearly love us to be part of prompted reader, Annie, to remind us of this from 2018: Since the introduction of lifetime NHS dental registration in Scotland in 2010 the amount of Scottish people registered with a dentist now stands at 95 per cent, but the amount of people visiting a dentist has decreased in recent years, something which this new policy looks to address. Dubbed the ‘Oral Health Improvement Plan’ and launched by the chief dental officer for Scotland, Margie Taylor, it comprises a series of recommendations to help reduce … Continue reading For years now Scotland has been leading the way in the UK when it comes to oral health prevention

A BBC UK investigation finds: Nine in 10 NHS dental practices across the UK are not accepting new adult patients for treatment under the health service, a BBC investigation has found. Our research shows no dentists taking on adult NHS patients could be found in a third of the UK’s top-tier councils. Scotland had significantly better access to NHS dentistry for adults than the other UK nations, with 18% of practices taking on new health-service patients. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-62253893 Reporting Scotland, of course, focus on the negative with only, at the end a grudging: The Scottish Government said NHS dentistry here was in … Continue reading BBC UK: ‘Scotland had significantly better [40%] access to NHS dentistry’

By stewartb The policy think tank IPPR North has recently published (26 July) an analysis of outcomes to date from the Tory’s ‘levelling-up’ policy. It’s now three years since it was launched after the 2019 General Election. The IPPR concludes that despite Tory rhetoric, public spending in the north of England is lower, and has grown less since 2019 than in other parts of England. Source https://www.ippr.org/news-and-media/press-releases/leading-think-tank-levelling-up-was-business-as-usual-but-that-has-to-change The analysis is based on ONS data published 27 May 2022: ‘Country and regional public sector finances, UK: financial year ending 2021 – Public sector revenue, expenditure and net fiscal balance on a … Continue reading Tory levelling-up – messages for the gullible!

By Alasdair Galloway On Rishi, Liz and the Dark Nights And here we have Rishi Sunak exposed as the Tory he is, shamelessly boasting that he had changed funding formulas to take money away from deprived areas to the more affluent – something that “needed to be undone”. https://twitter.com/NewStatesman/status/1555476253045673987 But perhaps the most shocking thing is, I think, that he refers to the privileged area he is obviously in, is when he says he is giving them the funding they “deserve”. What criteria does he use for making this assertion? Do they deserve it because they already have more than … Continue reading On Rishi, Liz and the Dark Nights