In the Guardian today: A new cap on bus fares in the Highlands and islands makes exploring this stunning archipelago in Scotland a breeze – The views are remarkable. From one window, gorse-gold hills roll west towards mountains patched with snow. On the other side, fields of new spring lambs slope down to a silver sea. Elsewhere, the bus crosses wide estuaries and cascading burns. There are thatched crofts, rocky bays and birch woods starred with anemones. One of the most remarkable things about this scenic 111-mile, 3½-hour trip on bus X99 is that it costs just £2. Until March 2026, a … Continue reading Guardian writer’s scenic 111-mile, 3½-hour, bus trip for just £2. Now who did that? Oh, yes John Swinney’s SNP

From Housing statistics: Housing for older people and people with disabilities, last updated 26 May 2026, the above extract and: Housing for older people and those with disabilities is currently provided by Local Authorities through the Housing Statistics Annual Return. https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-housing-for-older-people-and-people-with-disabilities/ Note the level of such housing provision in the last days of Labour in Scotland (2007) and in recent years, under the SNP, with approaching three times the level of provision. Continue reading Houses for older people and people with disabilities – very sheltered – Scotland has nearly three times as many in the SNP era as it had in the Labour era

Above, left, the social housing stock in Scotland, increasing by 6.5% in the SNP years and, above right, decreasing by 17.6% in the Labour years. From Housing Statistics: Social housing stock, last updated 26 May 2026, published yesterday, the above tables and: These figures provide the total number of social housing stock in Scotland. They are updated each year using information from Housing Statistics Annual Returns and stock figures from the Scottish Housing Regulator. https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-social-housing-stock/ Continue reading How the social sector housing stock in Scotland plummeted in the Labour years but is recovering in the SNP years

of domestic abuse is being reviewed. An inspection report in 2024 found that not enough was being done to provide basic information to victims during the justice process. BBC Reporting Scotland in their regular wee BBC Breakfast inserts report an important story that does, I agree, need reporting. As a ‘news’ service should they also give us some context and answer questions such as: Is this a growing problem? Is it worse in Scotland than in other parts of the UK? The answers, easily accessed: Level of domestic abuse incidents in Scotland unchanged since 2008 but now 114 0000, 16% … Continue reading Level of reported domestic abuse incidents in Scotland unchanged since 2008 but now 114 000 and16% more common in England & Wales

From Scottish Government – Experience of GP Practice and Out of Hours healthcare published today: Source – https://www.gov.scot/publications/health-and-care-experience-survey-national-report/ I can find no directly comparable research from England but the Daily Record knows that things are worse here: Continue reading Higher number of Scots think GP service is good or excellent and have better access to GPS

From Stage of treatment waiting times New outpatients, inpatients and day cases published today, the above and: At 30 April 2026, there were an estimated 572,206 individuals on at least one new outpatient, inpatient or day case waiting list. This is equivalent to around 1 in 10 of Scotland’s population (mid-2024 estimates). Within this total, 444,036 individuals were estimated to be waiting for a new outpatient appointment, and 149,563 for an inpatient or day case admission. The number of waits over 52 weeks has been reducing month on month, down to 14,986 at 30 April 2026, a decrease of 1,130 … Continue reading NHS England overall hospital waiting list is 5% longer than in Scotland

From NHS waiting times – diagnostics – Waits for key diagnostic tests, published today, the above and: The total waiting list size (number of ongoing waits) for the eight key diagnostic tests combined was 112,696: 27,931 endoscopy waits and 84,765 radiology waits. This is a 9% decrease (-11,296) from the previous quarter-end, when there were 123,992 ongoing waits. The latest quarter end has the lowest number of ongoing waits seen since 31 May 2021 (111,619). Source: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-waiting-times-diagnostics/diagnostic-waiting-times-waits-for-key-diagnostic-tests-26-may-2026/ The graph is perhaps not so easy to read but once explained it’s really good news for the Scottish Government. First the green … Continue reading Waits for key NHS Scotland diagnostic tests plummet

From NHS dental data monitoring report January to March 2026 published today: 5,273,339 people were registered with an NHS dentist. This is an estimated 95.1% of the Scottish population, using the 2024 National records of Scotland population estimate. 3,273,405 (62.1%) of these registered patients have participated in NHS primary dental care within the last 2 years. Source: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-dental-data-monitoring-report/nhs-dental-data-monitoring-report-quarter-ending-march-2026/ There is no formal NHS dentist “registration” system in England and Wales (unlike Scotland, where ~94-96% of the population is registered). Instead, official statistics track the percentage of the population seen/treated by an NHS dentist in a given period (typically the last … Continue reading In England and Wales, one third fewer have had access to NHS primary dental care than in Scotland where 95% are registered