From Insider today: ‘Permanent staff appointments continued to rise in January at the fastest rate in the current three-month sequence of expansion, according to the latest Royal Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs. The trend in Scotland was mirrored throughout the UK, where permanent replacements also rose at a faster rate than December, although the increase in Scotland outpaced the UK as a whole.’ https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-labour-market-starts-2020-21445972 Earlier reports of the Scottish economy: BBC Scotland expert misses positive economic trend as commercial property sales DOUBLE to exceed most of England Number of Scottish businesses at record high. Scotland’s labour productivity has increased 8% of the population … Continue reading NEWS: Scotland outpaces UK on jobs front!

While the Tory government goes for show with a conference about Scottish drug deaths based on zero consultation, the Scottish Government is already ‘underway’ with action. Many of you will know that calling a conference or a summit on some issue of concern, may look good especially when you have the media onside, but often achieves little beyond delaying action. We already have the research evidence for a taskforce to consider and to begin implementing in policy or, at the very least, piloting. Safe consumption rooms are known to reduce deaths, but these cannot be tried by the Scottish Government … Continue reading Getting on with day job to save lives: Scottish Government already acting on drug deaths as Tories delay and obstruct solutions to a problem which they created

When the Joseph Rowntree Foundation says something, it’s as true as it gets. You don’t need inverted commas as if thye were one of your typically unreliable ‘sources’. BBC Scotland ‘Good news but with a grudge.’ ‘Scotland has bucked this trend with more social housing available at more affordable rents.’ ‘With?’ Why? On new affordable housing, Boris, it’s Tories nil SNP thousands: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2019/11/05/on-new-affordable-housing-boris-its-tories-nil-snp-thousands/ Scotland pushes further ahead of UK on affordable housing Is there less family debt in Scotland due to Scottish Government action? Reporting on child poverty in Scotland with one source and NO context again Continue reading The Grudge: BBC Scotland on lower poverty rate here

In Holyrood, on Wednesday 4th February 2020 Miles Briggs (Lothian) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that all health and social care staff are aware of the extension of free personal care to under 65s (Frank’s law). Miles Briggs (Lothian) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that some health and social care staff are not aware of the extension of free personal care to under 65s (Frank’s law) and have been seeking financial assessments for care. Click to access … Continue reading Brass Neck Award 2020 goes to Miles Briggs for his compassionate conservatism act on free personal care

On Politics Live yesterday, in the context of the Mackay debacle, Sarah Smith slipped in a wee fib about school standards slipping in Scotland. It’s a favourite Tory myth of course but in the Guardian yesterday, suggested by our Education Correspondent for February 2020, bigjon999, we read about English schools: A breakdown of GCSE results issued by the Department for Education (DfE) showed the gap between disadvantaged pupils and others increased for the second year in a row. The introduction of tougher exams appears to have halted the improvement seen in previous years. Just 456 of the 143,000 pupils classed as disadvantaged … Continue reading Attainment gap widens in England as it HALVES in Scotland, but Sarah Smith lies again

From Personal well-being in the UK: April 2018 to March 2019 Estimates of life satisfaction, feeling that the things done in life are worthwhile, happiness and anxiety at the UK, country, regional, county and local authority level, it is apparent that average levels of anxiety are falling faster in Scotland than in England and Wales while rising dramatically in Northern Ireland. While such changes will have complex explanations, it is tempting to see at least some evidence in them of Scots benefitting from the more inclusive and caring policies of their government and from the lower levels of poverty associated … Continue reading Anxiety levels falling faster in Scotland as independence looms

Ludo Thierry Scotland’s sole remaining – and Catalunya’s newest – MEP (Prof. Clara Ponsati) has received her credentials from the European Parliament. Link and snippet below: https://www.catalannews.com/politics/item/exiled-former-catalan-minister-picks-up-mep-credentials Clara Ponsatí, the former Catalan education minister now in exile in Scotland, collected her credentials as an MEP in Brussels on Wednesday, despite the Spanish authorities requesting that the UK prevent her from leaving the country. Ponsatí joins the exiled former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and former health minister Toni Comín in the European Parliament, despite the efforts of the Spanish judiciary to extradite them over the independence bid in Catalonia in 2017. … Continue reading St Andrews professor saved!

The Scotsman has 1 story, BBC Scotland has 4. Continue reading Jackal Journalism as Herald offers 11 Derek Mackay stories on 1 day

David Howdle: Scotland doesn’t have a deficit. It is, in law, obliged to balance its books. That is why it always ends the financial year with a very small surplus which unionists then make a song and dance about because they allege that that money is being withheld from the public. Any deficit is that of the UK, not Scotland. It is normal and appropriate for countries to have a deficit. A country’s national deficit is equal to the surplus of private individuals and companies. If a country runs a national surplus that means that the private sector (you and … Continue reading Scotland doesn’t have a deficit

In almost every area of public life, in almost every public service, from the NHS to policing, the evidence is there to prove that Scotland and by obvious association the SNP Government, is running this country far better than the Unionist parties in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Independent sources such as the UN and the Nuffield Trust often praise the Scottish Government’s actions while condemning those of the UK Government. Here is a list of only 184 facts Mackay needs to read: 1. Baby Box – A jam-packed box of baby essentials to help new parents at the start of a child’s … Continue reading No friend of Scotland feeds Tory myths again