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SNP Child Payment pulls poverty way below that in all parts of England other than affluent South-East

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Thanks to Dotty for alerting me to this. On Channel 4 News tonight, on children in relative poverty: The picture is indeed stark. UK child poverty has climbed from 3.6m in 2013, to 4.3m, in 2023. The level of poverty in parts of England, other than in the affluent South-East, ranges from around 20% higher in the North-East to 60% higher in the West Midlands and is 25% higher on average. In Scotland, the lower rate has been attributed, in the main, to the introduction by the SNP Government, of the transformational Child Payment. Sources: https://www.channel4.com/news/the-reality-of-uk-child-poverty-explained https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202400398127/ Continue reading SNP Child Payment pulls poverty way below that in all parts of England other than affluent South-East

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Governor General expects Unionist regime in Scotland by 2026 with plans to impose nuclear power regardless of risks

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By Professor John Robertson STV News has just reported: The UK Government is considering plans to build a nuclear reactor in Scotland, despite long-standing opposition from the Scottish Government. Scottish secretary Alister Jack has told a Westminster committee that he has asked ministers at the Department for Energy and Net Zero to plan for a nuclear reactor to be built in Scotland, as part of a UK-wide programme. He also said he expected a “Unionist regime” to be in power in Scotland by 2026. Responsibility for energy is reserved to Westminster, but the Scottish Parliament has control over planning and … Continue reading Governor General expects Unionist regime in Scotland by 2026 with plans to impose nuclear power regardless of risks

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England follows Scotland’s world-leading life-saving overdose drug programme after three years of delay

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By stewartb On the UK and Health pages of The BBC News website this morning (14 May): ‘Life-saving overdose drug to be given without prescription’. It’s about extending of availability in England of naloxone, the drug given in an emergency to those at risk of death from an opioid overdose. The same story featured in news bulletins throughout Radio 4’s Today programme. Much praise for the UK government in taking this decision! No mention of Scotland’s world first in making naloxone widely available for emergency use. The Scottish Programme reported on TuS: Scotland was the first country in the world to implement … Continue reading England follows Scotland’s world-leading life-saving overdose drug programme after three years of delay

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Scotland cannot be ‘such a small nation’ if 81 are even smaller!

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By stewartb I‘ve just received the latest newsletter from the estimable Edinburgh-based publisher, Luath Press. It informs me of the programme of events planned for its annual ‘ScotlandsFest’, held as part of the Edinburgh Fringe. And an excellent programme it is offering too! This sentence from caught my attention: ‘For being such a small nation, Scotland can contain so many ideas of what it can be. ‘ Is Scotland ‘such a small nation’? Of the c. 197 independent nation states across the world which have membership of the UN, c. 81 have populations smaller than Scotland’s c. 5.5 million! This ‘such a … Continue reading Scotland cannot be ‘such a small nation’ if 81 are even smaller!

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More than enough for very home in the UK – Scotland’s stunning renewables and wind power potential revealed in FOI

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By Professor John Robertson From a Freedom of Information request in November 2023 to SNP Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy – Neil Gray MSP, to revise the incorrect 25% of Europe’s offshore wind and tidal claim, see this: https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202400396013/ Continue reading More than enough for very home in the UK – Scotland’s stunning renewables and wind power potential revealed in FOI

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How privatisation is swamping NHS England & Wales, only

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Thanks to Frances for alerting us to this: The above map from an EveryDoctor survey reveals the staggering extent of outsourcing and privatisation of the NHS in England and in Wales by sharp contrast with that in Scotland. You can check your own constituency at: https://privatisation.everydoctor.org.uk/?link_id=1&can_id=27239d0dde9ed8c344fcb6294537b4a2&source=email-our-team-will-be-releasing-new-nhs-privatisation-info-this-week&email_referrer=email_2315663&email_subject=our-team-will-be-releasing-new-nhs-privatisation-info-this-week Continue reading How privatisation is swamping NHS England & Wales, only

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All of Scotland’s hospitals within normal mortality range

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From Public Health Scotland, today: For the period January 2023 to December 2023 no hospitals had a significantly higher standardised mortality ratio than the national average [more deaths than predicted]. The standardised mortality ratio for Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Little France (1.12) is above the upper warning limit. For the period January 2023 to December 2023 no hospitals had a significantly lower standardised mortality ratio than the national average [fewer deaths than predicted]. The standardised mortality ratio for Western General Hospital (0.83) is below the lower warning limit. The graph reveals the cohesive nature of public health in a … Continue reading All of Scotland’s hospitals within normal mortality range

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Scottish breast screening uptake increases again and there is no postcode lottery here

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From Public Health Scotland today: 711,189 women were invited, and 539,575 attended, a routine breast screening appointment. This equates to more than three in four women (75.9%) taking up their screening invitations. This is an increase on the previous three-year period (2019/22), when uptake was 74.5%, and pre-pandemic (2017/20), when uptake was 72.2%. All NHS boards individually met the acceptable uptake standard of 70% for the three-year period (2020/23): This is the second time this has happened since 2008/11, with the first time being the 2019/2022 period. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/scottish-breast-screening-programme-statistics/scottish-breast-screening-programme-statistics-annual-update-to-31-march-2023/ Continue reading Scottish breast screening uptake increases again and there is no postcode lottery here

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Hate crime in Scotland plummets

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From the Scottish Government today: The police recorded 6,257 hate crimes in 2022-23. This is 10% (or 670) lower than in 2021-22 and the lowest number since 2014-15. https://www.gov.scot/publications/hate-crimes-recorded-by-the-police-in-scotland-2022-23/documents/ Hate crime based on race and religion has fallen most dramatically, by around 30% for race and around 25% for religion. Regrettably perhaps, though this may be due to greater confidence in coming forward, thus a good thing, hate crime based on sexual orientation has increased 50%, based on disability has doubled and based on transgender ID, has tripled. Continue reading Hate crime in Scotland plummets

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CalMac ferries run 862 sailings over the weekend with 100% on time

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On Saturday 11th May 2024 and Sunday 12th May, CalMac ran 862 sailings with 33 vessels to around 50 ports, and 100% were on time despite the media scare stories of delayed new builds and ferries in dock for repair. Facts is facts! Meanwhile P&O ferries admit paying vulnerable crew from South-East Asia, £4.87 per hour, an Isle of Wight ferry service sells off it’s only reserve ferry among major delays but keeps paying dividends to its shareholders and a New Zealand ferry service has all three ferries out after one nearly ends up on the rocks with 700 on … Continue reading CalMac ferries run 862 sailings over the weekend with 100% on time