As the SNP Government in Scotland increases the transformative Child Payment and higher pay rates for carers than elsewhere in the UK, there’s a taste of what Labour will do in government from this in Wales: Children could slide deeper into poverty if Wales’ councils suffer more cuts, a charity has warned. Councils expect a combined shortfall of £394.8m over the next two years, leaving services at risk. One youth club said securing long-term funding would be a challenge and feared the effects on the young. As data showed 34% of Wales’ children are impoverished, the Welsh government said ending poverty was an … Continue reading Rutherglen Alert – The massive council cuts UK Labour will bring you

Actually, it’s probably not just the second brainless headline in a row but I’m not prepared to look any further back than yesterday’s claim that dropping S4 exams would lead to an increase in school violence, from an unattributed failed Lib Dem candidate. Today, it’s Douglas Ross, possessor of a diploma in unpleasant farming practices, telling us the minimum unit pricing policy (MUP) has failed and that the 2% increase in alcohol deaths is proof of that. We know for certain that the increase trend in alcohol deaths is largely a consequence of patterns of behaviour triggered by the pandemic … Continue reading Scotsman makes it a double with second brainless headline in a row

I know, tabloid writers have to find the bad news. Good news is no news, I’ve heard some say, but you deserve better – a reality construction that might make you want to go with hope in your heart. So the Herald view is that Scotland’s drink problems have ‘overtaken’ our drug problems on a death spiral to the bottom and just stay at home for the rest of the year. You don’t want to go out. There are corpses everywhere. What might you want to think instead? Well drug deaths are down 2 Alcohol deaths are up 2% (statistically … Continue reading Drug deaths (0.019% of the population) plummet 21% below alcohol deaths (0.023%) which are down 11% on Labour era!

BBC Scotland continues with another of its selective readings of the latest statistics to suggest a worsening situation in Scotland. We’ve had alcohol deaths ‘the highest since 2008‘, carefully avoiding the 2006 figures, the last year of Labour rule, when they were far higher then than today and are actually plateauing after a pandemic spike. Also, we’ve had ferry cancellations supposedly spiralling over 5 years but ignoring the 20% fall in the most recent year, to give 97.2% reliability. Now we have: Child homelessness in Scotland hits new record high. In total, there were 29,652 open homelessness cases in March, … Continue reading Homelessness applications were almost twice as high under Labour/Lib Dems in 2006

From the Scottish Government today: The families of more than 316,000 under-16s were benefitting from Scottish Child Payment by the end of June this year, according to the latest official statistics. New figures published today show the payment of £25 per week, which is unique in the UK, was reaching 316,190 – an increase of more than 13,000 compared to 31 March 2023. The Scottish Fiscal Commission had forecast that the average take-up in 2023/24 would be 309,000. The total amount going direct to lower income families is now more than £350 million since the payment was launched in February … Continue reading More than 3 million children in England could be lifted out of poverty by Scottish Child Payment but Labour do not support it

There were 1 417 alcohol deaths in 2006 in the last year of the Labour/Lib Dem Scottish Government, up dramatically from only 1 144 in 2000. At the end of the first year of the SNP administration in 2007 the figure had fallen to 1 282 and by 2018 had fallen to 1 020. The pandemic years saw a steep increase in cases across the UK, to 1 245 cases in Scotland in 2021. Today BBC Scotland is headlining: Alcohol deaths rise to highest level in 14 years carefully choosing the 2008 figure and not the last year of Labour’s … Continue reading Alcohol deaths were 11% higher under Labour but are now plateauing after pandemic spike

Only in the National today: A SENIOR Scottish Labour councillor has been arrested and charged in relation to alleged child grooming offences. Anas Sarwar’s party has suspended David Graham, a senior figure on Fife Council who sat on the cabinet, while the police probe is ongoing. Graham, 41, is a councillor for Buckhaven, Methil and Wemyss villages and Fife’s representative at Cosla. He is also appointed as a non-executive director on the board of NHS Fife. https://www.thenational.scot/news/23751829.scottish-labour-councillor-arrested-amid-child-grooming-allegations/ The story is nowhere on BBC Scotland or on any of the national newspaper front pages. Even though the date for the Rutherglen and Hamilton … Continue reading Scottish Labour councillor grooms children in run up to a by-election – BBC Scotland apply purdah rules and hide it

It’s the GMB, the last fully solid SNP-hating trade union (they like building nuclear weapons), headlined in the Herald again, on behalf of Scottish Labour. It’s excrement of the male bovine once more. The actual facts: There are 11 water boards in England, so on average slightly smaller in terms of population served but much much smaller geographically than Scottish Water. Scottish Water has maintained 90% of water courses at ‘good or better’ condition. England’s water boards have only managed 10%: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2023/08/13/englands-water-nine-times-more-likely-to-contain-sewage/ The Herald is telling us indignantly that the Scottish Water chief is getting a £50K bonus and earned £300K … Continue reading Labour spouses union accuses Scottish Water of paying CE just over a quarter of England’s water bosses’ average

So, the ‘expert’ above is: The Scotsman don’t tell us that, nor in 2016 did ‘in a video interview published by millionaire-funded hardcore nutter Yoon collective Scotland In Union‘ (WoS 2016): Back to the thesis, ‘Axing exams will make school violence worse.’ Nearly 40 years in education and that’s a new one on me. I searched. Found one! Oh, sorry it’s the Scotsman story again. What is the alternative to exams, being proposed? More continuous assessment by familiar empathetic teachers in familiar settings. I used to know that continuous assessment, in contrast with exams, can increase learner engagement and wider educational … Continue reading School violence – Scotsman headlines Lib Dem candidate and not erudite former Head Teacher

BBC Scotland never report this: During the quarter ending 31 March 2023: the 90% standard was met, with 99.7% of patients attending a screening appointment within 52 weeks of referral. One patient waited more than 52 weeks to be screened. 325 patients were screened across the 4 IVF Centres, an increase of 14% compared to the previous quarter (285 patients). https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/ivf-waiting-times-in-scotland/ivf-waiting-times-in-scotland-quarter-ending-31-march-2023/ Today they find time in the few minutes they get in BBC Breakfast broadcasts and online for this: A woman who was born without a womb has described current fertility treatment guidelines as “full of inequality and discrimination” after … Continue reading IVF – 325 patients, 100% within target but this one £50 000 fast car-driving woman is ‘the news’ for BBC Scotland