Sturgeon’s ‘vital’ legacy policies could take nearly a million English children out of poverty but Reporting Scotland Down say….
It is estimated that 90,000 fewer children will live in relative and absolute poverty this year as a result of Scottish Government policies. The Scottish Government analysis is published alongside the first annual report on its Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan ‘Best Start, Bright Futures’. The report sets out progress made on the four year plan, including that an estimated £3.03 billion was invested across a range of programmes targeted at low income households in 2022-23, with £1.25 billion directly benefiting children. The report also details key actions to help households and address the three main drivers of poverty – … Continue reading Sturgeon’s ‘vital’ legacy policies could take nearly a million English children out of poverty but Reporting Scotland Down say….
Chronic pain waiting time performance improves despite increased referrals!
From Public Health Scotland, yesterday for the quarter ending 31 March 2023: Referrals to a chronic pain clinic are now back to levels seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the quarter ending 31 March 2023, 5,049 patients were referred, an increase of 5.5% on the previous quarter, when 4,787 patients were referred. Referrals are up by 4.3% compared to a year earlier, when there were 4,839 during the quarter ending 31 March 2022. There were 2,185 patients seen at a consultant-led chronic pain clinic during the quarter ending 31 March 2023, compared to 1,890 in the previous quarter, an … Continue reading Chronic pain waiting time performance improves despite increased referrals!
Junior doctor strike only matters in Scotland
At last BBC Scotland has its first health worker strike after weeks and months of watching impotently as junior doctors, nurses and ambulance staff walked out across England. They’ve made it the big story of the day. BBC England and UK have noticed but have not made it the headline story. The BBC England regions are not even reporting it at all. BBC Scotland have fully politicised the report with this choice image of the Scottish Health Secretary and platforming of THREE opposition parties including farcically the smallest, FIFTH largest, party: Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane urged the … Continue reading Junior doctor strike only matters in Scotland
On busiest day of the year so far 99% of Calmac crossings are on time and to Arran 100%
Media coverage tends to concentrate on negative facts. For example, last Sunday (11 June 2023), on one of the busiest days for tourism this year, CalMac had 379 timetabled sailings with 98.9% on time. Previous days? 96.7%, 96.3%, 99.2%…… This is not unusual but never reported. You can check this daily at: https://www.calmac.co.uk/calmac-performance-data-browser?date=11%2F06%2F2023 Ardrossan-Brodick crossing (above)? 100%, right across the weekend. Brittany channel ferries? 83% today. Continue reading On busiest day of the year so far 99% of Calmac crossings are on time and to Arran 100%
Murder rate in STV Scotland plummets below England & Wales but not in Reporting Scotland
As Reporting Scotland drooled all over the Sturgeon no charges case again this morning, STV ignored it. Similarly, unreported by Reporting Scotland Down this morning, STV have this big story of obvious public interest for any public service broadcaster: Scotland’s murder rate falls to lowest level since modern records began. Once dubbed the ‘most violent country in the developed world’ in a UN report, murders have fallen to the lowest level in almost 50 years. Figures presented by Police Scotland to the Scottish Police Authority show there were 48 homicides in 2022-23. That compares to a high of 137 back … Continue reading Murder rate in STV Scotland plummets below England & Wales but not in Reporting Scotland
SNP was below 40% in 2017 but up at 50% and more by 2020
Holyrood constituency polls since election of Humza Yousaf, with several below 40%. Holyrood constituency polling before the May 2021 election, with several below 40%. Look at September/October 2017. On 9 October 2017, John Curtice wrote: So just how much difficulty are the SNP in as they gather in Glasgow for their autumn conference? Are they, as some reporting seems to suggest, fatally wounded in the wake of the setback that the party suffered in the UK general election in June? Or does the party simply need to bide its time in the expectation that the tide will soon turn once more in its … Continue reading SNP was below 40% in 2017 but up at 50% and more by 2020
Fact: Scotland’s Minimum pricing saves 156 deaths a year
The Sunday Post is front-paging a report by a think tank with no background in researching health matters. Here are the established facts that matter: The introduction of minimum unit pricing in Scotland is associated with significant reductions in deaths from alcohol consumption, research has found. Over a period of two years and eight months after the policy was rolled out in Scotland a 13% reduction was seen in deaths from alcohol consumption when compared with an estimate of the deaths that would have occurred without the legislation, using data from England. This is equivalent to avoiding 156 deaths a … Continue reading Fact: Scotland’s Minimum pricing saves 156 deaths a year
Ayr man follows Sean Connery!
First – many thanks to all the contributors especially but not only stewartb, who have made Talking-up Scotland the top political blog in Sc….OK, Ayr. Ayr man follows Sir Sean Connery and Alex Salmond in winning OBA! Last Saturday in Perth, Ayr man, Professor John Robertson was presented with the Oliver Brown Award by the board of the Scots Independent newspaper. The award goes to a journalist, author, critic, illustrator, radio or television performer who, in the opinion of the judges, has done most in the preceding year to advance the cause of Scotland’s self-respect. Previous recipients include Mary Marquis … Continue reading Ayr man follows Sean Connery!
‘Scotland has highest rate of public rapid charging devices for electric vehicles of any UK nation or region’ says UK government report
By stewartb The UK Department of Transport has recently updated UK statistics on the provision of public electric vehicle charging devices by nation and region. It obtains the data from the electric vehicle and charging point platform Zapmap to provide a snapshot. Source https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electric-vehicle-charging-device-statistics-april-2023/electric-vehicle-charging-device-statistics-april-2023#annex-b-location-of-charging-devices Two metrics are shown in the diagrams below: (I) overall distribution of public charging points per 100,000 of population; and (ii) the number of ‘rapid’ plus ‘ultra rapid’ charging points per 100,000 of population. (Definitions are given in the source document.) The first chart shows the present uneven geographical distribution of devices. It is notable that … Continue reading ‘Scotland has highest rate of public rapid charging devices for electric vehicles of any UK nation or region’ says UK government report
Tory and Labour governments in England and Wales presiding over what is often poorer NHS performance
Perspective on the NHS – the antidote to Tory/Labour tactics in Scotland that must be withheld! By stewartb The Royal College of Radiologists (RC) has just published two census reports on the workforce treating cancer in the NHS across the UK. It’s worth delving in to some of the details not least because the BBC’s coverage, whilst prominent, makes little or nothing (of course) of those findings that paint NHS Scotland in a relatively favourable light. Purpose The state of the NHS in Scotland compared to its peers in the rest of the UK is a much covered topic on … Continue reading Tory and Labour governments in England and Wales presiding over what is often poorer NHS performance
