Scandal as NZ Government seeks to buy unavailable second-hand ferries and keep ‘very end-of-life’ wharf
From Radio New Zealand today: KiwiRail says it is now looking at buying second-hand ships for the Cook Strait ferry service, and is asking what to do about the terminals. It has blamed poor project governance in part for cost escalations in its Interislander replacement Project Irex, sunk when the government balked in December at rising terminal rebuild costs. Chief executive Peter Reidy told MPs at a select committee at Parliament there are only 22 second-hand ships worldwide that fit the bill – such as being rugged enough for the Strait – and none are for sale. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/509283/kiwirail-considers-buying-second-hand-ships-for-cook-strait-ferry-service And from … Continue reading Scandal as NZ Government seeks to buy unavailable second-hand ferries and keep ‘very end-of-life’ wharf
Scottish student nursing applications at nearly twice the level of England due to SNP Government initiatives
Another desperate (no ”) attempt by the Scotsman to turn a problem being tackled by the Scottish Government into a crisis in which their actions seem to be invisible. Nowhere in that front page do you see this important piece of evidence, of the Scottish Government’s efforts. On top of free tuition, in Scotland only: The Bursary The bursary is for the normal duration of the course that you are undertaking. If you are taking the four-year honours nursing degree course and you are eligible for a bursary, you will receive the full bursary rate for years 1-3 and a … Continue reading Scottish student nursing applications at nearly twice the level of England due to SNP Government initiatives
Why would a Scottish newspaper attack Labour in this election year?
The P&J, the big newspaper in the North-east of Scotland has the above image, viciously attacking Labour. Everywhere else, across the newspapers and the broadcast media, Anas Sarwar is being wrapped in cotton wool and given nice cups of tea with even nicer questions to answer. No one needs to tell Scottish reporters how to behave in a year when the Labour attack on SNP seats is central to all their hopes and fears. So, what’s the P&J up to? Most of you will know already. Across P&J Land, Labour are in third place and would need a massive swing … Continue reading Why would a Scottish newspaper attack Labour in this election year?
Reporting anti-semitism in Scotland badly
that’s according to Jewish charity the Community Security Trust. It says 68 incidents were recorded here in Scotland. Reporting Scotland, once more headlining a worry about life in Scotland that the website does not feature: Once more, numbers with no context. UK-wide, the CST reported 4 103 cases. With one eleventh of the population, all things being equal, you might expect Scotland to have had around 370 cases but had 68, just over one-sixth of the level. Might that be newsworthy here? What were the Scottish examples in the report? One example of a mass-produced evangelical leaflet sent to a … Continue reading Reporting anti-semitism in Scotland badly
Is there no BBC Scotland reporting immune from omissions to favour the Union?
By stewartb The initial purpose here was to comment solely on a divergence of view between the National Farmers Union in Scotland (NFU Scotland ) and the Tory Party. The difference became evident in responses to the First Minister’s speech to NFU Scotland’s annual conference in Glasgow on 9 February. But reading the coverage of the same speech on the BBC News website’s Scotland page, additional noteworthy aspects emerged! The FM was setting out the Scottish Government’s future funding plans for the agriculture sector as necessitated by the transition away from the EU Common Agriculture Policy, post-Brexit. Responding at the … Continue reading Is there no BBC Scotland reporting immune from omissions to favour the Union?
Where’s David? Hiding a Scottish Tory oil & gas shares scandal
From the Guardian today not on the front page, and only beyond that, in the National: The Conservative MP David Duguid failed to declare his wife’s £50,000 shareholding in BP while speaking in debates about windfall taxes on the oil and gas industry, the parliamentary commissioner has found. The parliamentary commissioner for standards carried out an investigation into the MP for Banff and Buchan and former Scotland Office minister after the Guardian revealed Duguid’s wife’s shareholdings. Parliamentary rules require MPs to declare while speaking in debates the financial interests of a spouse or other family member, where there could be considered a conflict. … Continue reading Where’s David? Hiding a Scottish Tory oil & gas shares scandal
Why are we measuring ferry costs over strange periods of time such as eight months and five and a half years? What are we and the Cons up to?
over an 8 month period last year. The overall sum from a freedom of information request by the Scottish Conservatives is the highest annual spend on record. The above story, another Reporting Scotland special not being reported elsewhere, is another feed from opposition parties and echoes the Herald’s front page: CalMac’s spend on unplanned maintenance of the ageing ferry fleet has more than trebled in five-and-a-half years, it can be revealed. These random measures – 8 months and 5 and a half years – as opposed to normal annual changes, tell you straight off, it’s worth looking at them carefully. … Continue reading Why are we measuring ferry costs over strange periods of time such as eight months and five and a half years? What are we and the Cons up to?
‘One of the biggest and oldest vessels in Scotland’s lifeline ferry network’ is only half the age of US ferry in for check-up
The Herald, five days ago, was telling us One of the biggest and oldest vessels in Scotland’s lifeline ferry network is set to be sidelined for nearly three months. The 30-year-old MV Caledonian Isles which serves on the Arran route, one of the busiest on the Scottish coast, and is due to be replaced, has been out of action since going for an overhaul at the start of January. In March 2023, the P&J helpfully listed all 34 CalMac vessels, revealing that, other than the wee, short-crossing, MV Isle of Cumbrae, at 47 years of age, all the others are … Continue reading ‘One of the biggest and oldest vessels in Scotland’s lifeline ferry network’ is only half the age of US ferry in for check-up
More than 50 English hospitals still have worse mortality outcomes than QEUH in Glasgow
In November 2023, we could write for the period July 2022 to June 2023 : More than 50 English hospitals have worse mortality outcomes than QEUH in Glasgow Today, we can repeat a similar tale for the period October 2022 to September 2023. The funnel plot below, and previous examples reported here, comparing predicted deaths with actual deaths, shows two things in particular: The funnel plot below for NHS England shows two things in particular. Continue reading More than 50 English hospitals still have worse mortality outcomes than QEUH in Glasgow
Drooling over a miserly 5 days off unpaid and ignoring Scottish Government’s real help for carers
From BBC Scotland today Lindsay McCurley from Glasgow is a single parent carer. She looks after her teenage son Nathan, who has autism. She is among thousands of people across the UK who struggle with trying to care for a relative long-term while also trying to stay in paid employment. But now a change in the law, due to come into force on 6 April, means people who care for relatives outside of work can take an extra week of unpaid leave every year. The Carer’s Leave Act, which will apply across the UK, allows employees with long-term care commitments … Continue reading Drooling over a miserly 5 days off unpaid and ignoring Scottish Government’s real help for carers
